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Aquashella 2023

Odd Duck

By Odd Duck,
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FLFishChik Mentor

FLFishChik

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On 1/23/2023 at 11:00 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

We should start a fish event page I think. I’m very interested in the way people approach these events - hobbyist led vs industry led events etc. 

It will be my very first Aquashella and I am soooooo excited!!!!! I'm assuming it will be held at the Ocean Center... and it's literally across the street from the beach. Lots of hotels around, a boardwalk... tons of places to eat, things to see an do.It's not Orlando, but it's still fun!

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OnlyGenusCaps Grand Master

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Can I admit something?  I went to Aquashella in Chicago last year, and I found it to be a total disappointment.  It was my first fish show/expo, but I have been to reptile ones in the past.  At reptile expos there are reptiles for sale.  There are products for sale.  Companies show off their new stuff and you can usually get these new products at a "show discount", sometimes even after the show has ended for a time. 

At Aquashella there was none of that.  Well, you could get coral frags.  But not fish, or shrimp, or...  Well, there was one guy selling plants too.  But, there were no product sales I could tell.  I was speaking with a well known company that had a new product they were displaying and I was excited about it, so I asked if I could buy it.  Nope.  So..?  The response was I should go on their website and find out if there were vendors in my area and then call them to see if they had any in stock.  Seriously?!  Why did I pay to get in?!  No big product discounts.  No critters. 

Lawrence Pet World had awesome wood and stone which though not being sold at a discount, didn't come with the associated shipping, so that made it more worth it, plus getting to pick out your own pieces.  And Dan's Fish was there doing what looked to be a brisk business of selling plants.  But overall Aquashella left me feeling cold.  For me, it didn't seem worth the price of entry.  I'll stick to the reptile shows where I can recoup my entry price on the discounts on stuff I need. 

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FLFishChik Mentor

FLFishChik

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On 1/30/2023 at 8:52 AM, Scaperoot said:

I was really looking forward to going to Aquashella in Orlando next month, but it seems like things didn't work out for that venue. November seems so far away🙁 At least it will still be in Florida.  

Orlando is only a 45 minute drive from Daytona. Still doable!

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mynameisnobody Mentor

mynameisnobody

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@OnlyGenusCaps I’ve never been to one and have held off for the reasons you stated. Mind you, I’m a 90 min drive to Orlando. From what I’ve seen in videos, it seems like a glorified fishtuber meet up. I have also been to a ton of reptile expos and those are definitely worth the price of admission. If I can’t buy anything for the hobby then I’d rather stay home and work on the hobby. 

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Odd Duck Grand Master

Odd Duck

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On 2/13/2023 at 7:12 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

Can I admit something?  I went to Aquashella in Chicago last year, and I found it to be a total disappointment.  It was my first fish show/expo, but I have been to reptile ones in the past.  At reptile expos there are reptiles for sale.  There are products for sale.  Companies show off their new stuff and you can usually get these new products at a "show discount", sometimes even after the show has ended for a time. 

At Aquashella there was none of that.  Well, you could get coral frags.  But not fish, or shrimp, or...  Well, there was one guy selling plants too.  But, there were no product sales I could tell.  I was speaking with a well known company that had a new product they were displaying and I was excited about it, so I asked if I could buy it.  Nope.  So..?  The response was I should go on their website and find out if there were vendors in my area and then call them to see if they had any in stock.  Seriously?!  Why did I pay to get in?!  No big product discounts.  No critters. 

Lawrence Pet World had awesome wood and stone which though not being sold at a discount, didn't come with the associated shipping, so that made it more worth it, plus getting to pick out your own pieces.  And Dan's Fish was there doing what looked to be a brisk business of selling plants.  But overall Aquashella left me feeling cold.  For me, it didn't seem worth the price of entry.  I'll stick to the reptile shows where I can recoup my entry price on the discounts on stuff I need. 

Very strange because there was all sorts of stuff for sale in Dallas.  Might be different vendors, certainly different local vendors.  There were more salt sellers than fresh, but there were still multiple plant, shrimp, and fish vendors.  Artists selling all kinds of paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, hardscape sellers, etc.  There was a shrimp contest, aquascaping contest, huge raffle for a reef restoration charity - that’s where I was helping out.  Speakers pretty much all day long both days, including @Cory and @Dean’s Fishroom among multiple other well known YouTubers and experts.  I don’t know if most people would want to stay all day both days, but certainly worth going for one day and trying to get to see some of the speakers.  I did both days and sat in on several speakers - yes, both Cory and Dean, of course.  I can’t attest to what they look like at other locations, but Dallas was definitely worth it.

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JettsPapa Grand Master

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On 2/13/2023 at 10:52 AM, Odd Duck said:

Very strange because there was all sorts of stuff for sale in Dallas.  Might be different vendors, certainly different local vendors.  There were more salt sellers than fresh, but there were still multiple plant, shrimp, and fish vendors.  Artists selling all kinds of paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, hardscape sellers, etc.  There was a shrimp contest, aquascaping contest, huge raffle for a reef restoration charity - that’s where I was helping out.  Speakers pretty much all day long both days, including @Cory and @Dean’s Fishroom among multiple other well known YouTubers and experts.  I don’t know if most people would want to stay all day both days, but certainly worth going for one day and trying to get to see some of the speakers.  I did both days and sat in on several speakers - yes, both Cory and Dean, of course.  I can attest to what they look like at other locations, but Dallas was definitely worth it.

Thanks for posting that.  I've been thinking about going to the one in Dallas, but the post above about the one in Chicago had me thinking "never mind."

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FLFishChik Mentor

FLFishChik

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On 2/13/2023 at 11:52 AM, Odd Duck said:

Very strange because there was all sorts of stuff for sale in Dallas.  Might be different vendors, certainly different local vendors.  There were more salt sellers than fresh, but there were still multiple plant, shrimp, and fish vendors.  Artists selling all kinds of paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, hardscape sellers, etc.  There was a shrimp contest, aquascaping contest, huge raffle for a reef restoration charity - that’s where I was helping out.  Speakers pretty much all day long both days, including @Cory and @Dean’s Fishroom among multiple other well known YouTubers and experts.  I don’t know if most people would want to stay all day both days, but certainly worth going for one day and trying to get to see some of the speakers.  I did both days and sat in on several speakers - yes, both Cory and Dean, of course.  I can attest to what they look like at other locations, but Dallas was definitely worth it.

I’ve not been to one but have watched several vlogs on the Orlando show and there always seems to be tons of stuff for sale from fish to hardscape to water treatments and aquariums.

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Cory Grand Master

Cory

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Each one is different. They try new things, and change each event. Different vendors show up. So lets say 40% is local. A business in Florida, isn't likely to show up in Dallas, but may show up in Chicago.  I still believe if you're local, it's absolutely worth  a 1 day visit. Shopping, speakers, stuff to look at etc. You get out of your house and get to nerd out. If it's a flight, and hotel etc. That's much harder to justify for most people.

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PineSong Grand Master

PineSong

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I went to Aquashella Chicago in 2022 and I was not disappointed by the stuff for sale. I bought a lot of wood, some plants and some shrimp and I did see vendors selling fish--goldfish and bettas for sure. The shrimp were much cheaper than in my local stores, comparable to buying online but without the shipping or worry about them in the mail.

I felt getting to see all that wood and choose my pieces was worth the price of admission, but I live 1.5 hours away from a decent wood vendor, and they still have only 1/10th of the wood that was there,so...it may have been more impressive to me than others. 

There were small tanks and setups for sale--things like biorbs, vase aquariums with wood slice bases (sorry I don't remember the name of the company but they're in lots of youtubers vids). 

I travelled to Chicago to visit family members and timed it to go to Aquashella while I was there. If I lived in Chicago I would probably go most years just to nerd out and buy more wood! 

 

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Flipper Community Regular

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On 2/13/2023 at 10:52 AM, Odd Duck said:

Very strange because there was all sorts of stuff for sale in Dallas.  Might be different vendors, certainly different local vendors.  There were more salt sellers than fresh, but there were still multiple plant, shrimp, and fish vendors.  Artists selling all kinds of paintings, prints, sculptures, jewelry, hardscape sellers, etc.  There was a shrimp contest, aquascaping contest, huge raffle for a reef restoration charity - that’s where I was helping out.  Speakers pretty much all day long both days, including @Cory and @Dean’s Fishroom among multiple other well known YouTubers and experts.  I don’t know if most people would want to stay all day both days, but certainly worth going for one day and trying to get to see some of the speakers.  I did both days and sat in on several speakers - yes, both Cory and Dean, of course.  I can’t attest to what they look like at other locations, but Dallas was definitely worth it.

 

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