LFS's in Dallas Area

[Gauge]

Here are the ones I'm aware of, where they are, and my thoughts on them...

Boutique Pet Shop
Location: South of Buckner on Garland Road, on west side of the road
Notes: They are very rude at this store in general. They are, however, knowledgable and have pretty good prices/selection. They have very good prices on salt water, if you buy yours. Bill is the man to talk to.

Aquarium Mart
Location: South of Belt Line on Midway. East side of the road facing north.
Notes: The people here are very nice. I believe it's owned by a husband/wife team, but I'm not sure. They have a pretty poor selection of fish, but the prices are pretty good on some of them. Their tank selection is moderately good considering the size of the store.

Dallas North Aquarium
Location: West of Midway on Trinity Mills. South side of the road. Look for the palm trees outside.
Notes: Very clean, professional-looking store. They have a good selection with moderately high prices. They are usually pretty nice, but there are a lot of kids and part-time workers there that don't know the business. Be careful who you talk to there until you know who's knowledgable and who is not. Pete is the guy I talk to. He's not a genius in the field, but he won't pretend to know what he doesn't know. He's extremely nice.

Aquatic Designs
Location: Northeast corner of Alma and Parker in Plano. Faces west.
Notes: This place does most of theirr business servicing people's tanks. They do sell stuff out of their store, though. Their tank selection is good, and their prices are usually very good. About half the people there really know what they're doing. One annoying thing is that they don't mark prices on hardly anything in the store. You have to ask about nearly every price. They are very nice, though.


Anyone know of any stores in the area that are worth visiting or listing?

 

[Fruitbat]

I've had pretty good luck at Boutique and haven't noticed the rudeness. Their fish selection is good and they get some unusual fish in on occasion. I just wish they had a better selection of plants.

The PetsMart out near Town East Mall usually gets in some high-quality plants. Their fish are only mediocre in quality but they get some unusual ones in as well. On my last visit there I saw Flying Barbs, Banded Loaches, some killifish, Dwarf Puffers and a whole tank full of 'true' Siamese Algae Eaters.

 

[SquishyFish]

The biggest one in the area (water volume wise) is Saltwater Paradise. When ever I reccomend this place I always do so with a disclaimer. The fish variety and quality are the best in the area...the corals, by far unbeaten....The owner, opposite end of the scale. Scott has a great store, but is notorious for being gruff, blunt, and often flat out rude to his customers. (even his regulars) I put up with him because of the selection he offers. If the quality and variety leave...so will I.

Now..all that aside, IMO...its still the best store in town if your looking for high quality fish and corals with a great selection.

Oh...and Don from World Down Under and Planet Pet is over there now. He seems to be much more personable here than he was at planet pet.

Squishy

 

[Fruitbat]

Here's another one you might consider. The Fish Gallery near the intersection of Park Lane and Greenville Avenue. Not a huge establishment but they have quality fish and get some very unusual ones in on occasion. I picked up my two Puntius denisonii there last week. No other LFS in the area has had these except Dallas North Aquarium and their's weren't in very good shape. The Fish Gallery also has some outstanding salt water stuff and some GREAT display tanks! Not the best prices but they make up for it with a great selection!

 

[Liggs17]

Just about the only lfs I go to is The Fish Gallery. I live very close to the store, plus I have yet to find someone who doesn't know what they are talking about. The staff is all pretty friendly and the store has some great sales.

The Dallas North Aquarium has some great selections, but are way overpriced in my opinion.

Boutique is a good store, as well.

Liggs

 

[lyquidphyre]

I guess I got a good deal at Dallas North Aquarium once, and they guy i talked to was extremly knowledgable... he was the "plant guy"

Dallas North is the closest one of those to Denton, so if my mom and pop stores don't have what i want, i go there

Also, in the HEB area there is a place called "Pet-o-rama" and it has a very nice selection... but the people there don't know much about fish.

 

[Fruitbat]

Yep.....the FISH GALLERY is, without a doubt, my favorite LFS in the area. I've pretty much stopped shopping anyplace else lately because they always seem to satisfy my craving for 'oddball fish'.

-Joe

 

[Liggs17]

Yes, that's exactly right. The Fish Gallery always has the fish I've seen in a book and always wanted but could never find at chain stores....of course, there are occasions when I want something so common and mundane (white cloud mountain minnows, for example) and I have to go to common and mundane chain stores. But that's only happened once, really.

Liggs

 

[Fruitbat]

Liggs17....

I picked up another Phago from The Fish Gallery and also scored big with a Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus). The Climbing Perch was mixed in with a bunch of new Giant Danios that they got in so Chris sold him to me for the price of a Giant Danio....$2.99.

They also got in a couple of GREAT Congo Bichirs (Polypterus endlicheri congicus) but I'm tapped out of fish funds for the month. :x

-Joe

 

[Liggs17]

Joe-

That sounds awesome. I'm gonna have to stop by their today just to satisfy my urge to see new fish. Congrats on the climbing perch. 2.99 seems like a great deal.

Liggs

 

[Liggs17]

How are the phagos doing, Joe? Do they have to be separated from other fish because of their "dietary predilections"?

Liggs

 

[Fruitbat]

Liggs.....

They're in a tank all by themselves. So far neither one of them has eaten anything except live feeders, which is OK because I have a 20 gallon full of feeder guppies that I've kept in quarantine for quite some time (I occasionally toss a few in to my Bush Fish and Bichirs).

-Joe

 

[FriscoTX]

I found a new store in N. Dallas! Odyssey Pets. Michael is the fish guy and really knows his stuff. I found him to be extremely helpful and generally cool

Check out the live camera feed here, how cool is that? http://www.odysseypets.biz/

By the way you can get LR for $5.99 lb - this beats DNA by $2 p/ lb! I'm bummed because I had just bought rock for my nano

Anyway, just thougt us Texans would be glad to know that there is an alternative to some overpriced and snobby lfs

 

[Bidgette]

I found a new store in N. Dallas! Odyssey Pets. Michael is the fish guy and really knows his stuff. I found him to be extremely helpful and generally cool

I know this thread is 2 years old.....but.......

Gotta say I'm REALLY impressed with Odyssey Pets! I've never seen such well cared for tanks. They don't have a huge selection of fish, but they are reasonable, have great plants, and corals. Have some odd-ball critters.

Love them!