I had a very distressing experience at Nestor's Aquarium and Pets on St. James Street in Winnipeg on March 19, 2026 at approximately 12:15 p.m. During my visit, I observed multiple tanks toward the back of the store (approximately 7-8 tanks in a row) in extremely poor condition. These tanks appeared dirty, with debris floating in the water and no visible labeling for the fish inside. In one of these tanks, there was a dead fish at the bottom, another dead fish partially lodged in a hide, and a live fish lying there gasping for air and clearly in distress. After I brought this to staff attention, a male staff member did remove the distressed fish; however, it was handled abruptly and placed into another tank that also appeared dirty and poorly maintained. The remaining tanks in that row were not addressed. At the front of the store, tanks appeared cleaner, but I also observed multiple large fish kept in a tank that seemed far too small for their size and number. When I calmly raised my concerns, a female staff member (who appeared to be an owner or manager) became hostile. She repeatedly told me she was not my employee, questioned who I was and what authority I had, and raised her voice while dismissing the concerns entirely. I was laughed at and told to leave the store. I even offered to purchase the distressed fish to ensure it received proper care, but that was dismissed. This experience was upsetting not only because of the visible conditions, but because of the lack of accountability and professionalism shown. Animals in a retail environment are still living beings and require consistent care across all tanks--not just those visible at the front. I left feeling shaken and saddened for the animals. read more

I don't mind the owner of the store, but his wife is something else. Like, no sense of what customer service is and just so rude.

Disappointed and heartbroken -- zero accountability from the store I purchased some driftwood from this store for my aquarium, and the next morning I found six of my fish dead. All my poor fish were gasping at the surface, desperately trying to breathe. I went back to the store calmly, just to let them know what had happened -- not to ask for money, neither for the dead fish nor for the product. I simply wanted to inform them. At first, a woman asked if my water had turned brown -- I said yes, it became extremely dirty overnight, even though my tank is normally crystal clear. Then a man stepped in and immediately began blaming me: he said I must have overfed my fish, used the wrong substrate, had a bad filter, or washed it under tap water -- none of which is true. They both started speaking to me in an agitated, defensive tone, while I remained polite the whole time. Again -- I wasn't demanding any refund. I didn't ask for a single dollar. I just showed them what had happened. I told them I use premium filter media and substrate and that I take good care of my aquarium. Then they made a ridiculous "offer": to put the same wood in their own tank and if all their fish die, then I would be right. That's absurd for many reasons -- first, I don't trust them to be honest about the outcome. Second, I live far away and don't have time to waste so they can lie to my face. Third, not all of my fish died -- mostly the delicate neon tetras. And most importantly, the wood already leached all its toxins into my tank. Their experiment wouldn't prove anything. People here say the staff is nice -- sure, they smile while taking your money. But when something goes wrong, they couldn't care less. They can't even acknowledge responsibility. They behaved like teenagers caught with cigarettes claiming, "They're not mine." It's shameful. P.S. ChatGPT told me I should have boiled and soaked the wood for weeks before putting it in the tank. Why didn't these so-called "experts" mention this when selling it to me? Simple -- they don't care what happens to your tank after they've got your money read more

Nestor's Aquariums & Pets - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

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I bought 5 fish from them, my levels are great in my planted tropical 55 gallon tank. I acclimated them for an hour. Was told there is only a 24 hour fish warranty, I had all 5 fish die over a 2 week period, they clearly had something wrong with them. There was no effort to correct this and basically was told that it is my fault. I have had fish for many many years of my life and this has never happened. One fish dying out of 5 I don't find out of the normal, sometimes it happens, but All 5! What a waste of my money! I told the lady on the phone what happened and if they won't do anything, I won't be purchasing from them anymore. SHE HUNG UP ON ME. DON'T shop here, they don't care about their customers. read more

Saw the sign driving by, first time hearing about this store. I was pleased at their Betta fish selection, they also had many tank options that were reasonably priced. I love my Betta! read more

Nestor's Aquariums & Pets - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Winnipeg, Manitoba

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The store is full with a great selection of fish and supplies. I ask the gentleman to identify a fish for as I thought it was a beautiful one. I plan of getting this type of fish when I set up my new tank. He was rude and seemed bothered that I talked to him. A little while after this I was wondering around looking at how his tanks are set up and I saw a power head and asked do you have this one in stock and pointed it, he irritatedly said yes on the other side and at one point raised his voice. The woman at the till seems embarrassed. Than after a few minutes of me pricing things out as, I plan on a fairly expensive purchase, he comes up to me and asks if I have found everything I need. I said yes and left. Well Mr Retailer you lost approximately $1600 in a sale. Get some manners and get your anger under control! read more

Some fish stores take care of their fish. Nestor's isn't one of them. Not only are they the most over-priced LFS in Winnipeg, but last weekend they sold me 5 galaxy rasboras that were infected with Velvet. Three of them were completely emaciated when I got them, it looked like they were starving to death. One of them died on the first night (water parameters attached). Two more died the next day. And now the rest of my fish (which I bought healthy from Fish Gallery) are sick and my tank is crashed. I will NEVER shop here again. read more

My review would actually be based off the Portage location experience. Today we went into the Portage location for the first time since it was on our way. We have made expensive ($50-$400) purchases at the main location of Nester's through the years and thought we would get the same satisfactory customer service and fair pricing....Apparently not, on arrival we walked in to be glared at by the associate with so much as a "hi" or even a smile. We continued walking through the store looking for a few rummy nosed tetras and potentially some Rams and checking out possibilities for a salt water tank in the near future. It was then I realized I needed use the restroom (too much water sounds everywhere!) If one should be available. Lone behold there was one in the corner with the door open, light on, and there was no sign saying I couldn't. My boyfriend told me it was fine and that he's used it there many times before without a problem. I was in and out in a minute without a problem and my boyfriend was elsewhere in the store. Here is where I quite shocked, as I was looking at the tetras the sales associate rushed towards me and without hesitation asked "Do you plan on buying anything or just to use the bathroom?" Fairly shocked, I told him it was up to the boyfriend who he approached and exclaimed "What is it you're looking for then?" We both decided to leave without purchasing anything and go elsewhere downtown for our rummies. I'm sorry I needed to use your bathroom and there was no sign saying that I couldn't otherwise. Maybe I should have asked but I wasn't stopped either. Needless to say, we've been so turned off by our experience with their sales personnel that we will not be returning to either locations there are other aquarium stores in this city that wouldn't patronize a paying customer who just needs to pee. read more

If you are looking for more out of the hobby this is the place. Great selection of unique fresh water fish and marine fish you won't find at the big box places. They have both fresh water plants for aqua scape projects. Various drift wood and stones. They have all aquarium needs such as tanks, lights, filters, maintenance supplies and chemicals/medicine. Half the store is dedicated to salt water. So salt water fish, live rocks and corals. it's a family run business. I believe their main supplier is from Taiwan. if that matters to you. read more

The conditions in which they keep the birds are questionable, and the couple running it don't seem to want to humor beginning fish owners. Selection of fish is good, as well as a huge selection of tank accessories. read more

Typical prices, plenty of selection. Like most purchases, one should do some research before hand and not expect a saleman to do anything other than make a sale. I can't feel bad for anyone sold "the wrong pet"; you're dumb, and now you're broke and dumb. One shouldn't trust a used car salesman to give any more information than they have to, and why customers expect differently in other areas of retail is beyond me. If you're going to a retail pet store for information, you ought to be buying a book, not asking the person who's job it is to make sales for free information; that's what Google is for. read more

Nope. The service here is not only rude, it's 100% wrong. This guy sold my daughter guppies, without question. It's he first tank (he'd know that if he had asked) and guppies are finicky (he could have informed her if he had asked). But no, he saw this 10 year old with money in hand and decided "lets see how much I can get out of her". Of course, he helpfully suggested we buy several testing kits he had on hand to test the water. Turns out, it was HIS water that was the problem! Don't go here, there are plenty of places that know what they are doing, and are helpful. This place isn't one of those. read more

Do NOT buy a bird from this location. About a year ago I ended up purchasing an African Grey from these people. They pushed a very particular grey on me, and he seemed to be a good bird at first. I have owned many birds before, know how to take care of them and provide proper care. So, I was surprised to say the least when the African Grey started to act up. I was patient, but after a year I couldn't take it anymore and had to rehome him. DO NOT BUY BIRDS FROM HERE!!! read more