The Ark in Merrillville, IN

This is the only LFS in the area that I've been to. They have a large selection of salt and freshwater aquariums. I'm not familiar at all with saltwater setups, so I can't really comment on them. As far as their freshwater selection goes, it's vast to say the least. To those who have never been to buy fish other then Petco, or Petsmart. The Ark has their aquariums divided. The saltwaters are in their own section. And they have the back storeroom door that seperates the community tanks from the aggressive tanks. They have a 55 Gallon tank that contains their entire selection of plants. I don't remember exactly which plants they had in stock, but there were over 20 different varieties. The employees there are more then willing to answer any questions you have, and they are not pests, they greet you at the door, but do not walk on your heels every step of the way. I took my kids in there, and they were willing to take the time to explain to them the differences in fish. Although they did not have a single snail for sale there. I was told by the fish guy there that apples and trumpets were illegal to sell in any pet store in the state, however I have not been able to confirm this. Unfortunately that's the main reason I went to the store was to find 4-5 apples. But oh well, just another reason to go drive around and find a new store, and another reason to go back and visit The Ark again.