Pros: -friendly staff -large selection (most of the time) of fish, plants, hardscapes, equipment, supplies, etc. -healthy animals. No plants or shrimp purchased have died or have any issues Cons: -street parking only(?), read parking signs carefully, streets are narrow -kinda dirty and dark around the hardscape selection and fish tanks -no resident fish store cat read more

Chris was excellent helping us get set up with our first tank for my daughter and all the maintenance instructions. He's great with kids and so knowledgeable. You can tell he really loves his job. Highly recommend. read more

Place is awesome i mean idk where to start. They have a large variety of fish, plants, supplies, and they even have a bunch of driftwood and spiderwood for those who like to aquascape aswell. But place is very pricy so its not convenient for people on a budget. You are paying for quality though. read more

Underwater Depot - Very beautiful tank - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

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They are the best!! Very knowledgeable about fish and tanks and helping you set up your best aquarium. No sales pressure just really nice people. They've been around for a long time. Everyone in the market for aquariums or fish should support them. read more

Best aquarium store I have ever been to. Fish and plants are healthy. Prices are average with a large selection. Chris is very knowledgeable and friendly. We travel 20 miles one way to shop there and it is well worth the trip. Thanks to Chris and his helper. read more

Underwater depot is where you go if you want to have really nice sea creature bffs that talk you through all the sea creature stuff about sea creature life and sea creature care. Because honestly aquariums are a little bit of luv you keep in your living room to show people as soon as they walk in. Its a little bit promiscuous but if I'm spending $300 a fish I want it to be brag worthy and the only way that happens is when you know a lot about what you're doing and the only way that happens is when you leverage these guys read more

Really nice selection of both salt water and freshwater fish. Nice plants, decor, and much more. The staff is nice. They know a lot about both salt and freshwater fish. read more

Great service! Great knowledge on fish, I ask them any question about my fishtank and they have an answer every time!

Employees here were not personable...in fact they ignored me during the whole time I was there. Nobody greeted or asked if I needed help. I was on my own from the get-go. With that said, the place does have a nice selection of fish and equipment. Every tank looked healthy, and fish were active. The plants are also green and healthy looking. Underwater Depot is one of the few "mom n' pop" fish stores near me so it's disappointing with the lack of service. Anyway, come for the fish...not the hospitality. read more

Super helpful staff. I find their fish to be higher quality and last longer. All of my live plants I've purchased are still alive and thriving! read more

Very bad customer service . You can tell them what kind of fish you have and it doesn't matter what it is, they will tell you it's compatible with whatever it is you're looking at. After I clearly explained to Chris I had a large gourami at home, and with his approval I purchased 3 more. As soon as I got home I realized my original dwarf gourami was chasing the 3 new ones. I called Underwater Depot Chris suggested I bring my original fish to the store and they would give me $1.00 credit in exchange for him. But that didn't seem fare. The next day the smallest Gourami died. so I brought mine in the next day in exchange for$0 ( as they don't accept returns. ) Thinking at least I would have two instead of one. But the same problem happened again. the bigger of the 2 I had left was chasing the smaller one. So I brought them both back in exchange for my original one. Chris told me I couldn't have my original Fish Back, "that was now property of Underwater Depot!" Chris went on to tell me I was lying about how much I paid for the 3 powder blue dwarf Gouramis. he shook his head and smiled and said, "you did not pay $40 for them. Nobody in the store charged you $40 for 3 gouramis." I went back with my receipt and he said, " I don't care what you paid for them. I'm not giving you any credit and don't come back I don't like doing business with you." I had no intention of ever going back. Just thought I would ask him one more time for some credit. As that would've been the right thing for him to do. So I spent 40 bucks and got absolutely nothing in exchange but a lot of aggravation and bad attitude. This article clearly explains gouramis are territorial. read more

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Salesman are just sales men. Right from the start sold my wife on us more than we needed for a tank we purchased. Gave us totally wrong advice to feed fish ( which is suppose to be every 3/4 days vs what they advised (daily) ... and to keep the light on at all times which was totally wrong only 6/7 hours max or else algae growth becomes an issue. We ended up buying another water filter bigger one soon as we arrive home our fish was dead . Went back very next day with an un-used filter which they said only store credit....? Not in the least happy with their customer service. Scales and Tales in Burbank much better choice than these guys 100% read more

I was having problems in my tank I am beginner. I asked a lot of stores for opinion and help. I tried all the options that other stores sad but they didn't help after I talked with one of employees of underwater depot he told me step-by-step what to do to fix the tank and it worked.THANK YOU read more

Underwater Depot - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

Been coming here since 2014, and Underwater Depot continues to impress. Just rounding out my 40gallon setup (everything bought from the store), and couldn't be happier. Trust these folks with your business! read more

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Marcus was a great help when my guy and I stopped in to pick up my betta. He didn't mind us asking him a million questions either nor did he try to get us to buy anything unnecessary. We'll be heading back later to pick up more plants because the quality of their plants is amazing in comparison to my local Petco's. read more

Underwater Depot - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

Meet Stan! I got him today at this place. This is his temporary tank because I have a 20 gallon on the way for him. This place was amazing and had a great selection. I spent a lot of time just looking around and finding interesting fish. A guy with glasses helped me and he was very friendly and picked out the things I'd need like food and water conditioner. I'm coming back when the 20 Gallon gets here so I can get more fish. read more

Underwater Depot - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

I love to see the one star reviews claiming they were ripped off where they were sold something that was overpriced, blah blah blah. This is a private business they can charge how much ever they want it's your duty to do your research. If you don't like the price, go somewhere else the fact is Underwater Depot sells high-quality plants, fish, tanks, etc. go to Amazon and buy all the live plants you want and see how it turns out everyone here is extremely knowledgeable and has helped me so much in my intro to this hobby. Yes it's a hobby and hobbies aren't easy things die you are recreating an ecosystem in a tank. Please lower your expectations people. read more

We just had our new aquarium installed on Saturday and we are so excited how it looks and how the process was handled from beginning to end. Had a potential defective part and they offered to fix it or send us a new one if that was the case. My husband and I can't be happier with Chris and Armen's team and look forward to another aquarium purchase for our office end of year. They really handled everything in a timely manner and the install team let my son watch and answered questions which made us super happy how sweet they were to my 5 yr old. read more

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I really wanted this to be my go-to LFS as it's close to my home and the employees are all very nice. However, after a couple years of buying freshwater fish and plants, I don't feel that they have the best quality fish (or quarantine procedure if any). In many instances, the fish I purchase end up being sick and needing treatment. And I've seen dead fish in their store more times than I should. I usually go to two LFS and I haven't had this experience at the other, so I might have to just go there moving forward. read more

Amazing service and amazing selection of fish. Everyone is so knowledgeable and kind. They really want the best for the fish... AND you! They are realistic in what you can and shouldn't do, and they were immense help in setting up my fish tank. Oh! And when my filter didn't work. They gave me a new one completely free! My fish are thriving and I'm excited to get more! Come here! read more

Underwater Depot - A sparkling gourami I got! - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

Been here more than a couple times- nice store, good selection of fish/inverts, but an even bigger selection of plants, which I find uncommon for actual stores not online. Also a good selection of hardscape (wood, various rocks) and all around a good pick. read more

Can't wait to gift this to my nephew for his 3rd bday! His parents will love me! ...good thing this place is steps away to come to their rescue! Go to Chris! He's amazing! They are super helpful and so easy to work with! read more

Underwater Depot - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

This review is long overdue! For the past couple of months, I have been getting more invested into the hobby of fish-keeping, as well as aquascaping. And for those couple of months, I have visited a number of stores across LA. With a good baseline to compare from, I can safely say that Underwater Depot is HANDS DOWN THE BEST CHOICE for everything related to the hobby. All the staff I've interacted with have been more than helpful, display a wide array of knowledge surrounding the hobby, and are always happy (and patient) to answer all of your questions. Thanks to the highly knowledgeable staff, I've been able to scape two planted nano tanks with no problems at all. They have THE BEST selection of nano fish, as well as plants for your planted tank. Prices are fair, and some things CAN be expensive, but you do get the quality that you pay for. All in all, Underwater Depot is my go-to spot for everything fish related. Shout out to Cory and Armen for always providing their high level of nano tank knowledge and know-how! read more

Underwater Depot - A bit of algae starting to accumulate, until I get some Oto's in there! - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

I like the staff. Helpful and kind. This is the fish tank we ended up setting up - 2 dwarf Gourami, 3 Glow fish, and 3 Dalmatian Mollies. The mollies were used as starter first. Fish have been healthy too. read more

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Luca, who services our office, is a friendly & caring guy. He's talented with aquascaping the aquarium; his design is visually appealing and harmonious. He comes to our office on a monthly basis to ensure everything looks good and runs smoothly. Of note, I really appreciate the pre-visit monthly calls from the the Manager. He checks in with me as a reminder of upcoming service & to see there is a need for fish food & other supplies. read more

My fiance and I have been coming to this store for years. The owner has always been SUPER helpful. I spoke to Ed on the phone who is one of his employees. He was very rude and disrespectful. I shared with him we just bought 4 glo-fish today and within the first 5-10 minutes of them in our tank the practically all died. I have taken care of fish my entire life. Our tank was environmentally clean and safe for them to live in. We just wanted to let them know what had happened. $45 dollars down the drain h well moving forward. Ed said "well all of our fish in our fish tank are alive and chuckles." He also assumed I didn't add the concentrated conditioner (we use Prime) and we did. Again, we enjoy coming to the Underwater Depot...BUT when an employee is super rude, it kind of ruins the whole experience for you. read more

Long time tropical fish enthusiast. This store specializes in community/nano freshwater and has some saltwater selection as well. Decent amount of aquatic plants available. Very clean, but small store. Can confirm that Marcus is extremely knowledgeable, you can be confident that your questions will be answered by him honestly and correctly. Parking sucks. Enjoy. read more

This is a fantastic store with knowledgeable workers and clean tanks and corals. I call this store often for advice, as well as get fish from them. I can not recommend them enough....they have saved me headaches in giving me the proper advice. Though just a touch more expensive then a commercial chain store, the quality and care is superior those places. Underwater Depot is in the hobby for the right reasons and I hope this doesn't change. read more

The best fish store in all of LA and Orange County in my opinion. They're a little overpriced but at least you know the fish are healthy and that the workers know what they're talking about.I bought my very first aquarium from here in 2013; it was a 55 gallon starter tank. After moving 4 times, 2 of them long distance, it's still running strong and is serving as a starter tank for one of the neighborhood kids now. read more

Armen is always helpful and was able to answer many questions. They helped me start a new shrimp tank read more

Underwater Depot - Armen helped me set up a new hobby. Aquascaping thanks to his knowledge it was less stressful. - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

Extremely rude employees. I will never be returning. I started going there 40 years ago back in 1981 when it was Ben's Tropical Fish but because of their rude staff I won't be going back. read more

Best shop in the area by far. Helpful and educated staff, not trying to gauge your pocketbook. True admirers of the craft. If you are interested in starting an aquarium, or just simply want to look at some cool fish, check these guys out read more

Underwater Depot - All purchased from underwater depot. Nicely priced - Aquarium Services Near Me - Sherman Oaks, California

I went here when my tank was finally ready to home live creatures! (took three months to cycle my 20g) I should have come to Underwater Depot first!! I went to my local fish store and was told ONE mystery snail would be 6 dollars! I then asked about the shrimp and they said five dollar for cherry shrimp that looked like culls!! They didn't even sell any plants too!! I was very upset with my LFS as they were obviously trying to take advantage of the fact I was new to the hobby (shouldn't have told them)!! I saw Underwater Depot had good reviews, but was always hesitant because it was about an hour drive with traffic. I'm SO glad I came here and it was worth that hour drive!! Not only was every employee attentive, but they also were very knowledgeable and made sure I knew about the animals I was buying! Not only that but I got 3 snails for around 6 dollars! GREAT DEAL compared to my local fish store who wanted to charge me the same price for just one snail. One thing to note, my local fish store did not have the prices listed on their tanks, but Underwater Depot did! You can always tell if a store is reputable if they list their prices straight out on the tanks. I came here in August and my Golden mystery snails are still growing and thriving!(all three doubled in size). Another thing to mention, they also have fresh water plants located in the back of the store!! This placed looked like heaven compared to my LFS!! Love this place and will definitely be coming back! read more

I tend to leave this place with a bad taste in my mouth, and won't be bringing my business here anymore. Prices on everything are unreal high, some employees are stand-offish and just plain rude. I got several corydoras from here as well, and placed them in a well established tank. Noticed that they had a bacterial disease, so I treated the tank. The next day, 3 were dead. I told the store about what happened about a week later, and they came up with all these crazy criteria to get my money back. They said I had to bring in dead bodies of the fish, and that I had to do it within 24 hours. I'd never keep the dead bodies of fish... the money just isn't worth it. That's just straight up morbid lol. Been in the hobby for years, and most stores just trust their customers and provide the refund. Underwater depot just feels sketchy-- and my experiences have all been lackluster or even bad read more

The owner is amazing! Had the impeller of my filter replaced, everything looked great however; when i left to run errand there was a huge leak? called the emergency number and he made sure someone came out and fixed it. I was so worried when i saw water everywhere, but most importantly this place actually has a number in case of emergencies and he made sure its taken care of is so rare! Thank you sooo much and my fish thank you as well Monica read more

I bought some fish here a few days ago noticed that half of the five fish I but had Ich. Tried treating the infected fish they died I am currently dealing with a devastated tank and a sick fish because of the infection. I hope they're fresh water isn't on the same filtration system. Very devastating, I come here all the time you think they wouldn't sell sick fish don't think I'll be returning. read more

This place rocks the cat box. I really enjoy the friendly attitude and helpful nature of the employees, who are outgoing and have vast knowledge on all things aquarium-related. Great saltwater display in the front! It's really a beautiful tank -- I don't do saltwater tanks personally, but I was very intrigued. Zack helped me out, I was looking around asking questions about planted freshwater aquariums, which was really useful. I also had questions about the gorgeous display tanks, too. It's a really neat store with really helpful guys who are funny yet professional. They don't seem terribly rushed like other stores I've been in, and it's cool that they have a parking lot in the back of the store. Beautiful blue discus in the back display tank, which I will hopefully be able to buy once my tank is fully set up and the water stabilized. There were a lot of adult discus in this store, more than you usually see, and they were really pretty and looked very healthy. I'm looking forward to adding some of those bad boys to my tank ASAP. read more

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Nice stock of Corydoras I got some 2 weeks ago still alive and thriving. I explained I was new and my first community tank died they let me know what I probably did wrong without feeling insulted I see reviews of people say they are rude maybe I didn't get that person but out of the two both seemed polite and knowledgeable read more

Well 2 of the 3 fish I had bought from there have died. Called up to ask about one of them getting ick and the fella I spoke to (not Chris) was not helpful at all and actually rude. read more

I wanted a new Blue tang and we found this place on Yelp! We even traded in our Blue Velvet Damsel who had grown too aggressive in our current tank set up. The staff here were all friendly and helpful and the store is clean and has lots of stuff for all levels of fish enthusiasts. read more

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