So I wanted to update my review. First. All of the fish I've purchased here are still alive,…read moreeating, swimming and, seemingly, happy! Yipppeeeee! So, I am even more convinced about buying fish ONLY from a store that runs EVERY tank INDIVIDUALLY, rather than linking all of the tanks. (see my detailed review, below, to see what I'm referring to). I went back again, already! And bought 4 more flame/honey gouramis, and 5 larger size blue shrimp! I also learned that shrimp are excellent additions to any tank. They eat algae, excess food that falls to the bottom of the tank, etc. And thus, shrimp really improve the bio-load of the tank. Importantly, they don't get too big, unlike plecos (plecos can grow to more than a foot, depending on the breed)! AND. They don't need to be considered as part of the "how many fish can I put in the tank" calculations, because they clean the tank and add basically nothing to the nitrite or ammonia levels! So to summarize.... Win, Win, WIN, WINNING!!! Buy all of your fish and live plants only here folks! On a (very) sad note...The super sexy 22 year old who helped me the first time, has moved on.... Sniff... Sob...sigh! Goddess of Grammar signing off...!

Very cool place to buy fish and equipment. I have nothing against the big box stores, but Finatics…read moreis a very cool place and the people working there are friendly and know their shit.

Absolutely the worst customer service ever. The livestock, SO much was dead or dying…read more Never wasting time with this store again!!

I rarely leave reviews, but this experience was bad enough that I feel obligated to warn others…read more I received a tank that was flawed and not in a small way. I reached out to the Seller right away and was ignored (for over 10 days). After starting a PayPal claim due to the lack of response from her, they told me they'd send me a return shipping label. That never happened, despite multiple messages and follow-ups. And now there is just silence. To ​top it off, PayPal denied my claim because I haven't returned the item​ but​ I can't return it without the label the Seller promised to send​. The quote for me to ship was anywhere from $200-$1000. It feels like a deliberate runaround designed to make me give up. What really bothers me is how little accountability the Seller has taken. No ownership, no apology, no resolution​, just avoidance. And now I'm out both the money and a functioning product. After this whole mess, I went back and read the other one​ star reviews. I wish I had done that sooner. There's a clear pattern here​, other buyers have had nearly identical experiences. This isn't a one​ off​, it's a repeat problem.​ Save yourself the time, money​ and frustration. I wouldn't buy from this Seller again under ​ANY circumstances.

Knowledgeable and friendly staff and very good selection of fish…read more Been going there for many years in the past and service has always been good along with most of the staff

From the owner: Big Al's has provided its patrons with the largest selection of aquariums, aquarium furniture, and…read moreaquarium supplies on the market, as well as an extensive variety of marine fish, live corals, goldfish, and tropical fish. We are fervently committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of our esteemed clientele, and are dedicated to providing our guaranteed lowest prices at all times. Our superstores are designed to provide technical services as well as a vast array of equipment to both the first time hobbyist and ultimate aquatic specialist. Renowned as "The Aquarium and Pond Hobby Specialists," Big Al's is currently comprised of 13 operational superstores across North America.

Writing a review of my experiences dealing with Big Al's aquarium store on Commissioners Rd…read more 90% of the times I have gone to them for help with my aquarium or koi pond I have walked out of the store disappointed. The employees either are unhelpful or rude. I have been told by a friend of mine who's knows the owner that it's a great store, but it has been consistently a bad experience for me. As an example, today the wife and I went there to look at pricing for glass aquarium covers, the employee didn't even bother to show us what they had in stock to see if they even carried what we needed. We where told to go home and measure despite already having an idea of what we where going to need. The only reason I give it 2 stars instead of one is we bought a couple shubumkins from them and they are doing well. So in conclusion I suggest taking your business elsewhere.

This store is the BEST store in London and surrounding. I have both fresh and saltwater tanks, as…read morewell as an outdoor pond. The owner is amazingly helpful, and has come to my house to help me set up a filter I had bought. You cant get better service than that. The fish are shipped in and quarantined, and their fish room manager is the most knowledgeable guy in the business (in my opinion). He used to work at a different pet store, but I followed him when he moved because he is a cichlid genius. The staff are always friendly, and I'm under the impression that it is family owned and operated, and I always like to support local family business. The quality of product, fish, coral and inverts is above and beyond any other London petstore. 5 stars.

Took my parrot there for a wing trim and nail clip. Wonderful place .even during shutdown I was…read moreable to get my bird looked after. The bird groomer was a very nice man and impressed me with his knowledge of parrots. Affordable too

So I place an order for flightless HYdei fruit flies. I pick them up and get home and it's a…read morecontainer full of flying fruit flies. I could've set a banana on my counter and got that for free. I call and speak to management - she says it's bc of the temperature ?? And when they're "too hot in the reptile room they grow wings and fly some of them". Like huh?? SoI try to explain I'm very experienced here - I'm retired but used to be very big in the reptile industry and bred thousands of my own fruit flies - and said I'm sorry but you're wrong. flightless HYdei HAVE wings and are genetically predisposed to not flying. It's a GENE. I told her yours are tainted with regular flying fruit Flies. Her answer - I'm not going to argue with you, you can just give them back. Then she repeats the same answer of why I have "some" flying around. They're ALL flying. I explained the gas would be more to drive there and return them, that I was now more concerned over the bad info she was pushing considering. She repeated the same untrue info on flightless fruit fly genetics. ?? Then she kept adding I'm not going to argue. My only concern for posting this is - what else do these workers push as qualified knowledgeable info to customers that is completely wrong?? It's a simple product and issue but her info on this is incorrect. I ran a hot professional breeding facility for 18 years. I breed fruit flies like crazy. I'm concerned that employees there are acting like they know when they don't and it'll hurt customers looking

If you are looking for a passionate, knowledgeable, friendly specialist micro store, then this is…read moreyour place! Chris is a true gem and an asset to the local aquarist society. He has some hard to get species and breeds an number of exotic plecos. I was so excited to see baby zebra plecos (which have become one of my favourite fresh water fish), that I ended spending almost $400 in one stop. Chris also carries a variety of specialty foods and filter materials. I can see myself visiting this place a few times a year. Highly recommend.

In short: a tiny boutique new fish importer specializing in uncommon species and variants. It's…read morenot a shop you wander through on a Saturday afternoon to browse your basic tetras, but if you want something specific, unusual, or rare, Chris is your guy. When I set up my first aquarium, a more experienced friend cautioned me against the dangers of developing fish elitism, the gradual but inescapable attraction to increasingly rare species. At the time, I laughed and blew him off, convinced I would never catch that bug. The platies and guppies I had picked out from PetSmart were more than good enough for me - I couldn't imagine going out of my way to deliberately seek out more obscure fish. My friend was right, of course. Less than a year after setting up my plebian little platy tank, I was scrutinizing the stock at Big Al's, grumbling that what they had labeled as corydoras julii were *obviously* just the more common corydoras trilineatus, and lamenting the fact that none of the local fish stores seemed to be interested in stocking anything *interesting*. Chris, who runs Next Gen Aquatics, stocks *interesting* fish - interesting, unusual, wonderfully obscure fish. I had been looking for some corydoras hastatus for months to add to my boraras brigittae tank (the platies and guppies having long since been given away to less demanding relatives), but hadn't been able to either find any for sale, or to convince any local stores to stock them. After one text to Chris and a couple of weeks of waiting for import and quarantine, I was able to pick up a full bag of perky, healthy, adorable little tailspot cories, at a very reasonable price. NGA is still a very small business: visits are by appointment only, and the selection is limited by the space available. But the setup is meticulous, all of the fish are healthy (and huge!), and Chris himself is enthusiastic and knowledgeable and quick to respond to inquiries or requests. If, like me, you find yourself wandering discontented through the aisles of your local fish store every week wondering why they never stock any plecos other than bristlenose, or if - like me - you spend hours browsing through species listings on Seriously Fish, fall in love with some obscure little corydoras, then realize nobody local actually carries them... drop Chris a line, and see what he can do for you.