Anyone from NW Indiana?

weezel77 · 07-23-2012, 02:51 PM

That's not true about the ark not special ordering fish. They have done it twice for me now. Not sure what you wanted to special order but it might not of been in season from the distributer. I know I had to wait for a bit to get my gold nugget Pleco, but they did order it when it was inseason. They were even nice enough to hold it for me for two weeks until I could make the trip up there. They are a little high on some prices but I am 100 percent happy with all the livestock that I have purchased from them.

thebuddha · 07-26-2012, 06:42 AM

valparaiso indiana here, anyone know of a good spot for driftwood? the dunes didnt help me as much as i thought....

the Ark and maybe Petco the only decent fish stores i have found in merrillville...
i dislike the Petsmart and Petland.

theres a decent store in valpo called Pet Haven, it looks like a house, but the basement is dedicated to fish. worth a look if your in the area. theres another in valpo called Coral Reef. I don't think they have plants but they had some random fish that Im not use to seeing when i stopped in last.

Caleb · 07-27-2012, 05:55 AM

I haven't seen Pet Haven but i was very impressed with the Coral Reef very clean and they had a nice selection of fish for the size of the store. i loved the product placement they had lol Marineland leds on all the freshwater tanks have some fair prices too i got a double bulb t5ho 48" for $39 with bulbs. I do have to say John at the ark knows more about planted tanks than any other shop I've been too(over 30 shops throughout indiana and Chicago) and the ark has the best plants I've seen and one of the biggest selection of fish too. I also suggest checking out the local Meijers fish department they normally have big plants and big healthy fish (since nobody thinks to check for fish there) i got a 3 huge 6" Clown Loaches for $8.99 each (easily worth $50 each) worth a look anyways

PlantedTankLover · 07-28-2012, 12:33 AM

I stopped by Coral Reef today for the first time. I was very impressed. They do have some plants. I scored 2, 6x6 mats of hair grass for a good price. They had blue rams which I dont see very often. Customer service was exelent! Answered lots of questions and even though they had been closed 15 minutes after I got there they didnt rush me out of the store and continued answering questions, and even offered to call someone when I asked what kind of frontosa was in their show tank even though I was only curious as to what it was and not interested in buying. They were more then willing to order me whatever I needed. Will be going here instead of the Ark for now on even thought they are 30 minutes away from my home rather then right down the street like the ark is.

Fleurnoir · 07-28-2012, 02:40 AM

I agree. Coral Reef has been the best for me. It's in Valpo. Currently a pain to get to due to construction going on, but let me tell you. I had been wanting to do a saltwater tank for quite some time. I have a freshwater but have been leary on the saltwater. I went to Coral Reef and they helped me out with every thing I needed. They walked me through the whole set up process. I had a little confussion and i was able to call and they had no problem walking me through step by step (yeah i know

on my part). But they obviously have amazing customer service. I've been to the Ark but they just act like they dont have time for you. Coral Reef is smaller but they are more than willing to order what you are looking for. K, thanks for reading. Im excited to see more enthusiasts in the area!

thebuddha · 07-28-2012, 04:32 AM

great to here, i was in coral reef when it was pretty new, now i need to go check it out again!!

Hidden Walrus · 10-02-2012, 04:28 AM

I live in the area too and usually go to The Ark, although I agree that the employees there aren't exactly awesome. Still, they have nearly anything you could want as far as fish go.

But - I recently bought some endlers there, which I believe may have brought home an infestation of anchorworms or similar to my tank, eventually after a month of failed treatment killing my new endlers and my betta Irving and leaving my tank looking very lonely with just two dwarf frogs. If not from their store I'm not sure where the infection came from.

Still, I went back and bought a zebra nerite snail for my cherry shrimp tank recently, which they've just started to carry. I looked at the endler tank and none of their fish had them. So maybe it came from somewhere else.

Anyway, still a good store - I've never personally seen a dead fish in any of their tanks, which are spotlessly clean all the time, even feeder tanks. And it's the only place around that sells java moss, nerite snails, or algae-eating shrimp - all planted tank necessities. Although for most other plants the Petsmart down the street is a lot cheaper.

chevyguy8893 · 11-13-2012, 05:59 PM

It's nice to see that there is a fair amount of people on here from NW Indiana, not sure how many are active though. I live in Hobart (I guess that would be obvious from my location

) and haven't come across too many people in person who actively keep and care for fish tanks. Most people I come across buy the wrong size tank for the stock they have, follow poor advice, and then give up because it is too hard.

thebuddha · 11-13-2012, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevyguy8893

It's nice to see that there is a fair amount of people on here from NW Indiana, not sure how many are active though. I live in Hobart (I guess that would be obvious from my location

) and haven't come across too many people in person who actively keep and care for fish tanks. Most people I come across buy the wrong size tank for the stock they have, follow poor advice, and then give up because it is too hard.

i feel ya there, i dont know ANYONE who has a fish tank (excluding one friend who i cant convince that "your fish only grow as big as the tank they are in" is completely wrong)

chevyguy8893 · 11-13-2012, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebuddha

i feel ya there, i dont know ANYONE who has a fish tank (excluding one friend who i cant convince that "your fish only grow as big as the tank they are in" is completely wrong)

You mean to tell me that a comet goldfish won't stay small in a 1/2 gallon aquarium

...just kidding. There has been some interesting views locally on how to take care of fish. The worst so far is 30 fish in a 20 gallon tank and the person didn't know they had to do water changes

. Apparently they had that tank for two years.

I have tried to find a fish club in the area that doesn't involve saltwater, but came up empty handed there too. It is good to know of a couple active members here from the area. Mostly I just end up talking to the owners of the coral reef or pet haven about freshwater.

thebuddha · 11-14-2012, 07:16 AM

also, there is a new fish store in valpo.

i forget what its called, fish r us, or something like that.
its on US30 right near the Viking Chili Bowl restaurant

i stopped in a couple weeks ago and all they had were a few tanks of fish, and very little non-breathing goods, but i suspect they have a larger inventory by now.

chevyguy8893 · 11-14-2012, 01:32 PM

Hey, thanks for the heads up, I will have to check them out sometime and see what they have.

Hidden Walrus · 11-15-2012, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chevyguy8893

The worst so far is 30 fish in a 20 gallon tank and the person didn't know they had to do water changes

. Apparently they had that tank for two years.

Sounds a lot like my old neighbor... except she had 36 fish in one, including, among many others, cichlids, guppies, a betta, a bluegill, tetras, a 6-inch synodontis catfish, 2 plecos, and at least a dozen big goldfish 5 inches plus.

Personally, I keep three tanks - 2 planted five gallon ripariums with male bettas and zebra nerite snails and then I just started a twenty gallon riparium that so far has just a betta and a couple of red cherry shrimp but which will eventually also have some other fishes in it - probably a big school of pygmy cories with a few others.

Hidden Walrus · 11-15-2012, 04:50 AM

That "Fish R Us" place just looks, I don't know, blah, I guess. Their sign is really cheap looking and their building looks very generic. I've passed it a few times but never cared to see what they have.

I've been to Pet Haven, but they pale in comparison to The Ark, and a lot of their fish are always sick. I also don't like how they treat their other animals (20 budgerigars in one tiny cage, so many rats in a filthy tank that they have to lay on one another with mixed genders and tons of babies, skinny, sickly lizards and guinea pigs housed in tanks so small they can barely turn around, with 4 or five to a cage) so I don't like to support them.

Again, my favorite store is the Ark but the PetSmart on route 30 also has unusually knowledgeable staff and very clean tanks, at least for a chain store, and cheap, healthy plants too. But the Petco directly across the street is pretty poor, algae-covered tanks, sometimes dead fish, and completely incompetent employees. But they have a lot of very nice
bettas.

And don't get me started on the Petland right by them. Awful.

chevyguy8893 · 11-15-2012, 02:55 PM

Some of the staff at petsmart aren't bad, but there are more that don't know what they are doing. I was told that is perfectly fine to dump the fish and water into my tank without acclimation when I didn't even ask. At the ark I can only talk to the owner or the two main guys that maintain the tanks. The sales associates are flat out condescending towards me and lack knowledge. I know that the Coral Reef, Pet Haven, and the Ark all get their fish from the same suppliers for a majority of their fish. I went into petland once to look at the fish, even though I don't agree with their puppy sales, and walked out a couple minutes later lol.

There are limitations in the area with fish stores, and everyone has different opinions on them. Although, I am happy that I don't have to order fish online, with the exception of some oddball fish I would like to get soon. If it wasn't for the small fish stores I wouldn't have an angelfish that was privately bred in very good conditions. As far as I know she only sells them to stores.

07-28-2012, 12:33 AM	#34
PlantedTankLover Planted Tank Obsessed (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 344	I stopped by Coral Reef today for the first time. I was very impressed. They do have some plants. I scored 2, 6x6 mats of hair grass for a good price. They had blue rams which I dont see very often. Customer service was exelent! Answered lots of questions and even though they had been closed 15 minutes after I got there they didnt rush me out of the store and continued answering questions, and even offered to call someone when I asked what kind of frontosa was in their show tank even though I was only curious as to what it was and not interested in buying. They were more then willing to order me whatever I needed. Will be going here instead of the Ark for now on even thought they are 30 minutes away from my home rather then right down the street like the ark is. __________________ No, those are not my husbands tanks. Aqueon Evolve RCS, mosses, and crypt. 46 Bow Front Planted Eheim 2217, 2-39wt T5 bulbs (6700k) Onion plant, amazon sword, red lotus, christmas moss, guppy grass, and crypt lutea.7 pristella tetras, 9 cardinal tetras, 2 Otocinclus, 1 patty, 3 ghost shrimp, and several cherry shrimp. 125 Cichlid All Male Hap, Peocock, and Mumba Cichlids.

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07-23-2012, 02:51 PM	#31
weezel77 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2012 Location: South Bend Posts: 55	That's not true about the ark not special ordering fish. They have done it twice for me now. Not sure what you wanted to special order but it might not of been in season from the distributer. I know I had to wait for a bit to get my gold nugget Pleco, but they did order it when it was inseason. They were even nice enough to hold it for me for two weeks until I could make the trip up there. They are a little high on some prices but I am 100 percent happy with all the livestock that I have purchased from them.

07-26-2012, 06:42 AM	#32
thebuddha Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 288	valparaiso indiana here, anyone know of a good spot for driftwood? the dunes didnt help me as much as i thought.... the Ark and maybe Petco the only decent fish stores i have found in merrillville... i dislike the Petsmart and Petland. theres a decent store in valpo called Pet Haven, it looks like a house, but the basement is dedicated to fish. worth a look if your in the area. theres another in valpo called Coral Reef. I don't think they have plants but they had some random fish that Im not use to seeing when i stopped in last.

07-27-2012, 05:55 AM	#33
Caleb Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Rochester, In Posts: 9	I haven't seen Pet Haven but i was very impressed with the Coral Reef very clean and they had a nice selection of fish for the size of the store. i loved the product placement they had lol Marineland leds on all the freshwater tanks have some fair prices too i got a double bulb t5ho 48" for $39 with bulbs. I do have to say John at the ark knows more about planted tanks than any other shop I've been too(over 30 shops throughout indiana and Chicago) and the ark has the best plants I've seen and one of the biggest selection of fish too. I also suggest checking out the local Meijers fish department they normally have big plants and big healthy fish (since nobody thinks to check for fish there) i got a 3 huge 6" Clown Loaches for $8.99 each (easily worth $50 each) worth a look anyways

07-28-2012, 02:40 AM	#35
Fleurnoir Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Valpo, IN Posts: 1	I agree. Coral Reef has been the best for me. It's in Valpo. Currently a pain to get to due to construction going on, but let me tell you. I had been wanting to do a saltwater tank for quite some time. I have a freshwater but have been leary on the saltwater. I went to Coral Reef and they helped me out with every thing I needed. They walked me through the whole set up process. I had a little confussion and i was able to call and they had no problem walking me through step by step (yeah i know on my part). But they obviously have amazing customer service. I've been to the Ark but they just act like they dont have time for you. Coral Reef is smaller but they are more than willing to order what you are looking for. K, thanks for reading. Im excited to see more enthusiasts in the area!

07-28-2012, 04:32 AM	#36
thebuddha Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 288	great to here, i was in coral reef when it was pretty new, now i need to go check it out again!!

10-02-2012, 04:28 AM	#37
Hidden Walrus Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 124	I live in the area too and usually go to The Ark, although I agree that the employees there aren't exactly awesome. Still, they have nearly anything you could want as far as fish go. But - I recently bought some endlers there, which I believe may have brought home an infestation of anchorworms or similar to my tank, eventually after a month of failed treatment killing my new endlers and my betta Irving and leaving my tank looking very lonely with just two dwarf frogs. If not from their store I'm not sure where the infection came from. Still, I went back and bought a zebra nerite snail for my cherry shrimp tank recently, which they've just started to carry. I looked at the endler tank and none of their fish had them. So maybe it came from somewhere else. Anyway, still a good store - I've never personally seen a dead fish in any of their tanks, which are spotlessly clean all the time, even feeder tanks. And it's the only place around that sells java moss, nerite snails, or algae-eating shrimp - all planted tank necessities. Although for most other plants the Petsmart down the street is a lot cheaper.

11-13-2012, 05:59 PM	#38
chevyguy8893 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 183	It's nice to see that there is a fair amount of people on here from NW Indiana, not sure how many are active though. I live in Hobart (I guess that would be obvious from my location ) and haven't come across too many people in person who actively keep and care for fish tanks. Most people I come across buy the wrong size tank for the stock they have, follow poor advice, and then give up because it is too hard.

11-14-2012, 07:16 AM	#41
thebuddha Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 288	also, there is a new fish store in valpo. i forget what its called, fish r us, or something like that. its on US30 right near the Viking Chili Bowl restaurant i stopped in a couple weeks ago and all they had were a few tanks of fish, and very little non-breathing goods, but i suspect they have a larger inventory by now.

11-14-2012, 01:32 PM	#42
chevyguy8893 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 183	Hey, thanks for the heads up, I will have to check them out sometime and see what they have.

11-15-2012, 04:50 AM	#44
Hidden Walrus Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 124	That "Fish R Us" place just looks, I don't know, blah, I guess. Their sign is really cheap looking and their building looks very generic. I've passed it a few times but never cared to see what they have. I've been to Pet Haven, but they pale in comparison to The Ark, and a lot of their fish are always sick. I also don't like how they treat their other animals (20 budgerigars in one tiny cage, so many rats in a filthy tank that they have to lay on one another with mixed genders and tons of babies, skinny, sickly lizards and guinea pigs housed in tanks so small they can barely turn around, with 4 or five to a cage) so I don't like to support them. Again, my favorite store is the Ark but the PetSmart on route 30 also has unusually knowledgeable staff and very clean tanks, at least for a chain store, and cheap, healthy plants too. But the Petco directly across the street is pretty poor, algae-covered tanks, sometimes dead fish, and completely incompetent employees. But they have a lot of very nice bettas. And don't get me started on the Petland right by them. Awful.

11-15-2012, 02:55 PM	#45
chevyguy8893 Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Hobart, Indiana Posts: 183	Some of the staff at petsmart aren't bad, but there are more that don't know what they are doing. I was told that is perfectly fine to dump the fish and water into my tank without acclimation when I didn't even ask. At the ark I can only talk to the owner or the two main guys that maintain the tanks. The sales associates are flat out condescending towards me and lack knowledge. I know that the Coral Reef, Pet Haven, and the Ark all get their fish from the same suppliers for a majority of their fish. I went into petland once to look at the fish, even though I don't agree with their puppy sales, and walked out a couple minutes later lol. There are limitations in the area with fish stores, and everyone has different opinions on them. Although, I am happy that I don't have to order fish online, with the exception of some oddball fish I would like to get soon. If it wasn't for the small fish stores I wouldn't have an angelfish that was privately bred in very good conditions. As far as I know she only sells them to stores.