Japanese LFS

[robe]

Check out what they sell in Japan!

http://www.reef-kuki.com/acropora1.html

[Morgan]

Hey robe

Are you buying any of those?

They have some very beautiful pieces. Dream to have some in my tank.

[robe]

Cannot afford their prices....

check out this SPS tanks in Japan also.... I'm drooling at H's tank a mature sps tank woooooowww!!!!!!!

http://homepage3.nifty.com/reef/rtgallrey.html

[Chris]

After looking at their prices, I'm glad I'm living in Singapore. Could never have been able to afford the hobby in Japan. Imagine an African CLown costing 5,800 yen!! About S$80!!!

[kelstorm]

firegoby for 2800 yen.. phew....if that is the case, i think i'll swear off marine siah..

[dodo]

Check out what they sell in Japan!

http://www.reef-kuki.com/acropora1.html

can't go into the website...

[dodo]

or something wrong with my explorer?

[Creetin]

robe the tank pics u were showing, all the corals spiky n pointed - are these acros that i hear so mani of u guys rave about? hard coral?

[robe]

If you work n Japan the prices actually are affordable. Japanese monthly salary is like double to triple Singapore's salary scale on the average.

Hi Creetin, Yes those are acroporas, to replicate something like a shallow reeftop is a reefer's dream and those Japanese are doing a great job!

[Creetin]

hmmm these acros must be very demanding? sounds like they are the highest breed of corals to me!

[robe]

They require lots of MH light, calcium reactor, good skimmer,lots of attention and patience and a chiller to prevent them from being cooked by the lights.

[benny]

Was in Japan two weeks ago and their LFS is really superb. There is this one that I went to that has a dedicated marine section. Many consider this to be one of the better LFS there.

Tokyo Sun Marine

Sunmarine Building

3-2-6 Shinozaki-cho

Edogawa-ku,

Tokyo 133

Tel: 03-5243 1411

This shop is 3 storeys (there is actually a basement too). Marine is on the second storey, together with books and accessories/equipment. This is the best shop amongst the 6 or 8 LFS I went to. Too bad no pics to show you. But prices are also in the "wah Liao" category. They can pack for extended transporation if you ask and they accept credit cards.

If anyone is interested in going, be prepared to spend about 4 to 6 hours. Getting there from Central Tokyo is about 40 to 50 mins and it's a 10 to 15 mins walk from the Shinozaki station. They are open from 11 am to 9 pm and closes at 7 pm on Sunday and closed on Mondays.

Cheers,

[pospeh]

Perhaps I have not been around the local LFS enough, but in all of the stores I have gone to, the tanks and the livestock are all poorly kept, and the shops are run down and dirty.

You would never find the kind of dirty shops I see here in Singapore in the U.S. Shops there are spacious and clean, and that makes for much better browsing experience.

[Achilles Tang]

I was in Tokyo last year and wanted so much to see the marine LFS there. But it was like chicken and duck... I didn't realise that many of the Japanese there really couldn't speak english!

I did go to an aquarium shop at the Tokyo Observation Tower.

The only 'dirty and rundown' LFS I see is Reborn... but it's nothing more fishtanks in a side-alley of a building. Which ones are in that category?

[pospeh]

I dont want to offend anyone, but I visited sealife, marine life, harlequin, ocean planet, kwangs, wong loy kee and keong seong. The best of the lot in terms of cleaniless are harlequin and op. The other shops are all pretty grimy.

To me shopping for livestock should be a pleasant experience, not a walk through unclean tanks going on some 'rescue' mission to save the fishes from fates worse than death. To me, the type of care a lfs owner gives to his store is a reflection of the type of care he gives to his animals . . . and his level of professionalism.

Maybe we need less mom and pop kind of stores and more of the type of store that stresses professionalism, the kind of stores staffed by hired hobbiests that you find in the U.S.

[Creetin]

hmmm in a way i guess its true most of the LFS are grimy, but I suppose it helps keep prices down abit....if everyone gonna go on aircon, great shopping experience and the proper works, think prices will rise...?

for me most impt thing is quality of livestock and reasonable price, i dont mind the extra labour, hardwork and grime that comes with it..!

[Tanzy]

I think part of the grime described in some LFS is the dead or dying livestock in their tanks with poor filtration and water quality. How can there be any quality livestock from those death tanks?

I think how good the staff at an LFS is based on their show tank. If they themselves can't keep a decent tank, then on what basis are they dishing out advise. These guys are full time with their tanks right? Maybe we should take pictures of their tanks and compare them every three months to see the livestock changing in their show tanks all the time.

[pospeh]

I think the best show tanks are at Aquatechnic. . . but they are not LFS. I especially liked their 4 foot tank. The amount of purple coraline algae on that tank is incredible. It had 2 150W lights and a calcium reactor. I thinks thats why it had so much coraline. Otherwise, I think most of their tanks are too lowly lighted.

Speaking of show tanks, AT has one of the best I seen (from photos ) Why doesn't he start a LFS?? . . . in case he gets tired of his current job

[harlequin]

Aquatechnic do have nice display tanks but also very "nice pricing model".

I don't mind grimy places. Most important is how they qurantine livestocks and handling.

SeaLife, Harlequin (nothing to do with my name) & CoralFarm are more professional in their work.

[spade]

i believe the jap stole all the SPS during WWII, and is our right to demand them to send it all back they passed some to the yankee after they dropped the "fat boy" ...

b4 someone ask me to trade frag, the pic is got from Tokyo Sun Marine

[Achilles Tang]

Speaking of show tanks, AT has one of the best I seen (from photos ) Why doesn't he start a LFS?? . . . in case he gets tired of his current job

You never know! It might happen sooner or later!

[Achilles Tang]

i believe the jap stole all the SPS during WWII, and is our right to demand them to send it all back they passed some to the yankee after they dropped the "fat boy" ...

b4 someone ask me to trade frag, the pic is got from Tokyo Sun Marine

Spade,

Making good use of the new smilies huh? I was wondering when we'll start using this... lol!

May be the next flatworm session?