Cali Kid (Secret Location)

Joined
Oct 15, 2008
Messages
221
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5
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18
#1
For those that know me.. my wife and I are always wondering around LA and OC doing what we call "fish runs". Especially during weekends. With the new baby, we drag her along for the fun too! :D We don't always buy things, but like to look and pick up nice things along the way.

This weekend, we decided go go see Cali Kid Corals in Whittier. I have bought stuff from Ben in the past, but it was at a show and we've been meaning to go check out his store. From looking at the Yelp pics, I was not expecting much... (being honest... looks tiny).

Surprise Surprise.. when I walked in, the place was just a tiny converted office and Ben was right there with his staff saying hello. The store is small, and that means Ben can be doing his thing (water change?) and we are left to roam around. Any questions we had, we just spoke up (It's that cozy). You know how when you go to a giant LFS, you are just plowing through all the non reef safe fish, brown sps, GSP, meh Zoas... and stopping every now and then to get a second look at some colorful x coral? Sometimes you leave these bigger stores not seeing a single wow piece. Imagine a store where they just took out all of that "stuff" and just left the awesome colorful pieces. Now multiply that by 100. Every frag tank in that place was crammed tight with show pieces and some crazy FSM quality corals.

My wife ended up picking up a Rose Nem and I ended up with yet another Rainbow Chalice I didn't need :p Btw, if you want to see crazy chalices, this is the place. ROWS upon ROWS of eyepoping chalice candies :faint2:

Enough about the store...

When my wife wanted the Nem, Ben noticed it was stuck to his rockwork. Rather than tearing the nem away from his LR, he used a band saw and cut the nem out for her. By the way, this was just a normal Nem, not a crazy expensive one that would warrant all this trouble. He said he didn't want to harm the Nem in any way... that tells you a lot of about the owner. Most stores would have ripped it off or tell you sorry I can't get it off.

Pricing..

I challenge anyone to find a better deal than what I got these two items for. :tongue (2):

Oh.. yah.. there's this really nice comfy couch for customers to chill on. My daughter took full advantage :)

So if you are ever in the Whittier area and want to look at nice coral, I highly recommend checking out this hidden LFS.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2014
Messages
43
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1
Points
8
Location
Diamond bar
#3
Yup Ben is awesome and knows a lot. Love going to his spot to look around and chill. He gives awesome deals!!!


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Joined
Apr 17, 2015
Messages
829
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1
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18
Location
santa fe springs
#4
CALI KID Corals is awesome Best Store in Cali!!!! Ben is very knowledgeable in the hobby, And cares about the animals that he sells there not just in it for the money like these Local Fish Stores are. Always giving good deals and A+++ Customer Service.
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
Messages
110
Likes
6
Points
18
Location
Whittier
#5
For those that know me.. my wife and I are always wondering around LA and OC doing what we call "fish runs". Especially during weekends. With the new baby, we drag her along for the fun too! :D We don't always buy things, but like to look and pick up nice things along the way.

This weekend, we decided go go see Cali Kid Corals in Whittier. I have bought stuff from Ben in the past, but it was at a show and we've been meaning to go check out his store. From looking at the Yelp pics, I was not expecting much... (being honest... looks tiny).

Surprise Surprise.. when I walked in, the place was just a tiny converted office and Ben was right there with his staff saying hello. The store is small, and that means Ben can be doing his thing (water change?) and we are left to roam around. Any questions we had, we just spoke up (It's that cozy). You know how when you go to a giant LFS, you are just plowing through all the non reef safe fish, brown sps, GSP, meh Zoas... and stopping every now and then to get a second look at some colorful x coral? Sometimes you leave these bigger stores not seeing a single wow piece. Imagine a store where they just took out all of that "stuff" and just left the awesome colorful pieces. Now multiply that by 100. Every frag tank in that place was crammed tight with show pieces and some crazy FSM quality corals.

My wife ended up picking up a Rose Nem and I ended up with yet another Rainbow Chalice I didn't need :p Btw, if you want to see crazy chalices, this is the place. ROWS upon ROWS of eyepoping chalice candies :faint2:

Enough about the store...

When my wife wanted the Nem, Ben noticed it was stuck to his rockwork. Rather than tearing the nem away from his LR, he used a band saw and cut the nem out for her. By the way, this was just a normal Nem, not a crazy expensive one that would warrant all this trouble. He said he didn't want to harm the Nem in any way... that tells you a lot of about the owner. Most stores would have ripped it off or tell you sorry I can't get it off.

Pricing..

I challenge anyone to find a better deal than what I got these two items for. :tongue (2):

Oh.. yah.. there's this really nice comfy couch for customers to chill on. My daughter took full advantage :)

So if you are ever in the Whittier area and want to look at nice coral, I highly recommend checking out this hidden LFS.
Thank You Pga7602 for your business and support! The fact that you took time out of your day to write this and tell people about your experience is appreciated!
 
Joined
Apr 20, 2008
Messages
277
Likes
13
Points
18
Location
East Whittier
#10
Awesome/ very impressive spot with special pieces, great prices, knowledgeable and attentive owner.
Feels like you're in someone's living room checking out their tank.
 

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