The Pet Shop

It honestly looks like a great store, today was my first time ever going in. Everything looked beautiful and well cared for... except for the betta fish. They have them in cups smaller than even PetSmart/PetCo use. They had no dividers and I watched as two males flung themselves around the tiny cups trying to fight each other. One was literally dying from dropsy right there in the front line. Not even in the back where you could have trouble noticing it. Again, the store looks amazing, the workers seemed nice but this is abismal betta care. It's one thing to keep them in cups, but to have them all right next to each other so they can't even hide or relax? They're going to be constantly stressed and that's not good for their health.

Always great customer service. Courteous, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. I have purchased fish from other places and had health issues that wiped out an entire set-up. I've never had that issue with The Pet Shop. A favorite employee of mine is Mike. Not to slight any of the other members of the gang. Because they're all great to bounce ideas off of. I have decades of fish experience, but boy does Mike know his trade. Thank you for always having not only a nice atmosphere but a great experience to boot.

Got a bearded dragon hest so beautiful and well kept up they have amazing animals check them out!staff is awesome helpful great environment

This place sold me a ball python that was already infested with mites, then gave me horrible advice on how to treat her. They told me to use Provent-a-Mite in a way that poisoned my snake. Now she’s dying in front of me because I followed the ill advice of a manager here. Clearly, their reptiles are not properly cared for, and they’re either uneducated or don’t care about the animals’ health. Most importantly, don't ask them for advice you'll be better off just winging it.

We've been coming here for about a little over a year. We bought a hamster in the past and recently some aquarium plants. The hamster is alive and thriving! He's been in good health and reso8bds to our voices. The plants are great and the staff was extremely helpful in educating me in not getting a snail for my tank because it wasn't what the tank needed, it was what I wanted. Most stores would sell you stuff to make a sale but letting me know when it was appropriate to get a snail did me and the tank good. I will keep coming to The Pet Shop for our pets needs. Solid service, great stock, fair prices and happy animals make for a wonderful local shop. Keep up the fantastic work.

I loved the place, although a strong smell greets you as you walk in it is not bad in my opinion. The people we saw were nice, and the animals all seemed very healthy and well taken care of. I loved trying to find chameleons and small geckos, and I would recommend to any pet lover or someone looking for a fish, lizard, bunny, rat, or mouse! And others you can see if you visit. Great place!

Very friendly staff, very clean store. They helped me buy a gargoyle gecko, got me the right cage and equipment. I definitely recommend!

Looking for an amazing pet store? Look no further than The Pet Shop. Best part is, they are locally owned and operated. Every time I visit, for my reptile needs, I am greeted by a friendly staff member who goes above and beyond. The owner is amazing! She is so knowledgeable and gives great advice anytime I ask for it. I am a teacher, (who gets a teachers discount) and have a few pets in my library. The owner let me come in and interview her about the animals and sharing interesting facts about them. I am so impressed with this store and everyone involved in making The Pet Shop a success. Thank you for being part of the neighborhood.

I've been coming here for about a year now. Great selection on fresh water fish and decor. They always have a very good selection of seiryu stone which seems to be hard to find these days and its price very reasonably. They also always seem to have bloodworms in stock too. The staff is attractive and are always willing to help me out. The bad reviews made me laugh. Highly suggest this place and I'll be coming here for the foreseeable future. Thanks for all the epic stones for my 120p!

Stopped in here for the first time the other day. The vibe here is odd, employees seemed aloof, not a single cheery face in the bunch. That's ok, I was happy to be there and didn't need help so no worries. They have a pretty unique selection of lizards, especially geckos. It was fun to see them. The habitats were all very clean and look new. Very nice to see. The saltwater selection was ok. Lots of clown fish. Nothing too unusual or unique, most looked healthy. They have a beautiful selection of freshwater plants. I didn't love the fact that they have live fish in the tank with the plants. I've seen too many instances of mystery fish showing up with plants, I don't love that. But quarantining should be a good remedy for that issue. I didn't see snails so that's a major plus. They looked really healthy and most were quite mature. The freshwater fish selection was really unique, but still had the usual favorites. I wish I could say I was impressed with the health of the fish but I wasn't. The freshwater fish area could use a lot more care and attention. I was really bummed to see scuds infested some of their tanks. It would be devastating to bring home those hitchhikers with any fish, shrimp, or plants. As much as I wanted to purchase some fish and plants, I had to pass because of the scuds, disease, and other potential hitchhikers. Another positive, they have a fun selection of isopods and springtails, most looked healthy and alive. All and all it's a neat shop, worth checking out. I didn't find the prices too exorbitant, they were pretty on par with other independent shops.

The Pet Shop is an absolute gem for all your pet needs! Their extensive range of items is unparalleled, and the variety of animals for sale is truly impressive. I regularly visit to pick up mice and super worms for my bearded dragon and snake, and I couldn't be happier with the selection. The staff is not only helpful but incredibly knowledgeable. I had the pleasure of being assisted by Brock, who went above and beyond. He was friendly, shared valuable insights, and even showed me what a furry mouse looks like - a level of service I truly appreciated. The inside has a nice ambiance, though it does carry the expected scent of animals. The presence of a cool macaw adds to the charm, making every visit delightful. The Pet Shop has become my go-to place for pet food, and I can't recommend it enough. Five stars for the excellent service, variety, and the joy of seeing that charismatic macaw!

this place not only has all the needs that I would require for my pet including food and terrarium items but also in the back of the store they have a plant collection. I'm not sure what they bring in or what the variety is, but I discovered that they had a pinguicula there which is super awesome and I just love the uniqueness and quality of the store provides.

I absolutely love this place, I wrote a review before I was up to date on my education. The owner is especially sweet and informed me on the difference between snake mites and wood mites which was something I had gotten mixed up. This location truly cares for their animals and gives them the love and attention they need. They have a beautiful selection of fish and reptiles. Great supplies for setting up bioactive which has helped me tremendously. They have a beautiful selection of snakes specifically I contemplated for probably 30-45 minutes (And if the owner is reading this I put a picture of the snake I found and bought down below)

We visited this shop while we were in town for a trade show. I couldn't be more impressed with the aquatic selection - both salt and fresh water. There were some favorites, such as Miss Piggy and BeetleJuice. We had a great time checking everything out. While wandering around, the staff was friendly and available to answer questions. The only thing missing was the owner and her beautiful dogs. :)

The store offers all the necessary items for your pets. The employees, who are both friendly and well-informed, helped me choose a cute dwarf hamster. I also had the pleasure of meeting the owner and her two welcoming dogs during my visit.

If you don't mind spending 40-60% more for your purchase, this store has an incredible selection of animals, food, and accessories.

Our frenchie has bad allergies and needs special food. The Pet shop is the best place to go to get quality products with good service. They even have a pet frenchie there as your welcome sometimes!

I have been buying frozen rats from The Pet Shop for about 4 years now. The staff is knowledgeable (I'm a newbie to snake ownership) and always friendly and willing to help. I have never experienced or witnessed anything other than great customer service, and it smells just like what you would expect a pet shop with lots of fish tanks and reptiles to smell like. Love this place, headed there today!

Since I'm unable to respond to Vanessa below I will just say. We are inexperienced with reptiles and looked to the expertise of her employees. Her employee sold us a T5 HO light which was to powerful for the size cage he sold us. I asked for them to exchange for correct light and owner asks for receipts for the vet? Yesterday Lizzy the Lizard DIED because if your employees negligence and not knowing what power light to sell for the small cage he sold us. No reasons for me to provide anything because I want to exchange the wrong light you sold me. Like I said I don't recommend this company. The owner likes to blame others, just read the reviews. RIP LIZZY

I loved this store, they have a great variety to pic from. From fresh/salt water fish, to reptiles and plants they have it all. You can go to them with almost every one of your needs

Do not buy fish from here. First purchase (10) neon tetra....but I actually only brought home (9) Second Purchase (2) $90 discus fish.....on the second day I noticed white poop coming from them. I bought medication and administered. None of my other (8) discus showed any sings of sickness. On day 5 one of them died and the other is half dead. I called and they offered no help

great quality of pets. would highly recommend this pet store. We bought a pet rat and she is the sweetest rat ever and is so loving never bite.

Emended Review The owners kindly responded, offering to make things right by returning plants, and such. My son and I went back a few days later to return the plants. It was a good experience! The owners weren't in to talk with but we did show up . Upon entering Al, nice young guy greeted us as he was running the register and helping people check out. Several other guys were running around helping people because it was crazy busy! The Pet Shop guys working on this crazy busy Halloween day were patient, friendly, helpful and really responsive despite how busy it was. Al, did not have to tell me it was really busy and had several people in line to check out. So I said we'd look around while they returned the plants, tested my water two tanks water parameters, find almond leaves for sick shrimp, and bag up a few more Rasboras . I teach my seven year old son to make things right when things go wrong. He learned that day businesses and people aren't perfect and deserve a second chance:) He learned that it's good to let business know when they have problems, and be a part of the process and see how it plays out too. We both learned that the Pet Shop has lots of cool reptiles, fish and stuff, and will one day go back. I learned the guys on this day kept their cool and handled that busy day like pros from the time I was greeted by Al till all my needs were taken care to check out. Minus one star for sick shrimp but that is the nature of the shrimp hobby.

Experienced fish keeper here - Spent a good hundred on 20 cardinal tetras on 10/1 and watched them ALL die over 24-36h in a quarantine tank. Unfortunately this is not the first time I've lost a whole batch of cardinals from this place. I want to give this family owned place my business, but I'm tired of feeling like I'm paying 2x for half the quality and ending up with nothing but dead fish. Glad I didn't risk my established showcase tank over this. Maybe they should hold the fish longer before turning them around. I'd rather buy from somewhere that will stand by the quality of their fish when a sick batch comes in. Instead, I feel I got swindled because they couldn't wait to take my money. No guarantee, no business from me. IF you decide to buy fish here, ALWAYS QUARANTINE!!!

I had such a wonderful experience. My betta is very sick and one of the employees helped me come up with a treatment plan. It doesn't cost that much more than the big chain stores and everything is better quality. The biggest thing for me were the betta fish. The cups were smaller than other stores but the water was so clear and clean, and every betta was healthy and beautiful.

I can see there is a large mixture of reviews for this shop that are all mixed depending on what you are headed to the shop for. We did not go for the fish/reptiles and weren't there on a day the shop owner was in so I can't comment on any of that. We drove from North Phoenix out to this shop because they have pet rats, we went in on New years eve and the girl who was working (I am bad and didn't catch a name) was very helpful and friendly. She let us look at the rats we wanted, we got to see them up close and touch/pet them before deciding which we wanted to buy. She was knowledgeable when it came to questions about the various small rodents they have in store. The rats we looked at were friendly, didn't try to bite and seemed to be healthy (their coats were soft/shiny, no fur lose, no missing toes/limbs, etc.) and are still doing well several days after purchasing them. We also bought a few things like a cage since we were already there and didn't want to head home without something to put them in. Either people don't buy the cages all that often or they don't clean higher up in the store as the box that was pulled down for us was covered in dust so the girl wiped it off a little. The food selection they had for the rodents is a bit higher priced than what I was looking at in other stores. Store wise, it is a little dark in there but I didn't mind it as I've been in other similar pet shops that are the same way when they have a lot of fish/reptiles. I took a quick glimpse at the reptile cages and fish because it is fun to look, and thought they had some interesting critters like the tiny adorable crabs.

This store is bull shit. DO NOT SHOP HERE! The male manager is cocky and EXTREMELY rude and arrogant. They told us they guarantee your fish for one day when you're in the store. But then when you call they don't guarantee it. I said so basically I'm shit out of luck and he said yup. Unreal. I'm so over these type of people. I was going to buy more stuff from here but I will NEVER shop here again!!!!! They DONT stand by there animals. So basically you can spend a grip and be S.O.L. Also my frog died in less than 24 hours. This owner "Vanessa" is completely arrogant, rude, condensending, and wrong and she knows she wrong so she's defensive. I've never been treated like such crap by a business and business owner before EVER in my life. I really hope no one shops here! Oh and one more little story.. My mother asked the girl who was helping us what the fish in 2 tanks were eating and she said oh they're eating algae wafers because they're under weight. Ummmmmmm what!? Why are 2 full tanks of fish under weight?! SHOP AT PETSMART!! They stand by their animals, take care of them, take pride in them and treat their customers with RESPECT!! They have a 14 day guarantee! No questions asked!

Walked in and was immediately hit with a smell, like urine or something. I was greeted by two employees who asked what I was there for. I let them know I was looking to buy bedding for my blue tongue skink, and one young, male associate immediately volunteered to show me where it was located. He then stopped along the way to where reptile bedding was located, stood right by a tank of multiple monkey tailed skinks, and started explaining to me that "he's just going to use these monkey toed skinks as a reference to what type of bedding I'm looking for." I told the employee I know what kind of bedding I need for proper husbandry of my blue tongue skink, I just want to know where it is. This dude was literally blocking my path, and continued to talk over me about a different species of skink (which has vastly different humidity requirements than my subspecies of skink requires) and wouldn't stop talking. I once again, told him I know what I'm looking for, please just show me where the reptile bedding is located. He finally moved out of my way, and let me go. Didn't buy anything after the way the employee kept trying to man-splain everything to me. TLDR: I was excited to shop at this pet store closer to my house, but a rude employee wouldn't stop trying to explain to me that I don't know what I'm looking for. Didn't buy anything after the ridiculous sales pitch.

Helpful staff. Answered every question I had with out making me feel dumb. All the workers were friendly.

Great small business! Friendly staff! Great selection of aquarium products. After researching what type of aquarium type and fish, we decided to collect Betta fish!! Thank you!

I couldn't remember why I avoided this store until I needed a frozen rat yesterday. Now I do. The college aged guys staffing it bordered on rude, I had barely taken 3 steps in before "What can I get for you?" It was like they didn't want anyone to browse, just get in and out. No smile, no hello, the one on the register barely even looked at me when he was ringing it up. The small selection of reptiles almost entirely had no lights on - either that or the cages were empty. All were wildly overpriced. I didn't look at the fish side of the store given the unwelcoming vibes. This was just a meh experience until I got my rat home and found that they had killed it via blow to the head. That is NOT a humane way of dispatching a rodent. Swinging a rodent by its tail into a wall is barbaric. They presumably sell plenty of feeder animals, there is no reason they cannot use CO2.

I just wanna say first of all, I jumped on here just to verify hours before we head over and noticed all these terrible reviews (most of them completely invalid and stupid honestly) and I wanted to give y'all Yelpers a little bit of insight here. My wife and I have been shopping here for years for our fish and fish related needs. I have NEVER ONCE had an even close to bad experience. We have shopped here on 10-20 different occasions and the employees are ALWAYS great, service is always exceptional. I 100% recommend this store for your pet needs. In fact, we have shopped at tons of other stores around the valley before finding The Pet Shop, and we have never gone anywhere else since!

I want to start off by letting everyone know that that this is a very clean store that is stocked well. I have made multiple purchases of rasboras species and everything has been very healthy. They have a great selection of nano and oddball ( hard to find) fish there. With that said, I personally cannot recommend this store because of how rude the employees are. I was in there earlier this week to buy a specific fish and the store employee gave me the third degree about the fish and then told me he couldn't sell the fish I drove 60 miles to get cause my tank was not right. I am an experienced fish keeper with multiple tanks that DID NOT ask for advice, nor did I need advice for a fish that I have already owned. I found out when he was bagging the fish ( finally - after finding out about my other tanks) that he's a reptile guy and knows nothing about fish. The employees need serious customer service training and species training on the fish their selling before giving customers a hard time about stuff they know nothing about. There's lots of great local fish stores' s in our area with knowledgeable people that want to help you succeed, I'd try them first.

What an amazing experience here. Friendly! Knowledgeable! Stocked! Became a member to this family owned business. Just know I'll be returning, and returning, even with a 30 minute drive to there. Thank you for taking the time

I bought my baby ball python from here in May of 2020. I try to feed him once a week as he is still young, and they always have the (now) rats I need, however many. He has never missed a single meal and he is a happy little boy!

I just paid 60 bucks for the same amount of small dubias as I get delivered weekly for 18 plus shipping and handling. Not the way to go about your feeders with consideration to cost. Way cheaper at online ordering options. Wow.

Starting to get into the fresh water aquarium hobby and the employees are well informed and helped when I purchased my Corydoras, mystery snail, anubias and java ferns. I'm most likely going to be a normal customer

Neat place, super helpful and friendly staff :) more geared towards fish and reptiles, but there's something for every pet owner there. I will definitely go back!

The attention to detail and knowledge of the staff makes this place valuable. They will give you the full details of owning a new pet (we did fish)! I would honestly rate them 4.5 but had to leave because it was over our budget for us. I am excited to return because of the customer service and fish variety.

if not the several posted messages saying they don't guarantee the health of animals once they leave the store, or the improper substrate, heat, light, and loose feeding of the animals, the multiple leopard geckos in the same terrarium when they are known solitary creatures, or the escaped domesticated mice free roaming the shelves.. Let this be your sign not to purchase an animal here: I go here for feeders for my several reptiles and for weeks i saw the same bearded dragon in the same sad conditions and one day i couldn't let him suffer anymore so i purchased him and took him directly to the vet where he tested positive for two intestinal parasites as well as growth delays due to importer husbandry during critical stages of their life. These are HIGHLY contagious parasites and i would bet every one of the remaining reptiles at the store are infected and if you have purchased an animal from them that isn't doing so well, you should probably go to the vet. The sad part is that (most) of the employees seem to be relatively knowledgeable about reptiles, yet, none of the animals in their care are receiving even their MINIMUM and MOST BASIC needs. This vet visit has pushed me over the edge of doubt and now i do not trust even the feeders to not be parasite ridden and i will not be returning. it would be one thing if they turned animals out fast enough that they would only be in this housing temporarily, but from what i can tell most of their animals get there and stay there for several weeks if not months. Like how long has that frilled neck lizard been up there in his tiny box? please upgrade your husbandry and care of your animals. as a family/privately owned shop, you should be able to give the animals at least the minimum.

Only place I could find crickets for my beardie!! Employees are so nice and I loved seeing the Golden's. I'd much rather give money to a family owned business over petsmart! Good deals and very unique compared to other pet stores especially with the the dogs roaming around

The owner is very rude !! She has very poor customer service skills and not much knowledge on the critters she has up for sale in her store. Dogs are loose with no boundaries in there and not safe to enter with your pet that is leashed. Her reptiles have some kind of illness and she's selling them with no care or concern. I do not recommend this pet store there is no guarantee on there health and she will not give a refund. Pet stores usually have some kind of insurance on there product including live animals and reptiles. Owner was beyond quick to escalate a argument on this situation when bringing back a dead critter that was only in new home for a few hours she was very hyped and amped with aggression and had no remorse on selling a sick pet !! Do not buy from here

To start off when I first went in there to get salt water for my fish tank I brought in a 27 gallon tote bin that I was unaware of that I could not fill it up but when we asked her, she gave me a lot of attitude and was being extremely rude when all I asked was can I get 20 gallons the most I could do was 10 so I took it and secondly I bought two clown fish from there. One of them is doing perfectly fine thriving and the other one died. Two days later they were not fighting my water levels are perfect. As they should be because I bought it from them. I took my clown fish with a picture of my tank like they asked when I called and then they tried saying that the other clown fish's was beating the other one up. Because it had a tear on his back fin because I watched as soon as he died he went right behind the rocks so that's how his fin got a little tear and then they said if it's not the other clown fish, then it Has to be my water and I have to bring them a water sample but I live 30 minutes away so it's not easy to get there and I can't drive

Are usually never leave reviews anywhere but I had such a good experience even just walking through the door. Everyone's very personable and knowledgeable on all my questions. Very excited to have found a new place to get live black worms and basically everything I need for my fish tanks

Doesn't look like much when you walk past but man this place has incredible variety between animals and product. The employees are always unbelievably helpful and kind. I don't think I've ever asked an obscure question and have it not answered. I think everyone needs to support their local pet store just like this rather than big brand box stores who haven't dedicated their life to ethical animal husbandry and education. If you have a feathered, swimming, or furred babe---come here!

Great pet shop to go into if you're looking for reptile and aquatic animals/items. I came in to look for dog toys and accessories and was slightly disappointed with their small selection. But I still walked around and browsed at all the other goodies they have to offer. Their staff was very helpful and attentive! I will say that I got distracted with the three beautiful golden retrievers lounging around the store. I got to talk with the staff member that owns them and she was very helpful. She gave me tips and recommendations for my 8 year old Shepherd we just rescued last week.

The customer service us excellent at The Pet Shop. Also their feeder bugs are cheaper then Pet Smart. The staff is very friendly, attentive and plentiful.

I have heard of this shop for years but never ventured in until today. I was looking for some different live aquarium plants and driftwood that my pet store does not carry. I was immediately welcomed by a wonderful girl, of who's name I did not catch unfortunately. She showed me right to the live plants and offered suggestions on which were the hardiest, of which I immediately had her select for me. As I continued to browse the shop I continually heard her assisting other customers. I only browsed the freshwater fish selections but from the live plants, live fish and driftwood decor I was really impressed! The quality of their fish tanks were fantastic too! I will definitely be coming back! Thanks for a great first experience!

They have a great selection of fish but I will probably never be back because of multiple bad experiences with one of the staff. I've been in the fish hobby most of my life, I have multiple planted tanks I'm running Co2, I actually do my research. Every time I encounter one employee at this store that works in the fish section he is constantly argumentative and often just flat wrong. This guy isn't passionate about the hobby he just gets off on trying to sound like he knows what he is talking about. I won't be back it's not worth dealing with this guy.

This place is awesome! It's tucked into a strip mall near power and baseline-and they always have great stuff in stock! They've helped me with my planted tank and have so many options for your aquariums. Very friendly and very helpful. My go to pet store.

This is such a fantastic shop! The pet shop totally will beat out pets mart or petco! The staff is so knowledgeable and so willing to help with our reptiles! Side note: I love that the owner brings their dogs and bird on the weekends... I have sent countless people to this shop. Check it out, you will not be disappointed!

When the glass says $___ with cage, you get the entire habitat. I like thinking that the happy reptiles get to go home with an entire environment. :) the cages are all clean, they support local dog rescues instead of selling $3k puppies from a mill somewhere, and the two men who opened this morning were pleasant and happy to answer all of my questions. Thumbs up! For a fresh start, they have a pretty decent inventory of cool stuff. The fish tanks were so clean and bright...and i learned a LOT about lizards. additionally: I used the restroom. Its only worth mentioning because it was SO CLEAN. I didnt have to ask where it was either, because it wasnt hidden in the back maze somewhere like a dark secret.

Walking in, I kept my expectations low having been disappointed in the past with other pet stores. To my surprise, I squealed like a 5 year old in Disneyland. This is a great pet store with a large aquarium section specializing in both salt an fresh water aquarium supplies. They didn't have everything I would have wanted, but all the basics are there; gravel, plants, filters, etc. They have a good selection of healthy fish in well maintained tanks, and real decorative stone and Malaysian driftwood. They even had Red Fire Shrimp. Wow, slap me silly! :) If you just need a big bag of dog food, this might not be your store. And okay, maybe I'm a bit snobby, having started aquascaping in Japan. But if you want want a great place to get professional aquarium products in East Mesa, this is it!

This is a great place to go if you are looking for supplies for exotics, such as something aquatic or reptilian. As for the live animals themselves, the selection of freshwater and saltwater fish looked diverse, and they had various reptiles such as bearded dragons and lizards. They also sell parrots, guinea pigs, and chinchillas. For those that aren't as exotics-minded, they do have a succinct selection of dog and cat food, shampoo, and toys. For the herbivores, they offer high quality brands such as Oxbow pellets and hay. The store itself is quite large, and it's easy to navigate around the different species sections. The employees at the counter were friendly, and some regulars were chatting with them about aquarium set ups.

Horrible place. Rude and dishonest staff. Do not stand by the items they sell, especially when they were sold to you defective. CROOKS WHO OVERCHARGE FOR UNDERWHELMING PRODUCTS AND PETS. The aquatic plants they had Were all unhealthy, and in tankS with live fish. The pricing is sketchy and very very high in comparison to better, more noteworthy shops. The associate gave me false information about aquascaping, and led me to buy $240 of defective wood and unhealthy plants and moss. I was so excited to start building my tank. Well, i soon found out after boiling the first piece of wood and attempting to submerge it that something was not right. I contacted the store and explained the situation, and was simply trying to be replaced with non defective products or a refund. The store basically told me it was my problem that i listened to their employees and they refused to either honor my refund or replace my purchase. They are rude and shady. Lie to customers and the employees have no knowledge. SO NOT GO HERE, BUY ON AMAZON OR PETCO, YOULL BE IN BETTER HANDS.

I have been multiple times now and the staff are lovely and so incredibly knowledgeable! I am new to the aquarium life and overwhelmed with all the different information out there. The last thing I want to do is learn at the expense of a living creature and I went in thinking I was ready to try snails and eventually shrimp. Thankfully an incredibly knowledgeable employee took the time to listen to my current situation and recommended that I allow the plants to get more established and found me the perfect little filter for my tiny tank. They are truly there to help, not force sales. I am so glad I found this store!

I want to share a frustrating experience I just had at this store. I recently decided to get back into salt water reef aquariums having spent over a decade in the hobby. I researched local shops in the area and decided to check out The Pet Shop rather than shop online. I walked in and the salt water area smelled a bit fishy (no pun intended). That smell is unmistakable to any experienced hobbyist who knows when fish and coral are unhealthy. I look around and all of the coral stock seems depleted and unhealthy/dying looking. I ask for some help and the gentlemen brings out who I presume is the owner. I asked her if this is her usual stock and wasn't sure given the economic situation we're in. She somewhat cut me off and told me the industry is shut down and she isn't paying for the prices her distributors are charging and proceeded to bash her competitors saying they are only open 1 day a week. Ok. Not sure I really needed that background info but ok I understand. She told me I might be happy at another store in the area. I then empathized with her regarding the industry shutdown (even though other local fish stores seem well stocked and have healthy looking stock) and asked her if it's normal most of the coral look this unhealthy? One of her display tanks was full of nothing but a parasite called Aptasia (a clear sign of tank neglect). She got very defensive and said "wow I've never had anyone tell me that before"....I really wasn't trying to insult her personally whatsoever. It was a fair question. As a new customer I simply wanted to know what to expect at this store. It led to a further awkward exchange before I just decided to shop elsewhere. I get 100% we're in tough times. But the questions I had were fair based on what she is selling in her store. Based on a few other reviews of this place the owner seems to have an attitude problem. I'll be spending with her competitors. UPDATE: after reading the owners response it's very clear my initial review is justified. She doesn't get it. She just doesn't understand basic customer service and is incredibly defensive. First of all, nothing I said was a personal insult, I said I WASN'T looking to shop online (hence wanting to support local), and I never once said the word "crap". I had two small children with me at the time. I asked your associate the same thing I asked you. Is this your complete stock and why did the stock look unhealthy. That's a fair question when 75% of what your selling at full price is receding and dying. I know what a pet store smells like. The smell is not from a normal pet store. It's the smell of dead coral tissue. I've been in this hobby a long time and I know what I'm talking about...but nice condescending and passive aggressive response. If "crap" is the word you want to make up, then you must subconsciously agree. Who goes into a store to deliberately cause an issue? This store owner takes zero responsibility for her poor quality stock and her subsequent poor customer service skills. Instead further blames the customer. How about saying to your customer, so sorry we're under stocked at the moment and yes the coral doesn't seem as healthy as normal and thank you for bringing it to our attention. We take pride in our shop and will see if there is maybe something wrong with our water parameters etc. Is taking responsibility for this poor experience really that hard as a business owner? Hope it's worth this review in the eyes of your customers. If your into reef aquariums, don't take my word for it. Take a look at what this store is selling at full price then compare to other stores in the Valley. I'm not only going to not shop here, but will actively encourage people in the trade to shop elsewhere.