Great Fish Store In Nashville, Tn

I thought that I would post a review for those who live in the middle Tennessee area and any hobbyists passing by "Nash-Vegas". The store where I get all of my fish and plants and just about anything else I might need for aquariums is called The Aquatic Critter. The store is divided into two sections entirely devoted to freshwater and saltwater, plus a separate reptile store and pond supplies by the entrance. The store has been in business for over 20 years, and their employees seem entirely devoted to the hobby. I have used their service for as long as I have been in the aquarium hobby, and they have never failed my expectations.

The store is located on Nolensville Rd. and is just down the street from the Nashville Zoo (pretty neat place btw - with pretty neat aquariums!) They are open on Monday-Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 7 P.M, Saturday from 10:00 A.M. to 8 P.M, and Sunday from 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. They get shipments every Wednesday, so they always have something interesting when you walk in the store!

Once again, I would highly recommend this store and would give them 6 out of 5 stars in a heartbeat!

 

I may have to plan another trip to Nashville or at least through it. I live about two hours east.

 

Thanks for the review.
Awesome fish store. The best around Well worth the trip.
I love that their website has a list of new arrivals and the date.

tyguy7760

 

I may have to plan another trip to Nashville or at least through it. I live about two hours east.

If you live in the Cookeville area, then I could recommend a store called Age of Aquarium's. Store looks sort of run down, but they have great people and a decent supply of goods. Plus they have baby chinchillas!

 

Sadly, I live about 2 hours from Cookeville as well. I live close to 2.5 hours from Nashville depending on how far west. I live near two PetSupermarkets though. They happen to be some of my favorites, not to mention a Pet Supplies Plus that sells bettas incredibly cheap, over $5 less than PetSmart.

 

When I first started the hobby I probably made weekly or every other week trips to aquatic critter. They have by far the best selection of fish and plants within 200 miles probably. Lately though I've found myself going less and less. I've heard some of their staff give suspect advice on fish. Most of the old timers and guys that were there when I started the hobby give solid advice but some of their younger staff I'm less impressed with. Lately though, the fish I'm more interested in I can find online or from other local private sellers cheaper. I've only bought one fish from aquatic critter since I bought two blood parrots from them about 8 or 9 months ago and within a a week or so it became apparent they were suffering from some sort of infection. I treated for several weeks to no avail and then returned them. When I informed the staff member that I believe they had a bacterial infection when I bought them, he denied any knowledge. Then when I showed him the lesions on the fish he still had in stock from that batch, he just blew it off like no big deal.

The lone fish that I bought from there since that time was my golden severum Sunshine that is in my avatar. When I was in the store I happened to pass by one of their larger display tanks and they had a 6-7 inch geo brasiliensis in that tank with several small blood parrots and Sunshine. The geo was straight up killing sunshine. He had him pinned in the corner taking shot after shot. He had been beaten and battered and was floating at the surface. Several missing scales, torn fins, nearly destroyed caudal fin. I was certain the fish didn't have long and wasn't even certain he'd make it. In aquatic critter's defense, it was the weekend and they are ridiculously busy on the weekends so attention can't be paid to all of their tanks at all times but this fish had been in this tank for a while. They agreed to give it to me for 75% off because they didn't think it would live either. I took it home and put it in QT and it just floated down to the bottom and sat there. But after a few days it recovered and is now one of my best looking fish.

All that being said, aquatic critter is still, far and away, the best fish store in middle tennessee. Overall their staff is the most knowledgeable and they have the best selection available. They aren't as willing to special order fish as other LFS around the country (seems most fish stores will order whatever you want...these gys you have to find the right employee because most just side jump the question) but for the average aquarist, their selection is beyond adequate. I find their prices to be a bit over priced but you can be over priced when you are the only fish store in town that knows what they are talking about.

Suffice it to say, my experiences with them have been mixed.

 

It's interesting to hear something like that about The Aquatic Critter... I suppose not all stories have a happy ending, but I still enjoy going to see their amazing selection of fish!

 

I'm probably being nitpicky with them. Like I said if I were buying fish at a store that is where I'd go. But they aren't perfect ( no fish store is) but the longer I've been in the hobby the higher my expectations are. If I were a hobbyist that was interested in fairly common species and in mid TN aquatic critter is the first store I'd visit... Especially if I was not interested in dealing with private sellers or having fish shipped. Just make sure you do your research online and don't trust their advice implicitly