LiterallyHydro
- #1
This is my review of "Fishy Business" located off of Ronald Reagan Blvd. in Longwood, Florida.
Selection - 9/10
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the store was a huge selection of fish, there were multiple aisles of tanks (Something I am not used to with my other pet stores) all loaded with various kinds of fish. There were tetras, barbs, african cichlids, new world cichlids, large angels, discus, clownfish, tangs, gobies, wrasses you name it. If they don't have the fish you're looking for they will gladly order them for you.
My only gripe with the selection was they were out of stock on quite a few species. I saw the tank where cardinal tetras belong, but I didn't see a single one in the tank. From what I saw, at peak hours they have a very high volume of customers so it is somewhat understandable.
Health of Stock - 10/10
Little to say other than all of the fish are very active, healthy, colorful, begging for food etc. I was watching them feed the fish at feeding time and the only fish that wouldn't eat were the new arrivals of yellow watchman gobies in the saltwater section.
Also, none of the fish were dead at all. Looking through the entire store I couldn't find a single dead fish.
Customer Service - 8.5/10
The lady that assisted me while I was at the store wasn't able to identify every species off the top of her head in the saltwater section. I asked her what she has at home and she primarily keeps freshwater planted tanks but is looking to branch into saltwater soon. She was able to identify species very well in the community fish and cichlid areas though.
I was able to talk to an employee within three minutes of walking into the store, so they were very quick to come to my assistance. They also were able to answer my test questions without a hitch, and nothing incorrectly. For example, I requested they show me compatible reef safe fish for my 29G reef to go with my pair of clowns and a six line wrasse. They steered me away from the other wrasses knowing there would be aggression issues. They instead pointed me towards smaller gobies, royal grammas and firefish. All of which I know to be compatible in this setup.
The store noticed that I wasn't happy seeing the gobies not eating, so they offered to quarantine the fish for as much as three weeks to get them to eat before purchase. This is something I've never heard of in other pet stores so that really caught me by surprise. A pleasant surprise at that.
Prices - 9/10
The prices were a little steep on the equipment, but the fish were fairly competitively priced and the decor/rock is very cheap. You can get fijI live rock for $4 a pound, and slate suitable for mbuna tanks for $2.98 a pound. 3' long driftwood pieces available for around $25. As for the fish, purple firefish were available for $26 (I couldn't help but bring one home ;D) and most tetras were $.99 or $1.99 a piece with half off each third fish.
Final Verdict - 9.1/10
This is a very good pet store based on my observation and although they are very far away for me (Hour drive with no traffic) I will continue to do business with them for the forseeable future.
Selection - 9/10
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the store was a huge selection of fish, there were multiple aisles of tanks (Something I am not used to with my other pet stores) all loaded with various kinds of fish. There were tetras, barbs, african cichlids, new world cichlids, large angels, discus, clownfish, tangs, gobies, wrasses you name it. If they don't have the fish you're looking for they will gladly order them for you.
My only gripe with the selection was they were out of stock on quite a few species. I saw the tank where cardinal tetras belong, but I didn't see a single one in the tank. From what I saw, at peak hours they have a very high volume of customers so it is somewhat understandable.
Health of Stock - 10/10
Little to say other than all of the fish are very active, healthy, colorful, begging for food etc. I was watching them feed the fish at feeding time and the only fish that wouldn't eat were the new arrivals of yellow watchman gobies in the saltwater section.
Also, none of the fish were dead at all. Looking through the entire store I couldn't find a single dead fish.
Customer Service - 8.5/10
The lady that assisted me while I was at the store wasn't able to identify every species off the top of her head in the saltwater section. I asked her what she has at home and she primarily keeps freshwater planted tanks but is looking to branch into saltwater soon. She was able to identify species very well in the community fish and cichlid areas though.
I was able to talk to an employee within three minutes of walking into the store, so they were very quick to come to my assistance. They also were able to answer my test questions without a hitch, and nothing incorrectly. For example, I requested they show me compatible reef safe fish for my 29G reef to go with my pair of clowns and a six line wrasse. They steered me away from the other wrasses knowing there would be aggression issues. They instead pointed me towards smaller gobies, royal grammas and firefish. All of which I know to be compatible in this setup.
The store noticed that I wasn't happy seeing the gobies not eating, so they offered to quarantine the fish for as much as three weeks to get them to eat before purchase. This is something I've never heard of in other pet stores so that really caught me by surprise. A pleasant surprise at that.
Prices - 9/10
The prices were a little steep on the equipment, but the fish were fairly competitively priced and the decor/rock is very cheap. You can get fijI live rock for $4 a pound, and slate suitable for mbuna tanks for $2.98 a pound. 3' long driftwood pieces available for around $25. As for the fish, purple firefish were available for $26 (I couldn't help but bring one home ;D) and most tetras were $.99 or $1.99 a piece with half off each third fish.
Final Verdict - 9.1/10
This is a very good pet store based on my observation and although they are very far away for me (Hour drive with no traffic) I will continue to do business with them for the forseeable future.
