I had a very hostile and threatening experience at aqualand 8/22/25, as I was browsing I was approached and asked if I needed any help, I said I was looking for a tank lid that wasn't mesh. the employee said they're only for fish tanks and said; "what stupid website have you been reading." my response was he doesn't know my enclosure or setup and should ask me more questions so he has more information to better help me. he stated; "it doesn't matter your setup, I know the snake." | turned around and began to walk to the front of the store and was followed closely by him as loudly continued to say; "I know the snake, I know the snake, I know the snake." he then attempted to point me in the directions of the top I had been looking for and I told him "I will not purchase here." aqualand pets plus neglects animals and puts them in unsate and unsanitary situations. there were two ball pythons to a tank as well as several bearded dragons in one tank. one ball python was extremely underweight and dehydrated. rabbits had no hay, which leads to G.l. stasis. there is a 5 star review of someone who purchased their ball python and the photos they posted the snakes were on aspen bedding and was extremely underweight and dehydrated. please do your research before supporting a business who clearly does not have the animals in their cares best interests or do not care about consumers. read more

the fact that the snake section is a locked wall with little tubs told me all i ever needed to know. i only come here to get rats and mice for my snakes and i have literally watched their rats ripping each other apart. another time i seen the hamsters fighting and tapped on the glass one time to try to get them to stop and an employee walked up and acted like i shattered the glass. dont understand why every employee is so rude there let alone cant take care of their fucking animals. read more

Tanks are dirty this place is abusive and needs to be shut down there is mold growing inside of tanks and on the shells of the turtles which are 6 to a 20 gallon they have adult bearded dragons living 4 to a 20 gallon the entire place is dirty and unorganized insanely overpriced read more

Mike and Jenna are my favorite! Very friendly and knowledgeable. Willing to order anything I've requested that isn't already in the store and promptly. They are honest good people. The prices are good and they have a wide variety of anything I've ever needed. I choose aqualand over any franchise any day! read more

Great staff and amazing animals. We've always had good experiences. We frequently buy crickets and supplies for pets and have also purchased lizards from Aqualand and have had zero issues! The main dude (Jeff?) is a wealth of information and always shares a cool story! read more

Do NOT buy things from Aqualand. They have the WORST animal care I have ever seen. Multiple adult leopard geckos in one container, ball pythons within the same tank that doesn't even meet the length of one requirement, lack of water and substrate for some, guinea pigs with abscesses and no hay or vegetables, a cockatoo with skin baldness, clipped wings, and bad pin feathers, and many other issues. It made me genuinely sad to be in this store and to see the workers not doing anything to provide these animals with correct enclosures DESPITE selling everything that would be needed for an adequate habitat. Really just shows the lack of care as they KNOW what is needed and they HAVE what is needed but they don't care enough to actually put effort into their animals for sale. read more

Pets are NOT cared for here. They are kept in cramped and overcrowded cages. Half the animals' are declining or sick. Dirty and unkept store. Had a rat with scoliosis that refused to feed off or get treatment for. Have a Quaker parrot housed in a small travel carrier so I cannot even extend his wings. I wish Iowa had animal welfare laws. They are overpriced for their quality (or lack thereof) of animals, accessories, diets, etc. read more

I've been in several times the past couple of weeks to get a rodent for my kid's pet snake after I was told a shipment came in just to be told they were out. This place is 45 minutes out of my way minimum from anywhere I go. It usually ends up being an hour and a half and I usually spend a lot more money in there than I ever intended. Anyhow, smart me, I'm going to call today and see if they have any....They have one. Will you hold it for me? I'll pay, you're way out of my way but I'll get it today - NO. first come first served. Thanks Aqualand! You lost a loyal customer who would pay your higher fees and go out of my way to do so. read more

this is a fantastic place!! I really dont understand why anyone would leave 1star reviews. everyone saying it's not clean and dirty. this is not petco or home makers. it's a pet store. they have a beautiful selection and variety. Mike the owner is informative and has helped me so much with my pet snake . the staff are lovely and I've been going to him for the last 4 years. I love it read more

I would give 0 stars if I could. They are abusing the animals in their care. They have over 30 rats in one small, dirty cage with almost no water available. Fish are kept in dirty tanks that are too small for them. This business needs to be shut down and the animals rescued. read more

This is the only local pet store that does not have banker's hours. They have hours of operation for most people, they put in the extra hours. read more

This USED to be my favorite place in Des Moines to get fish due to their variety (definitely not their upkeep and cleanliness). Right before Christmas I bought $70 worth of fish for my freshwater aquarium, asked what their guarantee was and it is 7 days. $30 worth of those fish died in 2 days so I brought them back. They offered refund or exchange and I said exchange because I knew it wasn't my water (when adding new fish I test daily). I also asked if I needed a new receipt for the new fish and she said no, just the one one was fine. 2 days later I find 2-3 ich spots on 3 of the new fish they gave me. By the time I had time off work to bring the first dead one back, the rest of that school (6) died. (4 days later, a total of 8 days beyond first purchase) When returning for a refund (not putting new fish into a tank that now has ich) the older woman I spoke with was very friendly but when the younger short haired lady came to help me she simply stated she couldn't refund them because they were already a replacement (2 of the 7 were from original purchase). She also tried to tell me the ich in my tank is not from her fish, even though the tank I purchased them from is directly below the tank undergoing current ich treatment. She not only refused to give me money back on any except the two from original purchase, when I told her she would be losing customers from such poor customer service she mumbled "don't come back" under her breath as I opened the door to leave. I'm so sad that what used to be such a great place to get fish is now run by such rude employees. read more

I came here the other day to look for more supplies for my turtles that the mainstream pet stores don't have. They have a great selection of fish and they have a ton of snakes which is unique! If you have a snake phobia, beware. They have most of the animals you'd see at pet stores and the staff are very knowledge. My only complaint is that it is very cramped which makes me feel bad for the animals. They deserve more space. There also isn't enough ventilation in the store because it always feels super stuffy and dry. Overall, it's worth a shot to visit if you're looking for a local shot but beware the environment isn't the best. read more

I love their fish! I've gotten many fish from here and they have a beautiful bunch of Tanks! You can do saltwater or freshwater whatever your preference! They have a fish called a kooli loach that I always look forward to and they're hard to find, a snakelike/lizard looking fish! I lost my tank, it gave up on me! So in a hurry, I took both my placostima fish that I had for a few years and my Gold fish named Goldy, and put them in a bucket, took them to Aqualand and they said they would take care of them for me an give them good homes! As I stood in tears (ya I know over some fish) I thanked them, gave them some fish food and shrimp pellets for Placky my placostima! I left extactly relieved! !! Thank you, Aqualand, your lifesavers!!!! read more

Aqualand Pets Plus - Placky an Goldy! - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

My husband and I absolutely love this store. My husband is a veterinarian and he was also impressed. If you are looking for friendly and knowledgeable staff, look no further. Also, they have a great selection of beautiful hamsters. All of them are tame, friendly, and soft. You can tell they get their pets from reputable breeders! Highly recommend. If I could, I would adopt every one of those little critters. read more

Had too many cichlids in our tank and they took the babies no problem! One of the most impressive fish selections in the area. And they have a ton of hard to find fish. Store needs more space for all of the animals they got. And needs some repairs. But it is an older shop. The staff is super friendly, even helping me move the cooler from my car into their shop. There's not much parking close. Do you will have to walk a ways. Overall best fish selection I have seen I. The area, nice staff, but some upgrades are needed! read more

I got a RES turtle from this Aqualand and named her Virginia she died a month later the workers never told me that she was sick and lied about her age. On numerous occasions I asked them what I had to do to maintain the turtle and if she was sick. The workers told me that all she needed was a rock to bask on and some water I trusted them not knowing that red eared slider turtles actually need a special basking rock, a water filter, a water heater, an aquarium a heat lamp and turtle pellets. I would like to warn everybody to not buy a pet here and, I would like to mention that the store smells and there is clear signs of animal cruelty. read more

Aqualand Pets Plus - The pet store - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Des Moines, Iowa

Dirty. Just dirty. The birds had no toys... were in too small of cages... were packed together and looked pitiful. I wanted to rescue all of them. Animals deserve better then dark, small, dirty cages. They are more then a payday... they are living creatures. I will never support this business. read more

Store is dirty!!! I bought 4 affrican cichlids anhow. One dead within a week. I have kept african tanks for the past 20 years and know how to keep them happy & alive. They refused to replace the fish... which is probably ok. Most of their fish look sick. I learned my lesson and will buy my fish elsewhere. read more

Large selection of reasonably priced fish and aquatic supplies. Also reptiles, birds, and more.

It's unfortunate that after so many years of poor service and terrible care of animals that this place is still open. It is disgusting, dirty, and poorly ran. Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT BUY FISH here! About the only thing that is likely to be okay to buy there is crickets and I would not even chance that. Shame on you aqualand for not wanting to do better for the animals and your customers. read more

This place is amazing. Great knowledgeable staff. Good prices. Affordable durable aquarium supplies. If you want to see fish in a pristine setting go to a doctors office. This is a well managed well maintained pet store. read more

Love everything about this pet store! We have purchased numerous fish from here & never had problems, we even donated fish that were too aggressive. We also buy live feeder mice for our ball python! My son enjoys the "feeesh" & my husbands enjoys all the reptiles, while I enjoy the bunnies. Fun for the whole family! read more

We love going to aqualand! They always have food stocked to feed our reptiles and it's really hard to find live food around here that is reliable! They always have unique pets for sale in shop and can answer any questions you may have about care for your new pet read more

This store should be shut down for animal cruelty due to the conditions they keep their mammals and reptiles in. Most of their animals have mites and feeder insects are ogten infested with pinworms. My bearded dragon would have died feom pinworms grom their crickets if not for a pricey trip to the vet. Let's not even talk about the smell. :(. If you love animals, don't support this business. read more

Dirty, smelly, and rude staff. Every rat I've bought here had mites. It's basically a dumpster filled with animals. I'm glad to see they decreased the amount of rodents and birds that I've previously seen there. But honestly it looks like Stevie Wonder has been cleaning this place. read more

Aqualand was remodeled awhile back and I haven't been inside since the remodel. I was curious to see if the condition of the building and the animals had improved. It was horrible! I can look past the dead crickets and cockroaches, the spider webs and everything covered in dust. The reptiles didn't look horrible but they didn't look great either. The bunnies, chinchilla and guinea pigs were in poor condition and neglected! I made my way to the small rodent room which has the hamsters, rats and mice. This was by far the worst! Cages were the worst I have seen. The bedding was soaked with urine and covered in poop. The physical condition was severe neglect. Dwarf hamsters killed another hamster and were eating him/her while I was there. Due to complete neglect! I couldn't handle it anymore and told the man behind the counter that the omnivore hamsters are eating each other and left crying. How is this place still open? Why hasn't anyone steeped in to save these poor animals! :-( read more

Staff was great but store smelled and they didn't have salt water fish.

I knew something was amiss when I walked in the door... The smell was oppressive. The condition of the animals is heart-breaking. The cages were cramped and dirty and many animals didn't have food. I will not support this store. read more

Went to Aqualand to purchase a fish for my daughter and almost gagged walking in the door. The room where the fish were contained was very poorly lit. There were no overhead lights turned on and the lighting in the tanks was not always adequate. I watched a couple use a flashlight app on their phone to try and view some saltwater fish. The entire store smells and isn't ventilated properly for the number of animals they keep. The small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs are all kept wire cages about the size of a cat carrier. None of the them had anything to play with or nibble on. More than one rabbit was too big for the wire cage it was being kept in as they had very little room to move around (just enough to turn around). I am fairly certain that two of the guinea pigs had mange or something similar as they were nearly bald. For that matter none of rabbits that I saw appeared to be in good health. They were all listless and didn't show any interest in their environment. Cages of animals were sitting on the floor haphazardly. Everything from the animal cages to the shelves and products looked worn and dirty. I will never shop their again and I did report my concerns to ARL's animal cruelty division. This place is a nightmare and no animal should be subjected to it. read more

this store has mostly friendly employees and lots for you fish or exotic reptiles great variety of birds prices are okay but can be a little high at times my only real compliant is they sell next to nothing for cats and dogs not food very few toys it sucks that I have to go to another farther away store to get my dogs and cat there supplies for my birds and rabbit they are awesome just would like to see more for the cats and dogs read more