Sean rocks! He had great advice for getting my planted tank established and he set me up with some ember tetras and red cherry shrimp, both of which had pregnant females. The population in my tank is healthy and booming!! Thank you Sean! read more

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As for the retail shop, not super knowledgeable people with terrible livestock choices. I've only bought a handful of corals and they have introduced aptasia, an insane number of flatworms, bubble algae, and none of them were health either. read more

I love Aquatic World. they have a great selection of fish, inverts, live plants and more that are well looked after and of high quality. This is due to the owner, Sean's extensive knowledge and dedication to sourcing healthy fish and maintaining the correct conditions for them to thrive. The other staff members are equally helpful and obviously love of what they do. I have two fresh-water aquariums and I have stocked them from Aquatic World. I have been extremely happy with my purchases and have created beautiful planted tanks. I have spoken to Sean at length and have received invaluable advice, even when this has meant fewer resulting sales. Otherwise, I would have overcrowded tanks with dying plants to deal with. On my way there now to see the current stock! read more

Incredibly rude cranky lady said I couldn't come in because I have a stroller. This is a family neighborhood (literally across from a playground). No wonder no one shops here read more

Aquatic World is an amazing store that provides a wonderful service to Chicago! I Stopped in here to get some supplies to start up a new tank. Sean and Wife were so very helpful. They helped talk and educate me through what I was wanting expecting and the outcomes of the aquascape I was wanting to achieve. Their knowledge and experience is very helpful for me to achieve exactly what I am wanting while also understanding and delivering a quality and happy environment for the fishies! . I can not recommend them enough read more

UNETHICAL & ANTIGAY OWNERS Sure, the aquariums are beautiful, but the owners are totally unethical. They hired me to paint their store over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and kicked me out of their store on the last day when the work was nearly completed. Wasn't such a smart move as I grabbed all the paint rollers, which I paid for, from their hands as I exited the store. They have ignored multiple texts requesting payment. And I refuse to stop by their store in person because the wife has mental health issues and acts erratically. I would not feel comfortable with her in the same room. (She also made derogatory comments about me being gay, so definitely avoid the place for that reason alone.) Rather coincidental that I get kicked out of their establishment after three days of hard work just when there was about an hour's worth of work remaining. read more

I was a little intimidated walking into aquarium shop like this because their aquariums look so great and their fish look so healthy. I'm a newbie with 1 betta fish and two snails in a 5 gal tank, but I wanted to get some help for my betta who I believe has fin rot. Everyone who worked there was friendly and one of them took a lot of time explaining some basic aquarium cleaning and fin rot treatment skills to me. She was so helpful and knowledgeable. Their tanks are amazing. I could have stayed there for hours just watching all the creatures here. Also, I may graduate to a second tank just so I can get a male betta from this shop--they were real beauties! I was really impressed with this place. read more

I was very pleased with aquatic world! They've serviced my businesses for over 7 years and they've never once steered me in the wrong way whether it's items for my tank or different fish. Other fish I've received from them were healthy! Great business I recommend! read more

Totally rude lady who answers the phone. I am a professional shopper, and called to ask a question about fish tank rentals, and supplies. I introduced myself with my full name, and that I'm working on a commercial. She quickly cut me off and said, "we've done that in the past and it doesn't work for us" and hung up the phone immediately. I called back and said, "with all respect mam, I'd like to ask you a few questions". in which she replied, "I have customers in my store, I have to go" and hung up the phone AGAIN. uhhhhh.....what kind of customer service is this?! Maybe she got burned in the past by my industry, but that by no means gives her the right to treat a stranger rudely. Do not go here, do not support rude miserable people. Go somewhere else. I'm sure it smells and they don't treat their employees well if that's how they go about operating their business. read more

Extremely rude terrible customer service first and last time ever coming here. Much better selection/options m and friendlier at other aquatic stores. Do Not Come Here!!! read more

Extremely knowledgeable owner. High quality products. Not a huge variety of fish but enough to be interesting.

I'm a budding aquarist. I have two small fish tanks (one biocube, one freshwater planted aquarium), and I'm always looking for new fish to put in the latter, and new ways to keep the former looking beautiful. I've used Aquatic World a couple of different times in different capacities along those lines, and I've been quite pleased. I was initially attracted because I'm just down the street and I stopped in. I bought a few hermit crabs, a turbo snail, and some coral for my saltwater tank, and talked with the owner, Sean, a good bit about aquariums and aquarium care. He gave me a few suggestions, and all is going well. Then, I decided to take advantage of their tank consulting services in order to make sure that the Biocube was running in tip-top shape. The gentleman who came over, Matt, was super pleasant and showed me a couple of tricks and gave me good advice. The tank looks great now, and with the tips and advice I think I can keep it looking great longterm. It's worth noting that every time I take the cats to the vet it costs at least $100, so the consulting fee seemed very reasonable at $65 an hour. A couple of the reviews have mentioned a discourteousness to children. Full disclosure: My only kids have fur and fins. But I can see what they're talking about based on observations of others. However, it more comes across to me as "I'm going to focus my attention on customers, versus children of customers." It doesn't bother me. If you want a goldfish for your kid, or a beta for the micro-tank on your desk, you'd probably be happier going to the Petco and Petsmart of the world. Aquatic World can do it, but it's probably overkill for what you're looking for unless you take your aquarium pretty seriously. read more

Aquatic World - Biocube, post-consult. Those look like some happy Nemos! - Aquariums Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Super helpful staff, I wanted some plants for my Betta tank and they were very friendly and I learned a lot! Prices were great too! They gave me 5 star service, will definitely be back :) read more

Im an adavamced aquarist and I've going for years. The best aquarium store in Chicago hands down. Very knowledgeable staff.

The store itself is very cool and the tanks are set up beautifully. If I ever wanted to invest in a new tank and filter system, I might call them up. However, they advertise as a store that sells freshwater and saltwater fish when they are primarily a saltwater store. The store was also TINY. They only had maybe twelve tanks, of which at least three were empty. Over half of their tanks were saltwater and the few tanks that did have freshwater fish only held a handful of actual fish. There were not many different kinds of fish either. Heck, I couldn't even find a decent beta - probably because they only had two and they were the regular betas that you can find for $2 at any commercial pet store. The fish they had seemed to be taken care of very well and everything was very clean, but there was just nothing in the store for me. Truth be told, I ended up at the Petsmart down the street and was much happier. For higher quality fish I think I will stick with Old Town Aquarium. read more

This place used to be a bit better and prolly would have gotten 5-Stars, but they downgraded their scale as well as switched their business model over toward a more maintenance-type approach. They still have just as much expertise and know-how as they did before, however. The prices are better than most other LFS's in the Chicagoland area, but still not along the lines of places like Drs. Foster and Smith. Last time I went in, they were still re-configuring everything post-move, so hopefully they've resolved most of this and have scaled up their operations a bit. Decent selection of livestock, accessories, foods and tanks. He's never asked me to put down my flask of bourbon either, which is a huge bonus to boot. Anyhow, go check it out -- it is definitely a fresh alternative to Old Town Aquarium. read more

I agree with BenjaminB the old place was way cooler. Conveniently located for me to take a quick browse but not a lot of unique stuff. Well informed hobbyists working there. Have a pretty cool invert tank in the back. Nice clean place, but it's been under construction- never quite finished for over a year now. No live foods. Edit - Now only open on Saturdays. Heard he's mostly doing tank maintenance. Edit - Back open for regular hours during the week, according to an email I recieved, haven't stopped by yet. 2/27/08 read more

This place is great! I love their shark and barracuda tank! They seem to have it all from a great selection of fish and coral to the tanks and supplies, etc... And the people that work there actually know what they're talking about!!! read more

Great place !!! The store is simply beautiful, and the service was very nice, but the real deal was the price i payed for a new filter. Lets just say it was cheaper then the usual place i was going, until yesterday i mean ;) read more

Loved the new store !!! I haven't been at Aquatic since they opened the new place and I think they did an amazing job. The new place is very cool and welcoming' and the service was fantastic as always. Thank's again Sean ;) see you soon.. read more

Visited this place right after taking my son to the park located across the street. Wanted to check on a particular acclimation box made by eshopps. an employee asked what I needed which he presented an option. Thought about it for a bit and realized I left my wallet in the car. I placed the acclimation box back on the shelf and proceeded to walk out to my truck we're my 4 month and wife awaited. Discussed with her if we should get the box, the owner/ employee walked out and asked if I had taken the box. I was lost for words. I walked back into the store and pointed out the product to which I put back. I felt very uncomfortable and decided to take my business else were. I have been in the aquarium trade hobby for over 10 years and never felt so uncomfortable. read more

This place is very cool. It's great to have a local aquarium store. Sean is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Looking at all the fish in their beautiful aquariums could take hours. I got some great tips that have payed off, and unlike the big chains, I didn't feel like I was bothering or wasting his time. The fish I picked up is doing great and if I ever go saltwater, this is definitely the place I'd go. read more

This shop is fantastic. I just purchased a coral today. It was at least 1/2 the price I would pay at other shops. There are only a few must see shops in the Chicago land area and this is my favorite. I also used to shop at the old location and I have to disagree with the 2 previous posts. I find the parking way better at the new store traffic in the area as well. The selection is good as ever though there are fewer tanks. I much prefer the new lookdown tank for corals at the back of the store compared to standard display tanks. The owner is always there and won't sell me things he doesn't think will do well in my tank. The construction appears to be done to me, but I really didn't ask. I must also add the new store is way more refined. The entire store if much more appealing than the old one was. The displays tanks are awesome!! I have yet to find a store that is as cheap as online but this guy gets close. Best of all I know exactly what I'm getting and I have yet to need a part that they couldn't get for me. read more

If you like fish, I would suggest you go here. You can spend hours here just walking around and looking at their amazing fishes. They have all types of fishes in different colrs and sizes. They do sell the fish here. You can also buy other equipment, such as tanks. read more