I love visiting Big Al's when we're in Canada - the fish selection is really unmatched. The employees are always so helpful and friendly too. I love the way the store is set up and the vast variety they have. read more

It was on the spire of the moment to stop in and for no particular reason other than to check toss place out. My grandsons will love to come back here to look around and convince Mom & Dad to let them have a pet! read more

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Amazing fish store. Come here during boxing day - they have amazing deals. Best fish store in the GTA - hands down. read more

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Big Al's has a great variety of fish and supplies for all your needs. Staff are very helpful with the knowledge they have to assist in the selections you are wanting to stock your aquarium with. All in all it is worth while to shop at Big Al's for your aquarium read more

I am, literally, NEVER BUYING FISH FROM BIG AL'S AGAIN. AND LET ME TELL YOU WHY. 9 times out of 10, they die. Generally, a day after the so-called warranty is gone. It's happened to me at least 3 times. And let me tell you why. Big Al's tanks SHARE THE SAME WATER. ALL of the tanks have water that circulated through ALL of the tanks. So if there's one sick tank, it VERY easily spreads to other tanks. Today, I lost 1 of the new fish bought Monday night. UNFORTUNATELY, I ALSO lost FOUR OF THE fish that have been in the tank for 4 to 6 MONTHS. Including a betta. $40 plus dollars... Gone NEVER AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN. I'll buy aquarium starter kits from them, filters, heaters from Amazon, and fish? FINATICS. Which is where I've been buying my fish since most of the big Al's fish die. read more

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Will never be back again. Went to buy a budgie. Asked if wings we're clipped. Was told about 3-4 weeks ago but was exactly sure. Brought bird home and wings were no longer short enough and bird just kept flying around. Called the store because I was not happy with that. The person who clips wings is on vacation and they wouldn't take the bird back. Can't train it and had to go somewhere else to get them clipped. Don't sell birds if you don't know how long ago they were clipped. Was told to call the Scarborough location.... uhhh nooo. read more

Never had a sick fish. Good fish room staff! Ryan has always been a great guy to deal with! The mask BS kills me! Pray every day you reopen like normal. read more

Big Al's - My tank. - Pet Stores Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

I just needed a replacement pump for my 50 gallon tank. So I took the old pump with me to Big Al's Mississauga. The sales person looked at the pump, promptly went to a shelf and pulled one off and said 'This will work fine' OK, I took it home and opened the package to find that it was 4x the capacity of the pump I showed him. Not only that, it was $90. I returned it to the store the next day and they game me a much smaller pump, equivalent to the one I originally had. Now they only wanted to give me a store credit for the difference between the two. I insisted on a refund, indicating the mistake was theirs in the first place. The cashier rolled her eyes and said that was policy. I protested and requested a supervisor who told me the same. After making loud complaining noises, they eventually and reluctantly gave me the difference. Not going there ever again. read more

Want a fish and think your going there and they will have all your answers wrong . NO ONE CARES AND DON'T NO NOTHING. Best thing to do is Google all your questions. All young teens working there with to much on on there mind and no time for you . Cool place to go visit they have a big tank with a shark and a eel . 15 years ago it was a much better store more fish with a bit more better serive. read more

Big Al's - Store Front - Pet Stores Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

I've spent countless amounts of money at Big Al's in Mississauga over the years in the hobby. After many years of self teaching through trial and error and online forums, I only go there when It's an emergency or when it's cheaper in store than online after doing price matches. Their yearly sales or promotions sound amazing and you go there and nothing is priced as advertised. Customer service there needs a lot of help. Employees are always running around or chit chatting. I've never been assisted and when I ask for help, it's like asking a favour. Their fish guarantee sucks! A great variety of plants but some are pricey. Because they glued an anubia/moss on a piece of rock or driftwood. DIY is the way to go. You can get same plants for a lot cheaper on line. Prices there... it's better else where if you do your research. Usually when you purchase certain items in bulk or a larger bag, most stores give a price reduction and it keeps the customer happy. There, they don't. They overcharge and forget to input the sale price and sometimes double charge of you don't keep attentive. Will I go back? Most definitely. I like the place for ideas and price matching but I'd rather get more bang for my buck at other local pet/fish stores or local fish breeders. read more

One of the first things you see when you enter this place is a giant shark tank. Pretty cool. But then I start to feel sorry for it and the novelty wears off. Poor shark..... What I really come here for is to check out the plethora of tanks in the back. Tons and tons of smaller fish, crabs, shrimps, etc. If you see any fish you want, you have to grab a clip board and write your "order" down. Then you have to get the attention of a sales associate or wait for one to be finished with another customer. My tip is to follow the sales associate to each tank you're getting your fish from. If you're not there, they might try to pawn off the not-so-healthy looking fish on you. They also have a selection of lizards here for sale (anoles, bearded dragons, chameleons), and I believe they sell crickets too. My boyfriend is the real fish expert and loves Big Al's. He says this is the best place for all things fish/aquarium related including: accessories like gravel, fish pumps, lights, aquatic plants, tanks, filters, and of course, fish! read more

I purchased an aquarium kit from Big Al's for $735 which included the tank and a filter/heater combo unit. When I got it home and opened the box with the filter/heater combo, it didn't contain a heater or a pump. I called the store and was told that the combo unit didn't have a pump or a heater because these things didn't meet CSA standards for importation and the guy who sold it to me should have told me, (he didn't). The store said it would throw in a $35 pump to make things right. (A $35 pump will not service a 50 gallon tank.) Later, I called the store and told them that I was a long-time customer and I would like them to take back the combo unit and give me a Fluval U4 filter ($119) instead. Timon, Lee and Kelly each refused this request from a customer of over 30 years - I started going to the store when I worked in the neighborhood. So I will buy the filter elsewhere and Big Al's has lost a long-standing customer for good. I regret this situation and would have liked to have continued with Big Al's, but clearly, they have no interest in treating their customers properly. Caveat Emptor! read more

Great store and products. Customer service needs improvement but doubt that will happen.

One star too many for this Mississauga locate and the Manager Jake. After paying this store for a full Aquarium kit and setup, the first unit was defected the replace was delivered and the delivery and setup team shut the system down before leaving and said they will get back to me after speaking to Jake. This store Jake only know how to make promises but could not keep the promises to complete the job, I had to hire a different company to get the system some what setup after 8 months, Jake claims he going to come out and fix it but just another lie. Jake refuse to refund the money I paid Big als's to deliver and setup or the cost I had to pay another company to do what big al's got paid to do. Even lost 2,800 of fish, travel to there store about 120 time from January - October at $10 per travel that's another 1,200 of travel time and gas. If this manager does not understand what taking a customers money to provide a service for and they could complete and their team shut the system down that means refund for service not completed but seen like scammer taking customers money and not completing job. read more

TLDR: excellent store if you know what you're going for. Can't comment on experience if you are new to fishkeeping. Disclaimer: I think the most important factor in your experience is what your expertise level is. If you are a newbie and haven't done much reading / research into how to set up a tank (things like cycling, what types of filters, lighting if you want plants, etc.), you might have a tough time. I saw a lot of customer service people at least talking to customers, but I wasn't really paying attention to how helpful or accurate the advice was. I have 6 years of experience with reptiles, 11 years of experience in aquatics, and nearly 18 with invertebrates, so I didn't ask for any help and didn't look like I needed any help. The fairly lengthy review below focuses mostly on the aquatics, because that's what I was there for. I would note that of the reptiles and their supplies that I did glance at, things checked out A-ok. Prices may a little steep, but I don't have a good feel for the reptile market in Ontario as someone coming from the US. Selection: This is the main thing that gets them the 5-stars. I've been a lot of places, including major conventions, in California, which other than Nevada (i.e. Las Vegas) and Miami, is probably one of the major capitals of exotic pets in the US. I've seen lots of weird things, endangered things, possibly not-100% legal things. I saw a lot of rare oddballs I'd seen other places before, but in greater quantities at this place (e.g., piranhas, freshwater molluscs), and it goes without saying that there was a ton of starter stock, often with three or four tanks for each (e.g., tetras, mollies, guppies, etc.). I also saw a number of catfish, inverts, and oddballs (e.g., Florida gar) that I knew of but have never seen for sale before. I would say that your odds are quite good of finding something rare if that's what you're in the market for. Quality: Mind you, I'm writing this review hours after having procured my selection, so if they kick the bucket in 2 days, this review will be updated. But in general, didn't see any floaters or half-chewed on carcasses in the tanks; this may just be attentive employees, but all in all, the fish looked remarkably healthy in all of the tanks that I looked at - no diseases, injuries, etc. Price: I think the prices are reasonable for the selection. You can probably find really common stuff cheaper at other places, but you may obviously be sacrificing some quality if those are bloat-and-float fish mills. I think supplies are a little expensive; I'm always surprised how much plastic plants are, but their rock prices aren't bad. If you were a big penny pincher, you should go to Wal-Mart, and I would bet that a lot of the name-brand stuff that they carry is cheaper on Amazon, but that's a personal decision. I conveniently happened to stop by when they had a sale (didn't know about it) with slash sales on a random assortment comprising most things in aquatics (got a 3-gal API 360-degree kit tank for less than $30 when the regular price is $65, so not too bad), and all the fish and inverts were 25% off. The normal price for my Mexican Dwarf Crayfish (usually called CPO's on the web) was $12.99, and the two Nerite snails were $2.99 each; this is pretty normal as far as I'm aware. I was looking at dwarf shrimp too, and those prices were good ($3-5 per one). By the way, they have this funky way of getting your fish, which is to take a clipboard from the left side when you enter the aquatics section with a table to fill out on it. You basically write down the tank #, what it's called, and the price and quantity. Then you stand in line until someone is ready to help you. I noticed a few comments in other reviews about getting crappy animals when they bag the fish; it's the (future) owner's responsibility to see the purchase through from start to end - it's not intrusive to go with them when they bag the animal and to be very explicit about which individual(s) you want. read more

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I went there today to pick up a few fish for my backyard pond & found the selection at Big Al's to be quiet varied. The staff was polite and helpful, but I though that Jacob was particularly helpful. He was very kind and patience when I ask him to avoid putting black fish into my bag, as they would not show up clearly in the water. He also was so polite and offered to carry my bags to the counter for me, and showed me which food to purchase. Lastly, he was thoughtful enough to give me the tip to not just dump my fish into the pond but to put the bags in the pond first to let the temperatures match and then release them. Overall wonderful store, wonderful service, just don't wear any fancy shoes as the floor is wet, which, in a fish store, is to be expected. read more

Big Al's - These were a few of the fishes I bought. - Pet Stores Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

This has always been my go to store for fish, fish care, aquarium needs. Was recently sold two fish that told separate employees told me were safe for my tank. Those two killed fish killed two of my older fish. Called the next day to a bet helpful Dal, he told me to ask specifically for him. The Dr.ale manager refused to let me insisted she's the manager, no need to talk to the man who specifically asked me to ask for him. Very sad about my lost fish. read more

I remember coming here with my dad a lot when I was younger and it was always exciting this was before Ripleys Aquarium Big Al's was as good as it got! Coming here was always fun! Now it seems Big Al's has taken a turn for the worse! The customer service here is horrid. Nobody working when I came knew anything about fish. They were all were all pretty young and just seemed caught up in their conversations to even try and help a customer. We came in when the store was pretty dead I mean I saw maybe 2 other customers and probably 6 or 7 workers so the service should have been amazing but instead they didn't even know how to answer any of the questions I asked. I've wanted a Betta Fish for sometime and my parents bought me a tank as a surprise so I was super excited to to be going to Al's to pick out my fish. I walked in a basically went to a worker and asked what I'd need nobody gave me an answer so I basically had to look around and try and figure it out myself. I would expect staff working in the section with all the fish to be the most knowledgeable if they can't answer questions about simple Betta fish how on earth would I trust them to help me with a more expensive fish that would take more knowledge. With tropical that require a lot of work and knowledge I would not trust this staff to answer any questions. Big Al's you better work on training your staff and making sure they're all able to assist customers with any questions they may have. I did end up finding a fish and I absolutely love him! I just wish the staff had been more helpful. read more

Horrible Service. Was in there this Black Friday weekend. Getting fish waiting in line with everyone else and the Asian guy with glasses in the fish department giving us a hard time when it was our turn. Didn't wanna help us get the fish when it was our turn. Been coming here spending lots of money in the store but after this experience I will not be coming back here because of that one guy. Told him I would like to talk to the manager and his reply was if you wanna talk to a manger he's over there go over there and talk to him. What a joke. No respect for customer whatsoever. You guys are not doing us a favour. We are customers keeping your business alive. I will spending my money elsewhere. It's a shame the management needs to step up. read more

whenever i would buy anything here, they'd die. the saltwater tanks have ich as well. if you care about your fish, don't buy them here. i also think the shark tank is disgustingly small, the fish look like they can barely move and its covered in aptasia. it's really ugly and depressing. i've had much better experiences at places like fragbox corals, or paulmacs pets read more

Caveats: comments valid as of Sept 2018 at the Mississauga store (Dundas Street) - 4 stars for the variety of fish - 0 stars for the number of quarantined tanks (look but cannot buy. Outbreak? or new arrivals? If new arrivals, can they not be quarantined behind the scenes? Have been visiting and buying fish and supplies here for years and there is a marked increase in cannot buy tanks) - 1 star for disinterested service staff. Truly not interested in sharing even a few words. Is this a management decision? - 2 stars for pricing on fish. No different than Pet Smart - 1 star on the pricing of supplies - 1 star for atmosphere/store layout (is there a reason that the tank area (1/2 store) is basically a darkened crypt? Conclusion: - If you know what you are doing and want, it is worth it if you are into variety; otherwise try something like Petsmart or similar if your needs are simple and for nothing else than the willingness of staff to help and at least converse. Also the experience of doing business in a dark cave may have been good in the 80's. - Time for Big Al to re-do its business model or , , , , , - It is ripe for being blown out of the water should a company that is customer experience focused come along. Until then, , , , it is what it is. read more

Big Als is quite big with tons to chose from. It's basically like an aquarium superstore. For accessories or tank necessities I find all I need here. The prices are kind of high but I find it about the same as most aquarium shops. If you're looking to buy fish or any reptiles I would be cautious. The fish are quite pricey and sometimes don't look very healthy and have died very quick. Please don't purchase turtles from Big Als as pet stores are the worst place to buy one. The ones I seen at Big Als we're diseased and ill. Some of the poor babies shells were rotting and braking away. They were in bad shape. I complained about this more then once where I returned time and time again to see the sick turtles still for sale- this time the price was reduced! Selling sick turtles on sale? That's SICK! I complained again and made it very adamant to the male I was speaking to that something has to be done about that. They can't well diseased turtles. He said he would let someone know just the same response I was given before. However recently I did go back to see that all those turtles were gone and replaced with new ones. Kinda makes me wonder how they disposed of he poor little ones. I'm not sure about the snakes and geckos as I don't own any of these but they don't seem to sell many of these. It's mainly fish and there's a huge salt water section along with fresh water. You are required to pick up a clip board and go around to the tanks you desire and write down the tank # along with the amount of fish you wish you purchase. I would suggest going with them to each tank to make sure they give you fish you are happy with and not half dead ones :) Keep your receipts for everything! I had trouble with my filter and thankfully had it replaced. Just please be cautious when purchasing live animals from Big Als!! - owner of 3 juvenile turtles :) read more

Big Al's - Please don't buy turtles from Big Als. The poor babies are diseased and ill and won't last long. It's heartbreaking and a waste. - Pet Stores Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

One of the largest aquarium stores in the GTA, a pretty one stop for all your shopping needs. They do have a pretty good selection of fish and dry goods. There are issues though. The fish are of poor quality, and you run the risk of bringing home diseases and fish that will be short lived. As well, the customer service is terrible. The cashiers are disinterested and bitter. While the sales floor people are not very knowledgable and will take advantage of novice fish keepers. A decent fish store that has some warts, but there's no where else to go to get fish and supplies. read more

Tons of variety in fresh water fish. Picked up two Vampire Shrimp. Make sure you pick out your livestock, staff was fishing out least active shrimp hiding at the back of the tank until we showed up and asked for the active healthy looking shrimp at the front. For $14.99 a shrimp I'd expect better service. Might be back. read more

I have such mixed feelings about Big Als. First of all, I agree with the previous reviewer that you feel bad for the large sea creatures they have in the main tank. They do not move very much since there are so many of them in that main tank. An another review said follow the workers because they will be careless when the fish they give to you. My other issue is when you walk around the store you do notice many dead or diseased fish floating about. **I have to warn against using their Big Als water conditioners as well. In the GTA, the municipalities add ammonia to the water. Their water conditioner does not remove ammonia. I think it is irresponsible that they are selling their product. The ONLY product you should be using in the GTA is Amquel or Prime. I use Prime. At least they neutralize Ammonia for a period of time allowing your bio filter to actually convert this to nitrites** Lastly is about the customer service. Horrible. Link on Ammonia for the City of Toronto. I have researched other regions in the GTA, its the same. :http://www1.toronto.ca/staticfiles/city_of_toronto/toronto_water/files/pdf/water_treatment_process.pdf read more

I keep fish as a hobby and I used to buy fish from this place, both tropical and goldfish (for separate aquariums obviously). Almost always, the fish I buy from this place don't last very long, they live just long enough to exceed the guarantee (5 days) and then die. This has always been the case for Big Als for a couple years that I have been buying and replacing fish from. The fish that actually last are from a store that is SMART about PETS. Fish from there have been living in my aquariums for over a year now (their fish guarantee is 2 weeks). If you want your fish to last, don't buy from here. Oh yes, they are also very overpriced. A simple aquarium light costs $26 whereas in other stores it's only about $4. read more

different kinds of aquatic fishes both freshwater and saltwater, many equipments as well

This Big AL's has a pretty good saltwater selection. Their prices on supplies is pretty good as well. I agree with "Allan R" review that this and most other Big Al's offered better customer service 20 or so years ago, read my review on BA Hamilton, but you have to live with the times I guess. read more

On a technical perspective: this place is the pits. I was provided the worst advice and I am still paying for it. My poor tank is in major triage. Customer service: is the worst. They are a batch of kids with poor manners, swearing kicking each other, while customers are waiting for assistance. SO UNPROFESSIONAL and they don't care...be prepared for that. I've had a freshwater 40 gallon tank for a number of years and consider myself to know a little bit about freshwater fish (also a biologist by trade). Not only DID ALL THE FISH I BOUGHT DIE BUT MY TANK IS INFESTED WITH ICH. So far I've lost a mature clown loach (6 inches) and four 5 year old tetras. The quality of service when I returned to get medication was beyond frustrating to say the least. I had to wait for the "fish guy" to get his smokes and pop before he led me to the meds sections! Even then, he simply pointed out the section and scurried outside. PLEASE, LET ME NOT FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE MANAGER IS A TOTAL LOSER!!!!!! He escorted to one of the fish tanks that I had purchased my ill-fated fish and indicated that they were all well...as if I'm lying about my situation! Sure, who knows if each morning staff are scooping out numerous dead fish prior to customers arriving? I DO NOT RECOMMEND EVER DEALING WITH THIS BATCH OF IDIOTS OTHERWISE BE PREPARED TO HAVE MAJOR CASULAITIES!!! read more

The absolute worst experience one can imagine. Set up a brand new 20 gallon aquarium completely cycled and tested with the API freshwater test kit to confirm. Confirmed tank size with the rep over the phone and ensured us that 3 juvenile fantail goldfish would be fine but would need a bigger aquarium as they grew older which I knew as well. After travelling for 30+ minutes they first they told me all of their 3/$10 goldfish were completely sick but conveniently had these fantail goldfish available for $6.99 each, that were in perfect health supposedly. Bought 2 of these fish on April 22, it is now May 1st, one of the goldfish has developed ich, which is typically a sign of poor keeping conditions by the previous owners (BIG AL'S). Fish does not look like it is gonna make it, the rep was no help stating the 5 day policy is up and they have no responsibility. He later went on to state that your ammonia levels are probably high, instead of acknowledging they likely sold a sick fish. I have tested my tap water and aquarium water and there is ammonia in both. The rep later got smart and said "oh you would be dead if there was ammonia in your water". First of all ammonia levels that are toxic to fish are not toxic to humans, and it is made as a by-product when it passes through water processing facilities. Big al's do not care about there customers and was not even willing to work something out with us, we were going to buy more supplies from them but after the unprofessional staff's behavior and responses, I would not even step in that store. Definitely go to pet smart if you want fish that are going to last more than a week. read more

I've had nothing but positive experiences with this store. Yes if you go at the wrong time of day, it will be busy. It is the largest Big Als in Canada and attracts a lot of attention because of their selection. Their live plant selection is second to none and their fish selection is huge. Not as many rare fish as I would expect from such a big store, but a great selection. The staff is hit and miss. If you demonstrate knowledge, they will give you the best fish in the tank. If they think you're just a noob that kills fish after fish, yeah they might just dip the net in and pick out whatever. It's up to you the consumer to A) know what you're buying B) what you want and c) to make sure you get what you want. If you just fill out the slip board and stand and wait, you deserve what you get. Every fish, shrimp etc. that I have bought there is still alive. Every live plant that I have bought there is still living. With live plants be aware of the individual needs of the plants before you buy them, not every staff member is well versed on their light and co2 needs. Overall a great experience, worth the 45 minute drive for me. read more

The Mississauga location is no help. They just want you to buy more of their products. Brampton location is so so much more helpful with trouble shooting your problems before getting you to buy something that they could of technically fix. Thank read more

The fish is awesome , but if you don't know what you doing and want to know something the people them self don't know their craft. All they told me that is my water that is at fault not their fish, after 1fish died and no refunds. Better think twice is you are buying expensive fish. read more

It's very disappointing to see the comparison and changes between 2006-2018. Back than OMG it was amazing it felt like heaven because my parents would add a new fish every month which is what made me happy. I mean the customer service was great they treated us loyalty. And now than it's just disappointing because when I came in last week. I swear to god. I saw this tank that had like 78% fish dead. Like wtf. And than to my right I saw a fish trying to be alive. And I urgently reported to the workers and I'm was likes their a fish on the floor needing help. He was like "that's sound a problem of yours so you deal with it" and I was shook. So I ran back to see the fish dead when I rescued it and put it back in the wrong tank I didn't know where to put it back. When I went back to see under the tank or like on the floor their were other dead fish like dead dead. Which was sad. And with workers I wanted to argue but I was afraid I was going to be dis-treated and somehow ban from the place. And hell yes I agree this place became shitty af and the prices are higher than a water bottle. Like it was fuc**** expensive. Never ever I'm I coming back to this place again. #LifeShoocking read more