Fishtown USA - Page 5 - Manhattan Reefs

04-26-2006, 08:19 PM
Trana Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 149 Reefer Ratings: (0) Friends: (0)	Fishtown USA 196-33 Northern Blvd. (cross street: Francis Lewis Blvd) Click here to read the entire review Last edited by Josh; 01-22-2007 at 01:02 PM.

#38

By wayne on 12-18-2007, 09:01 PM

Entering this place i was blown away by the tanks,they had a wide variety and some real cheap stuff i normally buy my live rock at petland atlantic avenue they sell live rock for 10 dollars a pound fishtown usa sell it for 6 dollars a pound and you get a discount on top of that i bought a kent marine ro unit and a t5 lighting setup i will definetly be going back .

#39

By Chiefmcfuz on 12-18-2007, 09:04 PM

Wayne take a look at this thread and tell me what you think about fish town now?
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...shtown-ny.html

#40

By badkarma44 on 12-18-2007, 10:31 PM

Member reviews
Selection		6
Price		8
Customer Service		2
Livestock Health		1
Average 43%

cool , but remember you get what u pay 4 , just expect a lot of hitchikers on them bro , my fu*kin tank had coral eating slugs on them , guess what broke the whoole thing down and left the rock outside for a week to kill everything , so dont be fooled by prices and a smile bro , oh and the rock came from F.T. , and its not cured either , so make sure you put the rock in water for a week or 2 , u want to order it online from the soloman islands 6 dollars a pound and the best u can get dude , oh and there selection of late sucks man , u seen the reef tank , WTF ! good luck to you anyways!

Last edited by badkarma44; 12-18-2007 at 10:34 PM.

#41

By tonyyammine on 05-24-2008, 08:31 AM

Member reviews
Selection		10
Price		7
Customer Service		4
Livestock Health		2
Average 57%

a huge selection of fish the only thing is 30 percent of the fish are either dead or swimming funny,its a shame because the fish they have are very nice.i have no problem paying a little extra for quality .the coral is nice and the critters are nice and cheap. i usually go there to buy snails and crabs. overall its a very nice store but they can do better on the way the fish are handled.

#42

By luigisacs on 08-15-2008, 03:57 PM

Member reviews
Selection		1
Price		1
Customer Service		1
Livestock Health		1
Average 10%

Thank you. Thank You. Thank you all!!! Finally I have stumbled onto this site and I finally see others who hate this place as much as I do. I have been in the hobby for 3 years and frenquented FT often. I will do so no longer. The staff is discourteous and can be downright rude. Never do they have the proper answer for anything. When asked if either a plenum or a deep sand bed would beneficial the staff answered "A what?"

Oh, and that Kathy lady cursed at me once. That put a nail in it. .

#43

By ed4 on 08-31-2008, 02:37 PM

Member reviews
Selection		7
Price		9
Customer Service		7
Livestock Health		6
Average 73%

I'll probably get flamed for my review but alas here it comes! Be understanding that I'm trying to be objective with my own experience and opinions. I'd like to make it clear that I don't work for them or ask advice. This is just my opinion as a eavesdropper who keeps to himself.

I work at a place that's a 1/2 mile from here and I usually stop by a few times a week on my break.

Pro's
-Frequent shipments of new livestock. Great variety of uncommon stuff. For me, it's worth checking out at least twice a week.
-Good selection of dry goods at "fair" LFS prices, with the exception of anything made from acrylic tubes.
-Definite unbeatable prices on fish that would retail for under $60 at other places. Fair market prices or slightly less on more expensive fish.
-The staff treats me good, but I can also believe the treatment by the other posters.
-A reliable place for me to trade in unwanted livestock for store credit. This is a rare service I appreciate in these rough times.
-Claims to quarantine fish in the basement for a day. If this is true. Other nicer LFS drip acclimate their fish in the aisles then dump 'em the same day.
-An occasional maricultured gem might show up in their 180g coral tank. Most times, they'll price these the same as the other uglies. I once got a red Ricordia Yuma rock for $75!
-Occasional screaming deals. Deals on certain AGA tanks, livestock and dry goods. I suspect that their 28g Nano tank deal w/ HQI and stand for $499 might even be a loss-leader. The tank alone sells for $499 on the 'net, w/o stand.
-Livestock health is fair-to-okay. I've seen worse. Aquarium Adventure, 'nuff said. That place is definitely a "Mental Adventure".
-Eels. If you like them, and if you're brave, seasoned or misguided they have them.
-I use this place as the "Ed test". I can tell if "it's on" when perusing fish w/ the new honey. Seriously, its a nice-sized facility IMO.
-Stocks some Tunze stuff. They even have a Wavebox on display. I will go as far as giving them 'props for that.

Con's
-Buyer beware: carefully inspect fish for signs of distress, ailments, appetite, etc. Ailing fish is slightly more common here then other places.
-If they have Acans, sometimes it's a gi-gantic $500 colony the side of a side of a soccer ball.
-Their 180g coral tank needs some TLC. In most cases SPS & LPS that sits in this tank for over 2 weeks might show tissue recession. Some of their torches sit upside down for days.
-Their live rock... GOOD GOD MAN! At times I'm tempted to buy some activated carbon from them and do 'em a favor... dump it into their rock tank! The water is urine yellow from DOC's and anything else that pureed itself from being in that water. Most of their pieces I've inspected were DENSE as hell. Not the screaming bargan you would think it would be. Don't forget the associated curing time that would probably be measured in seasons.
-Eels. IMO some wasted space. That bottom row of tanks w/ the same ribbon eels only, their $2,000 or so pair of those Dragon Moray eels. At least they got rid of that boring 14" monster cod that was eating yellow tangs. To be fair, they probably got roped into taking it in as a sympathetic trade-in.
-Occasional miscompatibilty when keeping livestock in their tanks. Some of their fish doing battle and mutilating each other. See example w/ that giant cod.
-Occasional mislabeling. I saw this on two different occasions. "Bali Royal Gramma" and "Bali Swiss Guard Basslet".
-That one jerk that works there - the blonde kid with the goatee. He can kiss my ass. The others are good to me.

IMO still a place worth checking out, especially if you're local. As long as you keep my advice handy.

Last edited by ed4; 08-31-2008 at 03:07 PM.

#44

By neptune on 08-31-2008, 06:02 PM

i put them all through college....

.....but you never know what you can find in there
very exiting place...and there customer service is

#45

By ihatefish on 09-19-2008, 01:56 AM

I went there and saw first hand what everyone is talking about. Fish sick or already dead, the staff i have a dog and he helps more with my fish tank then they do. When i was there 1973 called it wanted its dry goods back. If u look very hard and can find someone who isn't an idiot or doesn't think they know everything and don't want to talk to you, maybe just maybe you may find something worth the price. After i read what these people have done to people how they have treated people the things they have said. I will not go there anymore and if by some chance i end up there i will help there customers so they don't cut and run from this hobby.

#46

By MikeyZO on 09-20-2008, 10:09 AM

I was in there a while back, before knowing how bad it was, and purchased my royal gramma there. They told me to make sure not to get any of the water from their tank into mine because they run Copper in their tanks all the time. Is that even possible?

Just FYI, my gramma (aka Donatella via my gf) has been doing quite well for the past 6 months.

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