I started with a freshwater aquarium at about the age of 10 in ‘57 or ‘58. (Yes! I am a dinosaur.). I remember waiting eagerly for my monthly edition of Aquarium Magazine at the LFS and (later) at my mailbox. I remember my disappointment when Aquarium filed for bankruptcy and the magazine (along with my hard-to-get money) disappeared. There were plenty of LFSs and zillions of tropicals floating around, but saltwater was deemed an impossibility and almost never thought of.
Things developed. Ten years later, after college — in my very own NYC apartment — with my own hard-earned cash. I was introduce to saltwater — fish only — corals and inverts were for wealthy equipment tinkerer fanatics only — not for poor apartment dwelling slobs who lived in The Bronx. Prices! They have kept reef-keeping just barely within reach for most folks — if you’re willing to budget for it.
LFSs are disappearing. Summer 2016, one trip to Raleigh, NC, found my wife and I traveling to 9 locations (found and printed from online searches only the day before) only to find 9 LFSs that were closed and empty! Until Petco with its paltry selection of saltwater livestock and equipment opened in Fayetteville, NC, there was only one shop within any reasonable distance that sold saltwater anything. (AND I learned from sad experience not to shop there.) Online shopping is the only alternative, but overnight air shipping adds significantly to the cost and difficulty and friendly, neighborhood folks who actually dispense advice based on their wise experience are no more. The teenagers at Petco or Petsmart barely know the names of the poor creatures they net and put in bags. Online forums like R2R help, but sometimes no one is interested enough in your question or problem to bother to reply.
Enjoyed your article!
