good lfs arounbd southampton?

[pomme]

hiya,

i have been looking around the lfs in the southampton area, and i havent been totally impressed, some things are good in one shop and some things are bad and then its vice versa in another shop.

Basically i would like to know which lfs the people from southampton go to?

thanx in advance,
andrew

 

[CJK]

Hi there...nice to see someone else from the Soton area We use Maidenhead Aquatics at Wyvale garden centre in Fair Oak. They have a huge selection of marine fish. Their live rock costs a fortune though...we went all to STM in Kent to get our rock. Also you may be interested to know there is a local fish shop in Boyatt Wood in Eastleigh that is just setting up his marine section, he's hoping it will be up and running by xmas. The owner seems very knowledgable and it is run by himself and his wife. We got an absolute bargain there last weekend, an Enheim filter (hubby knows what one it is I do not) for £140 which retails for £280 at Maidenhead. Loads of tanks, filters, pumps, you name it he's got it. The freshwater section is quite impressive too. Another shop we have looked at is the one in Totton, but the name escapes me!!! I'll ask hubby to post details later when in from work. Not a bad selection of marine fish and the likes but their live rock looks c*** as is their coral selection. A good shop for equipment and bits and peices though.

I would definately recommend a trip to STM for live rock. Also because hubby works in Brighton, on his travels he has found some brill shops for corals down there. Again I will get him to post more info on them if you are interested. WWhat part of Soton are you from? We are in Eastleigh.

Basically when we want marine stuff, there is no outlets in this area apart from maidenhead that are even worth a visit...so we end up travelling to Kent, Brighton etc etc.
Sharon

 

[pomme]

yeah i am actually in sothampton, in highfield just off the avenue.

I would love to know where people go to from around here as i havent been over impressed with places as i have been to creature comforts in totton and thought the fish looked ill and i do aggree with you about the live rock.

I have been to the maidenhead at eastleigh or around there, the one they call southampton maidenheads, and thought it was alright, but seemed very expensive. Is this the one you call the fair oak one?

I have also been to stm and was like a little kid in a sweet shop, and was very impressed with the live rock, as i came away with 5kg, and also the corals.

but i would definately like to find some good shops around here for corals ?

 

[CJK]

Hi again. Yes you are right creature comforts in totton, thats the one. I thought their fish looked okay to me, even though some were a little overcrowded. But then I have a freshwater tank and Clint my hubby has the marine tank and is a bit more clued up on marine stuff than I am, sorry that should have read ALOT more clued up than I am lol. He too was not impressed with their fish and has never brought any from there.

The Maidenhead you are talking about I think just has to be the one we visit in Fair Oak.Yes....very, very expensive for everything to do with marines. We have purchased a couple of corals from there which have been fine, but the best ones we have are the ones that came from a place in Brighton which I think is called Fishy Business. Around this area we have not found anywhere that is worth shouting about!!
Do not go all the way to Farnborough to the Marine place you see advertised in the fish mags....we went up there on Friday...what a wasted journey....they had no idea about any of their stock and were asking Clint what he thought this and that was!!! It is in a rough area and was the worst fish shop we have ever been in. How their marine fish survive must be down to luck more than knowledge as they really have no idea!!

After xmas I would certainly recommend you to visit 'Tropical Paradise' in Boyatt Wood, Eastleigh as his marine section should be up and running by then and he really is a knowledgable and friendly shopowner. It is only a small shop but he has a pretty good selection of equipment and his freshwater fish tanks look 100%

Sharon