Im very sorry for the extremely long review but this was my experience......... I heard of Aquatic Collection through the Reef Beef podcast. I knew that Richard and his royal highness, Ben Johnson only back products and companies that they believe in. I recently set up a very small frag tank that I plumbed into my main display. I was excited because its a nano frag tank where I can keep alot of the very small fish my rainbow basslet would love to eat. Im a sucker for wrasses and blennies. A Choati, earmuff, China, radiant wrasse and Oman Blenny are the pride and joy of my tank. As soon as my nano frag tank was up and running I was able to finally get my geometric pgmy hawkfish (his name is Cornelius). The next was a pink streaked cryptic wrasse. As most unique fish, they come in seasons. I ordered from a big box site knowing very well that these little wrasses are delicate shippers, at the time this site was the only ones that had them in. This was a death sentence. For some reason they sent the first one as overnight standard, the water was 94 degrees when I recieved him. For a lack of better judgement and selfishness I agreed for a replacement. I was sent another. This time i made sure they held him at the terminal which was an hour away from my house. I got there as soon as they opened and went straight home to find another dead wrasse the died in a little bag. I wasn't going to kill another one so I asked for a refund and waited. I called every LFS in the city and no one had them. So I looked in the next biggest city/state which was San Diego. 6 hours one way for a total of 12 hours round trip. I found a place that had one and they held it for me. Two nights later I was doing tank maintenance listening to Bens lovely voice sing about aquatic collection. I thought i guess I can look to see if they had one and to my surprise, they did. However, I committed myself to the San Diego store. I bought them lunch the day before as a thank you for holding him and I would see them that next day. The morning of my day trip, I woke up and thought to myself am i crazy? Driving 12 hours for a small fish, i asked my fiancee and she ensured me, that I am crazy. So I gave Aquatic Collection a chance. The day of shipping I called Aquatic Collection and got ahold of Ryan who handles their online livestock shipments. Ryan was such a breath of fresh air to talk to. The fish was already packed. Ryan told me exactly how he packed the fish. He went above and beyond to ensure the fish gets to me alive. Again, the fish was already packed and I called him explaining my situation. So prior to my story he already did everything he could to ensure a safe trip for my wrasse. I had the fish shipped to the shipping terminal again, just to be safe. I drove my hour one way get my package and nervously drove back home. I opened the box and HE WAS ALIVE. The joy i felt in that moment makes this hobby worth all the hardships. I immediately called Ryan to thank him, he actually used weather data, experience and his resources to ensure the fish was packed correctly for its journey. This tiny 1.5" in fish was packed in an XL bag with 3lbs of water. The big box website I used previously had the fish in a small bag with probably 6 cups of water. Aquatic Collection and Ryan has earned a customer for life. I am singing their praises everywhere I go. After talking with Ryan I knew i was gettimg an animal that was truly cared for and packed for success. This really mean the world to me, thank you very much Ryan and the Aquatic Collection Team........and Richard and his Royal highness, Ben Johnson read more

Went in on a Friday afternoon to purchase fresh water plants, I bought 4 different species of plants, one in particular being "FOXTAIL". The very next day ALL the leafs of that specific species fell off! The other plants were fine , I then called Saturday the very next day to ask about either an exchange or a refund and I spoke to a representative named Mike whose immediate response was "no! there's something wrong with your tank" / "all sales are final" Mike offered no help or tips or nothing just simply blame my tank, which already has shrimp and fish and other vegetation that is doing just fine........ Definitely do not recommend buying from here unless you know for a fact, if something doesn't work out, you're screwed no refunds, exchanges, or any help. Bad bad business practice read more

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Asian bald patches on his beared was rude. I ask for assistance for a fish and he immediately dent my request. One worker was helping another client. He should not work in a service work at all. I would never come back here again. read more

Asian guy with glasses was so rude. I was asking questions about things I wanted to get and he wasn't very helpful. Kinda gave me one word answer. If you want to pay for over priced fish with bad customer service by all means go here read more

Aquatic Collection is a standout shop if you're serious about reefing. Every time I've been in, the staff has been extremely helpful, friendly, and genuinely knowledgeable. They take the time to answer questions and make sure you're making the right decisions for your tank instead of just trying to sell you something. One thing that really sets them apart is the products they carry. They have items on hand that you don't typically see at other stores--for example, I was able to find a roller mat gearbox repair kit there, which is something most places don't even stock. That kind of attention to what reefers actually need goes a long way. Their coral selection is also on another level. They consistently have more unique pieces than just about anywhere else I've seen, which makes it a great place to find something different and add real character to your tank. One thing I really appreciate is that the owners are always there and involved. You can tell they genuinely care about the store, the livestock, and making sure customers have a good experience. Overall, it's a very well-run store with a strong mix of knowledge, customer service, and unique inventory. Definitely a go-to spot if you're looking for both hard-to-find equipment and standout corals. read more

Been a customer for years and they always take care of me. Open to sharing receiving dates, feeding in front of livestock, staff recommendations. read more

We purchased several guppies and an African dwarf frog about a month ago. They are all dead now. 1st guppy died after 6 days. I called- too bad, they said. One by one the other guppies and the frog died. Replacement fish we have gotten elsewhere are fine. We not novices, we are very meticulous about water quality testing every couple days with chemical kit. We will not patronize them in the future. read more

Bought two goldfish for my daughter's birthday. We have a goldfish tank that had been running fine with all 3 fish we have for over year and a half. The water condition was perfect, it runs on filters and also aquatic plants, regular water changes, and always test the water after each change, but all my new fish are dead along with my current fish in the tank, the new fish developed white spots disease the same night and pass away the next morning, all my other fish are now having the same issue, and they all now seem sick. I'm sure my tank was ok with good water condition. Something had to be wrong with either the water or the fish we added from the aquarium. Pretty sad right now and I don't expect these guys to do anything about it. I'm not a newbie in this hobby. Pretty upset this happened. read more

Great selection! My three African dwarf frogs are doing great and I got my PH under control! read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - African dwarf frogs. - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

Fantastic local aquarium shop that is basically your one stop shop for everything! Great hours, large parking lot, and plenty of staff to assist all the time. They get busy and you end up waiting, but as soon as somebody is free, they always come around to ask if you've been helped or offer assistance! Honestly, each staff has been so friendly and knowledgeable, you really cannot go wrong coming here. Aquatic Collection does not give off the "Oh, we are aquarium experts and we are snobs about it." There have been plenty of times that I have been there and overhearing conversations with the staff and customers answering each and every question that a customer has from a new tank build or even existing once. They are not pushing sales, and honestly trying to figure out what would work best for your situation! They always maintain their tanks and the fish and plants always look so healthy! Easy to identify which fish are friendly and aggressive, thanks to their color code system and prices are labeled on the tank as well. I have a small 5 gallon planted aquarium and love stopping by to pick up shrimp, snails, and some algae eaters! Their prices are fair and healthy fish from my experience! During the holidays, they have great sales for Black Friday and post Christmas to New Years! Overall, fantastic place if you just want to stick your head in to look around or if you are here for something specific. read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2022 deals - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

Super nice and friendly. We really like our aquarium. They have a large selection of fish to choose from.

Best Local Fish store around my place! I have been seeing this place for the longest time and never visited until recently. I have been obsessed with aquascaping this past month and wanted healthy fishes for my tank. Luckily I saw this place! I have bought Pleco, Hellboy Betta, Cory. They are thriving and of course happy! The packing is the best part!!! They do not use rubber band unlike how Petsmart, Petco does it. I hated it! The way they package it you'll know the air wont go anywhere else. They also have lots of varieties of Freshwater and Saltwater! I enjoy coming in here! A big recommendation for beginners! read more

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DO NOT BUY FROM HERE! there is a reason they do no refunds or returns. I bought over $50 worth of fish and they all died along with my other fish that I have had for over 2 years! the people who work there are extremely rude. do not buy here! read more

Bought a fish from here and not even 24 hrs later it died, selling overpriced sick fish

We bought a small fish tank for the kids and this has been our local stop for fish and supplies. The kids love coming here because it's like a mini-aquarium visit with so much to see from colorful saltwater fish to bubbly-eyed freshwater goldfish. All of the fish are healthy and the tanks are cleaned and maintained well, I keep thinking of what I've seen at petsmart and this is a refreshing night and day difference. There is nice color-coding to tell you which fish are compatible with others with rating going from aggressive to peaceful community fishes, we followed this guide as well as the advice of staff and have had harmony in our tank. For those coming in summer and warm weather we always had the impression aquariums were cool but it gets hot in here with large fans buzzing to try to keep it cool. read more

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Was recommended this fish aquarium by a friend, And customers services and fish that they had was supreme! Bought an angler fish with no problem at all! Thank you! Great place and me and my wife to go place now! read more

If you don't know about fish or tanks don't go here they will make you feel dumb and won't treat you with respect. Bold headed guy with glasses was rude and said that there wasn't ANY fish that can't live without an oxygen tank. Which is a lie so he wasnt only being rude but also uninformed. "Bettas are widely known as fish that can live without an air pump. They have the unique capability of intake oxygen via bubbles that form from atmospheric air and float on the surfaces. They have wide colorful fins but they are very aggressive to other fish." -trusted source so yeah don't come here it's a waste of money and time you can find cheaper tanks with full set up elsewhere. read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

Great fish store that sells freshwater and saltwater fishes. They even indicate on each of the tanks which fishes are peaceful, semi-aggressive, or aggressive. The prices of their saltwater fishes are on the high end. The only affordable saltwater fishes they sell are Green Chromis which they sell for $7 each or 5 for $30. The average price for their other saltwater fish is around $75-100 each. Their fishes are very healthy and you pay more the high quality of care they provide for them. This facility is very clean and modern. They use a price scanner to scan your items and they act like a modern retail business, and this is one of the main reasons why they charge in the higher price range. read more

Great selection! The only local store I've been able to find Rainbow shiners. Staff is friendly and helpful

Great selection of fish. Make sure you look your fish over and be aware of the return policy . read more

Beautiful display tanks that really provide inspiration for building your own. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, Jordan is a member I've come to enjoy talking with, but the whole team has personality. read more

First, great communication via Facebook messenger. They took the time to send lots of photos as requested, gave me a detailed description of condition, and answered my many specific questions. Great follow up communication throughout the delayed shipment (Thanks UPS :( ) Even though UPS delayed my anemone a full day, it came in looking pretty good, thanks to the great packaging! I will definitely be ordering from AC again! read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

simply put. they are the best in the Bay Area . I recommend them. just remember all there sales are final.

I purchased a RedSea S1000 here and recently started purchasing all the livestock and corals and this whole process has been seamless! The team here has been very helpful with advice and guidance with what's compatible for my set-up. Thank you Aquatic Collection for this pleasant journey! read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - RedSea S1000 with everything you see in the photo purchased at AC. - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

Wont go again, horrible customer service. Feel so awkward the whole time I look around. Staff just stare at you and not asking if you need help. read more

I purchased a gift card over the phone and was very pleased with the person who assisted me and especially with the owner or manager who called me back at the end of the day to confirm all of the details and assure me that he was taking it to the post office that evening. read more

Good quality fish and corals . Great service too .very helpful friendly staff . Always haves good advice

On 04/18/2024 at approximately 1:30pm, I went to visit Aquatic to purchase some new Cichlids for the tank. My pregnant wife and 3 year old daughter accompanied me. My 3 yr old autistic daughter was playing with a cabinet by opening and shutting the door while singing, "Open, shut, open, shut" At this time, an employee in the fresh water section named Heather, approached my 3 year old daughter and screamed at her saying, "HEY! DO NOT TOUCH THAT!" and stormed away. From what I observed, Heather's body language and attitude towards my autistic child was shocking. My wife told Heather, "You speak to me, don't speak to her like that". The incident was loud enough for myself to intervene and I was across the room. However, no other employee/staff/manager stepped in. Regardless if my daughter is autistic or not, no other grown person should be speaking to a child like that, let alone a child with a disability. read more

Redoing a tank and is a work in progress I live across the bridge at least a 40 minute drive away from this business. I Came in one day and bought $100 in freshwater plants and a couple products for one of my aquariums. I wanted to get guppies too but they were not in stock and I was told they would be in the next day. Next day comes and I phone to ask when the fish will be available for purchase and I show up excited and ready to get my guppies. I picked 3 to get a deal on a trio of fancy guppies but when I get to the register, my wallet was not on me, nor had I left it in my car. I forgot it all the way at home. I grabbed all the loose cash I had in my car but it only amounted to almost $24(a few dollars short). I ask if there was any way to work with me. The owner looks me in the eye and says he doesn't discount fish and that my options are to come back with my wallet or to put back a fish to bring the price down. I felt unappreciated but I swallowed my pride and let them take one of the guppies I choose out of the bag. I was saddened and debated on writing a review of my bad experiences. But I decided that day to just forget about the cheap guppy hoarder and go home and work on my tank. So I bet your wondering why I decided to grace you with my experience. Just my luck, 1 day after forgetting my wallet I get a notification saying that all of their livestock is on freakin' SALE right after telling me to my face he doesn't discount fish. Story of my life read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Plants n guppies - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

The best fish store in the Bay Area! The staff is extremely knowledgeable and friendly! Fish are kept in pristine aquariums (very clean). I drive all the way from San Francisco to buy my saltwater fish here! Thank you Mike for spending a lot of time advising me! Highly recommend working with Mike! He has a 500 gallons saltwater tank at home! Needless to say that he knows everything about salt water fish! :-) read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

I haven't written a review in a while, but here is my experience today. I came in on a Wednesday after a friend recommended this store and spoke to the lady in charge of freshwater imports about bringing in some fancy goldfish for store credit. I showed her some pictures of the fish and she agreed that I could come in the following Friday to bring them in. The interaction was nice and pleasant at first, however she did not quote me any price or range before I left the store, which was my first mistake. I come back on Friday with two buckets and 7 goldfish. She proceeds to offer me a maximum $3 per fish. Mind you, these are not common goldfish, and they are not small. 5 Ryukin, 1 Shubunkin, and 1 telescope with decent patterns and body shape. They were selling the same fish in the store, many of which were even smaller with worse body shape for anywhere from $20-40 each. I politely declined her offer. Although a little disappointed, I figured it was also my own fault for not getting a ballpark figure on Wednesday. I brushed it off and took a look at what other stuff they had in the store. It wasn't until I asked her before I left the store if she would consider trading the fish for fish (no store credit), that I could sense her demeanor subtly shifting. I proposed trading the 7 fish for one of the quarter sized blue tangs, and offered to buy a couple emerald crabs. She straight up said that she didn't think the fish were worth $65, turned around, and said "this is too much work already, maybe nothing" implying she would offer nothing for them now. She acted annoyed, turned her back to me, and walked away. I was pretty shocked at the attitude because I was just trying my best to work with her after I spent time packing up the fish in the morning and drove 40 minutes to deliver them to her doorstep. I spent a lot of effort just to bring them in, she lowballed me, wouldn't work with any alternatives, then gave me attitude. I honestly regret buying fish from this store already. The other employees were very nice, I liked talking to them and they were very helpful! But the freshwater lady, because of her attitude, stubbornness, and unwillingness to work with me today, has convinced me that I will never be back. You shouldn't treat customers, or people like that. Very passive aggressive, and felt taken advantage of. Edit: I should have read the reviews first. Seems like someone else spent 15k here and they also lowballed the hell out of him for his livestock. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. read more

Good prices, good selection be it Fresh water or Salt water. Out of the saltwater hobby now but will still drop by for Fresh water things for my inlaws tank. read more

Great selection of freshwater fish and plants along with saltwater animals. The staff are all super patient and spent over an hour with me telling me how to start an aquarium and helped me get everything I needed. They genuinely cares about their craft and happy to share with others. I'm glad I stopped here instead of a big box store. The displays were also inspirational and beautiful to look at. read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

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It's a great store hands down they have all the products you need and a great source of coral ,fish and equipment I've been going there for years for corals and equipment,but as far as fish not so good I've bought fish from here numerous times maybe around 6 over the years and each time they don't last a week the last one I bought was a yellow tang for there Black Friday sale it died with in 4 days .they should change there name to Aquat-ich collection I've been in this hobby for years I have had the same fish in my system for years but every time I by from here they don't make trust lesson learned, read more

My husband and I were passing by Hayward, and we spontaneously decided to check this place out since we've been slowly getting back into the saltwater hobby and we're so glad we did! Getting help as newer hobbyists can be hit or miss, but Yoshi was super helpful, friendly and really knows his stuff. The store had a great selection and we felt really taken care of. We weren't planning on getting anything, but Yoshi definitely got us excited about the hobby again and we ended up leaving some new additions for our tank. read more

Fish had internal parasites. I have been to this store a few times with mixed success. I really appreciate the selection of fish available and the prices are reasonable. However the last batch of guppies I purchased had severe internal parasites and quickly perished. I would advise anyone buying fish (here or elsewhere) to medicate and quarantine their fish. read more

Come here almost every other week to check out the new corals and restock frozen food. I have been to other aquarium stores but here has best price for frozen food and live stocks. They can send you news letter for new live stocks arrive every two weeks or so. Staff are nice and knowledgeable. There was one time I bought a bubble tip anemone here, I was really worry about getting it off the rock would hurt its feet. Then the owner brought a chisel to break the rock, lol, I really appreciate that read more

Aquatic Collection Aquarium - Aquarium Services Near Me - Hayward, California

We recently purchased a 60 gallon tank for our home and were trying to do research on how to best set up a fresh water tank. We checked out Petsmart first and they had a good variety but we were looking for a larger tropical assortment. We had previously owned 2 salt water tanks and wanted to steer clear of such a high maintenance tank. The hubby found ACA in Hayward and after viewing the pictures on Yelp, figured we would make the 30 mile trek and I have to say, we were not disappointed! First off, I was really pleased with the safety protocols in place. Limited capacity, masks required and lots of ventilation, front and back. Now this store seems to be well stocked with pretty much anything you would need for fresh and saltwater tanks. As soon as we walked to the tank area, their well kept tanks were jaw dropping. Just really beautiful and well maintained, full of gorgeous fish and other sea creatures. An incredible assortment of sea anemone's and starfish, as well as fresh water plants and decor for water-scapping. Not only was this place your one stop shop but all of the staff were super attentive and knowledgeable. If they didn't know the answer to a question we asked, they asked the next knowledgeable associate. We were very impressed with the variety and pricing. The pricing for the quality cannot be beat! We've already made several trips back to this store as its our new go to spot for all our tank needs! read more

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Such a cool place & everyone's so nice & helpful. Can't wait to come back!! Thanks for my cherry shrimp

New to reefing and this place has been a real life saver! Best reef live stock/husbandry and supplies in the Bay Area hands down! You have to be proactive and DYOR but overall my interactions with employees has been good! I haven't had an opportunity to meet the owners but I like their story and the passion shows through in this shop. Pay to play I knew what I was getting into. read more