Aquarium fish depot is fantastic and they treat their customers right and with care. If you need supplies they are the place to go!

If I could give zero stars, I would. Avoid this store at all cost!!! [[HIGHLIGHT]]I placed an order with Aquarium Fish Depot on April 8th, and it turned into one of the worst customer service and livestock experiences I've ever had.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Before ordering, I emailed them to ask if I could place an order but delay shipping until April 17th. They responded and said yes, and told me to include the request in the order comments, which I did.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Right after placing the order, I also replied to their confirmation email (which instructed me to reply if I wanted to add Route shipping protection) and asked them to add Route. They never responded.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I emailed again on April 15th asking for an update and again requested Route protection. Still no reply.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I called on April 15th -- no answer.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I called again on April 16th and left a voicemail. No one ever called me back.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Then, the evening of April 16th, I suddenly received a shipping confirmation. They had shipped the order without responding to any of my messages, and had quietly refunded one item -- the Captive-Bred Orchid Dottyback -- without explanation.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Worse, the order was incomplete, and several fish arrived dead or in critical condition. --- What Arrived Alive: Coral Beauty Angelfish Firefish Goby Royal Gramma Cleaner Shrimp Pistol Shrimp 1 of 2 Fromia Starfish --- What Never Arrived: Hector's Goby Yellow Watchman Goby --- What Was Refunded Before Shipping: Captive-Bred Orchid Dottyback --- What Arrived DOA or Died Within an Hour: 2 Lyretail Anthias - Dead on arrival 1 Lyretail Anthias - Arrived half-dead, died within the hour Midas Blenny - Dead on arrival 1 of 2 Fromia Starfish - Dead on arrival --- That's 7 animals either dead or never sent. I followed all acclimation instructions exactly and documented everything with photos and timestamps. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The worst part is that they completely ghosted me after confirming delayed shipping would be fine. I gave them multiple opportunities to respond and resolve things -- they chose not to.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Avoid Aquarium Fish Depot. They do not stand behind their orders, they do not respond to customer concerns, and they clearly do not care about customer experience.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

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No customer service My Betta died came to me sick Just unacceptable customer service Buy your fish elsewhere! 1 email 4 phone calls 2 days Nothing. read more

Drove an hour to come check this place out and it was well worth it! My husband loves to check out different fish stores for aquascape ideas and to see the variety of fishes every shop has to offer, can't say I don't love to join him in his hobby. He had been searching for a Fahaka puffer fish and had called not joking over 30 stores and finally the Aquarium Fish Depot had them so we made the trip. It's a pretty big warehouse with the most variety of fresh water fish I have ever seen! Saw many fish we haven't seen before. As soon as you walk in the aquascape in the tanks catches your attention. So cool! I would like to recognize Manny and Victor for their excellent customer service. They were very welcoming from the beginning to end. Manny helped my husband better understand different plants, important information about puffers and other questions he had. The employees that represent the company is huge and I can say this place is being very well represented by these kind men. We really appreciated it and will definitely come back! read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

Fish all died within 2 1/2 days. I bought 10 Chili rasboras. Was lured by the moiving sale. But it doesn't save money if they all die. They did look healthy. I had walked around the store once before. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Both times, the staff was polite, but barely engaged.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Other stores in the area have staff that ask if you need anything and seem passionate about the hobby and interested in helping you out. Those stores are busy, this store was empty both times. yet still had the least engaged staff. Not a welcoming environment, especially for a person new to the hobby. I had fully cycled my Quarantine tank and the water parameters (were and still are) great throught this time in this review. No signs of illness, but they all just died quickly. I now know it wasn't my tank because in addition to great water parameters, a week later I have other fish quarantining in the same tank. Not even a water change and they are doing great! I will stick to another local store that has friendly helpful engaged staff and fish that do great after bringing them home. Also, this store is more expensive overall, so it turns out the sale just brought them just under the regular price of the store that I mainly go to. There are three other stores in San Diego that are not big box stores, This should be last on your list in my opinion. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Disinterested staff, poor quality fish, and overpriced.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

I can't believe I didn't know this place existed until a few months ago. Once I figured out it was here, we visited just to scope the place out. The staff was super friendly and helpful. Yesterday I took my daughters to get princess fishies. Yup. Long story not much shorter, we have an established 15g shrimp tank which we added a female betta to about a year ago to help cull the overpopulation. Aka we thought she'd eat most of the babies and keep the population in check. She did that for awhile and we had a nice, very healthy population of shrimp. However, in the last few weeks she's started to murder the full-sized adult shrimp. So we headed down to AFD to get a new setup for Cassy the murderous B of a betta fish, and to get princess fishies for the toddler. Mitch was so SO awesome. He played along, took my "princess" kid to go see her "princess" fishies (male guppies, which I clarified after he gave me a look), grabbed me all the crap I needed for Cassy's new prison cell, and threw in a bunch of free stuff. All the while he made sure I wasn't a newbie who was going to kill the new princess fishies by throwing them in an uncycled tank. Mitch also told me that they use tap water and no CO2 in their tanks for their plants so that their plants are acclimated to the customers. That is SO HELPFUL. There's little more frustrating than buying nice, bushy plants only for them to melt because you don't have the exact right setup at home to match the place they came from. 2 hours after we got home, Cassy is in her new prison cell, a nice little 10-ish gallon thing, and my toddler's princess fish are loving their new (very old, very established) set-up. I won't be going anywhere else for my aquarium needs from now on. I can't wait to move back into a house so I can get my fleet of tanks going. read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Princess Fishies with their new shrimp friends. - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

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Beyond upset .. we went in looking for freshwater fish the workers there immediately told us salt water fish were the better option. We told Them we had no experience with salt water fish and they said they were easier to take care of than fresh water fish.. we stupidly listened.. they sold us live rock, saltwater, special sand, obviously fishes.. we spent close to 1k dlls that day... all fish died within 2 weeks ... I think it's really messed up to lie to costumers just to make a nice sale .. losing the money was not the worst part, it was having all our fishies die and my 2 daughters upset ... will never go back not even for a refund of things we didn't use read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Dead fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

Absolutely outstanding shop!! Mitch was incredibly helpful after my boyfriend and I had a not so great experience at a big box pet shop and our Betta died in a day . He took the time to walk us through our entire tank, gave us the materials we needed, gave us step by step instructions, and helped us pick out two beautiful new fish. We are so so happy with our new aquarium and fish and can't wait to go back for more!! read more

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[[HIGHLIGHT]]Bummed to have driven all the way here just to be met with locked doors.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Called... no answer.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Highly confused because I'm reading a 5 star review from yesterday.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]]... And for the record it's 4pm on a Thursday.... read more

I first came to the shop for aquarium plants. They were really knowledgeable about helping me choose plants for my tank (which does not have injected CO2). The selection was quite good but they do sell out quickly so the plant selection each time I come is fresh and varies. The plants do have invasive snails so pick them off before adding your new plants into your aquarium. I purchased a horned nerite snail from here about 2 months ago. The snail was healthy and happy for some time but started to decline in health and refused to eat. I came to the shop for help and they did a free water test for me and spent quite some time helping me trouble shoot. Turns out the tap water (I do pre-treat/de-chlorinate) was mixing with RO water has ammonia added by the city as a disinfectant. So I came back to the shop to buy aquarium salts to add to RO water instead of using tap water. Thank you so much for taking me seriously because from an outsider's view, it would a little confusing why a customer is so distressed over a small, cheap snail, but my animals matter to me and I appreciated the empathy. It is important to me that I patronize a pet shop that takes care of its animals and it is clear that AFD does. Almost every single animal is in peak health. Any fish not doing well, is taken care of. I'm now a loyal customer. read more

I've been going to AFD since it first opened and over the last years this store has declined in performance. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Good luck getting a hold of them by phone and plan on them canceling your order without notifying you.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Definitely do research before spending the up charge they have on their products. read more

We drive an hour away the do business with Ethan he is the best helpful, answered every question we have, and believe me, we have a lot of questions. Huge, huge, huge selection, and the best price on tanks anywhere Thanks again Ethan for your help read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

Hands down, this has been the best aquarium experience of my life. In mid-September I walked in, as a true newbie, and said I wanted to start a salt water tank (previously loads of experience in fresh water, large fish, Oscars, etc). Four months later, the store and staff, especially Ethan and his teammates have become like family. They helped me pick out a tank, get it all set up for salt-water (which I've never done), taught me how to cycle it, monitor it, and gave advice on fish and things NOT to buy or put in the tank. You can tell they're not in it all for the money. If you want a pricey fish or coral, they'll ask you about your tank and advise you whether or not it's appropriate. They really care and are true experts at what they do. They are also very accommodating and understanding - I purchased a storm clown that didn't exactly jive with the rest of the tank, but at the time I thought the problem was one of the regular orange clowns I had (and purchased from the store)... so I took him back, but little did I know, I broke a clown pair *gasp* between my regular clown and a black clown, just to try and accommodate a fancy storm clown. Well, weeks later, I go and and see my original clown, Nemo, and beg to take him back and they just gave him to me. I attached the video below once I put him in because it wasn't clear if they'd pair again .... but they did! My point is, with the help of the staff, I've not only become good with salt water, but genuinely interested and know that with AFD you always have this family-style, "phone a friend" type help with you all the time. So thankful for you guys. read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - My tank, four months later. Clown pair on the right. - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

When it comes to salt, water and freshwater, exotic fish selection and fish supply needs, this place has it all. The owner is a super knowledgeable and friendly guy who will take the time to fully explain and help you with any situation. It is important to frequent places like this instead of purchasing fish from Petco or Petsmart. The fish are in much better health and our taken care of in a way that you can be sure that you're spending your money on quality fish. There are rows and rows of tanks with various types of fish, and their names written on the glass. Sometimes it's fun just to come in and see all the colors and variety. Bring the kids. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]As a newbie to saltwater tanks, their staff is extremely knowledgeable and patient.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Their advice has been very helpful.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The fish are all healthy and hardy. They are my "go-to" store for my livestock. The store also can test water with a machine which gives accurate details as to the water in your tank. Highly recommend a visit to this store. read more

Amazing offering for both Fresh and Salt water species. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Very knowledgeable and helpful on all points we sought help on.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Price points are competitive. read more

I LOVE aquarium fish depot !! They have millions of beautiful fish. affordable too !! I always come here for my fish tanks. Super clean super organized super duper friendly ! you don't see dying fish floating at the top of the tanks, fishies have a clean and maintained living area going on. The staff is extremely helpful ( they even help you take the tank out to your car ! ) if your a fish lover and you want that exotic fish to your collection come visit my friends at aquarium fish depot I PROMISE you that you won't be disappointed:) read more

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Drove all the way down from riverside county because the company says open everyday and closes at 6pm. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Well, pretty upset that it wasn't open when they clearly state it's open.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

The shop looks nice, it's really big with lots of variety, and while some are expensive you definitely find very good deals more than worth the trip. The staff are friendly, or all seems to be to me and the many others around me. They were quick to make sure I knew I would be helped as soon as there were hands available. There are a lot of beautiful tanks with scapes set up so you can go for lots of ideas, and the supplies to fulfill those ideas. These nice things being said, almost every tank in the shop was infested with parasites. Which I know is highly unavoidable buying any fish from any shop. However I have not seen the extent before that I had seen here. I would say that 80-85-% of the tanks here were heavily infected with Camallanus Worms. This parasite is rather nasty and HAS to be treated. I did end up buying some cute gold fish for my patio pond even though I knew what I was buying as the worms are sticking out of his skin. I am treating them at home in a empty tub, as I am skilled hobbies and have experience In dealing with these parasites. However I would never recommend a new hobbiest to go to this store. And I would only recommend this store to my other experienced fish keeping friends. Beautiful store, friendly staff, big supply, but SICK fish that need to be in experienced peoples hands or they will die with in days of going home. Love this store, and really hope they can get their tanks back to top condition. read more

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Be very careful when ordering on line from here I have ordered from many aquarium stores on line Aquarium Depot is not one I will order again They charge outrageous prices for shipping and the Fish you receive are pitifully packed Never again from these guys Purchase at own risk read more

I don't think I've ever seen so many cichlids in my life! So many varieties of fresh water fish! I enjoyed the fancy guppies, the plecos, the corys, and the snails. Victor hooked it up for me and gave me a bunch of Malaysian Trumpet Snails for free. Sweet! They all survived the long weekend and are very happy right now. I have never seen female Betta kois so cheap! $12! That is about 1/2 the price I've seen compared to Los Angeles. Too bad I don't live close by, but it's great to see all the tanks of aquatic plants as well. read more

I recently place an order and didn't get the full order, some fish was replaced cause they didn't have them,some fish was dead, and in an established aquarium once fish was relocated to new that was shipped, all died in less than a week and had spots. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Contact the company to be told that they didn't have all the fish and they would refund (they did) then the rest of my order they would get back to me, I didn't hear from them after a few days and followed up to see the results and they acted as though I was bothering them and was told they would review that day, see photo, almost a month and no response[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]], do not recommend as the new owner isn't any better from what I can tell! read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

[[HIGHLIGHT]]this is the worse company i have ever had the displeasure of working with.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] i placed an or for some fish and due to a change of circumstances i called to cancel the order. [[HIGHLIGHT]]these people will not contact you back, no matter how much you try.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]this is one worthless outfit. do not buy anything from this grade z company.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] michael b. read more

Fish have always been healthy especially with the new owners. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The staff was friendly and super helpful in helping me decide what to add to my reef tank![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

Bought a chocolate tang and a purple tang in the store. The chocolate tang died on the fourth day in a non medicated observation quarantine. The purple tang developed ich and is currently undergoing copper treatment to save his life when I called for help and spoke with Ethan, he told me it was all my fault by not treating them to copper immediately when I got them home. He then said was too busy and couldn't spend more time on phone I've been working with aquariums for 10+ years. I always quarantine my fish with no medication's initially... just for observation. If I see any issues with the fish, I will treat according to the issue. I will never buy fish from this store again read more

Horrible company! They took forever to ship, was going to finally ship when I was on a business trip, after I asked them not to. When the fish arrived, they sent the wrong ones, and 5 were dead. All the fish had a disease, and I've lost all of them after a few weeks. They only refunded me $10 for the 5 dead fish - that cost a lot more. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I filed a complaint with the BBB, and they won't respond.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Save your money and DO NOT BUY HERE! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Horrible communication, terrible service and sick fish.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] What a waste read more

The place is a shell of what it use to be. The previous owners are the reason this place is so highly rated. Ever since this new ownership took over you can tell the drastic drop in quality, knowledge and customer service. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Extremely disappointed. I called ahead asking if they had an animal in stock and was told yes.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]I asked the price, and it was reasonable. I planned my evening after work to get there and bring my kids, very excited to help pick, name, etc.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]When I asked about the animals I was recognized as the person who called, and was told that the price was actually almost double what I was told.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]Kids cried and we left bitter and empty handed. Horrible customer experience, and we'll make sure to avoid AFD going forward.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

I'm so excited to see AFD has expanded selection to include salt water critters! More importantly, corals. Stunning colors, great prices, and wide varieties. Meet me in the salt water aisle, let's go! read more

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Was hoping for more aquascape and beautiful tanks. Tanks dirty and no decor to speak of. Lots of salt water fish. I much prefer Aquatic Warehouse. read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]The staff are experienced and willing to help customers.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] I come to them when I have questions about my aquarium, fish, water issues, etc.. read more

I recently moved to San Diego and desperately needed to find a new place to get all my tank necessities. AFD did not disappoint. This place is massive and secretly tucked away by the 5. Their stock is mainly of fresh water fish and I love all the plants they have. You walk into their store and there is a massive tank on display that features a couple puffer fish. It's definitely an eye catcher. There are also several frontosas in there. You may hear barking and a four legged friend running up to you. Pretty nice dog. The time I came here was to check out what they had. They had cichlids, discus, tetras, prawns, shrimp, bichir, catfish, rams and tons of other fish. They have such unique types of fish its so tempting to start a tank for each kind. They also have a great selection of plants. They have them all neatly categorized and also priced so youre not standing in front of the tank scratching your head. I really like the organization of the whole place. It's easy to look around and the staff is very attentive. The one thing I enjoyed is the fact that they're super friendly and educational. They teach you a few things about the fish and the madness behind each one. The people here are great and I'm so happy to have found a place to get all my tank needs. On another side of the warehouse they have several rocks, branches, driftwood, dried looking bonsai tree branches for if you want to put moss on them. Its truly a great place to find items if you like to aquascape. I highly recommend giving them a visit when you can. Even kids will find their selection very exciting. Might as well come here as a mini field trip. Its like taking them to the $14 aquariums but free. haha The prices here arent bad at all. read more

This place is so big & clean! We make the drive down from Carlsbad frequently. We've gotten several beautiful, happy, healthy fish from here. Also some nice, good looking live plants! This is our place (other than our kids LOVING to go there) because how helpful, informative & passionate-about-fish Victor and Manny are. They are impressively knowledgeable about fish & tanks, plants etc. This is the place to go! Worth the drive for us. Thank y'all, Victor & Manny! read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Our daughter, so happy & proud of her new fish 'babies'. - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

[[HIGHLIGHT]]Nathan and Patrick truly went above and beyond to help my friend and I with any questions we had about our freshwater and saltwater tanks.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Great assortment of fish, food, and plants. Absolutely cannot recommend enough- I won't be going anywhere else! read more

Great selection and looks like it's just going to be getting better and better! Staff are all super nice and helpful. They let you look around all you want, but check in with you periodically to see if you need help or have questions. If anyone asks me this is where I tell them to go. read more

Aquarium Fish Depot - Local Fish Stores Near Me - San Diego, California

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Horrible customer service, the owner is very rude and cocky. Purchased $500 worth of saltwater fish and nearly all the fish died over the weekend and early into the next week. Monday was a holiday. They would not honor a refund or replacement when I called back on Tuesday and gave me a really hard time. I am an experienced hobbiest with a plethora of healthy fish and aquariums. There fish and set up is not healthy. Shop at aquatic warehouse. They have great customer service if you have a fish death. read more

Dishonest and unethical. Refused to refund Boxing/Handling (insulated box and heat packs) when picking-up locally (i.e. did not provide insulated box and heat packs). AFD attempted to withhold amount in multiple ways over the course of 30 emails and 2 months of dispute: 1. Claimed refund was already processed and issued. 2. Claimed that Boxing/Handling is not typically refunded or waived with local pick-up. 3. Claimed that Boxing/Handling was not charged. 4. Claimed that Boxing/Handling refund would be impossible. I brought attention to how their ridiculous attempts to withhold money may seem dishonest and unethical. Ultimately, I was refunded. In request for an honest explanation or response, they provided none. read more

Great service, and the new owner is extremely nice. This massive place has me looking forward to regular visits!

Fish for days but decidedly low on the Jungle Val. What gives? This world needs a one stop live fish emporium that can satisfy all the needs of the fresh and saltwater fish and their watery abodes.. read more

Drove from LA to this store, well worth it! We will definately be coming back, even with the long drive. Store is fully stocked with a great selection for every type of fish for every type of freshwater system. It is inside a large warehouse and there are aisles and aisles of fish! Biggest variety of fish I have seen in a LFS. Prices are great and customer service is top notch. Special shout out to Manny, who helped us and gave us great personal care and service. He was very responsive to our questions and had great suggestions and feedback. I would highly recommend this store, the fish selection is amazing (literally), they had 6-7 different species of rainbowfish and angelfish, which is what we were looking for. They have a huge assortment of cichlids and community fish, so they have something for everyone. About 4-5x what a normal fish store stocks, thats how huge the variety is! read more