UK Fish Store Directory

[Boris]

I can highly recommend

Fish Alive
3 Dragon Lane Shopping Centre, Durham. DH1 2HE
Tel: 0191 384 3590

http/www.fishalive.supanet.com/
An excellent selection of tropicals and marines, all in well maintained and spotless tanks.
A good selection of Aquaria, and he will construct tanks to order. Plenty of accessories etc.
Proprietor Jim Kelly has a welcoming attitude, gives plenty of good advice on fish and equipment, and guided me in the right direction when I started my first tank.

Also

Richardsons Garden Centre Station Road
Cold Hesledon, Seaham, Durham. SR7 8RW
who have a good selection of Aquaria, accessories and consumables.
Friendly owner and staff.


Boris

 

[levitric]

I can highly recommend,

Walsoken Aquatics, Walsoken, Wisbech, Cambs.

Small family run business, very helpfull

Variety 8

Quality 8

Staff 10

 

[fishfinger]

I was really interested to read about the lfs you all go to. I haven't been to Brockworth yet, but it sounds like I should pay it a visit.

I went to Maidenhead Aquatics in Bristol at the weekend (Brimsham Green) and they were excellent. I was really impressed by one guy who knew his stuff apart from when he told me not to take any notice of what people say on websites! Personally I have found this one very helpful.

What I want to know is - does anyone know of an Aquatics Club around here - i.e.Gloucestershire or Bristol - cos I would like to go to one! I'd start one but I don't know anything!

Corrosive - is your cousin at World of Water (Whitminster) called Dan?

 

[tommy_yellowbellie]

Japanese Koi Company

Bedfordshire

Variety: 9
Quality: 8
Staff: 8/9

http/www.japanese-koi.co.uk/

 

[Arfie]

Hi,

Following a recommendation on another forum, I visited Wharf Aquatics in Pinxton on the Notts/Derbys border just off J28 of M1 yesterday.

I was happy with my LFS, but having been here I can't see me shopping anywhere else.

website Wharf Aquatics

They make custom made tanks of any size/shape and have masses of tanks with everything from Neon Tetra to bloody great big catfish and an electric eel of about 3-4 foot long.

They have a massive display tank, I think it was 1,500 Gallons with about 4 monsters in it. Oh it is here BIG tank

The staff were very friendly, apparently knowledgable and not pushy at all.

I only popped in for a bulb and was there for 90 mins like a kid in a sweet shop.

In all the time there I saw one tank with any dead fish in and it was a quarantine tank full of neon tetras newly arrived that day apparently and the guy was getting them out when I saw them.

So:

Variety - 10 (about 40 tanks of Cichlids)
Staff - 10.
Quality - 10

Now where the hell can I put an 8ft*2*2 tank

Oh just spotted they were voted Tropical Retailer of the year 2002 + 2003 that explains it then!

Sorry not putting a 2nd or 3rd retailer, just not worth it

Arfie

 

[nightlife20]

ok.. here goes

tropic fish ltd stoke (on the corner from spode china company)
pros
briiliant assistance, varied stock, will order anything if they feel you can look after it (will add a charge tho) nice big shop plently to look at even has a coldwater section, has some rare fish that u dont see very often. never has any dead fish in tanks, tanks are always clean.

cons

can be a bit over priced some times, plant section isnt very interesting, equipment is very pricey.


over all rating 7/10


the mall longton (across the road from partners)

pros/cons
rubbish assistance, not very interesting fish unless u like guppies or platties.
but equipment and media and medication/dechlorniator and food is very cheep.
most tanks are infected with somthin or another, more than 5 fish dead in any tank.
ratein 2/10


sams already mentioned the other ones i go to lmao no need to mention them twice

 

[bunjiweb]

I was really interested to read about the lfs you all go to. I haven't been to Brockworth yet, but it sounds like I should pay it a visit.

What I want to know is - does anyone know of an Aquatics Club around here - i.e.Gloucestershire or Bristol - cos I would like to go to one! I'd start one but I don't know anything!

the Aquatic Habitat is well worth a visit if you havent already been. In Gloucestershire there aren't really any other shops I would fully reccomend. Aqua Jardin (Stonehouse, J12 M4) Is very small but sometimes has some interesting stuff in there.

Usually I go a bit further afield to Maidenhead Aquatics in Swindon, but I havent been to the Bristol one.

There is an Aquatics Society in Bristol, and there is a Club in Gloucestershire (Details are available on the notice board next to the marine tanks in Aquatic Habitat).

Ben

p.s. World of Water sucks!

 

[pgtips]

The best LFS on the planet (well, that i have visited) must be World Of Fishies in Felbridge, East Grinstead.

I've never had a sick fish from there
excellent knowledge
good prices
well kept tanks
Tropical, Fresh water, Marine, Ponds.....basically anything fish

 

[Sotsog]

Viscum Water Gardens and Aquatics, Barnburgh, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

The tropical and Coldwater sections, are extrememly good, but often dead fish can be seen in the tanks, prices are good-average, and equipment is relitavely cheap, it stocks many discus, although no marine fish, most of the staff are very knowledgeable, although they could do with a few more, as service is rather slow sometimes. Most fish are in tip top condition, although over the past few years it has become more of a commercial chain than a LFS, targeting many inexperienced and young fishkeepers with little or no advice.

Viscum Website

Variety:9
Quality:7
Staff:7

P.S:Edited Staff from 6-7, as they do give you a free cup of tea or coffee as you look round

 

[Def]

Shirley Aquatics
(Shirley, Birmingham, I'm not a northerner tho

Variety - 8
Quality - 9
Staff - 11 (yep, 11 out of 10, especially for beginners like me!)


PetSmart
Oldbury, Birmingham

Variety - 5
Quality - 6
Staff - 3 and 6

Staff gets 3 because they are rarely in the fish section, you have to go find them. They get 5 when you do find them, as they're pretty helpful but not fish experts (it's an all - in - one pet store after all). It's more of a convenient place to get fish-related stuff (feed, test kits, nets, pumps etc) too, as there's hardly any shops in the area...

 

[ferrikins]

ok

Porton, Salisbury, Pet and Aquatic
0870 770 10 11

did have a web site but down at the mo, will post when it back up.

veriety- 8 could have more.
quality- 9 never seen a dead fish, oh maybe one, octional ich nothing serious
staff- 10 great and friendly

I love this place I there every weekend, I shore they could make a small busness out the money I give them alone, it family run, all the staff are always willing to help, if they can't they find someone that will, of go look in a book. Nearly all the fish room staff have there own tanks.



Maidenhead Aquatics
Southamton

Veriety- 10 you name it they have it or can get it
quality- 9 don't remember seeing anything dead, or sick
Staff - 7 Ok, feels like they educate you to much, like treat you like you never had fish before, sometime over cousous to who they sell to. Not a major bad thing, just anoying sometimes.


Creature Comforts, Southamton__
Totton__

veriety- 7 dont seem to have many merines or cold water.
Quality- 6 the Platties always look ill, the gravel looks green, the fist time I saw it I hated the place, but they have got better, I balt the best mollies from them that I have ever balt.
Staff- 5 not wonderful helpful, or friendly, but they do try.

Cadnam__

Veriety- 3 can't remember much, the place looked like a building site though
Quality- 0 every tank look filthy and had sick fish.
Staff- -4 there was only one guy there and he spent most of the time on the phone to hi mate.

In over words DON'T GO


Pets AT Home, Andover

Veriety- 4 no merines, did'nt have any guppies for about 6 weeks
Quality- 3 only ever had one fish last for more than a week from there, there mollies are terrible. Tanks don't look to bad, but there are no signs put up when the fish are in quantine, and after looking round and desiding your then told there not for sale.
Staff- 0 Had to tell one guy how to sex livebearers twice, not helpful at all.

 

[Loopyness]

Pets at home
St Peters Road, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
Variety: 5
Quality: 2
Staff: 0

Pet Leaders
High Street, Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
Variety: 8
Quality: 7
Staff: 9.5

 

[The-Wolf]

Aylsford aquatics
Alysford, ditton, maidstone kent

Brand new and extreamly well set out
Variety 8
Quality 8
Staff, only 2 members but a rating of 9

Will order anything they can.

 

[Joviella]

My lfs.....


Marks Water Garden
High Street,
Teddington,
Middlesex

Variety..5 ( they will order any fish you require for you though)
Quality..10
Staff..10...they go out of their way to help.
I go to alot of fish shops but for knowledgeable staff this one beats them all!!! They all own tanks and know what they are talking about.

 

[CrowntailBetta]

Here's my observations:

Petsmart (Farnham, surrey)
Variety 3 (missing staple fish, very little beyond tetras and goldfish)
Quality 8 (no dead fish, quarantine tanks visible and labeled)
Staff 4 (well meaning but essentailly hopeless, the little cards with traffic lights to indicate difficulty are more informative)
Price -decidedly ish

Maidenhead (Guildford, surrey)
Variety 8 (lovely big selection of discus and even some freshwater rays on my last visit)
Quality 9 (everything nicely presented, all fish looked healthy, one concern was huge catfish in tank only just large enough to turn around in but was labeled as temporary and RSPCA approved holding so )
Staff 8 (knowledgable, when they know the full latin names you know your onto a winner!)
Price -ok
NB. Huge and gorgeous show tank of majestic discus and others

Tachbrook (Victoria, london)
Variety 6 (you know, usual, but with plenty of nice puffers)
Quality 5 (cramped horrid shop and evil jam jars for bettas in which one was dead)
Staff variable (young asian man is good but cocky, german dude sucks, girl is just as bad, owner is helpful)
Price -tending high
NB. Take a fan, this shops prefered method of keeping the tanks to temperature is to keep the heating turned up to max and then vent excess heat by opening the shop door!

Hope this helps