Finding Fish Shops Using Google Maps

[ZoddyZod]

This is something I've used for quite a long time, so wanted to share in case anyone was not aware.

If you want to find a fish shop near you or you are visiting somewhere different and want to check out the LFS in that area then Google Maps is a great tool to find them, and very simple to use.

Simply go to maps.google.com and enter the area you are interested in (Manchester, Oxford, Luton....etc, etc). Once the page has loaded the map of the area type 'aquatics' in the search field. You will now see all the LFS in that area. You can zoom out/in and move the map around and it should keep updating and showing you the LFS locations on the map.

Great if you happen to be in a different place or even if you are not sure of all the LFS near you. Happy hunting!

 

[Tizer]

good isnt it, i like the houses for sale one too :>

 

[rifty]

good tip for random road trips

 

[sausagewinkle]

Works great, just a shame there are hardly any shops around my area, I don't get many red balloons showing up unless I zoom right out

 

[coldcazzie]

My problem is inability to get to any of the shops listed!
It's all very well telling me there's 7 shops within x miles of my house, but the fact is I can only get to 2 of them easily, some are accessible by an additional bus trip, most really aren't - you need a car to go. And I feel it slightly cheeky to ask for a lift off someone just to go and look at the fish, with no guarantee that I'll even buy anything!

 

[waterdrop]

Gee, glad I happened to notice this thread as it reminded me to think about trying to visit a shop I like that is in a distant city that I'm going to be in this coming weekend. I find it can be quite enjoyable having a bit of time wander through a shop that is not in your local area. I often make a point to seek out shops when I'm traveling as it can often be a learning experience (and I often use google just as ZZ brings up in this thread as one of the finding tools!)

Obviously one of the top benefits is the chance that you'll see fish and plants up close and live that you've only seen in pictures before. Another thing I enjoy is sometimes getting to examine equipment I've read about but not seen in person before. Sometimes it goes considerably beyond this though - one time I got to observe a shopkeeper moving through his place squirting CO2 from a portable tank into upside down cut-off plastic bottles that were weighed-down with little home-made anchors (!) (Ended up having an interesting discussion about how this saved him money by not having to maintain bigger CO2 systems.)

One of the things that can cut both ways though are the people interactions. If you are lucky you might come across a shopkeeper or a customer and end up in a good discussion, almost feeling like you're getting to talk with a fellow TFF-er live lol. But most of the time that aspect is not so fun and it's usually just a normal shop experience and you can't really expect more than that. In fact, the few times I've made a big effort to visit a shop while traveling far away from home I've sometimes felt lonely as I've made this big effort but then the customers are just visiting their normal local shop and it often feels like a let-down unfortunately. Still, my take is that it is worth the effort!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[coldcazzie]

Tis a good idea - going to a lfs in a city you're visiting. I'll be in Coventry in September and I was wondering what to do with the 2-3 hours I'll have spare between the train arrival and the checking in time for the thing I'm going to. A visit to a lfs will definitely be on the list! not that I'll be able to buy anything, but it'll be nice to visit somewhere else and, as you say waterdrop, chat to other people about fish!

 

[dafrnhm]

funny this should come up, I actually found a fish shop around the corner to me on this the other day and it was AMAZING.

Woodford Aquatics is the name, when I first visited my LFS I had no idea what I was talking about, after reading everyday and reading the forums I have learnt a bit but am still far from knowing what Im talking about but the advice woodford aquatics offered me compared to the advice my old LFS offered me was unreal.