A Visit To Seahorse

So I got the day off work and decided to pay a visit to this place after hearing so much about it. I have recently wet my feet with marines so I was particularly excited about it. I gotta say guys, this place is special. When I first walked in the door I was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful reef setup I have seen in an lfs anywhere. No offence intened there, as I rarley leave the northside of Dublin for fish. I spent about half an hour staring at the thing and thats before I even made my way to the shop floor. After wiping the drewel from my chin and pulling myself away from the front door I made my way in and was immediateley greeted by Daniel who proceeded to give me the guided tour.
He showed me around the shop floor talking to me about the various species of fish and critters on display. He introduced me to "Big Eyed Larry", the savage little squirrel fish in the above mentioned reef tank who was named by the kids who frequent the place. He then brought me around the bay where the corals are kept, and this my friends, is a sight to behold. Corals of all types, hard and soft, a display in itself.
After that we made our way out back where the new arrivals are kept in quarantine. This setup is awesome. You could spend the day here and not even bother with the shop floor. I know of nowhere else that puts this kind of commitment into quarantine and I was truly impressed. He also mentioned that they plan to do a similar setup like this for the freshwater species in the coming months which is another big plus.
We then made our way upstairs to where they are breeding the seahorses. I know very little about these creatures myself but could not believe how much effort was being put into this project. He showed me the barrels where the adults are bred and then brought me over to the grow out tanks where the baby seahorses were kept until they reach a decent size before being moved on. A very impressive setup indeed.
All in all I spent about an hour and a half there and it was a great experience and, not to mention, an education. All of this occured without a cent changing hands so I felt I just had to spash out on some hermits and a drop of RO. I should mention that all of the tanks were crystal and the fish and critters, both freshwater and salty were of the highest standard. I would really recommend this place to anyone looking to start a project, or even looking for somthing to do for a while. Many thanks to Daniel for taking the time from what I am sure is a very busy shedule, to show me around. I will be back soon.

Jay

JohnH wrote:

Nice review Jay,

Only one question:

What's the toilet like?

;o) ;o) ;o)

John

Thats probably the one room with water in it that I didnt see. Will get back to ya on that .

Jay

The best around great shop Jay

Have had the tour myself and must say its one of the best out there.

Ok so here's the thing, I visited Sea Horse and immediately got the Royal Tour,thought I was something special, saw upstairs, downstairs, the quarantine room, hey, I even saw the Toilet, I left the place Head high feeling really cool, then it happened, I spoke to a few others who, as it turned out , had the same tour............. so now I get it, we are all treated like royalty and that's fine by me, an introduction on how to run a business, sometimes I visit because it's a cool place, sometimes because I actually need something !


Oh, and by the way, they do Freshwater Fish and plants too!


Kev

I honestly love this place - so convenient for me. Ioan and the rest of the crew are customer friendly and knowledeable. IM not into Salt water but their stocks are encouraging. I really like their freshwater tanks and well stocked.
and their stock is one of the best if not the best I've seen recently. Their prices and deals are good too. I can only suggest that they can increase the oddballs. They can ask around customers what they buy too. Personally I wold like to see more variety of freshwater stingrays, blackbarred hooks, bichirs, flagtail, ciclas or even arowanas. Display tanks are great. Kids love it!

I often go to seahorse, would only go to another LFS if i needed something urgently and couldn't make seahorse otherwise it's seahorse all the way. the lads do a great job in there, the shop is spotless and customer service is second to none. always my number 1 choice and i would recommend it to anybody, even just to see the place.

great review jay,

I had the exact same treatment when i first went to this LFS. This place is going to go the distance, imo, as the LFS shows all the characters that were described in the "What makes a great LFS" thread! It's a real gem of a place, which makes me even happier, as i only live 10 minutes from the place

I also, erm, left the missus in the car, and didn't realise i had locked her in... oops!! needless to say she wasn't too impressed when i arrived back to the car 45 minutes later!!!

-Brian

Sounds like a great place, cant wait to visit, nothing like exploring a good fish shop you've never been in before. Where is this place?

it's directly across from the red cow hotel car park entrance on Turnpike Rd.

Have to agree - it is a fantastic lfs...
Selection, price, layout, even down to having a few toys in the reception area for the kids and lollipops on the counter.

And that reef tank in the reception is the nicest reef tank I've ever seen.

Its just getting started but am expecting great things from Ioan on the freshwater front too

Went there Stephens Day and it was busy.
Great shop, Spotless clean.
I spoke to a red headed chap very nice man.
I'll be taking another trip over the weekend.

They have a tank setup in the canteen upstairs and its one of the best i have even seen, the rockwork is amazing the way it is stacked and the corals are just breathtaking. It a true work of art. If only i could end up with something like it:huh:

gerryberry wrote:

They have a tank setup in the canteen upstairs and its one of the best i have even seen, the rockwork is amazing the way it is stacked and the corals are just breathtaking. It a true work of art. If only i could end up with something like it:huh:

yea, i think its what a lot of people aspire to with their tanks alright!!