Well, I spent the day perusing local fish stores in San Jose, Ca (back for xmas break) as well as hobby shops (looking for an RC helicopter). I found ONE shop that had an awesome coral collection (though a bit pricey). They must have had 3 or 4 150 gallon frag tanks, full of corals. They were a bit low on fish, but they appear to be in the middle of a major remodel that will look awesome when it's over. I picked up a bunch of frozen foods from them.
I hit up another store that was the best freshwater store I've ever seen. It actually has me a bit concerned, because I saw some truly massive blood parrots there, and if my 3 get that big... I won't have the room! They also had some of the biggest pleco's that I've ever seen, not that you guys care on this forum! Also had a good laugh at these poor little bubble-cheeked fish. Sad little things.
Finally, I went to another store that looked ok from the entrance. They had a big reef tank that had the biggest maxima clam I've seen up to this point. Probably a foot across or so. But when I got to the back, where all the tanks are, I was astonished. In the small 3-5 gallon tanks, where you would normally find snails, shrimp, crabs, and smaller fish (like tiny grammas or blennys) they had shoved the majority of their salt livestock. Tangs, angels, butterflies... all 4-7 inches were shoved into these small tanks (most of the time 2-3 to a tank). It was a sad sight, the poor little PBT looked nearly white. There were some gorgeous fish in there, and LOTS of them, but very small tanks. There was a wall of larger 40-gallon tanks that were very low stocked... I only hope they were doing maintenance and only temporarily moved the fish.
However, it was in one of these sparsely stocked tanks that I came across the fish pictured below. What on earth is it (not the foxface)? I've never seen such a thing. It has these little strands hanging off it's entire body... it looked either seriously diseased, or very well camouflaged! Sorry for the crappy pic, but it's the best I could do with my phone!
Anyway, those are my adventures of the day. I hope they didn't bore you terribly. If anyone lives in the area and knows of more good fish shops, let me know!
Jason
I hit up another store that was the best freshwater store I've ever seen. It actually has me a bit concerned, because I saw some truly massive blood parrots there, and if my 3 get that big... I won't have the room! They also had some of the biggest pleco's that I've ever seen, not that you guys care on this forum! Also had a good laugh at these poor little bubble-cheeked fish. Sad little things.
Finally, I went to another store that looked ok from the entrance. They had a big reef tank that had the biggest maxima clam I've seen up to this point. Probably a foot across or so. But when I got to the back, where all the tanks are, I was astonished. In the small 3-5 gallon tanks, where you would normally find snails, shrimp, crabs, and smaller fish (like tiny grammas or blennys) they had shoved the majority of their salt livestock. Tangs, angels, butterflies... all 4-7 inches were shoved into these small tanks (most of the time 2-3 to a tank). It was a sad sight, the poor little PBT looked nearly white. There were some gorgeous fish in there, and LOTS of them, but very small tanks. There was a wall of larger 40-gallon tanks that were very low stocked... I only hope they were doing maintenance and only temporarily moved the fish.
However, it was in one of these sparsely stocked tanks that I came across the fish pictured below. What on earth is it (not the foxface)? I've never seen such a thing. It has these little strands hanging off it's entire body... it looked either seriously diseased, or very well camouflaged! Sorry for the crappy pic, but it's the best I could do with my phone!
Anyway, those are my adventures of the day. I hope they didn't bore you terribly. If anyone lives in the area and knows of more good fish shops, let me know!
Jason
