For a theme park aquarium that is NOT a theme park based on aquariums it's a pretty sharp one…read more The displays are well done, they are staggered at different heights and levels. There are interactive stations and so much to do and look at. This was probably my 3rd favorite portion of the park, the new coaster and the actual summer house being my favorites.

Alton Towers is a behemoth of a place... I remember when I had my first visit (Circa 1995, maybe?)…read morewhere all you would find is rides and queues (and lots of ways to spend your pocket money). Fast forward to 2015 and there has been many changes, additions and new ways to spend your (now earned with a job) money. I have been attending Pirate weekend over the last few years at Alton Towers Splash Landings Hotel. This entails a waterpark day entry, overnight stay in the hotel, breakfast, pirate entertainment and entry into the small (bur perfectly formed) Sharkbait Reef within the park. All this for a princely sum of around £25? Bargain. These weekends are held when the main park isn't open and we sauntered up from Birmingham at 1pm on a Friday afternoon to get our Pirate on and have a good time. Now, we don't always get to Sharkbait Reef as part of our visit. Firstly, the opening times are normally geared towards Saturday stayers (rather than Friday adventurers) and secondly, it can be affected by the weather. It seems as though we chose the right weekend to go this time as the Reef opened at 10am, giving us plenty of time to get down there before the minigolf tournament was due to kick off at 10:30am. The reef is situated in the park in the pirate section. This can mean quite a walk from the hotel or a two minute drive. There is a dedicated parking section for this, but this section (Express parking) is rammed during actual park opening days. This little Sea Life centre isn't the biggest of the bunch, but it is well put together. From entering in via the "photo opportunity" (a giant statue of octopus tentacles), there are sharks, lots of varieties of beautiful shimmering tropical fish, jelly fish and rock pools (where you can stroke a starfish or meet some cute little shrimp). The walls are jam packed with information about the ocean and it's inhabitants and the staff are friendly and ready to answer your questions. The real stand out for us was the fact it was feeding time in the big tank. Have you ever seen a Ray eat broccoli before? I did for the first time ever on Saturday. It was fascinating (see photos). The walkthrough area is great for seeing the lovely creatures of the sea swimming about and interacting with each other. You end your visit (it takes maybe... about 20/30 minutes to walk around and you (predictably) end up in the gift shop. There are numerous "budget" gifts (starting from £1) in this shop, so if your little ones are desperate for a souvenir - you could do worse than checking out the cool stuff in this shop over the other more expensive options in the park. Whether you're a seasoned ocean expert or a small fry looking to get up close and personal with some of the inhabitants of the sea, a quick trip around Sharkbait reef is definitely worth your while during your trip to Alton Towers.

Best shop ever with a great marine section and outside pond and big selection of topical fishread more

Absolute brilliant shop! Has everything you need to start/maintain marine, tropical, cold water…read morefish. They stock frozen food, dry food and all products needed to ensure your system is healthy and looking good! The live stock is absolutely brilliant! What's better is the staff! They give friendly advice and make it their duty to ensure they help you as much as they possible can! Brilliant!

Jame is all way help full he help me setup my 249lt tank with all hard scape ,plants &fish,co2 I…read morewould not have any hesitation to recommend him to Friends and family

This Aquatics is the best for miles around, the staff have always got time to answer any questions…read moreyou have or talk through anything you dont understand. The fish and plants all seem very healthy and the water in the tanks are always clean. In fact I have never seen a dead or floating fish in any tank. They have a wide variety of chemicals, potions and equiptment, if tey have not got what you want they will get it for you. There prices are superb. I am looking forward to buying more Tropical fish and equiptment from them very soon. Colin Tracey from Coleorton, Leicestershire.

Its hard to find a decent aquatic shop these days when the large multiples seem to be taking over…read morewhich seem to have no interest or care for their stock. Here at WWAC we know we can get well cared for fish from staff who KNOW what they are talking about and genuinely care for the stock. We have always had great service and hints and tips from them here and as fairly new fish keepers this has been so valuable to us. I cannot recommend this centre enough! In fact we are even thinking of installling a pond now!

We called in here on the off chance as my other half has an obsession with fish and reptiles. I do…read morenot live far from here but only recently have they turned this farm into a proper visitor place. I was a bit unsure at first because of all the stories escalating around about farms. But as soon as we parked up, we walked over to the pig sty and I instantly fell in love with the little pigs wandering around with their parents in their little den. Then we went into the massive store area and there are unreal amounts of fish in here. If you are a massive fan of tropical fish then this is the place you should go. It is clean, presentable and well organised. They also have reptiles such as snakes and mini-dragons and if you have never had a pet like this before, there are loads of staff around to help you out. Also they have a large range of books to help you raise certain species. Originally this was a farm that sold food produce. Now it has expanded beyond recognition. They still have food stock such as meat, eggs and juices etc. Also they have a cafe inside so if you want a cup of tea or a scone, then you can here. What I really enjoyed though about this place is that if you pay a pound each you can through into the stables and feed the pets in there. They have goats, llamas, sheep and bulls. I was a bit unsure at first but as soon as I started feeding them, I just fell in love with them all instantly. They were so cute trying to jump over the fences and lick your hands. This farm is really clean and extremely well run. I enjoyed the time we spent here, it was fun and exciting. I would recommend this twice over. Go and have fun!

Went to Cockfields Farm 3rd December 2011 to top up my tank with some new additions, as we were…read morelooking at the tanks , we noticed a DEAD fish floating on the top, so I informed a member of staff who joked that it was asleep and they always went pale and lifeless and floated when they were resting !!!! I thought this comment was inappropriate and not called for... we continued our now short visit by seeing another two tanks containing DEAD fish, I find this unacceptable and will not be going back there again. as there are many better fish shops with more pleasant staff within the Oldham area.

aquatics derby is a great place to get fish from the only problem is that the pricese are a bit…read morehigh but the staff are kind and will help you set your fish tank up and say what fish should and shouldnt be put together

this is a great little shop for all marine aquarium needs, always good stock in, friendly service,…read morevery knowledgable and helpful staff, will always reccommend this place. one of the best.

I loved my trip here yesterday!!! But my wife does say that I'm just a BIG KID so that would make…read moresense... I don't even know where to start because everything was just so great so I'll start with my only 3 recommendations for improvement: 1. Get a cloak room! Seriously, nowhere to put your coat or bag? That's just odd, sorry but it is. Take this example... it's freezing outside and pouring with rain, what do you have on? A big coat, hat, scarf and yes, an umbrella... So as you enter this tropical indoor paradise of warmth, what do you instantly want to do? Yes, take it all off! So where do you put your stuff? "Oh, you have to carry it all around with you" which just spoils the experience on one level as I was uncomfortable walking around holding all this stuff. 2. The prices were a little high, £17.50 per adult was a bit too steep in my opinion for a 1 hour experience as it's only a small place. I think £13.50 would be more reasonable and have me coming back again and again, but at £17.50 I don't think I'll ever come back, it's just too expensive for what it is. 3. Bottled WATER: Yet again, Merlin Group... I really don't understand your logic of only providing Coca Cola products? I had to ask the attendant if they sold water and she said, "not in the machines, but you can buy it at the gift shop as you leave" - what? That's outrageous... I just don't get it at all... Ok the good stuff: Everything else! It was an amazing experience! All the fish were swimming around happily and enjoying themselves. The great tanks, decor, the bright colours, the fantastic stages that had been built, the backdrops, wow, I was so impressed! I just sat and watched the octopus for what seemed like 20 minutes! I was so amazed at the beauty and uniqueness of this alien creature... I also sat down and just watched the fish in the big tank that has the open top, the way they swim around like they don;t have a care in the World, so peaceful, so majestic... it really relaxed me and I almost fell asleep! ha! They also had a great 4D show that was not only entertaining, but also educational for the children - a big thumbs up for this, very noble. I loved this too. I think my other favourite thing was seeing the giant Sea Turtle! I've never seen one before so when I saw it swim past me in the tube, I was just awe struck. I had no idea they were so big. Overall a magical day out, and I loved it apart from points 1-3 above. Had these criteria been met, I would have rated 5 stars instead of 4.

This is worth a visit, but very pricey (£21 for an adult that had no discounts; that's about $30)…read more For a family, you're now about $80 for the experience) It's beautiful and nicely laid out so that you can focus on one thing for a bit of time and not worry that you're holding back the ones behind you. As you wind your way up the ramps to the upper levels, you get to see the same exhibit from several angles. Very unnerving to see a shark from above and then realize that his eyes are on the top of his head and they're looking at you as well. The penguins are adorable. Photography is fine as long as you don't flash. The 4D experience was a 15 minutes condensation of the movie Happy Feet. The 4D comes from the fact that the seats shake when they're dancing and you get a spray of water when the shark crashes down. I noticed a lot of education on saving species from being used in medicines or being over hunted. The gift shop was a bit dusty and I noticed that many of the stuffed animals were a bit grimy. PS: yes, the photo I uploaded is of the actual penguins. They seemed to pose for my camera.

I can thoroughly recommend Shirley Aquatics and I would like to say a huge thank you to Paul and…read moreCelia who went above and beyond to help me when my aquarium filter failed. Paul took time to measure the filter I wanted so I know it would fit into the housing and he spoke to Celia who so kindly offered to drop the filter off to me as I didn't have transport to collect and I needed the filter the same day. You can't beat that for service. The new filter is now fitted and working perfectly.

!!!DO NOT BUY FROZEN FOOD FROM THIS... !!!DO NOT BUY FROZEN…read moreFOOD FROM THIS COMPANY!!! Received my order yesterday (07-02-23)which was sent on (06-02-23) which consisted of 1kg of frozen river shrimp 2 x 500g whitebait and 3 bags of large bloodworm and when i opened the package the frozen river shrimp had defrosted, the whitebait had defrosted and the live bloodworm were dead , i emailed yesterday explaining what has happened and then was asked the send proof which i did , then got a phone call today from a lovely lady who was trying to resolve this issue and her manager basically said the food is gamma radiated and therefore can be refrozen . But im not risking re freezing food that i would be feeding to very expensive and long lived fish which im sure a lot of other people would feel the same about and although they agreed to refund the dead bloodworm , they refused to refund or replace the so called "frozen" food which wasnt very frozen at all , its safe to say i will never be ordering from them again!!!

Very helpful staff. The birds are very well looked after in the store. The only complaint is not…read moreallot of birds in the store. Bit it's nitpicking realy.

My daughter was told that flea treatment for cats cannot be sold unless you take the cat to the…read morestore! My daughter has 2 cats. Why on earth would you want to take your cats in the car in this heat? Myself and several members of my family have cats and we have been buying flea treatment from this store in Swadlincote since it opened. We also buy catfood and other products from that store. Needless to say, we will now shop elsewhere.