Good Lfs In London ?

[kanzaris]

Hi

All Londoners

I am coming to London over the weekend to see family and friends. I want to spend one day visiting the Lfs. I am going to Wildwoods and Terrys in Bethnal Green. Is there any other interesting shops that keep a good stock of Brackish Fish.

Thanks

Sabby

 

[nmonks]

There are a few other fish shops within 10 minutes walk of Wildwoods, and you may as well check out Home Marine and Maidenhead Aquatics since you're in the neighbourhood. I've seen some quite rare brackish stuff at Aquatic Warehouse or whatever it's call, right by the train station, but it's a pretty rubbish shop otherwise.

The Maidenhead out at St Albans actually seems to have better brackish than Wildwoods. I've spoken with the guy who runs the fish section at Wildwoods, and he doesn't really order in brackish stuff deliberately. Doesn't sell. His clients are into cichlids, catfish, oddballs, and cyprinids, mostly. The big Maidenheads seem to get at least some brackish stuff regularly. A few weeks ago, the one out at Wembley had what I think were Monodactylus kottelati, for example (the dwarf mono -- only 9 cm long!).

The Aquatic Design Centre on Gt. Portland Street is second only to Wholesale Tropicals as a central London venue. Always worth a visit, though they do cater more for the community tank person than the specialist. They do have some weird stuff once in a while. I was there this week though, and didn't see anything all that special. A few weeks back they had spaghetti eels (fresh/brackish mini morays, very peaceful); if that floats your boat, give them a call and see if they still have them.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[kanzaris]

There are a few other fish shops within 10 minutes walk of Wildwoods, and you may as well check out Home Marine and Maidenhead Aquatics since you're in the neighbourhood. I've seen some quite rare brackish stuff at Aquatic Warehouse or whatever it's call, right by the train station, but it's a pretty rubbish shop otherwise.

The Maidenhead out at St Albans actually seems to have better brackish than Wildwoods. I've spoken with the guy who runs the fish section at Wildwoods, and he doesn't really order in brackish stuff deliberately. Doesn't sell. His clients are into cichlids, catfish, oddballs, and cyprinids, mostly. The big Maidenheads seem to get at least some brackish stuff regularly. A few weeks ago, the one out at Wembley had what I think were Monodactylus kottelati, for example (the dwarf mono -- only 9 cm long!).

The Aquatic Design Centre on Gt. Portland Street is second only to Wholesale Tropicals as a central London venue. Always worth a visit, though they do cater more for the community tank person than the specialist. They do have some weird stuff once in a while. I was there this week though, and didn't see anything all that special. A few weeks back they had spaghetti eels (fresh/brackish mini morays, very peaceful); if that floats your boat, give them a call and see if they still have them.

Cheers,


Thanks for that. It sound that I will be having a busy weekend.

Sabby

Neale

 

[dwarfgourami]

You should be able to get a general idea of most of the shops mentioned by checking out their stocklists on the Tropicalfishfinder website. Obviously, stocking lists are never 100% accurate, but should still give a general impression.

 

[nmonks]

The trouble with TFF is that it doesn't have all the shops. None of the Maidenhead Aquatics chain are subscribed, for example. On the plus side, Wildwoods, Wholesale Trops, and Aquatic Design all are.

It's a good site though, and well worth using. The fish database is getting better all the time (cough, cough, because someone not very far from here is doing the database entries). It's also worth getting the discount cards. A three-month card costs only 3 UKP, but will get you 10-15% off at many of the shops, so can easily pay for itself many times over if you're buying a lot of fish (or a few expensive ones!).

http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/

Cheers,

Neale

 

[kanzaris]

The trouble with TFF is that it doesn't have all the shops. None of the Maidenhead Aquatics chain are subscribed, for example. On the plus side, Wildwoods, Wholesale Trops, and Aquatic Design all are.

It's a good site though, and well worth using. The fish database is getting better all the time (cough, cough, because someone not very far from here is doing the database entries). It's also worth getting the discount cards. A three-month card costs only 3 UKP, but will get you 10-15% off at many of the shops, so can easily pay for itself many times over if you're buying a lot of fish (or a few expensive ones!).

http/www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/

Cheers,

Neale

Thanks for the info. Be a busy weekend. Definitely getting a TFF Discount Card as I saw Natural World gives you discount with the card and thats where I got most of my Brackish Fish from.

Thanks

Sabby