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Carson Tropical

4.1 (71 reviews)
Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

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Gorgeous
Dawnmarie F.

Staff was very helpful. If you are looking for salt water fish etc they have a large variety of fish and accessories. They also had fresh water fish, some gorgeous male guppies called my name. I took home a few.

Duc A.

Old store. But very unique you could find anything from New to used in this store. Love their price on fish and coral. Also you can trade in your out grown coral. Tom and Shin are very very helpful. I know there are many fancy store out there but if you wanna pay for fancy price go ahead. I know nothing about salt water and reef. They helped me a lot. And now look at my reef tank. Picture tell all.

Anna D.

We've been going to visit Tom at Carson Tropical Fish for over 15 years and consistently he is the best aquarium store around. Let me tell you why... My husband has owned aquariums from 5 to 240 gallons during this period. His aquariums are mostly saltwater and therefore throughout the years we've gone through a variety of setups. ABOUT THE SHOP: It's not that he has the most exotic specimens of fishes or corals. It's not that he has a wide selection of tanks on hand. It's not because he has top of the line equipment for sale. It's not that his shelves are the most organized.... but it's the personal service that he offers that puts him over the top. He has some of the best prices around and knows his stuff and is willing to special order anything you are looking for. We've been to most of the aquarium shops over a 50 mile radius and no matter how much we end up driving to find new stuff we always end up buying our necessary essentials here.

My new reef tank from Carson Tropical Fish.  Tom and Shin plumbed the tank for me. They have the best prices on equipment and livestock.

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2 months ago

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5 months ago

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Allen O.

Thank you for the review!

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

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Allen O.

Thank you for the review, and thank you for stopping by!

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5 months ago

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Allen O.

Thank you for the review!

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5 months ago

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Allen O.

Thank you for the review!

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

Knowledgeable and very helpful. Always able to help identify compatibility between species to avoid losses in the reef tank.

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10 months ago

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11 months ago

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1 year ago

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6 years ago

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Allen O.

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4 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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15 years ago

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7 years ago

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6 years ago

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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14 years ago

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14 years ago

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12 years ago

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7 years ago

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7 years ago

Great customer service with the best prices for salt water fish all around! He has a wide range of used tanks as well.

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13 years ago

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5 years ago

The go to spot for me. The staff here are always helpful. Prices are good and corals galore

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14 years ago

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9 years ago

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9 years ago

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7 years ago

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19 years ago

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9 years ago

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17 years ago

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14 years ago

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Ask the Community - Carson Tropical

Review Highlights - Carson Tropical

We've been going to visit Tom at Carson Tropical Fish for over 15 years and consistently he is the best aquarium store around.

Mentioned in 12 reviews

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Age of Aquariums

Age of Aquariums

(272 reviews)

If you are just beginning or an expert the team here will help you. They have excellence service,…read moreknowledgeable and reasonably priced.

This place and staff literally saved my reef tank. Thank you Isaac and Age of Aquariums for your…read morehelpful guidance and advice. I strongly recommend this place for all your reef keeping needs. (Freshwater too!) If interested heres a little story... If not, just take my word for it and shop here. - This week I decided to relocated my reef tank for a better view in the house... biggest mistake ever! Everything that could've gone wrong, went wrong. I underestimated the weight of the tank thinking I could just get by with 90% of the water drained and removal of the sump and equipment, I was definitely wrong! I ended up pulling out everything, but the sand. Every coral, every invert, every fish... yes including 4 wrasses and a goby that all like to hide in the sand bed, I mean EVERYTHING! I then accidentally broke my rock structure into several pieces in the process of lifting them out of the tank and putting them into bins. Trying not to lose too much temp, I moved as fast as I could and used as many spare heaters as possible. It was a total disaster! After glueing back all the rock work that broke into pieces and moving everything back into the tank, I was unsure of how my fishes and corals would react to this sudden change in temp, biology and chemistry. 4 hours later, I finally got the tank running again (in it's new location,) I then noticed a huge bacterial bloom, Im guessing from the stirring of the sand bed. I then decided to do a water change to see if it would help. To add to my streak of badluck, I had no saltwater prepped. I quickly rushed to Age of Aquariums to get saltwater. That's where I was greeted by Isaac. He knew something was wrong. All I said was "I decided to move my tank" he already knew where I was going. I told him my problems and concerns and hesitancy to move my livestock back into the tank. He recommended several products to me, answered a bunch of questions I had and gave me solid advice. He also allowed me to borrow several containers for saltwater as long as i promised to bring them back. I am truly grateful. 2 days later, my tank is bouncing back. I had 0 losses. Fishes are happy and corals are all starting to open up again. Im leaving this review to share my experience with those new to the hobby, getting into the hobby and those who have been in the hobby for a long time. You can always get cheaper products elsewhere, especially online... but, you will never get the support of a local fish store. Support you LFS, like they support us.

So Cal Aquatic Life Service - Family room aquarium system

So Cal Aquatic Life Service

(10 reviews)

Ken is a master craftsman and knows what he is talking about…read more If you want to understand how your koi pond works and what you need to get it 100%, go no further. Ken will talk to you up and down your property about what he recommends and how to ensure your pond is as happy as possible without taking a penny from you. Every single recommendation he has given has been 1000x worth the effort and cost to do. Really a great person who you can tell just wants to make sure the customer is right. He even has great referrals if he isn't the person to do the job.

We've been with SCALS for over 10 years, and I can honestly say they are the best in the business…read more Before Ken and his team stepped in, my wife had started calling our saltwater tank "the tank of death" because nothing seemed to thrive in it. The previous company we hired struggled for a year before giving up entirely and recommended that we contact Ken at SCALS. Honestly, I was ready to give up on the whole thing. Ken came in, spent two hours talking through everything, and it was clear right away that he knew his stuff. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable, but he's also just a genuinely great guy. Fast forward to today, and our saltwater tank has been running beautifully for over a decade! The transformation has been incredible. SCALS is a family-owned business, and it's clear that they care about their customers. Their staff is professional, and it's reassuring to know that they handle everything in-house with their own trained technicians. If you're looking for quality, reliability, and peace of mind with your water features or aquarium, I highly recommend SCALS. Just awesome!

Oceans Aquarium Design - 225g custom living reef aquarium in wall-unit. Manhattan Beach, CA

Oceans Aquarium Design

(74 reviews)

Golan and his team are very professional and knowledgeable…read more They designed and installed my freshwater 180 gallons aquarium and answered ton of questions from my initial request all the way to the end result. They are a dependable and trustworthy company that stands behind their work and expectedly has 5 stars rating. Would highly recommend them!

Oceans Aquarium is perhaps the most professional and high-quality aquarium provider that I've had…read morethe privilege of using. I have used several other companies in the past, but nothing compares to Oceans Aquarium Design. Golan, the owner, is extremely knowledgeable, kind, helpful, reasonable, efficient, resourceful, and intelligent. His attention to detail and commitment to client satisfaction goes above and beyond any that I've ever seen in this industry, perhaps in any industry, for that matter. It is truly top-class level of customer service. We recently purchased a 270-gallon saltwater aquarium for our grandfather, who is essentially bed-ridden. The aquarium was installed in his room so that he can gaze upon it whenever he wants. The amount of joy it has given him is indescribable. That man loves his clown fish and tangs! I truly believe that although my grandfather's quality of life has deteriorated in recent years, Golan has provided him with a degree of pleasure and comfort that no surgery, therapy, or medication could provide. In the extremely rare case that there is a problem with the set up or a mistake is made, Golan responds immediately, and in my experience, he remedies the problem within 24 hours. He has been consistently available to speak on the phone, and has even stopped by the house on short-notice (this is especially kind of him considering he is usually a 30-40 minute drive away). He always listens to our requests and does his best to accommodate whenever feasible. If something cannot be done, he will go out of his way to find the best possible substitution. You can genuinely tell that he takes great pride in his work and loves to share his talent and insight with his clients. On several occasions he even completed expensive work without being paid beforehand. He has confidence in his craft and it is evidenced by his exceptional results. Sometimes we would disagree or be skeptical about a particular design choice or aquatic addition, and Golan would simply respond, "trust me." Every single time, our trust was rewarded several times over. He is truly an artist when it comes to setting up the coral and reefs, as well as choosing a vibrant, healthy, and aesthetically-pleasing school of fish. His technician, Alex, is also very helpful, professional, caring, and genuine. Alex has made several last-minute trips to remedy or address particular needs, free of charge, something which would probably incur an additional charge with other companies. I think it's important to note that Golan's work is not cheap, but one would not (or should not) expect such a professional and consistent level of quality work to be on par with any run-of-the-mill aquarium provider. In spite of this, I've never once felt as if he was taking advantage of us or trying to price-gouge. Golan has always tried to remain within our desired budget, even suggesting cheaper fish over more expensive ones if he believed that they would more adequately satisfy our intentions. Whereas other providers might take the opportunity to suggest the most expensive fish, Golan always tries to meet our needs/satisfaction first, even if that means choosing the less-expensive fish/corals. Thank you so much, Golan and Alex! You two are genuine artists and professionals!

The Fish and Coral Store

The Fish and Coral Store

(21 reviews)

The fish and Coral Store is great. I used to have a huge salt water aquarium that I had built and…read moremaintained myself and I also worked as manager of a the salt water fish area of a fish store, but this was so many moons ago. I no longer have an aquarium, but I still love the fish and what I really love is coral. This store is the best salt water store I have ever been to. They have a vast selection of fish and they are healthy and the prices are fair--know that salt water fish are not cheap. They also have great service and if there is a fish you want that they don't have they can likely get it for you. They also have the best selection of coral I have ever seen at a store and they even have some live coral (most stores sell dead coral). This is what I was looking for. I just wanted a piece of blue coral and they had it and I bought it. They also have an online store that has a great selection. The place is family owned and parking is easy. They know everything and will help you so go there.

So I recently ordered from this LFS as they happened to have a fish I've been wanting for months…read morenow (pink streaked wrasse). Jessee was super nice in explaining their shipping process and the difference between their warehouse vs retail availability but that they could mix them for shipping. I ended up adding a couple inverts to my order to try and offset shipping costs and recently received my new pets. Everything was shipped very well, it was getting cold here in Houston and the heat pack provided remained warm so my tropical pets were still in a good temp range when they arrived. All my pets acclimated well and have seemingly adjusted to life with me so far. I'm hoping I'll be able to visit the store front itself next time I'm back in LA!

Carson Tropical - localfishstores - Updated May 2026

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