Today, on the advice of GTi, I visited the Ypsilanti branch of the Fish Doctors chain. This was my first visit to any of their shops, and I'm glad I made the trip! I didn't bother with anything but saltwater, although they have a nice selection of other things. I simply didn't have the inclination to waste any of my time on that stuff!
The livestock all looked great, well cared for and fat. There was a wide selection available, from novice level to expert, and the CSR that assisted me throughout the visit, David, was knowledgeable and friendly. He's obviously a dedicated hobbyist, and his passion for the livestock was apparent any time one of my questions regarded his favorite specimens, or he was talking about his home system, or relating funny 'war stories' about working in the industry. That love of the hobby was apparent in his recommendations of corals for me and in his handling of my livestock for transport.
From the invertebrate life that has colonized the systems in this shop, I know that their systems are long-standing and stable. There are not an overabundance of nuisance or pest critters, as there are in many longer-standing systems, so it's also obvious that maintenance is very important to them. I applaud their efforts.
All told, I picked up some awesome pieces, got a few colonizers for my 'fuge, picked out a mystery coral that I have yet to identify (lobo? symph? something else entirely?), because the thing just won't stop feeding long enough to deflate, and I had a great time poking through their rubble rock to get a few scraps of macro algae, a couple colors of sponge, and a few seeds of several colors of coralline algae.
A BIG THANK YOU to GTi for the recommendation, and a bigger one to FISH DOCTORS YPSILANTI for being an awesome LFS that I will gladly shop every time my route takes me within an hour of them!
The livestock all looked great, well cared for and fat. There was a wide selection available, from novice level to expert, and the CSR that assisted me throughout the visit, David, was knowledgeable and friendly. He's obviously a dedicated hobbyist, and his passion for the livestock was apparent any time one of my questions regarded his favorite specimens, or he was talking about his home system, or relating funny 'war stories' about working in the industry. That love of the hobby was apparent in his recommendations of corals for me and in his handling of my livestock for transport.
From the invertebrate life that has colonized the systems in this shop, I know that their systems are long-standing and stable. There are not an overabundance of nuisance or pest critters, as there are in many longer-standing systems, so it's also obvious that maintenance is very important to them. I applaud their efforts.
All told, I picked up some awesome pieces, got a few colonizers for my 'fuge, picked out a mystery coral that I have yet to identify (lobo? symph? something else entirely?), because the thing just won't stop feeding long enough to deflate, and I had a great time poking through their rubble rock to get a few scraps of macro algae, a couple colors of sponge, and a few seeds of several colors of coralline algae.
A BIG THANK YOU to GTi for the recommendation, and a bigger one to FISH DOCTORS YPSILANTI for being an awesome LFS that I will gladly shop every time my route takes me within an hour of them!