Preface, I have been to LFSs from Taiwan to Germany to Los Angeles and many places in between. I love big operations like TSA or WWC as much as I love little hole in the wall spots run by mom and pop. My priorities are livestock health, knowledgeable staff, equipment offered, service, and presentation of the shop (somewhere my wife is not going to hate visiting).
Reef Exclusive is a clean, well organized LFS in Tewksbury MA run by a gentleman named Alex who has been in the business for over 20 years in various locations. English is not his first language, but communication is not difficult and it is not an issue when shopping there. His concentration seems to be coral, and it shows by the amazing variety, quality, and health of his livestock. I am a SPS lover and it was paradise for someone like me. Furthermore Alex knows what information is important to your success (PAR the frags are under, water chemistry, acclimation tips) and he will share them.
He also had a ton of LPS, chalices, Zoas, you name it, but I am on a budget so I concentrated on my passion. On the topic of prices, I was pleasantly surprised. For example he had the same blue skin yellow/red polyp Speciosa that some shops sell for hundreds (if not over 1K) for about $100. Most frags were $65 or less, and we are not talking drab colors. His frags were bright, great PE, and encrusting. I found the value great and left with a lot of healthy frags as well as a starfish and a conch for my kids.
Overall, I would rank Reef Exclusive very high and suggest that you pay them a visit next time you are in eastern Mass. I will definitely be going back.
(Extra points for being a clean, modern store with a nice couch for my wife and kids to sit on and hang out while I chose corals, and the kids got hershey kisses for being well-behaved!)
Reef Exclusive is a clean, well organized LFS in Tewksbury MA run by a gentleman named Alex who has been in the business for over 20 years in various locations. English is not his first language, but communication is not difficult and it is not an issue when shopping there. His concentration seems to be coral, and it shows by the amazing variety, quality, and health of his livestock. I am a SPS lover and it was paradise for someone like me. Furthermore Alex knows what information is important to your success (PAR the frags are under, water chemistry, acclimation tips) and he will share them.
He also had a ton of LPS, chalices, Zoas, you name it, but I am on a budget so I concentrated on my passion. On the topic of prices, I was pleasantly surprised. For example he had the same blue skin yellow/red polyp Speciosa that some shops sell for hundreds (if not over 1K) for about $100. Most frags were $65 or less, and we are not talking drab colors. His frags were bright, great PE, and encrusting. I found the value great and left with a lot of healthy frags as well as a starfish and a conch for my kids.
Overall, I would rank Reef Exclusive very high and suggest that you pay them a visit next time you are in eastern Mass. I will definitely be going back.
(Extra points for being a clean, modern store with a nice couch for my wife and kids to sit on and hang out while I chose corals, and the kids got hershey kisses for being well-behaved!)
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