Age of Aquarius

I will write this review in English so I can send the link to Dan, the president of Age of Aquariums.

Age of Aquarius is one of two marine aquarium shops in south California recommended at Reefcentral.com, the other being Vivid Aquariums. Since I was travelling south from Los Angeles I decided to stop at Age of Aquariums and have a look at what they have to offer. The store is located in Signal Hill, which is part of greater Los Angeles. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to spend there, my taxi was waiting for me, but I did get to check out the place and take a few crappy pictures.

The place offers everything that is needed to run a marine fish and coral tank, from aquariums to equipment to livestock and to feed. It is not a large place, but it seemed to have everythingyou need and lots of products from quality brands. I believe there was about 20 marine tanks with livestock (I could be way off here), mostly fish but also a few with corals. They also had a smaller section for fresh water fish and animals. Everything was really clean and inviting. The fish were in great condition and it is obvious the people who run the store know what they are doing. It's one of those places where you feel safe to buy your lifestock.

In general the focus seemed to be on larger fish (tangs, angels, puffers, triggers, etc) with some fish that are not common in Norway (like hogfishes). I didn't see many large predatory fish (like moray eels and lionfish), but that could be because I simply missed them. What I saw today might not be representative for their typical stock. I would think they had about 50-100 different species in store today. In contrast to some other shops I have visited in the US, Age of Aquariums had many different types of corals, including SPS (like Acroporas), LPS and softies. It was really nice to see that they offered corals for everybody, from challenging species to those easy to care for, and that theye weren't just focussed on what is trendy right now. Personally I particularly liked some of the Montipora species I saw, but I just quickly glanced over the tanks and might have missed some great stuff.

I highly recommend this shop for anyone visiting Los Angeles or south California in general. And although bringing livestock back to Norway poses many problems, you could always buy equipment and feed (which I did), or enjoy a well-run fish store with all it has to offers for every reefaholic.