The most beautiful aquascaped tanks in SF, hands down. I visit weekly just to check out their stock because it's consistently high-quality. Unlike other shops where you might worry about bringing home pests or disease, everything here is top-tier. Also, special thanks to Max for the great service. While some might find the staff a bit intense or reserved, I find it's just because they're focused on the animals. Once you're a regular, you realize how much heart goes into this place. read more

I had a really disappointing experience at Aqua Forest Aquatics. The tanks are undeniably beautiful and very clean--but that doesn't excuse the attitude of the manager (the guy with glasses). I tried to compliment the store when I came in and was completely brushed off. I figured maybe he was having a bad day, so I let it go. When I later asked a few questions about CO equipment, his attitude became dismissive, annoyed, and condescending. It genuinely felt like I was inconveniencing him by asking questions. What makes this worse is that I had already researched several items and was prepared to spend well over $1,000. Instead, I walked out immediately because of how I was spoken to. This may be a great place to look at tanks, but the customer experience was one of the worst I've had at any aquatics store. Knowledgeable staff is important--but basic respect matters more. I won't be returning, and I'd recommend others avoid this place unless they're okay with being talked down to. read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

This is THE store for fish keeping and terrarium hobbyists! I'm not into the hobby myself but was brought here by a good friend and wow the selection of specimens, both fish and plants, is amazing! Their display tanks, both micro and large are captivating. Staff was super helpful and knowledgeable. Lots of tank accessories, tools, and maintenance equipment. Definitely worth the visit if you're thinking about getting into the hobby, or if you're looking to spice up/upgrade your setups! read more

See all

This used to be my go-to aquarium store because of their excellent inventory and helpful team. Unfortunately, the vibe has changed. While the products are still top-tier, the staff is now quite dismissive and unfriendly. It's frustrating to feel like you're bothering them just by asking basic questions about the products you're buying. I'd love to see a return to the customer-focused service that made this place great. read more

Shop is beautiful, manager is very dismissive and had zero interest in explaining the product he is trying to sell. 1 word responses & zero eye contact. Would travel 45 minutes to another shop than go here. read more

Fish are well taken care of and tanks are clean. Only shopping at stores that take good care of the animals.

So grateful that the new owner of Animal Connection recommended that I check this place out. AFA is small but jam packed and I could spend a long time admiring their tanks. Brought my kid in to check out the tanks too because all they had previously seen are the big box chain stores (and a closer aquarium shop) that don't care about the sick and dying fish in their tanks :( Wish I knew about this place when I first started setting up my tank but happy to have it as a resource now! read more

i've bought quality plants and niche nano fish from them, which have costed me a pretty penny but have been worth it. a problem is that they don't let you pick the fishes, and they ended up giving me two without a top fin and refused to make amends or give me the option to choose other ones. when i asked them about it, they brushed it off and rolled their eyes. i would only reccomend this shop to experienced aquarium owners who know what they need because if you don't know what you're doing, the staff are not helpful and may upsell you or leave out important care information. good to take inspiration from, but a snobby place that i don't feel good doing business with. read more

As a fish enthusiast, I loved this place. I walked around for a while just looking and admiring the tanks. Can't believe this guy doesn't change his water. It's full of tanks from the ceiling to the floor and different shapes and sizes. Also the owner is super talkative and a wealth of information. My shrimp have been dying and I haven't been able to keep them alive but he walked me through a solution with the ph. I'm trying the no water change and it's the test to see if the shrimp survive. If the shrimp die off, his suggestion is not correct. But either way I was a bit star struck as he is super well known among the fish community. read more

This is an amazing aquarium store. All the plants were super high quality, with vibrant growth and reasonable prices. The staff were incredibly welcoming and super knowledgeable. They gave generous portions and cuttings. They had a unique and lively selection of livestock. With the best and cheapest tissue cultured plants around. Most products were ADA and super high quality. I can not wait to come back again. I can not recommend this store enough! read more

See all

After years of walking into this shop just to get inspired and marveling at the amazing tanks, I finally took the step and built my own first Aquascape. After moving to the city, I have been missing attending to my garden. My Aquascape is giving me back the experience of gardening. It is a daunting task to build an aquqscape, but with Joshua and his team's support I am truly happy at the outcome. It is now a centerpiece in my house, and I find great joy looking at it and maintaining it. read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - This is my Aquascape two months after setup. - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

Max, the store worker that waited on me and my son was extremely helpful. I would have rated 5 stars for Max and the store products alone, however the entire experience was 1 star due to the unfriendly attitude of the more senior store worker (tall white guy w/a mustache). I asked him a question and he quipped the answer in the most annoyed manner, as if he was so bothered to attend to a paying customer! (We bought a $200 ADA 60-P (17 GAL) Rimless tank.) Customer service was near non-existent. The two workers (who were not Max) couldn't be bothered to attend to customers. I wouldn't patronize this store again if it meant dealing with them. read more

See all

I cannot speak more highly of the quality of life of the living things for sale in this EXCELLENT store. Everything is well fed, well heated and well cleaned. After the experience of seeing a tank of African Dwarf frogs in a different, truly awful store, where they had no filtration, no heat and were extremely malnourished and stressed out, it did my heart so much good to see the way Aqua Forest treats every living thing they offer for sale. Their African Dwarfs were actually CHUBBY! Spend an extra dollar or two and buy from these guys. Your purchase will be in much better shape than any other store I've been to. (The frog I bought at the other store did not make it through the night.) read more

This is my favorite to get ideas for aquascape, they have an amazing selection of plants and great selection of tissues culture as well. Price is good and the staff is helpful, just ask and they will help you the best they can. Sometime when the staff is busy like cleaning a tank or something , just wait and they will get to you. Just let them know what you need, and they will help you out. Nice collection of driftwood and dragon stone and much more! You can also order online on their website and you can go pick up as well if you don't see something you want in the store, and you will get a email when all the items is ready for you. Overall, if I can give more star I would! read more

Pros: knowledgeable and friendly staff, beautiful inspirational tanks, and healthy looking fish. Cons: nothing, I just wish it was closer to my house read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Added these floating plants to my tank because it looked so beautiful in theirs. - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

Visited this place on a whim. As someone who is into aquascaping and planted fish tanks, this place is a godsend. An amazing selection of plants and many ADA products. I only wish I had more money to spend here!..but ADA is pricey.‍ If you are not in the area they also have an online store and do shipping. I've gotten many plants from there and they usually do a good job with shipping. Maybe 1/8 tissue culture cups I get aren't in great shape. Which is much better than other places I've ordered from. Again, great selection of plants here. All the rare ones you normally wouldn't find in the US, but are really common in SEA like blyxa. Also if you are into cardina shrimp this place is also great! read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Tank at their store. - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

Keep an eye when they're weighing the rocks, they'll weigh the basket as well and won't set the tare weight. I want to support local businesses and willing to pay more to do it, but not like this. read more

Simply put- perfect. If you're into nano aquarium plant and fish, this is your go to place. Healthy livestock and lots of selection- excellent prices. 'nufsaid. read more

Nice looking store with a great variety, but the staff member I had the "pleasure" of helping me was condescending, unhelpful, and rude. I'm a novice and came in because my girlfriend got a tank and wanted to get it started, I got some treatment for the water, a filter, and a heater. Had it running with some substrate for a week, and went in to get plants and some fish. Learned we should have it running longer before introducing fish, but when talking about it and asking questions I started feeling attacked and didn't get any new information, but was dismissed for my lack. I explained what I used to treat the water and was brought over to their water treatment supply, when I explained I did not purchase mine here and don't know what to show him, I was faced with some amount of disbelief and made the rest of the experience worse. When quizzed on water testing, I asked "testing the PH"?, to which they replied "for everything"! And did not elaborate... Yes a first time fish keeper in here asking for advice and guidance should know everything I need to test water for. Why not show me over to a test kit and explain what I should know? Instead I was told I can bring him a sample for him to test. I felt pretty bad, but got some plants to please my girlfriend, but walked out upset and confused. I now have a larger planted tank with well tested and balanced levels, no thanks to him. After getting the plants we went to another store where we were properly helped. I wanted to like this place, and will come back and deal with another employee, but be warned. There are some elitist fish keepers here that may just want to inflate their ego, rather than help a person seeking information and guidance. Really was the opposite of a salesman. read more

This shop has decent products, but the customer service is downright non-existent. They act as if customers who walk into their shop are invisible and when you ask a question about having something in stock, they act like they are doing you a huge favor by taking 5 seconds to answer you. Get over yourselves. Like other customers have said, instead of buying what I came there for, I walked right out of the shop because of how rude and unhelpful the staff was. read more

Over the course of 4 years I have purchased thousands of dollars in merchandise from them. I bought the biggest ADA canister filter in the market, an ADA superjet, 3 ADA VUPPA's which ended up all breaking. A lot of plant tools, ADA soil, ADA additives for the soil. ADA Lilly pipes and the list goes on and on. ALL from Aqua forest I am one who waits to submit a review on a business until I can offer a fair and comprehensive report to other customers. At the moment, I am starting a 44 gallon planted tank with expensive ADA soil and additives. All purchased from them. I have sent them emails pretty much begging for advice (since they have so many years of experience with aquariums) but they are so unappreciative of loyal customers like myself that my emails go unanswered. I don't think it is unreasonable to provide advice to customers who have consistently supported their business. If that were not enough, they are NOT going to work with you if there is an issue with any aquarium equipment you purchase from them. That is something to seriously consider before you make a big purchase from them. Once a product leaves their warehouse, they will not hesitate in telling you that it is your problem. I am yet to come across a business with worse customer care! Their business comes up on most google ADA product search, but it's worthwhile taking a second step to look for another business and avoid all those problems when you are trying to take on or cultivate a hobby that should be relaxing and enjoyable. There are other ADA distributors in the US! read more

BEWARE THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE! I am a frequent customer at Aqua Forest for the past year and have spent a lot of $$$ here- I feel that its fair that I write this review. AFA carries the best products, ADA in particular, and have the largest selection of aquarium plants in the Bay. When I walked in, the tall long-haired white guy (I really hate when he's the only one in the shop) was standing in front and didn't even care to greet or acknowledge me. Minutes later I said "excuse me...", he scoffed and answered my question in a way that made me feel like I was being a nuisance. Because I shop here a lot, I would think that he'd be a little nicer but it never seems to change. If I didn't like the ADA Co2 Advanced system that required the disposable Forest Bottle I would no longer shop here! I wish the owner would really do something about his attitude. Its my personal motive to shop at a brick and mortar because small businesses continue to close in San Francisco. Unfortunately this is the very reason why people don't like shopping in-stores anymore. If you are looking for fish go to Ocean Aquarium-- Addy and Justin are amazing. read more

We have been coming here over the years since we started getting into aquascaping. It's a great little shop and just going in there you can get new inspiration for your tank! They have a pretty good fish, plant, and product selection. They're also an authorized distributor of ADA products in the US. Great service and they are all super knowledgeable and helpful. Thanks! It's a bummer that we can't go into the store currently but their online shop is currently open and you can get things shipped to fulfill your needs. BUT now iyou can also get it your items for curbside pickup per June 15th and they have new store hours (closed Tuesday and Sundays). They do have different selection from their website (which is from their website) so give them a call first so they can write your order down and you can also pay over the phone. When you get there they'll get it all for you. It was pretty quick and convenient for us. Tip/ Metered parking in front Tip2/ They're very knowledgeable and helpful so if you have any questions about your tank, substrate, plants, fish, etc. they can likely answer it for you :) read more

See all

As a newcomer to the hobby, I decided to shop locally to help support small businesses - however I fond it difficult to justify continuing to doing so. While certainly very knowledgeable, the staff aren't that friendly, and can be intimidating - rattling off list of things and information without regard of how fast someone can ingest details vocally. I left the store confused and did not feel like I was welcome. The employee at PetSmart was more friendly than this guy... On a separate occasion, I called into the store to verify if they had certain livestock in stock. It was not, and I asked if they had something comparable - to which the store employee replied "We have a lot". Not a great experience, since they do have an online store which does not list any of the live animals they routinely stock. Why not have a list online, so we can see what is carried in store before calling in to verify? Emailing them is not helpful either. It seems like they don't want our money? For the price markup, you'd expect better assistance - otherwise why pay the premium to shop local? Do yourself a favor and get your advice and livestock online. read more

Love this place. Got everything I needed from here at a reasonable price for great quality products read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

I was so hesitant to come here after reading all the one star reviews about the horrible customer service but I was in the area and decided to stop by and I'm so glad I did! There was even a sign saying they were hiring so maybe the rude staff members got fired. I decided to buy red rili shrimp and there was a bit of a discount if you bought 5 or more so I got 5. The staff member helping me out was not rude at all. Would totally come back for pea puffers once I have enough room for a 20g! The fish look very healthy here and the water seemed so pristine. read more

Growing up, I was accustomed to having fish at home, tended to by my father. I thought it was time for a new friend here in SF. I felt well-supported on my initial visit by the staff here. They have a dazzling selection of aquatic plants I don't even know where to start, packed in a compact store on bustling Fillmore street. Note these are only freshwater aquariums. They were helpful in helping me pick out the necessities to start a tank and I'm excited to learn more about aquascaping. They left their number to call if I had any questions. I'll be back to get more plants and shrimp for my little betta boi! read more

Service is good if you're polite and have done the most cursory amount of research. This place is a treasure and the staff here know everything there is to know about freshwater aquariums. Yes, it's expensive - that is the ADA way. But all the livestock and plants they sell are top quality. read more

They have the best and healthiest selection of aquatic plants and nanofish. They refuse to sell you fish that just came in to save you the stress of quarantining them yourself/possibly killing your whole tank. They also have every possible shrimp variant. It is a little hard to get their attention but once you do, they're very knowledgeable and helpful read more

This is a pretty shop. More high tech. Some employees need to be fired. A couple asian guys are very helpful. The white dude is quite rude like he is sick of his job. I asked if i could catch my own fish. He answered,"No, why?" His attitude sucks and very intimidating. read more

Bought my co2 system when they first started years ago. Already on my second regulator. Things were better when george and steve and the mom were running things. I called today to see if they had refill co2 bottles on hand, no answer. I had to run errand in the area so I took a chance. I walk in, bottle in hand, first guys says, pno co2 on hand, I'll call warehouse. Ok. I wait around, he comes back out says can I help you? Huh? You said you would call the warehouse... oh, that guy would know better, points to guy at cashier. He says, steve picked up the empties, don't kno when they be back..... that's it. Doesn't talk to me, tells the other guy, like I'm invisible. Not, please check or call next week, sorry for your trouble, etc. ". I just walked out, and they didn't give a shit, great follow up loyalty program for one of their very first customers. Before they got all snobby. read more

We visited on a busy day, staff were very occupied. Plants contained harmful parasites and crashed my tank. Shame on me for not quarantining for a month but still not a positive experience. read more

While I see some mixed reviews, I can assure you that I have been provided the utmost professional quality service from the team at AFA for the past year or so, spanning multiple orders(10+ on a range from shrimp/live plants to the actual full sized aquarium) shipped to the San Diego area. Every order has been received and packaged in a timely manner with clear notification on the status of the shipment through every step of the way. I cannot give enough positive props to the knowledge and professional service that AFA has provided me each and every time I give them my business. AFA is always my suggestion to those in search of a unique aquarium products, especially as a trusted and well representing ADA distributor. Thank you George Lo, Steven Lo, and the AFA team as always! read more

Things are looking good , but beware the price. some rocks you could find by yourself, instead buy from here it will cost you ! many stuff you can not return or for store credit only. read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - bought 2 gold fish from here, i put them in with my other gold fish which i have for years,. next day, both dead. - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

See all

I'm clueless on aquarium standards, but I absolutely enjoyed what I've seen at Aqua Forest. Several tanks had a self contained eco system. I'm a day dreamer and I can certainly see myself dazing into lala land by staring at these. They are truly professionals here. I never knew that aquariums can take it to this level with landscaping. Simply amazing. read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

These guys are not trustworthy and do not stand behind their products. I drove 30 minutes to come to this store and bought 2 goldfish. Each was $20 (which is a major rip off in and of itself). One of them died within 10 minutes of being put in my tank. The other is still alive so it's not my tank. I called and asked for a refund for my dead $20 goldfish and they refused - said there were no guarantees. I will NEVER go to this place again and cannot recommend anyone going here. I'd go to Petco over this place - at least goldfish are not $20 and they have a week money back guarantee. read more

Small shop with plenty of beautiful planted tanks and good selection of aquatic plants. Most of the fish seemed well taken care of. However, their selection of betta fish was sorely lacking. There were only 3 betta fish housed in very small containers. I rescued this galaxy half moon betta, which was very lethargic in its container that had dirty water and a small amount of Java moss. Other reputable aquatic fish stores have their betta fish in small but spacious tanks, but this store had an inhumane setup. The color of the fish was more dull than it should be. The betta fish's tail was highly destroyed from tail biting from distress and/or fin rot. The price of this type of betta fish was towards the high end but they did not offer a discount despite the fish being neglected with a ruined tail. read more

Aqua Forest Aquarium - Galaxy half moon betta fish with ruined tail from being neglected in a small container with dirty water. - Aquarium Services Near Me - San Francisco, California

The display tanks are beautiful and the staff is really knowledgeable! They have a lot of good stuff here! Only thing I'd say is they need more large plants not just tissue culture. Some of the plants for sale looked like they were dying. But I would recommend this place it's great. read more

I should have walked out when my cheerful "Hello!" was ignored not once, but twice. Instead, I stood there, smiling and waiting for service, which came...eventually...and with no eye contact and zero care. It's been years since I kept a betta fish, and the Internet offers bad info for free, so I asked a real, live aquarium sales agent for advice setting up a tank for a betta. Second red flag: the sales agent was screwed up his face when I said I would buy a fish only after I set up my tank properly. After answering my questions partially, he rushed me to checkout and unloaded his exasperation when I noticed he'd prepared the wrong plant for me. His grunts and eyerolls subsided, I paid $50 for overpriced rocks (I knew that at the time), the wrong drops, and the *right* plant...that would rot in three days. When I called to request a refund for only half what I'd bought, the same agent who'd "helped" me scoffed, "We don't do that," offering the water-tight reason, "You've already used the stuff," that stuff being the wrong drops and the plant that died. When I reiterated that I'd asked for basic advice, he countered, "People usually do research before buying." Translation: AFA sells live animals to unsafe environments, they know it, and they don't care. I strive to shop only local and small, but AFA is why big box keeps winning. Good thing I insisted on not buying a fish yet, or it would have died with the plant. AFA is off my list. Now shopping from Lucky and Ocean. read more

I visited this shop as a recommendation by Justin from Ocean Aquarium. This shop is great if you love aquascaping; particularly iwagumi style, Dutch style and nature aquarium. The water is clear, and the fish seem to love it. You can easily walk into the shop and stay there for at least 30 min. They mainly carry 1-2in schooling freshwater fish. The issue I have with this place is the lack of welcome I received from the staff. Two men hanging out at the front desk did not great me, or any of our friends when we walked into the shop. Nor did they greet anyone else who walked through the doors. This put a damper on my experience especially coming from Ocean Aquarium where Justin and his wife often interact and value all their customers whether you buy something or not. Great shop to walk around and marvel at their tank set up, but not the shop to learn and purchase tank items. read more