Please post ANY fish shops local to you, state what county you live in and 3 ratings for each shop. One for Variety/Selection, One for Cleanliness and quality and
One for Staff friendlyness and knowledge.

Currently Under Construction - Last Updated 05/12/05


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England

NORTH EAST

Perry’s Aquatics - Dunholm, Lincolnshire
Tel: 01673860727
Variety - 8 (Small place but good variety of fish and will order whatever you need)
Quality - 10 (All clean, not seen a dead fish)
Service - 10 (Family Run, very helpful)
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Whisby Garden Centre - Lincoln
Variety - 6 (Usual variety)
Quality - 1 (Lots of dead fish – Don’t seem bothered about the tanks)
Service - 1 (Staff haven’t got a clue)
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Blue Lagoon – Carnfield Hall Garden Centre, Alfreton
Variety – 7 (Usual fish, not many oddballs and Marine section isn’t massive)
Quality – 7+ (Some whitespot seen, but mostly very clean and healthy tanks)
Service – 8 (Advice can be a bid dodgy if they don’t know you they go after the sale)


NORTH WEST

Aquascope - Quality house, Waverledge Street, Greay Harwood, LANCS, B6 7EA
http://www.aquatics2u.com/
Variety - 9
Quality - 9
Service - 10 (Good quality Old Fashioned Service)
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World of water – Timperly, Manchester
Variety - 7 (Seems to have a lot, but not always fully stocked)
Quality - 9 (All clean, not seen a dead fish, look all in good shape)
Service - 6 (Friendly but don’t really know their stuff)
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Pets Beauty Salon & Aquarium - Beech Rd, Chorlton, Manchester
Variety - 7 (Quite a lot of variety considering the size of the shop)
Quality - 9 ( All fish look really healthy, and mine from there have done well)
Service– 8 (Mostly the manager who knows things)
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Urmston Aquatics - Manchester
Variety - 7 (Bit of a small shop)
Quality - 8
Service– 9
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Timperly Aquatics - Manchester
Variety - 6
Quality - 7 ( Fish seem healthy but tanks are a mess)
Service– 7


MIDLANDS

Frosts - Millets Farm, Near Abingdon, Oxford
Variety - 6 (Mostly bread n butter fish)
Quality - 7
Service – 8
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The Goldfish Bowl - 118-122, Magdalen Road, Oxford, OX4 1RQ
http://www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk
Variety – 9 (Lots of different fish including lots of cichlids and catfish & Lots of Dry Goods)
Quality – 8 (Debatable quality – fish look very healthy but tanks are small and quite cramped)
Service– 7 (Grumpy Manager although very knowledgeable
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World Of Water – Bicester, near Oxford

Variety - 6
Quality – 4 (Lots of Dead fishes and Disease observed in tanks that appeared to be very dirty)
Service– 4 (Staff not all up on their fish knowledge)
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Chiltern Aquatics – Bridgeside Nursery, Westoning Rd, Harlington, Bedfordshire, LU5 6PA
Tel: 01525875520
http://www.chilternaquatics.co.uk/
Variety – 9 (Get some rare stuff in sometimes)
Quality – 9
Service – 7+
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Anglo Scottish Aquatics – Codsall and Wergs Garden Center, Wolverhampton.
Variety – 7 (Getting a lot better)
Quality – 9
Service – 10 (Knowledgable, Friendly)
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Sedgley Road Aquatics – Sedgley, Wolverhampton.
Variety – 7
Quality – 8
Service – 8
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Hollybush Garden Centre – Warstone Road, Shareshill, Cannock, Wolverhampton, WV10 7LX
Tel: 01922418050
Variety – 9 (Very good Marine, Tropicals and Coldwater)
Quality – 8
Service – 5 (Surly and unhelpful with limited knowledge)
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Shirley Aquatics – Shirley, Solihull, B90 4EF
Tel: 01217441300
Variety – 7 (Very nice marine section with some nice corals etc, Huge selection of dry goods)
Quality – 8+ (Generally very clean tanks)
Service – 6+ (Some staff very helpful, others haven’t got a clue)
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Friends in Soggy Homes – 111 Wanlip Lane, Birstall, Leicester.
Tel: 01162671661
Variety – 9 (All varieties catered for)
Quality – 9 (Very well presented and kept tanks)
Service – 9 (Helpful and knowledgeable but can be very busy at times)


LONDON

Tropicals & Marines - 71 Lower Richmond Rd, Mortlake, London, SW14 7HJ
Tel: 020 8876 5463
Variety - 5
Quality – 4 (Ok for Dry goods, Livestock not recommended)
Service – 6
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Funky Fish – Sunbury On Thames, South West London.
Variety – 7 (Usual variety although appear to be branching out into the more unusual)
Quality – 1 (Always dead fish and uncompatable fish kept together)
Service – 1 (Staff dont have a clue and change more often than the weather)
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Wholesale Tropicals – Bethnal Green Rd, Central London.
Variety – 10 (Some very unusual fish, specialising in Catfish, a vast selection)
Quality – 9 (Any ill fish are immediately taken off sale and quarentined)
Service – 10 (Friendly very knowledgable service)
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Wildwoods – Enfield, North London (Middlesex).
Variety – 10 (Very exotic selection with vast selection of oddballs and catfish as well as the usual discus, cichlids and community fish)
Quality – 10 (Always top quality fish, not a sick tank in sight)
Service – 7 (Some staff don't know alot)


WEST

R + S Aquatics - Pool Meadow, Coventry.
Variety – 10 (Loads of variety and will happily order for you)
Quality – 9 (The tanks are "lovely")
Service – 10 (Manager owns and runs the place himself and does a very good job)
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Martin's Pets - The Arcade, Coventry.
Variety – 5 (Very average selection)
Quality – 5 (Just about ok, dont trust some of the stock)
Service – 4 (Simply don't know about the fish)
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Russel's Pets - Radford Rd, Coventry.
Variety – 8 (Always trys to get a good variety)
Quality – 8 (Very few problems with the fish)
Service – 10 (Staff are quite good, owner knows alot)

EAST


Seapets – Martlesham Heath, Near Ipswich
Tel: 01473610969
Variety - 8
Quality - 7
Service – 3-7 (Quality of advices seems to vary a lot depending who you speak to)
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Viking Aquatics – St. Margaret’s Street, Ipswich
Tel: 01473212234
Variety - 8
Quality - 8
Service – 9 (Very knowledgeable and helpful)

Since submitting this opinion of Viking Aquatics standards appear to have dropped which is a real shame! Before buying check for any dead fish etc...
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Viking Swallow Aquatics – London Road, Stanway, Colchester
Tel: 01206210360
Variety - 9 (Lots to see)
Quality – 9 (Always clean tanks)
Service – 9 (Very helpful Staff)


SOUTH EAST

Maidenhead Aquatics – Just off A24 Findon, Worthing, West Sussex
(Just Tropicals)
Variety – 8 (All your usual tropicals)
Quality – 9 (Clean tanks)
Service – 9 (Lots of advice given and helpful at all times)
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Maidenhead Aquatics – Just off A259 Ferring, Worthing, West Sussex
(Just Tropicals)
Variety – 8
Quality – 9
Service – 7 (Helpful but very busy)
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Angmering Garden Centre – Worthing, West Sussex
Variety – 7
Quality – 6+ (Large tanks, lots of room for fish)
Service – 7
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Highdown Aquatics – A259, Worthing, West Sussex
(Just Tropicals)
Variety – 4 (No Marines and shop is quite small)
Quality – 7 (Large tanks, lots of room for fish)
Service – 6 (Friendly Staff but not sure how knowledgeable)
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World Of Water - Turners Hill Road, Worth, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 4PE
Tel: 01293 883237
(Just Tropicals)
Variety – 6 (No Marines and tanks can get very bare)
Quality – 5
Service – 7
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World Of Fishes - 31 North End, Felbridge, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 1QJ
Tel: 01342 322244
Variety – 8 (Converted House, but has plenty of variety!)
Quality – 8 (All fish healthy)
Service – 7
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Medway Aquatics – Gillingham, Kent
Variety – 9
Quality – 8
Service – 9
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Aquatech – Crayford, Kent
Variety – 8
Quality – 10
Service – 10
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Wyevale Garden Centre, Hempstead Valley
Variety – 7
Quality – 2
Service – 1
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Maidenhead Aquatics - Bracknell
Variety – 9
Quality – 10
Service – 9
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Maidenhead Aquatics - Bourne End
Variety - 7
Quality - 10
Staff – 8
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Shotgate Nursery – A127 between turn offs for Wickford and Billaricay, Essex
Variety – 9 (Worth driving an hour and a half to get to apparently!)
Quality – 10 (Very good Quality, large display tanks)
Staff – 9 (Service with a smile, always helpful)


SOUTH WEST

The Aquatic Habitat – Shurdington Rd, Brockworth, Gloucestershire,
Tel: 01452862791
http://www.the-aquatic-habitat.co.uk
Variety – 10 (Large variety of all things tropical, coldwater and marine)
Quality – 10 (Tanks always kept in top condition, good quality stock)
Service – 10 (Friendly helpful staff always willing to help, gets very busy on weekends)
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Maidenhead Aquatics – Swindon Main, Manor Garden Centre, Cheney Manor, Swindon
Variety – 8 (Lots of variety, some nice plecs and the odd bargain)
Quality – 9 (Tanks in top condition, fish always very healthy)
Service – 7 (Most staff are good, sometimes a bit too rushed to help you)
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Maidenhead Aquatics – Swindon North, Wyevale GC, Stratton St. Margaret, Swindon
Variety – 7+ (Some very nice cichlids and Discus)
Quality – 10 (Tanks in top condition, Very clean and fish all healthy)
Service – 8 (Most staff are good, couple of kids who work there who don’t know much)
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AquaJardin – Blooms Garden Centre, Bath Road, Haresfield, Near Stonehouse, Gloucestershire
Tel: O1452724341
Variety – 3 (Still very empty as it is such a new shop, just platies, guppies etc. Large premises though)
Quality – 9 (Looks very clean, will be nice shop when done)
Service – 8 (Some nice staff)
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Taunton Aquatics – Taunton
Variety - 9
Quality - 10
Service – 9
Specialising in Marine and especially corals, this shop has one of the most spectacular collections of corals available. Well worth a visit if you run a reef marine tank.
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J & K Aquatics, Taunton
(Marines Only)
Variety – 7
Quality – 9
Service – 8
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Totally Tropical, Taunton
(Marine Section)
Variety – 2 (Not much in stock)
Quality – 6
Service – 9 (Very friendly and helpful)
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Watermarque – Bathpool, Taunton
Variety – 8 (Lots of varied Tanks)
Quality – 9
Service – 6+ (Sold a Sucking Loach as a community fish)
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Munkton Elm – West Monkton, Taunton
Variety – 6+ (Based inside a Garden Centre – Not much to choose from)
Quality – 8 (Never see dead fish and tanks are clean)
Service – 9 (Couple of fish specific sales-persons are very helpful)
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Emsworth Aquatics - Portsmouth
Variety – 9 (Large variety for a fairly small shop, Stocks reptile equipment also)
Quality – 8
Service – 8
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Arundel Avieries and Aquatics – Portsmouth
Variety – 7
Quality – Unknown
Service – Unknown
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Fins and Things – Bovey Tracy, Devon
Variety – 9 (Very Large – over 12,000 Gallons of Display tanks)
Quality – 9 (Very high quality directly imported)
Service – 10 (Very knowledgeable)
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Parkers – Iron Acton, Bristol
Variety – 7 (Plenty to choose from with varied pricing)
Quality – 6 (Varies a lot from being bad to being quite good)
Service – 8 (Very Helpful)
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Almondsbury Garden Centre – Almondsbury, Bristol
Variety – 9 (Plenty to choose from with varied pricing)
Quality – 8 (Varies a lot from being bad to being quite good)
Service – 6 (Very Helpful)


Scotland

Marine World - Bain Street at the Barras
Variety - 7 (Mainly marines. Not Huge amount but will order anything)
Quality - 10 (All very healthy fishies!)
Staff - 10 (very helpful)
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Waterworld Aquatics - Also on Paisley Road West
Variety – 4 (Had to close their Marine section, but quite a few tropicals)
Quality – 8 (Very clean)
Staff – 8
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The Aquarium Shop – Next to Terry’s Tattoos, Glasgow
Variety – 8 (Well stocked, Some very nice catfish and other unusual fishes)
Quality – 7+ (Clean, Tanks and shop are old, could do with a refurbishment. Fish healthy on the whole.)
Staff – 8


Wales

Maidenhead aquatics - Newport (Crosey).
Variety – 8
Quality – 6 (Tetras had white spot and molly had velvet)
Service – 10 (Very friendly and knowledgeable)
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Maidenhead aquatics – Wenvoe, Cardiff
Variety – 9 (Very nice selection with some good Cichlids and L-Numbers)
Quality – 9 (Discus have apparently spawned in the sale tanks – speaks for itself!)
Service – 10 (Honest staff)


Ireland


Other

Isle of Wight
Hunnyhill Aquatics - Hunnyhill, near Sainsburys, Newport.
Variety – 7 (A lot of different types of Fish)
Quality – 7 (Always very clean)
Service – 8+ (Helpful staff)

note to self - pg.5 pst 69

This post has been edited by bunjiweb: Apr 12 2006, 05:05 PM

oh cool thread

maidenhead aquatics

Location: Cardiff, st. melons

variety: 9
Quality: 10
Staff: 8

World of water

London

Clapham

Variety: 6
Quality: 8
Staff: 10

EDIT: because i forgot to add the store names

This post has been edited by nutter: Aug 2 2004, 11:23 AM

Grovesnor Tropicals - Belfast
Variety: 8
Quality: 9
Staff: 8

Tachbrooke Tropicals - London (near pimlico)
Variety: 7
Quality: 6
Staff: 6-10 (depends which ones are in...)

Not a fish store I have been to but I'm going to add anyway.

Trimar - Cornwall (do mail order)
Variety: 10
Quality: 9
Staff: 9
State of website is the only bad thing, it would score a -10

edited to out of ten.

This post has been edited by William: Aug 11 2004, 10:00 PM

Glovers Aquatics - Fenton, Stoke on Trent
Variety - 5
Quality - 7
Staff - 7
Smiley rating -

Website: http://www.gloversaquatics.co.uk/

A very complacent store whose prices are creeping towards the wrong side of value.


Stapeley Water Gardens - Nantwich, nr Crewe MY FAVE
Variety - 7
Quality - 10 - a little more expensive but worth it
Staff - 10 - the best I've come across
Smiley rating -

Web: http://www.stapeleywg.com


Bridgemere Garden World - Bridgemere, nr Crewe
Variety - 4
Quality - a BIG fat 0 (dead fish all over the place, would NEVER buy fish from here)
Staff - an even BIGGER fatter 0 (mainly part time workers, with no committment and even less knowledge, never seems to be any knowledgeable staff around)
Smiley rating -

Website: http://www.bridgemere.co.uk/

On the plus side, equipment is reasonably priced here although I'd rather pay more at Stapeley and get the advice thrown in.


Kidsgrove Aquatics, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire difficult to find!
Variety - 7
Quality - 8
Staff - 9 A small business run by man and wife. Very friendly.
Smiley rating -

Website: http://www.kidsgrovetropicals.co.uk/start.html

This post has been edited by sunflower: Aug 1 2004, 01:46 PM

Brookside Garden Centre (my regular one)
Seven Mile Lane, East Peckham, Tonbridge, Kent TN12 5JG
Tel: 01622 871250

Variety - 7
Quality - 9
Staff - 10
Smiley rating -

A great consession within a good garden center
They will ask you lots of questions before selling you a fish.

Smart Garden Centre (Select Garden Centre)
Main Road, Sundridge, Kent TN14 6ED
01959 562400 Fax: 01959 561591
Variety - 4
Quality - 7
Staff - 5
Smiley rating -

Cheep but staff are very slow and un-helpfull.

Wyevale Garden Centre
Maidstone Road, Paddock Wood, Nr Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 6QJ
Tel: 01892 835777
Variety - 8
Quality - 5
Staff - 8
Smiley rating -

Good selection of diferent fish and large selection of decorations
most staff are knowlagable and helpfull.

Are the ratings out of 10 or 5, because my ratings were out of 5.

I've done mine out of 10. Did I do bad?

I was doing the ratings out of 5...

What shall we use?

Ben

Ok..

Rats,Cats & Elephants,
Inside Bypass nurseries,
Capel St mary,
Copdock,
Ipswich
UK
01473 314183

website

Variety-8
Quality-9
Staff-9
Prices-excellent

Often has unusual L numbers

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Seapets
Martlesham Heath,
Ipswich
UK
01473 610969

website

Variety-9.5
Quality-7
Staff-5
Prices-Average.

Sells a lot of specialist fish without marking them as such.
For example, redtail cats, moto rays, mbu puffers and tiger shovelnose cats.

When we asked what species one of their puffers was, we were told that is was a brakish puffer. (we did some research and it turned out to be a freshwater t. turgidus!... we bought it)

**********************

Kesgrave Aquatics
Woodbridge Road,
Kesgrave,
Ipswich

Variety-6
Quality-8
Staff-9 (for knowledge) 5 (for attitude)
Prices-excellent

Basic range of the usual suspects


**********************

Pets at Home
Raneleigh Road,
Ipswich.

Variety- 4
Quality -4
Staff-3
Prices-extortionate

Only sells common species..
dead fish in every tank.. at least the tankmates don't go hungry!

*************************

Swallow Aquatics
London Road,
Stanway,
Colchester
UK
01206 210360
website

Variety -9
Quality- 9
Staff -8
Prices -pretty good

Huge range of cichlids, good range of everything else.
Excellent live food.
Great showtank! (adult pacus, redtail cats, giraffeheads & tsn cats.)
Excellent returns policy.

out of 10 it looks like, the first 3 posts by ben myself and william are now on a out of 10 bases because we used out of 5, 5 being 10 and 3 being 5? hope you understand me, i dont think i understand me

I have changed my scores to out of 10.

Ben

Pet Paks of - Hardwick

Variety: 6
Quality: 8
Staff: 8

Scotsdales Garden Centre - Trumpington

Variety: 8
Quality: 3
Staff: 3

Royston Garden Centre - Royston

Variety: 2
Quality: 6
Staff: 6

Amwell Aquatics - Soham

Variety: 9
Quality: 8
Staff: 9

5th Day Aquatics

Faraday Mill Business Park, Plymouth, UK

Variety: 8
Quality: 8
Staff: 9

Emperor Tropicals

St Budeaux, Plymouth, UK

Variety: 8
Quality: 6
Staff: 5

(Sunday visit so very busy, few long time dead fish)

Devon Tropicals

Union Street, Plymouth, UK

Variety: 8
Quality: 7
Staff: 6

I agree with you on this Ryan!

I used to live in Cambridge and used to sort out Scotsdales mobile phones, etc. Every person who i dealt with was an idiot (and they were upper management) so it's no surprise the lowly shop staff are too