North NJ Must-see LFSs?

[QQQUUUUAADDD]

I'll be up in that area coming down from boston on saturday. I'm wondering which stores to check out. I've got Absolutely Fish and Fishtown USA on my list already. Anymore that I should check out?

[Dave6265]

Rt 4 Aquarium in Elmwood Park always has some funky things in it

[mcaquatic]

depends what you are looking for. Smaller fish and plants then definitely absolutely fish, and fish town can be ok.
Rt 4 aquarium has a great selection and typically a lot fun things.
Aquascape has a great collection of unusual and larger fish
fish hut is hit or miss
sharkaquarium is well worth the drive. if you go to sharkaquarium its maybe worth the additional ten minute drive to see pet shanty.

[acitydweller]

thb, rt 4 is probably worth looking at if you arent expecting to buy anything. they have monsterfish and tons of salt water tanks but they are a general pet store. Their tanks are overstocked and their fresh water fish lean more towards the aggressive species. They do carry exotic plecos from time to time but their prices are at a premium as you would expect.

The shops i would recommend if time were short are absolutely fish, ridgewood aquarium imports and fishtown usa in ramsey. fish hut is okay as they do import exotics from time to time, they have pristine tanks which arent over crowded and their prices are reasonable.

[nyxkitten]

Take me with hehe

[mcaquatic]

absolutely fish does have a great selection of the ordinary and very well kept tanks, but I do feel they are typically the most over priced of the group.

[NanoDave]

Absolutely by far has best selection of almost everything but is the most expensive I've found in NJ yet. I've literally been to every pet store that caries anything live and in water from New Brunswick (mid Jersey) to Hackettstown (West Jersey) to Jersey City (Eastern Coast) to northern border and I have to say one of the best stores (fish wise) almost never talked about is Aquarium Paradise... Sounds cheesy but it's the brick and mortar of http://www.aquascapeonline.com/. Their tanks are very clean and have a huge selection of everything... mostly freshwater too. Their address is:
234 Washington Ave, Belleville, NJ 07109
Phone: (908) 634-0825
Hours: Wednesday hours 11:00 am–8:00 pm

If your in search of plants I would recommend in order of stock wise:
Absolutely Fish
Pet Shanty (Route 22)
Route 4 Aquarium
Ocean Gallery (Route 22)

If for any reason you find yourself out west or want to take a 30 minute drive from mid Jersey I would recommend Adams Pet Safari. They have one of the best and at times better than Absolutely Fish stock in plants and the prices their are well worth the drive. Even fish there are are extremely well priced ($20-$30 Medium Discus for ex) I would give a call though before you make the drive in case your in search of something particular (908)-879-8998 and is in Chester NJ.

If you have anything in particular your looking for fish or plant wise I visit a handfull of LFS's in NJ daily (lot of down time with medical sales) and can give some advice.

[mcaquatic]

i have o agree with nanodave that aquascape is one of the best places out there, but they cater more to the monster fish crowd (which is perfect for me). They do have a lot of community fish though that are very healthy. I have bought ton of fish there over at least the last ten years (started at their old location) and am very happy with every thing. My latest purchases are three sunshine plecos and four cloud archer fish.

nanodave what is the lfs in Jersey city and is it worth visiting?

[NanoDave]

Village Tropical Fish
193 Newark Ave
Jersey City 07302

I was just at this LFS 2 days ago for my third time. All times I've been unimpressed. They have run of the mill tropical and about a half dozen salt water tanks. Nothing not worthy and the staff is... never in a good mood nor helpful unfortunately. I hate to say it but some of the Petco's and PetSmarts have better selection and staff. I only swing in here occasionally to do nothing other than kill time as one of my job sites is 2 minutes from there. Prices are normal to high as well so def not worth going any distance out of the way.