State: MD
City: Bethesda
Name: Westwood pet center

Variety: 5 (good barbs and guppys)
Cleanliness: 7
Staff intelligence: 9

ARIZONA

PRESCOTT

We have both a PetSmart and a PetCo, not the best but if you feel the need to use them I would recommend our PetSmart over PetCo in general.

PET CARE CENTER- Fish and small animals.
Friendliness: 9
Knowledge: Depends on which employee you speak with- I'd give it an 8 overall.
Cleanliness: 6 Lots of algae in the tanks.
Variety: In store: 5-6 due to small size and not a lot of room for tanks, but they will order anything you request. So overall-10.

This store is working to improve some things, which is always nice to see. I find them to be expensive, which I think is true of all local small stores. When I can I support them because I believe in what they are doing. When it comes to big items, I just cannot afford to get these from there. Their fish are fairly expensive as well.

State: California


City: Roseville
Store: Petsmart

Variety/Selection: 4
Cleanliness and Quality: 3
Staff friendliness: 10
Staff knowledge: 1
Smiley rating:

Comments:
Typical big box store. Completely ignorant staff. Their tanks are dirty and there are many sick and dead fish. I wouldn't buy a single thing from here and honestly I do not feel they have any business selling fish.

City: Citrus Heights
Store: Petco

Variety/Selection: 3
Cleanliness and Quality: 8
Staff friendliness: 10
Staff knowledge: 5
Smiley rating:

Comments:
For a big box store, this place actually isn't too bad. Their fish selection is wanting, but they do have a small saltwater selection. They carry most of the super common varieties except guppies, which amazed me. Their tanks are always clean and their fish always look healthy and I've only noticed dead fish on rare occasions. The staff here seems to be somewhat educated, but they still don't understand the nitrogen cycle and will give you erroneous information. If you've already done your research and are just looking for a common fish, this place is ok to buy from.



City: Carmichael
Store: Pet Connection

Variety/Selection: 7
Cleanliness and Quality: 2
Staff friendliness: 4
Staff knowledge: 4
Smiley rating:

Comments: This store used to be my favorite in the area. I'm sad to say it has declined greatly in quality. They have reptiles, small mammals, birds, oddities such as scorpions and tarantulas, and puppies as well as fresh and saltwater fish. They have reptiles that I do not believe should be sold, such as large desert tortoises. Those animals are not bred, they must be removed from their natural environment, and they do not do well in captivity. Their cages in the store are grossly inadequate. The quality of their tanks has declined greatly. There were dead fish all over the place, in both fresh and saltwater the last time I was there. Several tanks had fish with Ich, and they had not been quarantined from the other fish. They give bogus advice in order to make fish sales. Their staff can be rude and argumentative. The one saving grace about this location is they will make custom measurement glass aquariums, but due to the severe decline in quality on many levels, I doubt I would take advantage of this service.



City: Sacramento (downtown)
Store: "O" Street Aquarium

Variety/Selection: 8
Cleanliness and Quality: 10
Staff friendliness: 10
Staff knowledge: 10
Smiley rating:

Comments:
I was very impressed with this store. Their selection of both fresh and saltwater organisms was quite large considering the size of the store. Their cichlid selection is superb. The tanks were spotless. Their staff was extremely friendly and willing to help, and they seemed like they enjoyed their job. Their staff is knowledgeable as well. This is an excellent little shop, and I'll probably go out of my way to do business here just to support such a well run establishment.




City: Sacramento (West Sac)
Store: Exotic Aquarium

Variety/Selection: 10
Cleanliness and Quality: 7
Staff friendliness: 10
Staff knowledge: 6
Smiley rating:

Comments:
Overall I was really, really impressed with this place. Their selection is absolutely staggering. Considering the size of the place, their fish are quite well kept. They have quarantine tanks on each row for sick fish. While I did see some deaths, considering the enormous size of this place the amount of death was quite low. Overall their fish were healthy, and they carry both fresh and saltwater varieties. They have a gigantic variety of aquariums to choose from, and they do custom orders as well. My one bone of contention with this place was one of their staff touting a new cycling potion to me, promising me that it was cycle a tank withing 3 days. I do not believe that is possible, but on the other hand he was extremely knowledgeable about fish. All of their staff were courteous and helpful. Excellent store.

This post has been edited by Seed: Jan 21 2008, 08:07 PM

South Dakota
Sioux Falls

Mini Critters
49th Louise
Minicritters.com


Variety/Selection: 9---if they don't have it they'll order it or, if fish is unavailable at the time, take your name and call you when it becomes available from the supplier. Sometimes we go there just to look!

Cleanliness/Quality: 9 rarely if ever see dead things. I've never seen an unkept aquarium there.

Staff Friendliness: 5--i think they might be more friendly if they had more time. They are a REALLY busy store, esp. weekends, and they're rushed.

Knowledge: 9 They've given great advice and if one person doesn't know an answer they'll try to consult with the other associates.

Smiley rating:

They have two awesome saltwater show tanks(items aren't for sale from those) containg rays and various fish. They also sell small animals, birds, puppies, and some reptiles. Of course they sell a ton of accessories too.

Gives them an overall of 80%.

State: TN
City: Knoxville
Store: Aquarium

Variety/ Selection: 8
Cleanliness and quality: 9
Staff friendliness and Knowledge: 9
Smiley rating:
Comments: This is one of the only stores in my area and I'm happy to say they are really quite good. Their prices tend to be a bit high but then so is the quality of their fish. The do offer memberships which can get you coupons and member web specials.

These are just the stores I use or have used in the past. I didn't rate the local walmart or the racine petco or walmart. I haven't bought fish at any of thm.


State: Wisconsin
City: Kenosha
Store: Petco

Variety/ Selection:4
Cleanliness and quality: 5
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 7
Smiley rating:
Don't go here. It's a freaking joke.

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State: Wisconsin
City: Kenosha
Store: Jim's Aquarium

Variety/ Selection: 8
Cleanliness and quality: 8
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 9
Smiley rating:


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State: Wisconsin
City: Racine
Store: Havahart

Variety/ Selection: winter 7 / summer 9
Cleanliness and quality: 9
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 9
Smiley rating:

State: Pennsilvania
City:Allentown
Store: Pet Supplies Plus

Variety/ Selection:3
Cleanliness and quality: 4
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 5
Smiley rating:
---------------------------
State: Pennsilvania
City:Allentown
Store: Petco

Variety/ Selection:8
Cleanliness and quality: 7
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 7
Smiley rating:

This store is moving, they are currently in 2 location but will eventually be Aqua Workz (I think that is the spelling).

The new address is:
8125 Belvedere Ave
Sacramento, CA 95826

The new store is HUGE, compared to the one on O street. They have a great selection of products and tanks, they have tanks that I haven't seen anywhere else. The store layout is interesting all the tanks are in a large U with all the Fresh Water tanks on the outer part and the salt water on the inside. Can't rate anything else really since all I got was some filter media, but I will be going back to get fish in the next few weeks.

State: California
City:Bueana Park
Store: Orange Coast Tropical Fish

Variety/ Selection:7
Cleanliness and quality: 10
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 10
Smiley rating:
---------------------------

The Staff is very friendly and know there stuff, not a very great selection, but a lot of common fish and nice plants.
Are willing to order special thinks for you.

State: California
City:Long Beach
Store: Strickly fish

Variety/ Selection:7
Cleanliness and quality: 10
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 5 for friendly 10 for knowledge
Smiley rating:
---------------------------

Staff is a bit rude, slow and preoccupied with the TV. They do have a great selection of plants though but are over priced. If you like chiclids they're your store! They have a wide variety of chiclids. This is one store that sells bioballs and those donut shaped ceramic rings that are from their established tanks to help biuld your filters bacteria up.

State: California
City:Bueana Park
Store: PetSmart

Variety/ Selection:10 (great selection of tetras and other fresh water fish!)
Cleanliness and quality: 10
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 7 for friendly 2 for knowledge.
Smiley rating:

Great variety oddly enough better then the local fish stores! Sadly enough they had a great planted tank that is now full of Blue grween algea and they don't seem to know how to get rid of it. I bought a lot of nice plants there cheap before the slime took over. Employees cannot tell fish apart and often times catch the wrong ones (which I can't understand since the pictures are right there with the price!!)

Saw some in Michigan, but none from my area, and there's quite a few of them. I've hit most of them around here, so while I'm online and bored:


State: Michigan
City: Saginaw
Store: Ocean Odyssey

Variety/ Selection: 7
Cleanliness and quality: 6
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 5
Smiley rating:

Biggest place around. Pretty mixed, though. If you catch the manager, he really knows his stuff, but is usually in the back office. They have a few very knowledgeable people, and a lot of less knowledgeable people who at least know better than to give you advice when somebody is on hand that can help you better. They do some specialty orders, particularly salt water, but won't carry or order painted fish. Tanks aren't always the cleanest, and have a large shared filter/water supply, so fish should definitely be quarantined (I've gotten a couple sick fish from them). Has some oddball stuff, like marine acclimated mollies and occasional rare species, but it's mostly common fish. One of only two places to get salt water fish in town, but unless you want yellow tangs, the selection is limited.

The one thing I really don't like about the place is that they sell baby alligators. I don't think they should be kept as pets to start with, but there's no viable way to keep something that gets that large in this part of the country, so most of these probably die or are donated to the zoo (where most of them probably die anyway).

State: Michigan
City: Bay City
Store: Soldan's

Variety/ Selection: 6
Cleanliness and quality: 4
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 3
Smiley rating:

There's always somebody on duty who knows fish, but sometimes only one, and good luck getting a hold of them. The people who work out in the store aren't as knowledgeable, but can give good basic info. Fish tanks are clean, but often contain dead or dying fish, sometimes for several days. Do carry a handful of rare fish you can't find anywhere else in the Tri Cities. They do give a 5 day guarantee, most places don't.

State: Michigan
City: Midland
Store: Soldans

Variety/ Selection: 8
Cleanliness and quality: 6
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: unknown
Smiley rating:

Same chain, but a cleaner store with a better selection. Little experience with the service, but they were the only place in the Tri Cities you could get Bio-Spira with any hope of it actually working. Midland's tap water is a bit softer and lower pH than in Saginaw or Bay City, so you can find a few species here in better condition than anywhere in Saginaw (and vice-versa), but good luck getting them to survive the transition.

State: Michigan
City: Saginaw
Store: Scales and Tales

Variety/ Selection: 10
Cleanliness and quality: 8
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 10
Smiley rating:

IMO, the best place in Saginaw or Bay City. HUGE selection, display tank racks up to the ceiling, and will help find just about any fish on request (won't order painted fish). Many fish you can't get anywhere else, and many others you can't get healthy elsewhere, especially discus. The owner is the only one in the area that truly cares about fish - tanks aren't always the cleanest, but he won't sell from a tank if it's dirty, or if he thinks there's any chance fish from the tank may be sick. He'll quiz you on your setup and tankmates, and will discourage unwise purchases, sometimes offering discounts on better alternatives to keep you from making a mistake. Doesn't normally stock fish that don't acclimate well to the local water. He also keeps bettas in proper tanks so they show their fins off in full glory. I don't get all my fish through him, but I do get my food here - he sells premium flake and pellet foods at low prices, and has the cheapest live food I've found. Also has some special deals occasionally, like mated cichlid pairs, pre-cycled tanks, or full setups with fish.

Interesting side notes: If you can identify one of the unusual species in his display tank by scientific name, you get a discount on any fish.

State: Michigan
City: Saginaw
Store: Pet Paradise

Variety/ Selection: 8
Cleanliness and quality: 8
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 9
Smiley rating:

Occasional dead fish in a tank, but usually clean. Knowledgeable staff, does some special orders for fish and reptiles. Carries one of the better cichlid selections and the best goldfish/koi selection, as well as some oddball fish you can't find elsewhere, but they usually only get one or two of such fish, and some of the more avid collectors have them bought up by the end of the week. They have a 3 day guarantee, but not on cichlids or any fish being kept with cichlids. Only place in this lot that regularly stocks painted fish, and stocks them fairly extensively. Sold blue painted tetras to my aunt claiming they were a recent product of selective breeding, and offering to buy back any fry that inherit the blue coloring. This last bit is why the smiley is disproportionate to the scores themselves.

State: Michigan
City: Saginaw/Zilwaukee
Store: Aquatic Gardens

Variety/ Selection: 9
Cleanliness and quality: 10
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 7
Smiley rating:

Only other option for salt water in town, and a much wider selection than Ocean Odyssey. Cleanest tanks in the area, as well. Staff is reasonably good, and directs questions they aren't sure of to a local fish club. 2-3 times as expensive as anywhere else, but does have 2 for 1 Tuesdays on some fish. Also carries the widest selection of very large or oddly shaped tanks.

State: Michigan
City: Birch Run
Store: Rift Lake Tropicals

Variety/ Selection: 9
Cleanliness and quality: 10
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: Not sure, probably good
Smiley rating:

Run by an older man and his wife, who are very friendly. Only been here twice, but they have a wider marine selection than in town. Only place in the Tri Counties I've seen a great many saltwater fish, including seahorses. Despite their name, they didn't have much in the way of African cichlids when I was there. Sells precycled marine tanks and cultured filter media for both freshwater and marine. Closed on Mondays for some reason.

Going to throw in the PetSmart's too:

State: Michigan
City: Saginaw
Store: PetSmart

Variety/ Selection: 9
Cleanliness and quality: 5
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: 4
Smiley rating:

Lot of sick or injured fish in the tanks. Most of the fish staff sound like parrots repeating canned answers, and they can rarely give good answers about specific species. Tried to sell me a dead apple snail saying, "Don't worry, he's in there!"

State: Michigan
City: Midland
Store: PetSmart

Variety/ Selection: 10
Cleanliness and quality: 8
Staff friendlyness and Knowledge: unsure
Smiley rating:

No experience with the staff, but the tanks are cleaner and the fish much healthier than the ones in Saginaw. Slightly better selection, probably owing to the same water differences mentioned under Soldan's.

This post has been edited by Corleone: May 6 2008, 04:42 AM

City: Willoughby, Ohio
Store: RMS Aquatics

Variety/Selection: 10
Cleanliness and Quality: 5
Staff friendliness: 10
Staff knowledge: 8
Smiley rating:


I went to Rms yesterday and was very very happy with their store. They had some of the most amazing creatures ive ever seen. The had arowanda's, teacup stingrays, discus, electirc eel, water dogs, The Dwarf Peacock Chilids Ive been hunting for, fire eels, they even had a baby alligator. So the selection is very good. They do also have marine life but i dont know what kinds are hard to come by.

The cleaniness wasnt the greatest. The sumps looked really dirty, alot of built up algae and things like that which kind of made me like ehhh the first time i went in there but i bought fishes anyways. Which are doing very well.

As so as i walked in the door they greeted me and was trying to immediately help me with what i was looking for. They were very socialable and told me about their tanks and etc.

They did seem to know alot about the animals but when ever they didnt they would ask the head manager and he was able to tell me everything i wanted to know and more.

I over all was extatic about this place and will continue to go there for a long time.


Thanks,

Alex

My review of the same store:

Variety/Selection: Only refer to FW as that's all I deal with - 7 - nothing too odd, but large variety of common species
Cleanliness/Quality: 6 - Lots of dead fish, staff appears too busy to deal with the mess
Knowledge & Friendliness: Manager of FW department, she's an 8.5 / Other staff, 6, if you can get them to talk to you





City: Rockland
Store: Hollydach's Pet Center

Variety/Selection: 4 - nothing great
Cleanliness/Quality: 8 - I've never seen dead fish in the tanks, and appear mostly healthy
Staff knowledge and friendliness: 7 - they're more arrogant than knowledgable in my opinion



City: Belfast
Store: Foster's Family Pet Center

Variety/Selection: 9 - some interesting FW species
Cleanliness/Quality: 4 - the store has been stripped of it's rights to sell cats & dogs due to abuse, the tanks are dirty
Staff Knowledge & Friendliness: 4 They know NOTHING, and readily tell customers that, though they're very polite and friendly, ironic?



City: Augusta
Store: Petco

Variety/Selection: 8 - some neat oddballs and not over ridden with commons
Cleanliness/Quality: It seems clean and well cared for, I haven't bought anything live from them
Staff Knowledge/Friendliness: The department manager is the only one I've met - she gets a 9. She was very knowledgable and friendly, but limited on certain product information.



qwikimpss also reccomended in a later post Vance's Tropical Fish in Bucksport Maine.
I took the referal and called Vance himself. Great guy to talk to, seems incredibly knowledgeable and I'll be planning a trip there (it's almost 2 hours from me) in the comming weeks as once of my tanks goes empty, thanks for the referal, I can't wait to see the store!

This post has been edited by ClownKnifeMommy: May 22 2008, 12:02 AM

State: Alabama
City: Mobile
Store: B&B Pet Stop

Variety/ Selection: 8
Cleanliness and Quality: 9
Staff Friendlyness and Knowledge: 8
Similey rating:

They have an amazing selection of freshwater and saltwater fish, live rock, and basically everything you could ever need. They're a bit overpriced, but not too badly, and that's just because they're not a chain. All their fish are healthy and colorful - that thing people are always talking about, how fish don't have their natural color in the store cause they're stressed? Doesn't apply to this place. I've never seen a stressed fish, and only once have I seen a dead one.


State: Alabama
City: Mobile
Store: Petsmart

Variety/ Selection: 5
Cleanliness and Quality: 6
Staff Friendlyness and Knowledge: 6
Similey rating:


State: Alabama
City: Mobile
Store: Pet Supplies Plus

Variety/ Selection: 2
Cleanliness and Quality: 2
Staff Friendlyness and Knowledge: 0
Similey rating:

Basically : they have a fish department just to say it's there. They don't even have people that work in the fish department. At least, none that I've ever seen. Their fish are in terrible conditions and they know absolutely nothing about them. I went in to look at their bettas once, and the bettas were being kept in those tiny cups - without lids! - and they all had either fin rot, dropsy, or some kind of fungus. I pointed this out to someone, and they shrugged and said, "They always look like that."

state: Washington

City Seattle (and its environs)

the best and cleanest and well stocked fish store I have come across is Denny's in Kirkland (yes, i know not exactly Seattle but very close).

however in South Seattle (in White Center actually) there is the B&D, good selection, knowledgeable, and yes stinky and kinda scary but I have bought many many fresh water fish and never a sick or even sickly one.

seems I am the first Seattle or even Washington poster... could i be the only Northwest person here?