Tweet
Well, I did not make it too all 8 stores on Saturday, but I did hit the 8th one on Sunday. Here is what I found...
1. Ultimate Fish
Got there at 10AM when it opened and spoke with Alex for an hour. I talked to him about my Tropheus Annectens that I got from him 5 weeks ago and all the problems I am having with them. I was happy to know that all 15 that I left him with, are all alive, but 4 are still not eating anything but algae in the tank. For those who do not know, I had 26 of these guys, and ran into serious issues with Hemorrhagic Septicemia that killed 2 right off, and the other 8 thru bloat and starvation. I got all 16 remaining fish eating now. He told me that a trio of the three largest Tropheus Annectens is sold, once he gets them all to eating, and that I could get the remaining 12 fish. I plan to pick these up on Tuesday after Labor Day.
I bought some suction clips for my Eheim 2262 used canister I bought that I needed for the discharge line, and some Hikari Excel. It was a great time, and I always enjoy speaking with Alex.
There are lots and lots of Oceanic Tanks, Stands, and Fixtures at his place if you looking for Oceanic Equipment. He also has a very large selection of Tangs and Malawai fish. Small Duboisi were $6.99 each. He also has a pretty good Salt Section. If you like Tanganyikan fish, this is the place to go!
Large Tanks: 210G 6x2x30" Reef Ready All Glass with Stand Cherry Stain - $1400.00, Slight Damage
265G 7x2x30 Reef Ready, Perfecto Stand, and Canopy - $2,000.00
2. Mike's Tropical Fish and Pets
I went in to see Mike for the first time, and man does that place have potential. Everything that he has up right now looks nice. I went there to get a 30" Light Fixture, and found that it did not come with a reflector, and Mike totally accepted it back with no problems, even though it was special order. Mike is a great dude, customer orientated.
His fish selection is small, but it is building. Small Duboisi $6.99 He has the most awesome floor Salt Display tank, that I could just hang there and enjoy for a while. Outside has lots of room for ponds, and an atrium. So, I can tell, there are lots of lots of potential there. Mom looks like has only one bird inside, loud little &*!#@ really, he's just a bird.
Large Tanks: 175 Bow front, Oceanic with stand and canopy, reef ready - $2,500.00
3. Aquatic World
I don't know what I was thinking but I will never take 1960 to Jones Road again. Must have rolled one too many that day
I can sum this up rather easy...A simple hello goes a long way. I mean I walked in and the guy sits at the register staring at a T.V I walk around and not even once makes eye contact. I go by the register, and see that he is watching Poker. I know your real business is your underground casinos but come-on have some respect for the customers and the fish.
There was an older guy in the back, I asked him what the price of the Duboisi were in that tank, he had this look on his face like why the **** are you asking me. He went and got the guy from the front desk, then that guy had a stunned look, then wrote with a black marker $10.99 for Small Duboisi. The lights did not even work on the tank. The tanks looked bad, and most of the lights were out. The shelves look old and dry goods looked un-kept.
5 other customers showed up, and the exact same thing, not even a hello to them either, so it wasn’t just me.
Large Tanks: 180 Reef Ready, Medium Oak Oceanic, Stand, Canopy - $1,770.00
150 Non-Reef Ready, Black Oak Oceanic, Stand - $1,069.00
Summary: Won’t go back, unless desperate
4. Aquarium World
I got there and had not been there in several years. Still looks like the same place. Lots of dry goods, Huge Selection of fish, and lots of massive and beautiful displays. Even some small playground stuff in there for kids.
For the person who has my Tropheus Nsumbu Female, they had a male or what looked male, for $39.99 I have not seen Nsumbu in atleast 5 years. This could be your chance to get another one. I don’t even know who has my fish; so many people have traded my oddball fish in the past months since I gave them away.
The coolest thing was this, employees everywhere. At least 4 in dry goods, and about 5 in Fish. If they weren’t helping customers they were cleaning shelves, organizing product, wiping glass that kind of stuff. No TV in sight...
Large Tanks: 185G Reef Ready, 5 x 30" x 2, really cool looking, Old School oceanic, Medium Oak with stand - $1,742.50
155G Bowfront, Reefready, Black All Glass - $1,475.00
210G 6x2x30, Reefready, Black, All Glass - $1,620.00
5. Fish Gallery
First time I ever have been in this place. First impression was WOW. Awesome place. Someone spent some serious capital to get top notch filtration, fixtures, and tank setups to get this place in showroom quality through the entire store. Awesome display tanks, lots of employees to give you help, the place was packed with fish and equipment for all kinds of stuff. The place was also packed with customers, and it shows. This was the most packed place I went to.
For those that might be looking for a familiar face, Don works here. He is running the freshwater side of the shop. Really nice and friendly guy, who always is respectful to you. He used to be at Fish Depot a year ago. Small Duboisi $9.99
Large Tanks: Lots of em, but they are pricy. 215G Stand,Tank,Canopy - $3,700.00 8O All the large tanks have pricing like this.
6. Fish Ranch II
The place is still the same, but under new ownership. I can tell the place has changed just in the last month since I was there last. I am sorry that I do not remember your name, but for those at the last HAS Auction, the auctioneer works here. It was good to talk to him. He was there with the owner, and one other employee. They have really tried cleaning up the place, but the used to be fabulous Salt Section is still in disarray. Lots and Lots of Freshwater Fish selection. Dry goods have a very good selection, just needs some detail cleaning in that area, and things would be great.
Large Tanks:
180G Reef Ready, Black, All Glass, no stand or tops - $824.00
180G Reef Ready, Oceanic Cherry Oak, Used with Stand and Canopy, Sump and VHO lights - $900.00
210 Non-Reef Ready Oceanic 7x2x2 Tank with Unstained Stand - No Price, but has a story you might could get the tank
210 Non-Reef Ready Ocean Atlantis 7x2x2 with Stand and Tops - No price, but has a story...
7. City Pets
The place is crammed. Lots of people in there and not many employees. They were very busy. I got a chance to meet Luis Navarro in there, great dude. He was in ther shopping as well. That was the highlight. They did have (2) Tropheus Variants in there that I was very surprised to see. Kabimba Canary Cheeks, and Ulwile Firy Fry. The fish were being feed regular Tetra chunks of something that could not have been good for them. Told the Son of the owner, about it and said he would take care of it. I really doubt it will happen. The Kabimba Canary Cheeks were $20.00 each in the 2-2.5" and the Ulwiles were 2"-3" and $24.00 each. Both had a bout a dozen fish.
Of all the places I went, they had the cheapest prices on SEI powerheads. SEIO 820 is $44.00. Most other places had this power head at $80-90 the huge SEIO 2600 was only $69.99 Another really nice positive here is the largest amount of Eheim parts I have seen yet in Houston.
Large Tanks: 175 Bow front, Oceanic, Stand, Canopy - $1,600.00
8. Fishland
I went there to pickup my Stand that I ordered for my 115 gallon and it was not delivered yet. So I had to go to the game where we won, kicked the cowboys ***, and then I came back on Sunday to Andy's Store.
The stand was awesome. Andy's store has some really nice saltwater fish, and his freshwater fish selection is smaller than it used to be. Lots of Aquariums and a pretty good selection of Dry Goods. Andy is always really helpful and friendly, and so are his other employees. The store was pretty busy. One of the things that I noticed and my mouth dropped, was the Eheim Pro 3 he had are $325.00 That's about 40 bucks cheaper than anywhere online and you don’t have to pay shipping. He had three of them. He also had (2) Fluval FX5's for $200.00, which again is cheaper than most online places. Andy always has really good deals, especially if you’re in there with cash money. The guy is very customer orientated. Andy has a builder, who makes custom stands, and they are really nice stands, well made furniture grade, and water sealed.
Large Tanks: Couple 125's by the wall that I did not get the price on.
Man that was a lot...I finsihed my day by 4:30PM
Till next time...
Geoff
1. Ultimate Fish
Got there at 10AM when it opened and spoke with Alex for an hour. I talked to him about my Tropheus Annectens that I got from him 5 weeks ago and all the problems I am having with them. I was happy to know that all 15 that I left him with, are all alive, but 4 are still not eating anything but algae in the tank. For those who do not know, I had 26 of these guys, and ran into serious issues with Hemorrhagic Septicemia that killed 2 right off, and the other 8 thru bloat and starvation. I got all 16 remaining fish eating now. He told me that a trio of the three largest Tropheus Annectens is sold, once he gets them all to eating, and that I could get the remaining 12 fish. I plan to pick these up on Tuesday after Labor Day.
I bought some suction clips for my Eheim 2262 used canister I bought that I needed for the discharge line, and some Hikari Excel. It was a great time, and I always enjoy speaking with Alex.
There are lots and lots of Oceanic Tanks, Stands, and Fixtures at his place if you looking for Oceanic Equipment. He also has a very large selection of Tangs and Malawai fish. Small Duboisi were $6.99 each. He also has a pretty good Salt Section. If you like Tanganyikan fish, this is the place to go!
Large Tanks: 210G 6x2x30" Reef Ready All Glass with Stand Cherry Stain - $1400.00, Slight Damage
265G 7x2x30 Reef Ready, Perfecto Stand, and Canopy - $2,000.00
2. Mike's Tropical Fish and Pets
I went in to see Mike for the first time, and man does that place have potential. Everything that he has up right now looks nice. I went there to get a 30" Light Fixture, and found that it did not come with a reflector, and Mike totally accepted it back with no problems, even though it was special order. Mike is a great dude, customer orientated.
His fish selection is small, but it is building. Small Duboisi $6.99 He has the most awesome floor Salt Display tank, that I could just hang there and enjoy for a while. Outside has lots of room for ponds, and an atrium. So, I can tell, there are lots of lots of potential there. Mom looks like has only one bird inside, loud little &*!#@ really, he's just a bird.
Large Tanks: 175 Bow front, Oceanic with stand and canopy, reef ready - $2,500.00
3. Aquatic World
I don't know what I was thinking but I will never take 1960 to Jones Road again. Must have rolled one too many that day
I can sum this up rather easy...A simple hello goes a long way. I mean I walked in and the guy sits at the register staring at a T.V I walk around and not even once makes eye contact. I go by the register, and see that he is watching Poker. I know your real business is your underground casinos but come-on have some respect for the customers and the fish.
There was an older guy in the back, I asked him what the price of the Duboisi were in that tank, he had this look on his face like why the **** are you asking me. He went and got the guy from the front desk, then that guy had a stunned look, then wrote with a black marker $10.99 for Small Duboisi. The lights did not even work on the tank. The tanks looked bad, and most of the lights were out. The shelves look old and dry goods looked un-kept.
5 other customers showed up, and the exact same thing, not even a hello to them either, so it wasn’t just me.
Large Tanks: 180 Reef Ready, Medium Oak Oceanic, Stand, Canopy - $1,770.00
150 Non-Reef Ready, Black Oak Oceanic, Stand - $1,069.00
Summary: Won’t go back, unless desperate
4. Aquarium World
I got there and had not been there in several years. Still looks like the same place. Lots of dry goods, Huge Selection of fish, and lots of massive and beautiful displays. Even some small playground stuff in there for kids.
For the person who has my Tropheus Nsumbu Female, they had a male or what looked male, for $39.99 I have not seen Nsumbu in atleast 5 years. This could be your chance to get another one. I don’t even know who has my fish; so many people have traded my oddball fish in the past months since I gave them away.
The coolest thing was this, employees everywhere. At least 4 in dry goods, and about 5 in Fish. If they weren’t helping customers they were cleaning shelves, organizing product, wiping glass that kind of stuff. No TV in sight...
Large Tanks: 185G Reef Ready, 5 x 30" x 2, really cool looking, Old School oceanic, Medium Oak with stand - $1,742.50
155G Bowfront, Reefready, Black All Glass - $1,475.00
210G 6x2x30, Reefready, Black, All Glass - $1,620.00
5. Fish Gallery
First time I ever have been in this place. First impression was WOW. Awesome place. Someone spent some serious capital to get top notch filtration, fixtures, and tank setups to get this place in showroom quality through the entire store. Awesome display tanks, lots of employees to give you help, the place was packed with fish and equipment for all kinds of stuff. The place was also packed with customers, and it shows. This was the most packed place I went to.
For those that might be looking for a familiar face, Don works here. He is running the freshwater side of the shop. Really nice and friendly guy, who always is respectful to you. He used to be at Fish Depot a year ago. Small Duboisi $9.99
Large Tanks: Lots of em, but they are pricy. 215G Stand,Tank,Canopy - $3,700.00 8O All the large tanks have pricing like this.
6. Fish Ranch II
The place is still the same, but under new ownership. I can tell the place has changed just in the last month since I was there last. I am sorry that I do not remember your name, but for those at the last HAS Auction, the auctioneer works here. It was good to talk to him. He was there with the owner, and one other employee. They have really tried cleaning up the place, but the used to be fabulous Salt Section is still in disarray. Lots and Lots of Freshwater Fish selection. Dry goods have a very good selection, just needs some detail cleaning in that area, and things would be great.
Large Tanks:
180G Reef Ready, Black, All Glass, no stand or tops - $824.00
180G Reef Ready, Oceanic Cherry Oak, Used with Stand and Canopy, Sump and VHO lights - $900.00
210 Non-Reef Ready Oceanic 7x2x2 Tank with Unstained Stand - No Price, but has a story you might could get the tank
210 Non-Reef Ready Ocean Atlantis 7x2x2 with Stand and Tops - No price, but has a story...
7. City Pets
The place is crammed. Lots of people in there and not many employees. They were very busy. I got a chance to meet Luis Navarro in there, great dude. He was in ther shopping as well. That was the highlight. They did have (2) Tropheus Variants in there that I was very surprised to see. Kabimba Canary Cheeks, and Ulwile Firy Fry. The fish were being feed regular Tetra chunks of something that could not have been good for them. Told the Son of the owner, about it and said he would take care of it. I really doubt it will happen. The Kabimba Canary Cheeks were $20.00 each in the 2-2.5" and the Ulwiles were 2"-3" and $24.00 each. Both had a bout a dozen fish.
Of all the places I went, they had the cheapest prices on SEI powerheads. SEIO 820 is $44.00. Most other places had this power head at $80-90 the huge SEIO 2600 was only $69.99 Another really nice positive here is the largest amount of Eheim parts I have seen yet in Houston.
Large Tanks: 175 Bow front, Oceanic, Stand, Canopy - $1,600.00
8. Fishland
I went there to pickup my Stand that I ordered for my 115 gallon and it was not delivered yet. So I had to go to the game where we won, kicked the cowboys ***, and then I came back on Sunday to Andy's Store.
The stand was awesome. Andy's store has some really nice saltwater fish, and his freshwater fish selection is smaller than it used to be. Lots of Aquariums and a pretty good selection of Dry Goods. Andy is always really helpful and friendly, and so are his other employees. The store was pretty busy. One of the things that I noticed and my mouth dropped, was the Eheim Pro 3 he had are $325.00 That's about 40 bucks cheaper than anywhere online and you don’t have to pay shipping. He had three of them. He also had (2) Fluval FX5's for $200.00, which again is cheaper than most online places. Andy always has really good deals, especially if you’re in there with cash money. The guy is very customer orientated. Andy has a builder, who makes custom stands, and they are really nice stands, well made furniture grade, and water sealed.
Large Tanks: Couple 125's by the wall that I did not get the price on.
Man that was a lot...I finsihed my day by 4:30PM
Till next time...
Geoff
Comment