Joe was very helpful and provided feedback on a variety of fish that gave me more species options. The fish arrived healthy and have maintained and enhanced their colors. I'm likely going to order another batch of fish from him soon! read more

Wonderful experience buying fish online they came package excellent will definitely buy more fish in the future from California cichlids thank you read more

Awesome fish! Awesome customer service!! Awesome is Joe!!! I will come back for more cichlids for sure!!

This is the 3rd time I have ordered from Joe-Owner of California Cichlids. This time around I ordered 1 male Leptura Green, 1 male Malawi Gar, and 1 male Spectabill. I was expecting to recieve my order 1 to 2 weeks as it was pre-order. I ordered and paid last Thursday and after 4 days, I already recieved my package. As always, Joe has always exceed my expectations. All three African cichlids was alot larger than expected (5 to 7 inches) and the most colorful males. Thank you JOE!!! Will be ordering soon. read more

First off I gotta say Joe is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable guys in the business he's the kinda guy you can call to ask a question about a fish or product and he won't rush you off the phone but rather take his time and explain to you about the subject your calling about also they have awesome African cichilds from peacocks to haps to Tanganyikans not only do they come bigger then the sizes he lists them but they come with nice color the food he sells the pellets and spirulina flakes are top Quality huge flakes for even your largest African cichilds and color pellets that my fish go nuts over. All I can say is buy your fish and foods here you will be very glad you did read more

They have the most colorful fish I've ever seen, super fast shipping and the fish are not just packed in a small bag but are in large bags so the fish can move around a little during shipping, very impressed, ordered fish on Tuesday and they were here by 1 pm the next day, Joe keeps you informed on your package and wants you to let him know when they show up. I'm so extremely happy that I found this company and will definitely be doing more business through them. A very good experience, highly recommended them and Joe. Thanks for looking at this review and give them a try as you won't be disappointed. read more

California Cichlids - Lake Malawi peacock cichlids - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Fresno, California

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Joe was very responsive in emails! The packaging for my Red Tiger was well done and he was neatly packed! Double and triple bagged so no water leaked out! My Parachromis was healthy and ready to go! I ordered a 1-1.5" and since he didn't have anymore of that size Joe was quick to email and asked if a bigger fish would be okay! Great customer service, super fast shipping, great packaging and I would definitely order from again! Thank you Joe! read more

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I have placed two orders in the past 6 months and could not be more happy with the fish I received from Joe. Customer service is excellent and the live stock is healthy. All of the fish I have ordered are doing excellent. 10/10 read more

I just got my order from California Cichlids. Large Madagascar fish and wild Tanganyikan cichlids. Perfect pack. The fish came in looking great. Thank you Joe. I love my new fish! read more

I ordered a Sapphire from Joe and figured I'd throw in a few other items as well as another fish just to make the shipping worth it. Both fish were stated to be 3"-3.5", and the secondary fish I received was barely 2". My tank has 4"-8" cichlids, and I'm sure this little thing will be eaten by morning. When I emailed Joe about my concerns with putting him in with the bigger fish due to the size discrepancy, he told me he sold all the bigger ones, the ones that were actually 3+ inches long, and only had 2 little guys left, so that's what he shipped to me. He stated that if he hadn't shipped it, he would have had to refund my $60. I would have rather had a refund. He was so rude in his emails and when I requested a refund for this tiny fish that WILL get eaten he literally told me, "We're not going to stop, pick up the phone, and ask the customer if they want a refund." Umm, excuse me, sir? Have you ever heard of customer service? It's when you don't have the size the customer orders, and you call and ask if another size will be ok, or would they rather have a refund? It's quite simple. Instead, he implied that I was an idiot for putting 3.5" fish in with 4"-8" fish and suggested I should have hung the tiny fish in a large net in my tank, and that would solve the problem. Ok, Joe, that'll look great in there for months while this guy grows big enough to be released in the tank. He literally told me "it wasn't the end of the world" and to "get over it". Well, Joe, it is the end of the world for that little guy. Oh, and the other fish, the Sapphire that was actually 3.5", he's doing fine with the big fish. Joe's just a typical guy... he gives you some puny thing and tries to convince you it's bigger than it really is. Then, when you call them out on their crap they turn everything around and tell us we're crazy or stupid. I guess he thought that strategy was working so well for him in his personal life that he'd try it in his professional life, too. read more

California Cichlids - Left is the 3"+ Sapphire I wanted. Right is the one I got so I felt I was getting my monies worth for the shipping. Advertised as same size. - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Fresno, California

Joe was very quick to respond to my emails requesting information on ordering and paying for the fish. This was my first time ordering fish online and it was really easy, thank you @californiacichlids! My trio of wild Alto Comp Gold head are stunning! The size were as advertised, packaged great and shipping was super quick. Overall a great experience and will order again. Awesome fish. read more

I've dealt with Joe on a couple of orders and he has always been great to work with. He has always taken care of me. His fish are healthy and beautiful and acclimate seamlessly. The way he packages his fish is top notch. I'll be back for more! read more

Great fish, fast shipping, fish came alive and lovely great quality, I would recommend

I recently ordered some Multi's from California Cichlids to be shipped down to SoCal. The owner was prompt to respond to all my needs, the fish came very quickly and were well packaged and look very healthy. I will definitely be purchasing from here again in the future! Thank you. read more

First order, great prices and shipping. Fish arrived perfect!

Made my first big purchase with joe, bought some stunner show peacock cichlids at a good deal, gave me a good discount on some to, great selection of fish and driftwood selection, if he doesn't have the particular order of fish then he can get an order of them on his next shipments, overall I'm happy with my selection and plan on buying from him again read more

I made a yelp just to write a review :) Just wanted to say joe was a pleasure to do business with he went out of his way to answer all my questions and help me resolve some problems as well to accommodate to the day I needed the fish shipped His fish arrived safe and in amazing condition I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from again read more

Horrible. I called the guy to order fish for our hotel and he literally hung up on me. When I called back and asked if he had fish, he hung up and then called me back and asked if I had Vagina. I wouldn't buy a used rock from this guy. read more

All I got to say is good things about Joe and his fish. He is very professional and courteous. I was asking about a spotted pleco and he gave me all info and as I shopped around I still ended up buying from him because he seemed to be the most knowledgeable & had the best prices. Fish got here next day perfect & healthy. Just like he said. I will continue buying fish from Joe. Thank you Joe. read more

I regret I could not rate this business higher. I had high hopes for my experience with this business after reading previous reviews, but their experience was not my experience. I ordered 7 fish species. They arrived w/in 24 hours as promised. Four of the 7 were exactly as advertised -- size, coloration, sex. Three were not. Those three fish were all Tanganyikan featherfins. What was shipped were grey-silver fish which appeared to be females of totally unrelated species. I contacted Joe. He told me that he had supplied what I had asked for in terms of species and size -- not true. What I received were fish of sufficient size to be able to be sexed, and these were not males, nor were they featherfins! I have kept fish for nearly 40 years -- perhaps longer than Joe has been in business. I would have been willing to accept "colored-down" males secondary to shipping stress and introduction to a new aquarium until they had found their "niche". What I won't accept is a misrepresentation of the species. A featherfin is not a featherfin if it doesn't have featherfins by the time it is nearly 3" long. If he has to take a flashlight to see any hint of color in the fish he is about to sell, he should only sell them with a clear disclaimer about stress-related color change. My experience is hopefully an aberration and not typical. My losses in this order are between $75 and $100. Joe's business reputation is worth far more than that. I hope he understands that negative reviews of any kind are costly -- much greater than $75-$100. read more

Great experience buying fish from California Cichlids. Great quality fish at a fair price. Thanks Joe!

Yelp won't let you simply delete a review as far as I can tell. Today is let it go day!

Pushy salesmen just beating around the bush. Super unprofessional. Don't ask this guy any questions about super rare fish because he knows his supplier is either bad or fake. Big time bummer business man. No consideration for rare extinct breeds. This man would sell anything just to make a buck. Bad read more

This was my first time buying fish online. Joe was extremely helpful answering my 4000 questions. The order was packaged nicely and shipped very quickly. The fish were even better than I expected. I will be buying from California Cichlids again in the future. read more

Purchased fish from Joe last week. All looked great and healthy. He has great prices and really knows his stuff.

Bought two Geophagus and a Red Empress from Joe. He's a super friendly and knowledgeable guy. All fishes are healthy and high quality with bright colorations. Excellent customer service. Definitely, I will be back for more fishes. Thanks Joe! read more