BUFFALO CORAL REEF

alex dechert

2023-06

Was very friendly and went above and beyond. Told him we were thinking about making the change to salt water and was very informative. Will definitely be going back!EDIT:5 years later we were finally ready to start a saltwater tank. Mike is the man. Super cool guy to talk to, very informative, and has set us up beautifully. Now it’s a bimonthly visit for us as we don’t have the means to make our own saltwater, and, to be honest, we’re always down to bring something new home haha. He always wants to see pics of the tank and how everything is doing, and let’s us know what we can do next. He’s also very good at letting us know if something we see isn’t a good idea yet. Which we really appreciate, instead of letting us buy anything and then failing and possibly getting us out of the hobby. Can’t recommend him enough. I’ve had freshwater tanks all my life and always wanted a salt, but was too intimidated. He made it so easy. And now, I swear there’s less maintenance on our salt than my bigger freshwater cichlid tank.

Reed Brodsky

2024-04

Great fish great hospitality

thomas suggs

2023-06

I’m from out of town, Michigan. Introduced myself and Mike let me stroll around admiring a very nice selection of corals inverts, and fish. I highly recommend and I will visit every trip I make to the Buffalo area!!! Very knowledgeable all around great experience!!! And I’m going back home with a cooler load!

Tina Brunner

2023-06

The owner is beyond friendly the store is always clean and the fish are beautiful. He is always good with my girls when we go in to visit and if there was anything wrong he would do a home visit or ask you to bring whatever you bought back to the store.. Me and my ex always go to his store and he is a really close friend

Mb Reef

2022-06

Great costumer service and prices… a lot of deference coral to shop and good prices

Landyn DeForest

2022-06

Truly a nice guy, gets to know you and your tastes before beginning recommendations. A real salesman at heart, furthermore he puts a lot of time into cleaning and maintaining very healthy tanks. He understood the tank I was going for and offered the coral which fit the price. Coming all the way from Erie, he sold me only things that would last the trip. He gave me tips for beginners and foremost befriended me. I was antsy to spend a lot of money, but even if I spent a lot, I would be more than happy to support Micheals business.

dennis penwright Jr

2023-07

Very helpful and I also bought my tank from him to my buddy gave 4 clown fish and a shrimp now I need to buy a turbo snail I hope he has them in stock

Myoung9814

2018-06

Mike is more than friendly and willing to help anyone out. Great personality with great fish and great prices. Matthew Marci is a joke and so are his other reviews. Don't let his review steer you away from purchasing and checking out buffalo coral reef. I have been going there for years and never had a problem there :).

Todd Heywood

2020-06

I have been going to mike for awhile now, he actually got me set up in the hobby. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer guy to do that. He let me know exactly what I was getting into, and led me in the right direction. He’s also always available to answer any questions. He has beautiful fish and coral livestock. Stop in, you won’t regret it.

Joe Vitale

2020-06

Michael always greets every customer by name which is very welcoming. He has a good selection of marine fish and corals, and recently started carrying some freshwater fish, too, since most of us have MTS. Any time I have trouble with my tank he has helped me and on occasion has been able to order specific fish or. Inverts for me when he didn't have them in the store.

Kody

2022-06

Mike is super polite and kid friendly. The shop was well stocked in salt water fish as well as some freshwater. After going to this specific shop I definitely would come back based on customer service alone.

Aaron Kay

2017-06

Wonderfully personable, with fantastic customer care, and great comunication. Very knowledgeable and a perfect asset for the beginner. We purchased 2 worrisome rainbow bubble tip anemone from him for our newly cycled tank and they are doing fantastic. He tutored us in any question we had and was very accomodating. Also a good place for small tank residents, with the right price if you look for a deal.

Cassandra Delaney

2022-06

INCREDIBLE SERVICE + COOLEST CORAL/FISH STORE, you can not dislike the owner!! My boyfriend and I came to buffalo for our anniversary and wandered around town doing activities and ended up here because my boyfriend just started a fish tank last winter and wanted some coral! His prices are excellent, takes time to get to know you as a person and your interests in what you’re looking for in your tank! I will surely visit again next time I go to Buffalo!!

Ron Family auto of wny inc

2018-06

These guys are awesome would suggest to check out the store

Jackie S

2023-06

very cool store. owner is really helpful. I was actually surprised he had some fresh water fish also.

Alan Powell

2018-06

I think I should start with the worst and finish with the best. To start we are from Rochester and planned on doing a little afternoon/night trip into the buffalo area to hit all the aquarium/reptile places that we could find. That being said this was one of the locations that had intrigued us. We first walked in and saw the beautiful aura of blue lights on the tanks and the perfect sound of running water throughout the salt tanks. this doesn't even cover it all. The amazing experience we had was when we met Mike. He had to have been the most personable, friendly, humble business owner i have ever met in my life and was excited about his own product in a genuine way. He definitely made an impact on our trip and kept us smiling at the experience even when we drove down the road on our way home. He took the time to share stuff about his own life and hear what we had to say about ours even though he knew we weren't in the market to buy anything at that time. I even said to Marissa that if there was anywhere i'd drive every weekend just to hang out it'd be this place. i can't believe the amazing " homey" feeling this place gave off. But i damn well know where i'll be headed when i start up in salt water fish. No one else will have our business other than Mike and the Buffalo Coral Reef.P.S. thank you so much for the jolly rancher ice pops made our night!

Justin Lewandowski

2021-06

this place has become a staple in the area for the salt water hobbyist. Clean tanks, awsome owner who is generally there all the time, very good service. He is knowledgeable and helpful for beginners or experts.

Kyle Ball

2015-06

Mike was great oI just started my tank 2 weeks ago and just been lookig for a person that actually knows what they are talking about. This is the guy for all your salt water needs he is straight forward and taught me a lot in a matter of 20 minutes will never go to another fish store unless its for my fresh water tank. I would highly recommend him to anyone prices are about what any other fish store is.

David Smith

2015-06

It's nice stopping into a business and trusting the advice given. Mike (the owner) is a straight shooter and has suggested I might not be ready to purchase some corals (they were kind of expensive too) that require a more experienced hobbyist. Verses "sure give it a try" that I've heard at other places. I've lost a lot of money purchasing things that were beyond my needs and knowledge. Mike has helped to give me a new outlook on my marine system and I enjoy stopping in and seeing the increasing selection of beautful corals as his business grows.

David Grayson

2019-06

Mike is awesome and always gives great deals. Worth the drive every time! His shop is good sized and has a great variety of corals and inverts all the time.

Spencer Taberski

2018-06

My favorite place to go for my salt water needs. Mike is awesome and very helpful. Prices are fair and stock is heathy. I have filled 2 tanks from his store and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Md Uddin

2024-05

I love this fish store.

Annette Rizzo

2020-06

Best saltwater store around, love this place! Mike is very helpful, knowledgeable and personable - he knows his stuff! Great selection and prices! I would definitely recommend a trip.

Jahreturns Hey

2021-06

Very nice place. We purchased a saltwater aquarium from Michael and he has been the best for helping. Will definitely look forward to doing more business with him.

Matthew Soares

2019-06

The shop is fine, and I'm happy to have another reef shop in WNY. However I can't help but get the feeling that the storefront is more of an add-on and holding area for the owner's aquarium maintenance business. Prices tend to be a bit higher than other shops in the area and selection of both coral and fish tends to be a bit uninspired and hit or miss. Tanks look healthy, however, and the owner is very nice.

Bob Siwy

2020-06

I will never spend another dollar in this store! Every fish i bought there died within the first week. Me being new to the hobby I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt not knowing if i did something wrong or not. After buying a Kenyan tree that was attached to a smell piece of live rock. On that live rock along with the tree there was 2 smaller things growing that he said they were a "bonus" and he was going to basically do me a favor by selling them to me for cheap. Turns out he sold me a pest called aiptasia that spread across my tank. Not trust worthy! Takes advantage of people that are just trying to learn about the hobby.

melissa leblanc

2021-06

Just went in there and felt extremely rushed as we got there at 5 and they close at 6pm. Guy told us to quickly look around as he was closing up shop. Probably won’t go there again to shop. Good set up just poor customer service.

Javi's reef

2019-06

Nice clean store , with friendly staff, the owner is really helpful and generous ,good prices on large selection of corals and fish, they also have a selection of fresh water tropical fish. Was there tonight for my first time and will be returning back!

Kelly Shaw-Hewes

2020-06

What a outstanding place!!! The owner is one of the best human being I’ve come across in a long time or ever! They are kind and very knowledgeable. Their tanks are pristine!! Definitely check this place out.

Rodrigo Aguilera Olvera

2016-06

A must stop place for the reef hobbyist in or passing Buffalo. Some of the best flower anemones I've ever seen at a store. Great coral selection at a fair price. I walked off with a sweet hammer frag that is looking great in my tank. The one thing that was missing was a larger frag tank set up. Plenty of frags but they are scattered along the tanks with the larger pieces. I enjoy hunting for pieces hiding in the tanks but it is still nice to see a neat orderly frag tank.