[cblwry]

Good Morning!! My husband and I stopped in at Waterworld in Pensacola, FL a few weeks ago on our way from Biloxi to home. If you are looking for fish in that area this is the place to go. The GPS got a little confused since it is behind another store but we found it. It's a huge metal building with 3 large rooms. The center main room is for supplies and aquariums. The prices on the aquariums and stands were decent but the bag of Eco-Complete I looked at was a little pricey compared to F&S w/o shipping. But there is a very good selection. In the back of the front room are about 5 or 6 display tanks. Everything from a huge cube saltwater in the center to several freshwater and planted tanks along the wall. They were great. Then on each side of the main roon are two fish rooms. One for fresh and one for salt. There were mirrors on each end which made the rooms look way bigger than they were but there were still at least 50 tanks in each room. We spent well over an hour there just looking at all the tanks. He had some plants and lots of corals. All the fish looked very healthy and the whole place was very clean and organized. If I had had a cooler I would have bought a few things. And we will be making another trip.
:fish:

 

[BarleyBear]

Love Waterworld. I get all my plants and critters there. For equipment and products, I usually go to Petsmart,
though. WW is a bit pricey for that stuff, and they don't carry much. They make up for that in stock, however.

 

[Paleboy]

All I have to say is that, if you continue to buy your drygoods from the big box stores or online, that great LFS is not going to be in business for very long. By the time you factor in care and electricity there is hardly any profit margin in livestock at all. As a small pet shop owner myself I can tell you first hand that the major difference with drygoods is that the big box stores can buy direct from manufacturers at high volumes while we, the little guys, have to buy from distributors- often at prices just a dollar or so less than what our competitors are selling it for. We simply cannot compete. I'm sure waterworld is not being greedy. Likely, their markup is even less than their competitors. You have yo put your money where your mouth is and support the shops that support you when you can because, if you don't, they'll soon be gone. Then where will you get your fish or inspiration? At least give them the chance to earn your business before you commit to giving it to someone else who has done nothing to help you.

 

[Chrome]

+1 to what Paleboy said

 

[Paul1792]

Just Discoverred Water World

After setting up my 38 gallon and stocking it with about everything "cool" the "big three" (Pet Smart, Co, & Land) had, I started wondering .... what am I going to put in my new 29 gallon tank ... do I have to drive to Mobile or FWB ???

Somehow I found Water World on line and am so grateful. Their freshwater fish are so beautiful you no longer need to envy the colors of the salt water variety ...... though they do have salt water fish.

I had never heard of a Dojo Loach before ..... and they had 'em. I bought 3 and they are the "funnest" fish to watch ever. The best way to describe them is that they are like albino-ish eels.

They are friendly and knowledgeable

Go Water World !!!!!!!

Oh, BTW: I live in gulf breeze 32563 and my water is from Midway. The stuff is horrible so I have to use bottled spring water at $1 per gallon. Anyone else served by MidWay Water please comment on how you keep your tanks clear. I am thinking about 50% spring, 25%RO &25% tap. I am afraid to even put one gallon of tap in my 38 gallon with crystal clear polished water. Thanks.

 

[Chizpa305]

I hear bout many nice stores in Florida, but here in Miami there aren't so many that are for freshwater aquariums. There is Exotic Aquariums in Bird road, but they specialize in saltwater, although they do have some freshwater goodies. There's also Neighborhood Fish Farm, they have lots of fish and stuff but you cannot really appreciate them since they are in concrete ponds and you can only see them from above. Anyways, the point is, you cannot be 100% loyal to a single store because they all have their pros and cons. Competition is essential for the "evolution" of all these stores. Adapt or get outcompeted. There's not much future when a store relies in the good will and hart of customers.