








Tucked away in Baton Rouge, Reef Coral is a compact, densely stocked specialty fish store that leans heavily into the saltwater side of the hobby while maintaining a respectable freshwater selection. " The saltwater inventory is the star here. Reef Coral carries a wide range of corals, anemones, and live rock, with bulk purchasing options for those building out reef setups.
Staff member Ron is frequently praised by name for his deep knowledge of reef systems and coral care, and Lucas has earned recognition for patiently walking newcomers through the basics of tank setup and livestock selection. The store clearly attracts serious hobbyists — one reviewer detailed an elaborate 190-gallon South American biotope with RODI water systems and wifi-monitored temperature controllers, illustrating the caliber of fishkeeper that shops here. On the freshwater side, the store stocks cardinal tetras, rummynose tetras, blue cichlids, plecos, shrimp, and live plants.
At least one customer came in specifically for shrimp and plants for a planted tank and left impressed with the guidance they received. The store also carries sharks (likely freshwater species given the context) and has facilitated fish trades with customers. There are legitimate caveats worth noting.
Multiple reviewers have flagged the store's lack of a fish warranty policy, and a few detailed experiences with livestock health issues, including ICH introductions. Coral and anemone handling has also drawn criticism from some reef keepers. The store's atmosphere runs dark and no-frills, and customer service experiences vary — some encounters are warm and thorough, while others feel rushed or indifferent.
For Baton Rouge aquarists seeking specialty reef supplies, quality corals, and live rock without driving to New Orleans, Reef Coral fills an important niche. Just inspect your livestock carefully before bagging.
Rainey Williams
6 reviews
Great selection of reefing supplies!
Rome
6 reviews
Kind of blunt and straight to the point almost like they don't want you in the store and it's extremely dark
Lisa Bonton
43 reviews
Beautiful fish & coral supply store.
Keith Cunningham
80 reviews
Place hasn't changed. Neither has the need for customer service
Lena
2 reviews
Really cute store with healthy stock and stunning display tanks. The saltwater collection is more extensive than the freshwater, but they have the basics for everything. A good place to buy live rock and other decor in bulk.
Davion Delmore
4 reviews
Great store! Has everything you need
Nathan Falcon
Great selection of both saltwater and freshwater, employees super knowledgeable, prices are great. Best fish store in the area! Small store pack to the gills with goodies
kayaken -nc
5 reviews
Like the store coral I got was at a good price and look amazing. Only thing I'm unhappy about is the policy on fish. I drove a hour to get there pay 60 for this tiny fish to then drive home a hour. All to fine the little guy on deaths doorstep. That shouldn't have happened. It's not my first time driving a hour or more with a fish and this is the first one I've lost.
derrick l
20 reviews
No help
Hayden Michelli
11 reviews
Warning: the owner offers zero warranty on his fish. On 12-21-24 I bought 40 cardinal tetra, and 15 rummynose tetra, 55 fish in total straight out of the bag as soon as they arived to the shop. I acclimated them to a quarantine tank, filled with remineralized RODI water, to monitor for external disease, by the first night I had lost about 7 fish. By day 2 another 7ish. After another 4 days I had lost about another 7 or so more but the remainder were eating. At this point, it had been 6 days, I saw zero signs of external disease and just assumed the deaths were caused by ammonia burn in shipping. I of course checked my quarantine tanks parameters daily and everything was perfect. I then proceeded to transfer the remaining fish, about 20 cardinal tetra and 7 rummynose, to my main tank; A 190 gallon south american biotope that is heavily planted. The tank has a 300 gallon total water volume with its sump, keeps a pH under 7.4, dkH of 2-3, a TDS of 70-120 ppm, and a wifi monitored temperature controller set to 80-80.5F dual heaters. All water changes and top offs are made via a RODI system connected to a solenoid and timer that runs when the lights are off and overflows the sump into a drain line for a multi hour continuous dilution based water change, that is manually remineralized when dkH drops below 2. The tank also has ground rods set up to eliminate voltage leaks from equipment. After adding the fish to my main display I monitored them for 3 days before heading out of town for the weekend. Within those 3 days I had lost another about 10 fish. I monitored pH, dkH, temp, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate everyday since adding the fish. The day I had left on my trip I had noticed that all my previous fish were eating and acting normal with zero signs of external disease, but I had a dead blue ram and a dying apistogramma macmasteri. I had someone perform daily water tests on my tank while I was gone and parameters stayed perfect. But by the time I had gotten back on Monday 1-1-24 these are the fish that had died 5 days after adding the cardinals and rummynose purchased from reef coral: 3 wild caught amapa angelfish 4 wild caught blue ram 4 columbian tetra 6 otocinclus 1 apistograma macmasteri 12 cardinal tetra + (27 that died in QT) 7 rummynose tetra + (8 that died in QT) Out of the 55 fish I purchased only 8 cardinal tetra survived, and whatever was wrong with them infected and quickly killed 18 of my fish. All remaining fish are still eating, have great color, and are acting completely normal. Even my 5 original rummynose in the tank all survived oddly enough. After 5 calls over the course of 4 different days (remember this takes place over Christmas and new years) I was finally able to speak with the owner to try to rectify this situation, his employee kept telling me to call back another time because only the owner would be able to deal with this. The owners response was what is you pH? Because they are usually kept in 7.4-7.6. I told him my pH is usually 6.8-7.4 depending on my dkH at the time. He then said his latest shipment only had a few die, obviously every shipment is different. He then offered to SELL me more of the cardinals 50% off, the same cardinals that just killed hundreds of dollars worth of my fish... Bruh, really? Below is a picture of my tank on 1-3-24, my filtration, and the fish I had in quarantine.
Note: Store information and services may change. Always call (225) 753-7177 to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting Reef Coral.
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12442 Jefferson Hwy, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
February 7, 2026
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