LFS Cincinnati Ohio
- Thread starter Gtinnel
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ZoWhat
7500 Club Member
The must see place is Aquarium Artisans. Big beautiful contemporary store with a TON of product. No one else in the area compares.
Just across the river in Florence KY is World Of Pets. Great selection of fish at fair prices. Very limited coral section. Two 6ft tanks.
The rest is small family owned LFSs struggling to stay in biz. All have the dingy 1990s feel to them. Montfort Pets on the west side but don't waste your time unless you reeeeeeally have nothing else to do.
Just across the river in Florence KY is World Of Pets. Great selection of fish at fair prices. Very limited coral section. Two 6ft tanks.
The rest is small family owned LFSs struggling to stay in biz. All have the dingy 1990s feel to them. Montfort Pets on the west side but don't waste your time unless you reeeeeeally have nothing else to do.
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Gtinnel
10K Club member
The only one in the area I've been to in the past was Discovery Aquatics. I will definitely check out aquarium artisans. Thanks
ZoWhat
7500 Club Member
Hold on to your wallet going into Aquarium Artisans, lol.
I'm always tempted to buy smthg EVERY TIME I go in there 2-3 times a month.
I've been leaving my wallet in the car lately before walking in.
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Gtinnel
10K Club member
I had looked at aquarium artisans online before, but didn't realize it was a store front. From their website I though it was a business that mostly installed and maintained aquariums.
It's only 4 miles from the hotel I'm staying at so I will definitely check it out tomorrow. I may make it a fairly frequent shop for me to visit if it's that good. I live in Central WV but my family keeps season tickets to Kings Island so we end up in the Mason/ Cincinnati area fairly often.
Spare time
10K Club member
Reef Life Aquatics is another I don't think was mentioned yet. Its a small store but its clean and priced very well. Very new too. Its a few exits south of the river.
ksturm079
New Member
Discover Aquatics in Wilder is where I always go. Hands down best coral selection in the Tri State. Excellent fish and invert selection as well. Enjoy your visit, get Skyline, finish at Graeters for ice cream.
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Gtinnel
10K Club member
I have been there before and liked it. The guy working was very polite and helpful
SuperRad
New Member
I do not recommend Aquarium Artisans unless you're just looking at livestock (during a sale because this guy is right their prices are crazy). I have only horrible things to say otherwise; owners talking trash about other customers/vendors. I'm not into supporting that.
In addition to the listed above, also check out Cincinnati Coral and Aquarium. Prices and selection have always been good for me there.
ZoWhat
7500 Club Member
How long have you worked for Cincy Coral? Lololololololololol
Artisans is a beautiful store with lots to offer
Cincy Coral is your typical musty, tanks everywhere warehouse kinda of feel, LFS..
Both have different things to offer
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desagon
Active Member
I just moved out of Cinci about a year ago. When I lived there, I found Discover Aquatics to be the best. This one also happened to be the smallest store in the area. So, selection is limited. Cincinnati Coral and Aquarium was a really promising store when it first opened. The last time I went there, it looked in rough shape. Maybe things have changed in the last 12-18 months?
Fan of Aquarium Artisans:
- Husband & wife team
- Passionate
- Knowledgeable
I drive a few hours to visit
Big fan of Gerber's Tropical Fish (Dayton Area)
- Biggest selection of Fresh & Salt water fish I've ever seen
- Old School - wet, rusty warehouse setting
- Believe they were a wholesaler
- Husband & wife team
- Passionate
- Knowledgeable
I drive a few hours to visit
Big fan of Gerber's Tropical Fish (Dayton Area)
- Biggest selection of Fresh & Salt water fish I've ever seen
- Old School - wet, rusty warehouse setting
- Believe they were a wholesaler
Spare time
10K Club member
I know this thread is a little old, but I'd do a stop at all of them because they are all relatively close. Artisans has the largest store and feels more like a bigger chain store. Discover aquatics often has a lot of large colonies and is heavy on red sea products (therefore usually red sea stuff is always in stock there). Reef life aquatics has the cleanest frags (clean as in least amount of pests) and typically the lowest prices on frags and dry goods. I have not been to the cincy coral place but the guy I have talked to from there seems very nice. World of pets is an old fashioned pet store style place. The nice thing is that they are all not super far away from each other (less than an hour for each depending on traffic). Plenty of people in the area make their coral runs for the week on a weekend and stop at a few stores before heading home. They all have pros and cons so there really is no reason to just go to one 
If you go to Columbus, stop by the coral farm there. It is really neat.
Gerbers is huge but I have never been there.
If you go to Columbus, stop by the coral farm there. It is really neat.
Gerbers is huge but I have never been there.
Spare time
10K Club member
I know this thread is a little old, but I'd do a stop at all of them because they are all relatively close. Artisans has the largest store and feels more like a bigger chain store. Discover aquatics often has a lot of large colonies and is heavy on red sea products (therefore usually red sea stuff is always in stock there). Reef life aquatics has the cleanest frags (clean as in least amount of pests) and typically the lowest prices on frags and dry goods. I have not been to the cincy coral place but the guy I have talked to from there seems very nice. World of pets is an old fashioned pet store style place. The nice thing is that they are all not super far away from each other (less than an hour for each depending on traffic). Plenty of people in the area make their coral runs for the week on a weekend and stop at a few stores before heading home. They all have pros and cons so there really is no reason to just go to one
If you go to Columbus, stop by the coral farm there. It is really neat.
Gerbers is huge but I have never been there.
There are also ton of local people with grow out tanks and frags for cheap
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Gtinnel
10K Club member
I have been there several times. It may not be the biggest or nicest store, but their selection is good and their prices are fair. Out of all of the stores in the area I prefer it. One time I was there I talked to the guy working there for about an hour just about the hobby in general.
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