jbot Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Just wondering if anyone out there in AA land know's when (or around when) the new Big Al's is slated to open in Calgary? All I can find is "early July 2008", but that was a while ago.... Anyone have any more info?? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfishal Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 Big Al's has been delayed for a bit due to the back up on construction. I did get to get in and take a peek on how everything is coming along and boy let me tell you the wait is sure going to be worth it!!! It is looking AWESOME!!! Way better then the last store up south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted July 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 thanks for the update bigfishal! i am eagerly awaiting this store's opening! having recently moved here from Ontario, I have been less than impressed with the fish stores in town compared to "back home"... hopefully this Big Al's will be up to the same standards as those in Ontario! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocker85675 Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 you dont dig the local fish store scene in calgary? have you been to them all? as an edmontonian i frequently make the trip just for the stores there. i find stores like riverfront,golds,pices and a few others to have verry good stock and reasonable prices. what are you looking for that you cant find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kraken Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 When I was there on Monday the construction guys said it would be about 2 weeks. :rofl: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karazy Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 sweetness! i cant wait! and J bot, try elite aquatics, GREAT customer service, ver friendly, and whenever i go there the fish all look so healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish_Frenzy Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Francos also has nice healthy stock and some less common loaches too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaggle Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 thanks for the update bigfishal! i am eagerly awaiting this store's opening! having recently moved here from Ontario, I have been less than impressed with the fish stores in town compared to "back home"... hopefully this Big Al's will be up to the same standards as those in Ontario! What part of Ontario are you from I have been very disappointed with the stores in my travels out there. I have been to store in London, Sarina, Kingston and all over the GTA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishkabod Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) thanks for the update bigfishal! i am eagerly awaiting this store's opening! having recently moved here from Ontario, I have been less than impressed with the fish stores in town compared to "back home"... hopefully this Big Al's will be up to the same standards as those in Ontario! What part of Ontario are you from I have been very disappointed with the stores in my travels out there. I have been to store in London, Sarina, Kingston and all over the GTA. I know that construction companies are struggling to get good workers here in edmonton and i'm sure that that is what is holding Big Al's up in calgary If you really want it to open sooner i would call the construction company and say you want to help out doing whatever you can. allot of time is taken up by cleaning up after tradespeople. You could also call Big Al's and let them know you wouldn't mind helping set up the store for an in store credit or something. It'll get things going faster. About Local here vs. Local there it could be a case where you have yet to get to know the stores and employees here as well as you knew the ones there. If you are not happy with the sizes of the local store selection then you need to keep in mind that the population in ontario can support much larger stores and varieties within them. Hope you find a good store you grow to like. Good luck and enjoy the Stampede down there i hear it's fun and stampedeish. Lisa Edited July 11, 2008 by Ishkabod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uwish Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 When I was there on Monday the construction guys said it would be about 2 weeks. :rofl: Someone refresh my memory, where in Cowtown is it being built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauron2 Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 When I was there on Monday the construction guys said it would be about 2 weeks. :rofl: Someone refresh my memory, where in Cowtown is it being built? 2020 19th street NE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbot Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) you dont dig the local fish store scene in calgary? have you been to them all? as an edmontonian i frequently make the trip just for the stores there. i find stores like riverfront,golds,pices and a few others to have verry good stock and reasonable prices. what are you looking for that you cant find? I've been to most, yes. It's not that I don't "dig" the scene. For the most part, staff here are very knowledgeable and selection is decent. However, I am looking for a store that doesn't leak water all over me when I'm shopping and that doesn't charge 4-5 times what I'm used to paying in Toronto (i.e., $4 for a neon tetra or upwards of $8 for some types of shrimp is not "reasonable"). Pisces is by far my favourite store and have had good dealings with their managers on trade-ins and sales, but compared to Toronto they are expensive - especially their hardware. I can't get over how much more expensive fish, plants, and hardware are out here! Oh well.... I guess I am a little bitter right now though, since the last batch of rummy nose tetra's i bought at Pisces just wiped out my entire stock (guess i should have quarantined them, eh?!).... J bot, try elite aquatics, GREAT customer service, ver friendly, and whenever i go there the fish all look so healthy Thanks karazy. I've been meaning to get down there, but it's really out of the way for me.... What part of Ontario are you from I have been very disappointed with the stores in my travels out there. I have been to store in London, Sarina, Kingston and all over the GTA. I just moved out here from the GTA for school. For me, nothing will beat the Menagerie in Toronto for quality fish and plants. I have always liked Big Al's for selection and price, but NEVER for customer service!!! Port Credit pets in Port Credit has the best Herp collection of any store I've ever been to. I've never been to stores in London, Sarnia or Kingston.... Edited July 24, 2008 by Nandopsis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I honestly like shopping at golds the most. Just don't let Dennis talk you into buying something lol. He tries it all the time with me and most of the time I fall for it. If you are after cichlids then golds is definitely the way to go. They also carry some Salt water, and other tropical fish. Riverfront can be expensive, but they sometimes carry fish you can't find other places. Pisces is good, but I would definitely always QT and fish I get from them. I can't wait until Big Al's opens up either, at least it is close by now rather than across town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 jbot, I feel your pain. I'm from BC and I find the prices here outrageous. I find that I can generally get hardware cheaper if I order online from places like J&L Aquatics, even after paying for shipping! As for fish, regardless of where they are purchased they should always be quarantined for at least 4 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 I hope that no one is holding their breath expecting BA's to have low prices. Unless something has changed the new BA's in Calgary will be owned by the same person that owns the Edmonton store, and IME, other than when they have sales, their prices are about as maxed out as they can get. Fish prices are bordering on insane. A prime example that I saw recently when in Edmonton; exact same species of juvie fish, from the exact same local breeder in Edmonton - BA's price - $49.99 .... same fish here at the local Petland $16.49 I didn't find their dry goods to be any screaming hot deal either. Nice selection, absolutely, but the prices certainly aren't anything to get overly excited over. jbot - have you been to Gold Aquariums? Unless you're buying directly from breeders, I think that you would be hard pressed to find lower prices for the same species of fish in the GTA, and definitely not at BA's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.