Which stores in Austin?

[incysor]

In a couple weeks I'll be in Austin on a Saturday with nothing planned. I thought I might check out some of the fish stores, and was curious which one's ya'll recommend?

Thanks,

Brian

[witecap4u]

Aquatek is awesome and Austin Aquariums is a couple blocks away, also nice. If you are into FW or cichlids, Amazonia is a must, but they dont carry SW.

South Austin has Austin Aquadome, which has its good days and bad days.

RoundRock has Partners which isnt too bad either.

cs

[incysor]

I guess I should have mentioned that I only have marine tanks. At some point far in the future I may have a fresh water tank. But for now I'm only looking for stores with salt water stock. :)

Thanks

[DeAngelove]

Brian -
Definitely check out Austin Aquariums... they are very helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable too! You should also check out AquaTek right down the street as well.

Partners in RR is ok... but if you only have time for two stores, don't stress about it.

I hope this helps!!!

:-) Denise

[Brett Wilson]

I 3rd the motion on Aquatek. I think Austin Aquariums is ok as well.

If you are just window shopping for fun, Aquatek has the most corals and mature show tanks I believe.
Tuesdays are shipment days at AquaTek, open 7 days a week.

Aqua-Dome is generally the least expensive store in Austin for livestock. They do transhipping and they cary a lot of fish and some corals/inverts. They get them in on Mondays (closed) and are open for business on Tuesdays - Sunday.

I try to visit each of these stores at least once a week to feed my visual addiction to reef tanks :D

[MikeP]

Gallery of Pets has a nice saltwater section too but they have not been stocking much the past few months.

[Dozer]

I too would recommend Austin Aquarium. Very cool people working there, always helpful. Couple are on MAAST actually. I know Ed is on from time to time...

My experience has been good at Aquatek, just haven't been there as much.

Partners has good quality, but as others have I think mentioned it's actually in Round Rock, so depending on weekend traffic you could be talking about a good half hour to get there from the others. It's actually a small corner pet shop, with some tanks. Less selection than say Austin Aquar., but good quality ime.

[incysor]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys. This'll give me and wife something fun to do next Saturday.

Brian

[GaryP]

Brian,

OK, now its your turn. Which shops are worth checking out in Houston?

Gary

[incysor]

Brian,

OK, now its your turn. Which shops are worth checking out in Houston?

Gary

Fair enough....This'll be a longish post. Remember these are only my opinions. Other's people's experiences may be significantly different than my own. This is based on my experiences in looking for salt water fish/corals/supplies over the last year. For the most part I don't know didly about fresh water, or how these stores compare in that category.

At the end I group them roughly geographically. Hope this is helpful

Brian

Houston
Aquarium World, 13157 Northwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77040, phone 713-329-9989
Nice clean, huge store. Huge 70,00gal tank. Most expensive place in town. Employees run the gamut in helpfulness/knowledge. They garantee their fish for 7 days, but if you want to collect they need a water sample, and their definitions of correct water quality are strange ex.. recommended salinity is 1.020. Sometimes they have stuff the other stores don't, this is the only reason I will go in periodically.

Aquatic Center, 11611 West Airport #B-2 Meadow Place, TX 77477 (281) 313-0531
Great store. Very clean. Animals/corals are usually very healthy. It's kind of small, and new, but it has a great reputation. Consequently there are times his stock has been decimated by the local reefers. :D A good idea to call and see what he's got. This store usually has good prices on dry goods/equipment. The owners name is Kenny. He's very helpful, and is more than willing to special-order whatever you need.

Aquatic Designs, No more storefront, by appt. only. 713-467-9997
Keith used to have a storefront that had good prices on normal stock, and he would get in quite a bit of more rare cherry-picked critters. They lost their lease recently so the storefront is no more. He's still in the maintenance business however, and is willing to sell to the public, but it's
by appointment only. Keith is a great guy to ask advice from on tank building or setups.

Aquatic World, Jones Rd and Hwy 290, Houston, TX , phone 281-970-0169.
Not terribly clean or neat. Service is lacking and their coral prices are a little on the high side. One of the most ignorant helpers I've ever seen was in this store. Didn't know what selcon was, rambled on and on about how clownfish were not symbiotic with anemones, but simply killed them over a short period of time, and would move on to the next host. Some of deals can be had on fish periodically. A friend that does Koi ponds says they're one of the best places in town for koi, but that their overpriced.

B B Tropical Fish & Pet, 9226 FM 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX 281-469-3756
Again not a neat/clean store, but their prices are pretty good. They usually have different inverts, starfish, than anyone else in town. Their coral selection is terrible. Fish selection is very standard.

City Pets, 9901 Beechnut, Houston, TX, 77036 , phone 713-271-7387.
Generally a good place for a bargain. They usually have good coral selections, lots of fish, one of the few places to buy zoos, mushroom, frags. They ocassionally get in strange critters, like octopuses, peacock mantis, and jellyfish. I shop here often. They employ lots of kids, so it can be hard to find someone that's knowledgeable if you have questions.
Good prices on dry goods usually. Don't try to return anything.

Fish Ranch 2, Larkwood at 59 South, Houston, TX , phone 713-779-2593.
I've only bought a couple things from them. They sometimes have things the other stores don't, which is why I'll go through the store. They are always on the expensive side, and I've gotten lots of clueless, slow service from them.

Fish Land, 13155 Westheimer Rd # 114, Houston, TX, phone 281-497-3474.
Ask for Andy, he's the owner. Nice coral selections, nice fish selection. Things are healthy. The price on the glass is usually a little high, but Andy will almost always make you a deal that's a little bit cheaper.
Good place for drygood deals ocassionally. Good place for good prices on new tanks.

Fish World, 13225 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 281-879-8899
Usually a great selection of corals, mostly LPS, and softies. They tend to be a little light on inverts, and fish, but that could be poor timing on my part. These people are very friendly, fairly knowledgeable. Everything I've bought from them has been healthy and done well. Ask for Tony

Neptune's Garden, 12823 Gulf Fwy, Houston, TX, 77034 , phone 281-481-4800
As far as I'm concerned the only good thing about this store is the location. There's only 2 stores this far south, and this is the expensive one. Everytime I've been in, they haven't had much in the way of stock. What they did have was unhealthy looking and very overpriced.

Global Fish N Pet, 8880 Bellaire Blvd Suite F, Houston, TX, 77036 , phone 713-771-4848, fax 713-270-7137.
I can't say enough nice things about Global. John and Sergio, are two of the three shopowners that I ask advice about fish, corals, and even setup from. They usually have a good selection of hard and soft corals, fish, and usually a few inverts. Fair prices on dry goods, and equipment.
Phenomenal customer service.

Planet Fish, 6715 Weslayan, Tx, 77005, phone 713-838-7788.
Toni is the owner of Planet Fish and she's the 3rd shopowner I feel comfortable asking advice about pretty much anything fish related. Their customer service is great. Good selection of corals, fish, and inverts. Things are generally healthy, and they're great about answering questions about their stock. Their can be a little on the high side, mostly on the dry goods, equipment.

T&T Fish and Reptile, 6862 Highway 6 South, Houston, TX , phone 281-933-3367.
Good store for inverts. Decent selection of corals, fish. Good place to find a used tank.

Tropical Fish Depot, 10150 Almeda Genoa, Houston, TX, 77075 , phone 713-941-0290, fax 713-941-5620.
Somewhat dirty store. Not much in the coral department. Everytime I go in they have some fish I've never seen before in another store. Their fish prices are competitive, but I've never bought anything from them. Biggest selling point, is their location. There's only 2 stores this far south, and this store is the cheaper one.

Village Tropical Fish, 3612 S. Shepherd, Houston, TX , phone 713-524-0173.
Ok selection on corals and fish. I've seen good prices on fish and corals, but it's never something you can count on. One week you'll find a good deal, next week everything will be overpriced. Other people I know really like the store, I've never gotten good service here. This is a great store for planted freshwater tanks, or so I've heard.

Since Houston is so spread out, there are several other little stores that might carry a few salt water tanks, but I haven't hit them all. The ones I have hit, I'm not listing for the same reason I'm not listing Petco. They just don't cut it.

I'll group some of the stores together geographically.

South Houston. I-45 South and Beltway 8 area, if you're headed towards Galveston, or returning from there.
Neptune's Garden
Tropical Fish Depot

If you're coming in from 290, these are pretty easy to hit together.
Aquarium World
Aquatic World
B B Tropical Fish & Pet

If you're near 610/59s galleria, greenway area, these are the closest to you.
Planet Fish
Village Tropical Fish

The following are located close enough to do them all in a 3-4hr time period, they're near the Bellaire chinatown area near Beltway 8 and Westheimer.
Aquatic Center
CityPets
Global Fish and Pet
Fish Ranch II
Fish Land
Fish World
T & T Fish and Reptile

[incysor]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I hit Aquadome, Austin Aquariums, Aquatek, Gallery, and Partners. We picked up some snails, a dwarf lionfish, a red-headed goby, an anemone shrimp, a green feather duster, and a red brittle star.

Brian