Cool place to wander around. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Lots of different species

I've kept saltwater long enough to know that livestock dies sometimes and it isn't always the shop's fault. This wasn't that. Yesterday I picked up two emerald crabs here. One was dead by the time I got home. Today I bought three pajama cardinals. I drip acclimate everything, and partway through the drip, two of the three were clearly going downhill. Not ordinary settling-in stress, but failing. I called the store, explained what I was seeing, and they told me to bring them in. The diagnosis came quickly once I got there: my salinity was 1.019, and the fish had been shocked during acclimation. On that basis they credited me for one of the two dying fish and I absorbed the other. Store credit, not a refund. What bothers me is where the 1.019 came from. They tested the bag I'd carried the fish back in, and I had filled that bag from my own display tank. Same water, two readings: 1.019 on their instrument, 1.024 on my digital meter at home, calibrated before I used it. One of those numbers is wrong. That wasn't an academic disagreement. It decided who paid. Their reading put my tank out of range, so the loss became mine, and the portion they did cover came back as credit that only spends at the shop that sold me the fish. Three of five animals in two days, and an explanation resting on a measurement a calibrated meter contradicts. There are other places to buy livestock around Gainesville and I'll be using them. read more

Great aquarium store! They also have an amazing selection of reptiles and amphibians! Great for both saltwater and freshwater hobbyist!! Customer service is also amazing. read more

Aquatropics - Peacock Dart Frogs - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I've been purchasing fish and products from this place for years. My mother used to shop here when I was a child, and it's always been a great experience. The owner is very respectful and highly knowledgeable. I continue to buy my fish here to ensure my aquarium stays healthy, especially since I don't have space for a quarantine tank. I also enjoy coming in weekly to refill my water -- it's always a pleasant visit. read more

Aquatropics - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

First off, any comments saying this place is not good are just having a bad day. Aquatropics is excellent and I have been getting fish from them from time to time. Aquatropics has everything I ever needed for my fish tank! Aquatropics has a HUGE selection of tanks, tank decor, fish food, you name it! 10/10 fish store. read more

See all

I was not impressed the couple times I've gone recently. A lot of sick looking fish. It's a good place to get your fish food.

I have a mixed feeling on this store. The staff is wonderful and have the small town local fish shop aesthetic down to a T. If there's a question you got they don't make you feel uneducated when answering. They're very helpful. I've done store credit trades with them and they always oblige. I absolutely love going into this shop, I can't say I've ever had a bad experience, and seeing their remodel made me hopeful for more possibilities for trying to sell new products to introduce more aqua scaping builds. That being said, I have a 50/50 chance of a survival rate with any of their fish. Their water quality on all their selling stock tanks is poor / cloudy / or needs work. Their Axolotls look very mangey and underfed. I've seen plenty of fish in their sell tanks pecking at corpses of other fish. You'd think you'd want to clean some of that up? I've spent $$$$ on fish to come home for them all to die the next day. I still come in because I know it's a gamble. I want this store to do so much better, and I know it can- I'm always feeling so complicated about this. I just wish your stock was healthier. read more

As an avid aquarium enthusiast this has been my go to shop for everything (including tank upgrades) since I joined into the hobby. Every week they receive new shipments of fish/plants/etc which allows for continual diversity to be acclimated into the shops stock. On-top of a massive fish/coral/tank setup selection the staff is amazing here. Particularly Mr. Helms, who always goes above and beyond to take care of any questions I have with my tank or a knowledge opinion on proper care. It's always a treat coming here and I will continue to do so! read more

Aquatropics - Freshwater section - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Aquatropics is the best aquatic-animal store in Gainesville! Not only do they always have everything I need any time I go, the staff are the most friendly people you will ever meet. They will answer all of your questions so throughly and help you with whatever!! read more

Aquatropics is the go-to place for any aquarists in Gainesville. Great selection of both freshwater and marine life. Great variety of plants and the workers are also very knowledgeable. They also sell the healthiest betta fish in the area read more

Aquatropics - My beautiful fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Aquatropics has been my LFS for almost 3 years now, and has changed my perspective of the hobby. They have given me so much guidance on all my projects and problems, with free testing and will even diagnose dead fish you bring in! They always have a good selection and will always take special requests. If you need anything, ask for Rhett he's the best! read more

See all

One of the worst Fish Aquarium stores we have been in. They shouldn't be allowed to have fish because they had dead fish in the tanks and one had been dead for awhile as the skin was even decayed. They have huge fish is tiny tanks that don't even have room to swim. We felt so bad for the fish and the conditions they are kept, they need to have inspectors for animal well beings check these fish stores and have standards required to treat them with compassion and humanely. I won't go back and would never buy fish from them. read more

I've had some good experiences here , but my most recent makes me upset I just bought a beautiful eel , 70$ and I have a nice huge tank I had him in but no one gave me any info about them being escape artist , long story short I had my eel two days and now he's gone .. I'm so upset read more

Aquatropics has been my LFS for about 14 years, Matias ran a great store for many years; after transferring ownership to Rhett, the store has went to the next level. Very knowledgable staff, great attitudes, and they're always happy to talk shop. Great prices, wide variety of saltwater fish, inverts, and corals, as well as freshwater fish and inverts, live food, frozen food, and aquarium supplies. I recommend them to everyone I talk to about fish tanks. read more

They had a very nice selection of freshwater and saltwater fish and other aquarium life. all the animals looked healthy and well taken care of to me. The staff were very friendly and knowledgeable as well. read more

Saw several dying animals in this store, including an eel with a massive chunk of its head missing. read more

Aquatropics - Dying fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

See all

Love that it's a small local business ...... but after spending $45 for 3 small plants and a simple Amano shrimp, when the shrimp dies within 24h it's a really poor business decision to not replace it. As much as I want to support them, their customer service is lacking in store while asking questions and apparently if their animals die 12h after taking them home they'd like you to come back and buy another one. Frustrating. read more

First of all, the big tank was leaking on the floor. Fine. Stuff happens. They were working on it. Dead bettas in the cups. Then I see a MALE COMMUNITY BETTA TANK and they were all PULVERIZING each other. Any idiot knows not to put betta fish together. Much less a FISH STORE! So I alerted the cashier that one betta had his tail completely bitten off (I thought he was dead until I saw his gills moving). He comes over and scoops him out, looks around like he doesn't know what to do, and then THROWS HIM IN THE ANGELFISH TANK! Then he says "We'll see if he recovers..." Inside the tank where they had all the plants for sale, the fish all had ick! So I asked the guy would it be safe to take those plants home to my tank since the fish in there had disease and he says "I think it should be fine." You THINK?? Um... no. So I just needed some snails. In the snail tank, 90% of them were dead. There were large crayfish in most of the tanks just grabbing at all the fish with their claws. I literally don't know how this place passes any kind of inspection. NEVER AGAIN! I went to Petsmart and told the fish girl there what happened and she says she hears that all the time about them. read more

My first time in as I am starting my first 10 gallon freshwater tank. I was sad to see a couple of dying, sick fish. One looked like it had been attacked by its tank mates. The saltwater fish seem to get more attention and love than the freshwater. I don't think I will be supporting this place when it comes time to stock my tank. :( Sad to see. read more

Our first time brought my Grandson will definitely be back . Friendly and knowledgeable staff. We also took a tour of the store. All the tanks are clean . The fish are absolutely Beautiful. read more

If you're just starting a tank, this is the place. No question is a stupid question. All staff is super knowledgeable and friendly. Also a great selection of fish. read more

I feel a bit sorry to give the only local fish store (LFS) that sells fresh water fish one star, but they deserve it. I have been in the hobby for more than ten years. When I lived in the Southwest and the New England area, I was a royal supporter of multiple LFS and would buy anything from them over chain stores like Petco or Petsmart, even though they sell at a higher price. However, this LFS completely changed my opinion. First of all, there are ALWAYS dead fish or fish covered with ich (white spots) floating in their tanks. There is also always a tank or two with really cloudy water. I've NEVER seen any LFS so careless about the conditions of their fish, even the chain stores do a better job. Then it comes with that ridiculous one day return policy. Most of their fish won't last more than a week in your tank. The only way to get good fish out of there is to visit the store frequently and pick out the ones that last for at least two weeks in their tank. To be safe, you need to quarantine them yourself for another two weeks. Second, they over price their fish and plants way too much, almost twice as much compared to other places. Third, their staff are friendly and appear to be knowledgable about the fish. But you will realize that they are sometimes giving really bad advices if you have been in the hobby for a while. Anyone with very little experience and new to the hobby will suffer the most from this place. I couldn't help but think that they don't really know how to keep the fish happy. I mean, seriously, look at how much their fish suffer. The reality might be that they just don't care and all they care about is getting your money. Do yourself a favor and be very careful when dealing with Aquatropics. Check the not recommended reviews. They pretty much say the same thing as above. If those are counted, this place would get a 2 star overall rating. P.S., I have been pleasantly surprised by the service and fish quality in Petco (the one next to I75). You still have to quarantine your fish, because, heck, it's still a chain store. However, that Petco has become my fresh-water fish sanctuary in Gainesville. Another fresh water LFS I would recommend is Fish Heads Aquatics in Ocala. Rose (the owner) quarantine her fish before selling them, so you can introduce the fish directly to your tank. You have to drive ~1.5 hr round way if you live in Gainesville though... read more

We love coming here for our aquaculture needs. Knowledgeable staff, good product selection, and the fish and aquatic plants look great! Yeah the prices are a little higher, but that's how it's got to be unless you want nothing but the big chains and get stuck with crappy merchandise and crappier fish. The frozen food I feed to my fish is quite literally half the price at Aquatropics than it is at Petsmart. Aquatropics all the way! read more

The best fish store I've been to. Many different types of fish - fresh and saltwater, invertebrates, all kinds of tank decorations and supplies, etc. Live feeder guppies, brine shrimp, etc. They have just about everything you can think of. The advice and water testing is free. They really know what they're doing. The owner is super friendly and helpful. He'll tell you if he thinks you are buying something that isn't really necessary or if he thinks that you don't have the experience to take care of a certain set up. The only downside of the store is that they have so much stuff it seems a little crowded and it can be difficult to find things without asking for help. All in all, a great store! read more

I've been going to Aquatropics for serveral years now. I've spent thousands of dollars on tanks, stands, lights, fish, substrate, live & frozen foods, decor etc. I had ONE issue with a recent purchase, a $50 fish. The fish I believe was stressed out completely. It had lost all of its color on the journey home and never regained its colors. I acclimated the fish in the quarantine tank and the fish died within 6 hours. I tested my water and everything was ON POINT!! So I bagged the dead fish and brought him in with a separate container of water for testing. The store employee tested the water and said I have 40PPM of Nitrates in my water. I told him my test didn't have the same results. In fact, they were perfect when I tested my water. He went on to say I must've not shaken the bottle or waited long enough for the reaction to the chemicals. Needless to say, Aquatropics has lost my business. I'll just pay $35 shipping for a $5 fish online next time. read more

Great place. Funny I've lived in Gainesville for 15+ years and have never been here. Great selction of fresh and salt water fish. But was the most amazing was the service. The owner kept asking if there was anything he could do to just ask. Very friendly, excellent service. Bravo on the service and keep it up ! We just browsed, bought some fish food. But we'll be back to visit them again ! read more

Great place to get fish! They have great selections and the owners are really nice. They clearly care a lot about both fish and customer service, and that is reflected in their employer's training as well. You will always be treated nicely and professionally at this store. read more

A huge shout out to the guys and girl at Aquatropics! YOU GUYS ROCK!!! We love our new tank! Thank you for your patience with a couple of very nervous newbies. Our aquarium is BEAUTIFUL and our fish, coral and "cleaning crew" are happy and healthy!!!! read more

See all

Tanks are never clean fish selection is good but not healthy specimens..and most staff are very uneducated on the products an animals they sell.. l myself favor the saltwater selection. corals to be precise an only every once in a while do you find a healthy frag or colonies most are half dead and covered in algae an pests(such as aiptasia). Honestly think the only reason this place stays afloat is because they're the only place in town to buy saltwater anything. read more

I love this store! By far and away, the best spot to get fish in Gainesville. I definitely prefer them to the big pet stores, since they are more knowledgeable and have a wider selection of fish. Most of the fish you find at the big pet stores are so common that you will never have a tank that stands out. Go to Aquatropics, however, and you will find fish that will quickly become the centerpieces of your aquatic community. read more

The non living components are fine and they have many products avaliable: however their tanks are ridiculous. Their fish look stressed and sick, and the live plants they sell are absolutely covered in stubborn algae. Only their coral tanks look relatively clean, and that may only be because I'm not entirely sure what to look for. Their inverts arw suspect as well: their snails all have damaged shells, with many dead in each tank. Random tanks have duckweed infestations unfettered. I would not buy anything that comes from their tanks. I hate to say it, but I think the local big chains manage to take care of their fish better-- which is appalling, because I'm pretty sure the people working at Aquatropics know more. read more

Ive spent more than a grand at this place buying fish and fish supplies, the owners and staff have been nothing but nice every time I have been in here, BUT when it came time to test their true concern for their customers they FAILED miserably. I under stand nobody can gurantee a living thing (fish) but out of the 30+ i bought within a week period 2 died on the second day and the owner Matias and employees refused to even give store credit. I was so surprised that they wouldn't care for a customer who just bought 34 fishes from them and to keep my business wouldn't even give me store credit. I even bought the dead fish back along with a sample of my tank water and they agreed it was not my water or any aggression from other fish but still refused to help me....he said they gurantee fish for only 1 day...wow really "1 day" Also they dont give you receipts so always ask for one. Its all smiles and "can I help you with anything sir" as long as you are spending money but the moment you have an issue they look the other way, Im very dissapointed and this store has lost my business. read more

pros: decent selection cons: half the fish are visibly ill and if one fish is sick with ich you can basically consider the entire tank infected. There were multiple times when I asked to see if they had a certain species available and they were more than happy to show me that they did, but once they got to the tank they'd realize that the fish was too sick to sell. Even an untrained eye will know when fish are dying. And although they knew well enough not try and sell be half dead completely infested with ich they still sold other fish from the same tank to other buyers who will go on to infect their home tanks. -dry goods significantly overpriced. I do expect local fish stores to be more expensive than big box store but it's a bit much. -some staff have minimal to no knowledge about fish. Clearly new hires who have no baseline knowledge about fish keeping -literally dropped fish on the floor when unbagging and almost threw away fish that were still in the bag until I pointed it out-- understandably an accident but rather careless read more

Fish covered in ich! Tiger salamander larvae were skinny and covered in fungus! Bad conditions! read more

Unfortunately Aquatropics happens to be the only Marine Shop in Gainesville. I have did business there for some time and i can assure you this is a risky place to buy Marine Fish. At best I have had a 40% survival rate were other Stores I have used are in the 90% plus. If you are looking to buy Quality Healthy Marine Fish you would do well avoiding Aquatropic's. read more

a first time buyer . i was welcomed with such a fresh friendly greeting that immediately relived my anxiety of purchasing my fish. jordon took the time to explain the different species and what would be in the best interest of my tank. the owner introduced himself and offered his assistance as well. i definitely will be a longstanding customer. read more

Can't say enough great things about this store. Matias and his wife are very good and always helpful! They carry nice sps/lps and have a good selection of SW fish. They also have the largest selection of inverts I've seen anywhere! read more

Changed my review from a 1 to a 4. The guys that work in there are extremely knowledgeable. However, i think better maintenance of tanks will help, stops people like me from judging them wrong. I will only by fish from now. Yes, my first visit was not good due to the appearance of the tanks. Would give it a five if they would clean it up a bit. read more

First time visit today. The staff was awesome. I spoke with three different guys. They were all very knowledgeable and super friendly. Great customer service. Bought eight fish today. Will be back next week for more. Great selection, quality and fair prices. read more

First off, this is really the only retailer left in the Gainesville area that provides fresh water options (excluding Petco and Petsmart). I have been using this location for over a year. I started out my hobby and gained experience myself (nothing to do with this retailer). That being said, I began to notice more and more issues as time went on. You can't look into a single tank without seeing a dead fish. Huge no-no. I understand that it happens from time to time, but not in every single tank. I am horrible at keeping African Cichlids alive. So, I switched to discus. My well water is perfect for them and I even have a breeding pair from this location. Their primary diet is live blood worms. Until the past couple of months, I haven't had an issue buying them from this location, until the owners thought it was acceptable to sell their entire batch to UF and not hold any in reserve for their regulars. Spoke to both owners about this. One apologizes, then makes the same mistake the following week. The other gets upset and cranky when you disagree with her in any way. Not professional and not acceptable. During a recent remodel, they chose to ignore the maintenance and overall health of their entire livestock. This lead to 4 visits, over the course of a month, where they allowed their discus/angel tank to die out several times. I know this because that's how many times I was told they didn't have live blood worms and I checked out their tanks every time. Then they raise their prices for adult discus by an additional $20 to cover their lose of poor maintenance. I spent $200 on a male/female pair of Geophagus. As I was waiting to purchase these fish, the owner asked me to come back later because he noticed they had what appeared to be Ick and he wanted to treat them. I came back several hours later and the bags they were in, were in the same spot as when I left. When I took them home, I could clearly notice they were still very sick. I treated them for over two weeks and they died anyway. $200 down the tube and two beautifully dead fish. I was pretty pissed off! On a different occasion, I requested for them to track down a female oscar (either tiger or albino of 6-10 inches). I get that that's not super easy to find but it's also not super hard. Over the course of the previously mentioned two months of hell, I never got a call from them and asked at least 5 different times if they found anything. I always got the same answer, "ask us again next week". LOL.. Sorry, that's not how this works! Almost their entire staff is college students, who know nothing of the hobby and yet the owners entrust them. Essentially, to only push sales. I called 3 of them out on straight lies to their faces several times. They just shrug it off and either move on to another customer dumber than me or try to make up another lie as if I'm not clever enough to figure out they are talking out of the butts. Until recently, I was always calm and respectful (even when I wanted to slap them with a 4 ft. dead salmon flank). So, my attitude was not a factor here either. I could go on and on here.... I refuse at this point to use this location any more. Sucks for me because I'm stuck without a fresh water supplier within' driving distance. But hey, if I can't get what I need from you, I'd rather do without. Maybe I'll have better luck in Ocala. I'd rather drive further and be treated right and trust a shop to take care of their fish. read more