Best pet stores in the Detroit area?

littlebuddy · January-26-11, 11:04 AM

What are some of the best pet stores in the Det. area? Looking for salt water fish.

**Johnlodge** · January-26-11, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by littlebuddy

What are some of the best pet stores in the Det. area? Looking for salt water fish.

I'm a big fan of The Aquarium Shop in Royal Oak. This is where I get all my aquarium supplies. Great owners, great staff.

http://www.theaquariumshoproyaloak.com/

**trotwood** · January-26-11, 11:32 AM

When I lived in the area I'd shop at M&M Pet Supplies on East Warren. I'm not sure if they're still in buisness but I always got great service.

**Crew** · January-26-11, 11:58 AM

For Salt Water fish, the Aquarium Shop in RO. Agreed, great owners.

**rjk** · January-26-11, 12:35 PM

What could one expect to pay for an aquarium?
Not a cheap end one or a top of the line aquarium, but just a pretty good one.

**Johnlodge** · January-26-11, 12:47 PM

Anybody interested in getting into the hobby or just wanting to see what others are doing should check out this forum.

http://www.aquahobby.com/board/index.php

Especially good before you start setting up your aquarium, you won't make the common mistakes people make.

DetroitPole · January-26-11, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by trotwood

When I lived in the area I'd shop at M&M Pet Supplies on East Warren. I'm not sure if they're still in buisness but I always got great service.

Still very much open. I go there every week to replenish dog toys. They're nice guys.

**rencense** · January-26-11, 07:57 PM

I'm a fairly avid fish keeper [[freshwater though, eventually hoping to try saltwater)

My favorite fish shop is Exotic Aquarium at 6 mile and Schaefer. This is the granddaddy of all aquarium shops in the area and has been open since 1951. The guys there are very friendly and have a great selection [[unfortunately I haven't seen much in the way of saltwater fish if any)

A second favorite is the fish doctors who have a few locations [[I've shopped at both the Ypsilanti and Trenton locations) They have both fresh and saltwater and are pretty knowledgeable.

Some places will sometimes sell used equipment [[I know fish doctors in trenton does) I recommend tanks around 40-60 gallons which are a good size and fairly easy to keep. I would say roughly 400-500 should get you a tank, basic lighting, cover, and stand but of course filters, heaters, etc can tack hundreds more onto that [[prices can go up very quickly when you're talking about saltwater....especially if you keep corals and invertebrates which require ludicrously expensive lighting.

I'm a big fan of supporting your local store but I'd also recommend combing through craigslist for a setup. A lot of people get burned out on keeping fish and sell all their gear for a bargain.

Good luck!

**CLAUDE G** · January-26-11, 08:26 PM

Sting Ray Bay in East Point on 9 Mile and Kelly accross from Mc Donalds.

**SCS_Scooter** · January-26-11, 10:40 PM

Wow! I'm glad that this thread showed up, just when I was in need! Let's try feathers, not fins!!

I'm trying to find a pet store that has birds. Parakeet, Parrolet and Lovebird size birds. I contacted a rescue thru Craigslist, Petfinder and Kijiji and they just don't reply. Would rather rescue but with that kind of response, I ended up nowhere.

My next thought was Lou's in Grosse Pointe. They always had birds. I did a quick drive by and they have closed. Any suggestions other than the obvious PetCo, Pet Suppies Plus and the other chains?

I second Claude's thumbs up for StingRay Bay. They helped me thru the trauma of a sick 4 year old goldfish. The right meds, lots of prayers and water changes later...Jessie [[yes, the other goldfish is named Bet!) is doing fine.

**canuck** · January-26-11, 11:56 PM

Booby Trap on Eight Mile Road.

**daft** · January-27-11, 12:09 AM

scooter: the website for the Motor City Bird Breeders -- www.motorcitybirdbreeders.com/ -- has info on members and what kinds of birds they raise. you can buy direct from the people who raise the birds...

... and this thread wouldn't be complete without a mention of the dearly departed Bird Town Pet Shop, which was on Cass for years and run by a great guy named Pat.

**CLAUDE G** · January-27-11, 03:07 AM

Originally Posted by SCS_Scooter

Wow! I'm glad that this thread showed up, just when I was in need! Let's try feathers, not fins!!

I'm trying to find a pet store that has birds. Parakeet, Parrolet and Lovebird size birds. I contacted a rescue thru Craigslist, Petfinder and Kijiji and they just don't reply. Would rather rescue but with that kind of response, I ended up nowhere.

My next thought was Lou's in Grosse Pointe. They always had birds. I did a quick drive by and they have closed. Any suggestions other than the obvious PetCo, Pet Suppies Plus and the other chains?

I second Claude's thumbs up for StingRay Bay. They helped me thru the trauma of a sick 4 year old goldfish. The right meds, lots of prayers and water changes later...Jessie [[yes, the other goldfish is named Bet!) is doing fine.

Lou's is still open, they moved 2 doors down to where the Ace hardware store used to be.

The problem is that its not the same store as it was before, and they got less aquariums at the new store and it just sucks.

As far as Stingray bay, if anything the owner is awesome and provides solid advice and for that one reason I'll contunue to recommend them.

Other than that, you got Oceans and Seas up on Gratiot and 696 and Greenwood on 9 Mile and Grospeck.

If you want to do live Rock, go through this guy...
http://www.gulf-view.com/dhl_price_q..._the_door.html

He is down in Florida, and the rock he sells is super cheap compaired to what you will pay in the stores here locally and has a ton more things growing on it.

For $400, you can literally do an entire 55 gallon aquarium.

To get the rock, he ships Southwest air freight and you need to go pick it up at Metro Airport, but the advantage to it is that its only been out of the water for a few hours.

**Zacha341** · January-27-11, 06:57 AM

Back when I was doing pets, I used to go to the pet store up on Livernois by seven mile. I can't recall the name... I liked being able to go there knowing I was supporting a business striving to stay in Detroit. I used to do fish... nothing to fancy just a few gurami's [[sp?) etc. I'd like to do that again perhaps one day.... when I am less busy. All pets require time and maintenence. I am low on time now : )

**SCS_Scooter** · January-27-11, 07:31 PM

I went to Lou's today in Grosse Pointe Woods. It IS just across the street from where it used to be. [[thanks Claude) The lady I spoke with was a wealth of information. Exactly what I was looking for. They breed parakeets and they are all very tame. They are a little pricey on their "birdy gear", such as cages, food and toys but they are close and knowledgeable. I will go back. In the meantime, I will be checking out the Motor City Bird Breeders website. I want to be an educated consumer!

**Dan** · January-27-11, 08:46 PM

Hands down, Fish Doctors. I preferred the Ypsi or Canton locations.

Trenton is good, and I hear there is one in Adrian too.

Killer selection of fish, live rock. Good prices and I second the comment about knowledgeable staff.

If you are looking for something special, they go out of their way to help.

**Dan** · January-27-11, 08:47 PM

Only downside is the drive...

**trotwood** · January-27-11, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPole

Still very much open. I go there every week to replenish dog toys. They're nice guys.

Glad to hear they're still open. Good people&a credit to the city/area.

**rencense** · January-29-11, 10:05 PM

I just remembered a question I've been trying to get answered. A few years ago I read about rosedale aquarium on grand river in the rosedale park area. Whenever i drive by there it looks pretty empty but its hard to tell if its still open. Can anyone tell me if this place is still open as I'd love to check it out.

**tkierpiec** · January-30-11, 12:29 AM

I recommend 2 places - one is Greenwood Pets & Plants on 9 Mile in Warren - they have more fish than any other place I've been - you'd never know it by the looks of the exterior of the building but once you get inside, the place is huge. I also really like Oceans & Seas on Gratiot in Roseville. Nice guys and healthy fish, from my experience.

http://www.oceansandseasinc.com/