Don't give this place ANY business! I spent $670 there in late November. The business changed hands. I brought this expensive filter back because it didn't pump water. I called ahead because I am 120 miles away in Freeport. The guy (Alphonso) said go ahead and bring it in and we'll try to take care of you. He worked with it for about ten minutes and concluded the same as me - it wasn't pumping. He went to the owner and she said I would have to get the manufacturer to replace it because "I didn't but it from HER". Well, when you buy a business, you get the products, the fixtures and everything with the business - including the customer base. I asked her if she would take care of a customer like me who had done business with the previous owners if they wanted to buy something from her. Of course she said yes, I said, well then if you are willing to take care of them, why won't you take care of me?" She said, listen I am not replacing it because I didn't sell it to you and asked me to leave. Unless you like doing business with somebody that will not help you if there is a problem -stay away! read more

Coral Reef Pet Center - Guess a receipt is no good for a return here. - Pet Stores Near Me - Norridge, Illinois

Would give 0 stars if possible. Almost none of the animals that are for sale here or that are boarding are kept in appropriately sized tanks/habitats/cages. It is clear that nothing is cleaned regularly or properly. Here are some photos and a video of just a few examples. 4 iguanas kept in a tank suitable for one crested gecko, a chinchilla AND her baby in a 10gal MAX aquarium, ceiling tiles falling, just terrible. read more

See all

Loved all the things and my grandma actually got a one fish that had babies they even had a lizard roaming through there

It's still the best place in town for fish supplies and healthy livestock. They take good care of their marine livestock. I've never bought a sick fish from here. They offer the best wide selection of frozen fish food including large sheets of Hikari mysis shrimp and spirulina brine shrimp which are cheaper than cubed versions. I recently bought $200 worth of frozen foods including the excellent Herbivore Blend and Original Blend made by Rod's Food. I bought a new 6-Line Wrasse and Mandarin Goby and both were healthy. read more

See all

Very disappointed with the lack of customer service here. I've been purchasing my Fromm dog food here for years and years and I come in do collect my free bag after 12 bags w UPC labels and they won't honor it because it's not logged in their system every time I come in. I'm sorry your employees didn't do their job and ask for my name every time I come in. Unwilling to help me I tell the lady running the place I will no longer be buying my dog food here. I was gonna collect my free bag and purchase another. I am going elsewhere and probably will pay more for the dog food but it's a matter of principle. You're a small business and you should take care of the people that take care of you. read more

0 stars if I could! DO NOT board your animal here! The conditions are AWFUL and DISGUSTING. They do not clean anything. The cages are overcrowded and disgusting. On top of the overcrowding, not a SINGLE animal has the proper setup/heating/ food or water. I only support purchasing from here to get these poor animals out of these conditions. Please do not board here! They have no care or regards for any pets. read more

LFS that carries a wide varieties of fish is hard to come by! This place carries silver arowana and jardini and tons of other fishes. They also carry live blood worms, meal worms, wax worms and super worm. There's also iguanas and birds for sale! Great place. read more

See all

We had been wanting to purchase a bunny for my daughter for her upcoming birthday so I took my toddler to the pet store. We looked at all of the animals and I asked the lady (Carol??) who FINALLY came into the back if I could see one of the bunny rabbits. She coldly responded, "Not unless you are going to buy it. This is not a petting zoo." WHAT? As I was in mid-sentence, she walked away from me and COMPLETELY ignored me. I mentioned that I had purchased many pet supplies and pets (including bunnies) over the last 20ish years or so and my husband/brother/family were all regulars and this had never, ever happened before. I don't have a problem with company policies. My problem is with the way I was treated by the employee and the way it was dismissed when brought to the owner's attention (without a sincere apology and the fact that you made dozens of excuses for "Carol" before finally saying he would have a "pow wow" with her later). I have worked in customer service and totally understand how circumstances can make or break an experience, needless to say, this was extremely upsetting and I will NOT be back, and will encourage my friends and family to take all business elsewhere. There are many great, clean, kind pet stores elsewhere - do your own research!! No one deserves to be treated like this. read more

Got this beautiful bun from them and she is very healthy. Never had a problem and was very cute. Have had her now for a year! And the lady that works there is very friendly and knows a lot about pet. read more

Coral Reef Pet Center - Pet Stores Near Me - Norridge, Illinois

I went recently to this business and was sad to see the animals and fish in awful conditions. Some of the fish tanks were so dirty and full of algae you could only see the shadows of the fish swimming inside. I don't even think they had the filters running in alot of the tanks. The birds had dirty or no water at all. Same for the rabbits and guinea pigs. Also noticed absolutely no food in the rabbits and guinea pigs tanks. 2 rabbits were in a very small cage. And as far as the reptiles, no food or water in their tanks either. Bowls were empty. And some of the lizards had absolutely no heating or UVB lights on. I know the business recently changed ownership again, but it seems to be getting worse each time. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that all the animals need access to fresh water and food at all times. And tanks/cages that are size appropriate. I left there feeling sad and angry for the animals and the conditions they are in. I'm not sure if it's just laziness and uneducated about how to run a pet store, but something has to change for the better! read more

This review is from a window shopper's perspective as I have never actually purchased anything from Coral Reef. When that urge hits to have my eardrums blown out by the incessant screeching of rude and unfriendly birds, I stop in here. As a fish novice, even I notice that the tanks have seen cleaner days. The assortment of pets that can be purchased here is impressive. I can't speak of their overall health of course. The back room is pretty much like an indoor petting zoo, so if you're in the area and want to entertain the kiddies for 30 minutes or so... well come on in! read more

I've stopped in on occasion for Fish and live fish food. Prices are moderate. At times you can find a decent selection of specific fish. If they don't have a specific variety of fish, they can sometimes help out in ordering something for you. At a time I was interested in Dragon Goby aka Dragon fish. While searching pet stores I found that here they usually carried a good selection. I'd purchased two, which I had for about six years. Prices of the fish and overall quality of the health of the fish were much better than say Pet Co or other smaller aquarium stores. read more

Thank you Frank, and a very special Thanks to Christina! They are both Awesome & take great care of the animals/birds, fish,,etc. This is the second time I have left my 7 birds to board at Coral Reef Pet Center, for boarding. Christine is excellent with all my birds. Freddie, my Sun Conure, Loves her and I saw for myself how all the birds at the place love her as well and look to her for attention that she so lovingly gives them. Seeing that interaction made me very comfortable leaving my birds there while I was out of town. Thank you so much, Christina! My Flock: Freddie, Stuey, Sasha, Lola, Bella, Jade & Diamond love You!! P.S. I actually bought my Sun Conure at Coral Reef Pet Center years ago and I needed a name for my Sun Conure and Frank named him...said he looks like a Fred, lol..so I named him Freddie! Please continue providing your services to us. read more

One of the best neighborhood pet shops. This shop has an exceptional staff. They also are one of the very few places in the area which will board birds. Prices are very reasonable, and my parrot seems to like it there. The shop's owners also own the RC shop a few doors down. They have built a RC track in the basement of the pet shop, and they host weekly races. read more

A pleasant little store. Diverse range of products. Large selection of birds. Average supply of fish. Decent prices on brine shrimp and black worms. Full range of frozen food for your cold blooded friends. Prices on most things seemed about average for the area. Staff seemed friendly and knowledgeable. I really liked the 4 corner tanks arranged in a circle in the fish room. Average to above average store. read more

The location of the store isn't in a very great area, but I walked in with an open mind. They had good food selection, pet toys, etc. I went to look at the birds in the bird room and was utterly disgusted. The room was barely big enough to hold all of them, it was very loud, and all of the birds were anxious or scared. I saw about 10 shivering in fear. Then, there were so many birds with an insane amount of feathers missing. This means because the birds are so frighten or anxious, they pull their own feathers out. I saw one of them doing it. The behavior is a terrible one and is hard to break from a bird. If you even went close to the cages, the bigger bids would walk back and shiver because of how frightened they were. I walked out about to cry because I hate seeing animals suffering. I think this store should stick to fish, as in their name. read more

The name is what got me in. I am a reef hobyist and I thought that I will be at a specialty store for saltwater and corals, what I found was a local pet store that was packed with so many items that it looked horrible. Prices were good though, bought a 48" actinic light and Purple up. The store has birds, reptiles, and some fish - go figure! Anyway it looks like it belongs in the 1960's and has not been remodeled. If I am going to spend my hard earned money I won't be doing it there read more

Remember when I said I wouldn't come back unless I had to? Well, I was looking for a wrought iron stand for a ten-gallon aquarium, and they were the only place that carried them when I called stores looking for one. Or at least they claimed they had them in - 2 to be exact, for the great price of $38.00. So today my sister went in to pick one up, and she was told no, they haven't had any in stock, but they could order one, and it would cost over $50.00. THIS is ridiculously bad service. This store is run by a bunch of high school dropouts. I don't think the whole lot of them combined possess an IQ higher than that of a cardboard box. read more

This store has quite a good dry-goods selection for a variety of animals. If a person is seeking quality fish and good customer service then that person should go elsewhere. In my personal experience, the staff there is incompetent and slothful. I have waited 10 minutes for one of the employees to get a fish for me, but then that employee decided to go off somewhere. To save time and frustration just go to the ocean design store instead. read more

The great: Low prices, friendly staff, small business. The good: Descent selection of fish, bird, rodent, and reptile supplies. The bad: Very small selection of dog and cat supplies, smells like a typical small pet shop, old and messy, has lots of small animals in a tight area, they once sold me a boy and a girl gerbils when I asked them to make sure it's two boys. We had LOTS of babies until I could figure out how to stop the cycle. I felt awful about having to return the babies back to the store as I grew attached to them, but I couldn't keep 11 gerbils. read more

Great store, excellent familly oriented pet store, knowledgeable, good people, best place to get birds , reptiles, and especially fish...best aquarium displays w fresh water or salt water fish....kid there w glasses very knowledgeable. read more

Coral Reef Pet Center - Great store for reptiles , birds, cats, saltwater or freshwater fish. - Pet Stores Near Me - Norridge, Illinois

Awesome store! They have it all fish, birds, reptiles and more. They have food for dog, cats etc. Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable! I take the kids to window shop and get fish. read more

Coral Reef is the greatest! I got a bird after someone abandoned it and literally had no idea how to care for it. I found Coral Reef (I thought it was a fish store), and everyone there has been so helpful. They explained how to feed and care for my bird and always tell me if I have any questions, just call or stop in. I take the bird to get its nails trimmed and buy food. I don't think the bird would have made it six years (and counting) without their help. read more

Very cute small store. They have more than just fish. In the back they have random animals. They are very knowledgeable and can help answer your questions about your aquarium needs. I have never had a poor experience here. read more

Great place for guinea pig supplies. I originally started shopping at Coral Reef because they carry Oxbow hay. I've learned that I can buy hay in bulk here saving money and car trips. Coral reef has the best prices on bedding in the area. There is a good selection of food, cage cleaners and hay for guinea pigs and other rodents. We've boarded our guinea pigs here. The price was reasonable, and the guinea pigs were healthy and their cage was clean when we picked them up. The staff is always friendly and they're patient with my exuberant daughter. I've been shopping here for a few years, and all my experiences have been good. read more

First time in the other night. Very friendly and helpful. Nice selection of fish and we were advised on how to start our fresh water aquarium properly. Nice selection of freshwater and saltwater fish. We'll be back. read more

My opinion of this aquarium store is colored by the fact that so many of the tanks had dead and dying fish in them. It was pretty sad. Overall the store was pretty dirty. I love to patronize independents but even Petco (the worst of the chain pet stores in my opinion) is cleaner then this place. The staff seemed very friendly however and they do have a very good selection of aquarium equipment. Also, they do carry feeder guppies which can be hard to find sometimes. read more

As a beginning saltwater enthusiast, I went to Coral Reef first. While I remember it being wonderful as a child it leaves a lot to be desired as an adult seeking to invest thousands of dollars in equipment and livestock. Many of their fish looked sick and a few of the tanks were downright filthy. While at the time I didn't have a tank I was looking to invest and was planning on buying everything from Coral Reef. An employee did approach me to ask me if I needed help and was pleasant at first. When I told the employee what I was planning on doing (Berlin System) I was told that it was a stupid idea and that I should instead consider an under gravel filtration system. I understand how much money the hobby costs and was sure to do extensive research before making any decisions so I really didn't appreciate speaking with an employee with an obvious bias for an archaic tank system and a lack of understanding about other methods of maintaining aquariums. So, I said goodbye and purchased my thousands *literally* of dollars in equipment, food, livestock, medications, etc. from a respectable live fish store with knowledgeable staff. And, my Berlin tank is awesome. My hope is, of course, that this was just my experience with a single employee that hopefully has moved on to another job. But, the whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. read more

Not helpful and very rude. They sold me an open filter with an inch of dust on it for the full price looks like it was used and became very mean when ask for an open package discount. The tanks and displays were very dirty there was a dead lion fish just laying at the bottom of the tank. Couldn't believe they could let a beautiful fish like that just lay dead in the tank. Over all bad customer service and don't recommend anybody to go there unless you like bad customer service. I highly recommend ocean design on Addison very helpful and friendly read more

Way overpriced. And if they say over the phone it will be there Tuesday it probably won't. He just says that in case it comes in so you will go all the way there. One guy was nice and the other fake cute crap to get your business. Cheesy read more

I think this pet store is excellent. They carry all kinds of animals from lizards to the exotic fish. They also have all the things needed to care for you pets. When you walk in you'll be amazed by the huge indoor pond, that contains the largest gold fish ever. read more

Coral Reef Pet Center - Pet Stores Near Me - Norridge, Illinois

See all

You guys rock!!!Most of the staff are very knowledgeable and have a lot of experience with exotics as well as saltwater care. Stop by and say "Hello" to Rico!! They carry a full line of Eukaneuba and Hund and Flocken pet foods and can special order something ,if you ask nicely! Also,next door is a Radio Controlled Hobby Shop.(Strictly RC). Same owners,more ways to spend my husband's money! Could be worse-he could be stuffing $20's down some stripper's g-string. This is also a great shop! read more

Fantastic aquarium and fish purchasing experience. Knowledgeable, friendly staff, good prices, and pleasant store interior made this location the best I found after a day's worth of exploring all of the options in the near-west suburbs. read more

My dad used to take me there for all of our pet needs when I was a little girl and 10 years later I still go there. The staff is awesome. They'll take the time to sit and talk with you about any concerns and if ever they are unsure about something they'll research it. It's a smaller shop, but they have a neat selection everything from chinchillas to tarantulas. They also have a good selection of fresh and salt water fish. I just love the place. It makes me happy to see that it's still around after all these years. read more

This is the perspective of a novice fish owner who visited tons of stores before landing in a place that had decent prices. As for the expertise, the seasoned store owners are the IT of wealth of knowledge. That said, there is an owner who LOVES to bend over backwards with advice and suggestions- he is the reason I keep going back! There is another guy with an accent, who is also all about the customer! They know their stuff AND customers!! On the other hand, if you don't get that luck of the draw.... good luck. You may get the other seasoned owner who seems not to care or be patient. There are the kids who work there, spend half their time Thinking about heading to the hobby store. If you get attended by one of these people and its your first time, you may not come back. Over all, I love supporting smaller businesses- this is one of them! Great ma and pa shop!! read more

Terrible experiences! First experience...purchased a UV sterilizer for my daughter. When she took it home to Milwaukee, WI she found the bulb in it was broke. When I went into the store to explain, they would not replace the bulb, or issue credit. I did share with them the text messages I received from my daughter the night before, expressing her frustrations with the broken bulb. They said she had to return the unit and they would give her credit for a new bulb. I explained she was in Milwaukee and probably would not be back in town for a while, and needed a bulb to operate the unit right away. Didn't seem to matter to them. Second experience...purchased very expensive LED lighting unit. In less than a month, it stopped working. Took it back, and they said I would have to ship it back to the manufacturer. They said that because the unit was wet, they may not accept the return. Are you kidding! The unit is designed to sit on the lip of a 55 gallon tank, and is designed to sit about 3 inches above the tank. Of course the unit is wet. There is always surface water agitation that creates a constant fine spray / splash onto the unit. So now I have to ship the unit (& pay for shipping), and wait for a resolution, while my corals suffer without adequate lighting! read more

Decent store. Purchased two salt water fish and 10lbs of really nice live rock. Fish were a little pricey, but the rock was a good deal. Tanks were all clean and all fish looked to be in good health. The two fish I purchased from this store are doing great in my tank. Purchase was made 1 month ago. Service was average. read more

This was my first time here. I came with my 6 year old to by fish for him and his 3 year old brother. Since I'm a total newbie to the world of fish, I needed a lot of help picking out a tank, supplies and the right fish for us. A young man named Frank was incredibly helpful patiently explaining everything and provided excellent customer service. And he was super sweet to my son. Yes there are fancier looking stores, but the great customer service I received outweighs the "looks" of the place. We will definitely be repeat customers! read more

Awesome place, super cheat stuff and you can always get a good deal. The people there know exactly what they're talking about and will help you get excatly what you need and solve any issue you might have. I am so happy and have recomended this place to all my friends and family :-) Will definetly come here for all my pet needs! read more

This is a great store. Staff is very knowledgeable and helpful. I always feel comfortable with their advice unlike other stores who have misinformed me. If they don't have something you need they will order it. When a problem arises with a product purchased there they do everything they can to make it right. I own birds and a turtle and have been going there for years. They take pride in their store and it shows. read more