I'm totally new to this whole reef and marine aquarium stuff, so I went in with the expectation of…read morebeing judged and down talked a little bit. But let me tell you, I wish I caught his name because the guy (I think the owner) was willing to tell me every single detail, answer every one of my stupid basic questions, and set me up with a beautiful blastomussa coral, and some turbo snails! He even gave me a little discount since it was my first time. The store was beautiful with amazing healthy fish, and I was blown away by their coral selection! A+! Thank you to all the staff and super helpful guy there! I'll be back!

Nice Aquatics store. Clean tanks friendly owner. Really enjoyed the tank displays. Prices were…read morefair. Will definitely use them again. Sue and Ken Watts

My kids love this place! We decided to get a membership to make it worth it, since were locals. You…read morecan take your ticket total towards a membership if you purchase that same day. If you have EBT, WIC etc. you get in for $5/person so definitely would do that if you have it! I love how big it is, and that is has different buildings for different activities. They also have a nice outdoor picnic area that has benches to have lunch/snacks. Plenty of space for kids to run around (outside) and explore. If its your first time just know youll be there for a couple of hours. The only con I would say is they dont allow strollers inside the buildings (theres a parking area for them in the front if needed). So if you have a baby make sure to bring a baby carrier. I understand why they have that policy, but it just makes it a little hard for parents with small babies. P.S. make sure you say hi to their tortoises outside!

It was our First time back since they remodeled the place.... My 10 yr granddaughter and I decided…read moreit would a fun day for us to take the great grandson ....He is a very active 2yr old...... each room had things to capture his attention... he loved the little slide.... the ball with the air machine...lots of giggles and laughter... They could use a better WiFi system... we had a hard time getting signed in to complete the waivers.... We arrived early so plenty of parking...

While I'm not an owner of an aquarium, I did have a problem with a water pump similar to an…read moreaquarium. J. P. promptly returned my call and advised me that Michael or Alvin would be happy to look at my problem. Michael greeted my and quietly looked at my pump and patiently listened to my predicament. He took my cat water dispenser and water pump to the back and within three minutes returned with the pump cleaned and operating. No objections or superior attitude, just very exceptional customer service. If you need anything aquarium related taken care of in Palm Desert, I highly recommend Zen for their selection and their awesome assistance.

I stopped in to Zen Aquatics because I am curious about installing a koi pond in the backyard but…read morehave zero experience with fish. I was impressed by the water world inside this store with a truly magnificent tank by the register that had the coolest stingray swimming around. I was told that the owner, JP, has extensive knowledge about everything koi ponds and is a wonderful resource for advising on the installation and required equipment. I wasn't sure that koi would live in this hot desert environment but apparently they do just fine! Zen had a great selection of koi fish in multiple sizes and all the accoutrements to go with them. If I go through with the project I will definitely hit JP up!

We have been a customer for over 20 years, and cannot recommend them enough. Amazing customer…read moreservice and attention to detail. Our tank is always kept beautiful, and their expertise in salt water fish is incredible.

I had some sick fish infect my tank and Tim C. from Vicious Fishes was very helpful and gave me…read moresome great advice even on Memorial Day. It shows that Tim cares and understand our disappointment and worry that we as customers sometimes have about their fish. Thank you Tim!

The visit was something my family will remember forever!…read more My Sister turned 75 and has always dreamed of visiting Africa, alas, not in the cards. Firstly, it is clear the animals are well cared for, and happy. They have expansive habitats and skilled handlers. We went all out and opted to feed the giraffes and to meet Jaali, the young male black rhino. (Add-on fee) The rhino meetup is at 8am, and you pet or brush him, and feed him a treat of green branches. There is seating for you, and the group is limited to 10; ours was full. You learn so much and never again will you be so close! The giraffes have a beautiful space for the small herd, including a calf which turned 1 year old the day we went. You feed them crisp romaine, which they clearly love. There is a LOT of land to cover, so wear proper shoes and weather-appropriate clothes! It is hilly, and dusty, expected, as we are in the desert. They also have lovely gardens, with many mature and rare plantings. Yes, prices for food and beverages are high (think ballpark prices...water is $7). The cafe is spacious and has a spectacular view of the PAlm Desert rocky hills, with the local Mountain Sheep! Connie and David in the gift shop were charming and so helpful, they have a great selection. This zoo also sends funds to other animal habitats, so your money is spread out. Parking is free. Everyone is bound to have their favorite animals; mine were the giraffes, rhinos, and wallabies. Save the chubby unicorns!

(Trigger warning dead and injured wildlife) ‼…read more To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. I have visited this zoo before and remembered it as a place where animals had more natural environments and where visitors could learn about wildlife and conservation. Unfortunately, this visit was a completely different experience. During our visit, we saw a pigeon with what appeared to be a broken wing, as well as a dead bird inside one of the exhibits. A group of us immediately flagged down a staff member to report what we had seen. Rather than showing concern, she seemed visibly annoyed that we had interrupted them while they were driving a golf cart. After I explained the situation, she rolled her eyes, said she would "let someone know," and drove away. For an organization that places such a strong emphasis on animal conservation and welfare, the lack of urgency and compassion we encountered from staff was incredibly disappointing. I sincerely hope this experience was an exception rather than the standard, but it left us with a very negative impression.

I like Birch Aquarium and always enjoy exploring the exhibits, especially sitting and watching the…read morehuge main tank, it's so relaxing. They've made some nice renovations recently, and we love the outdoor touch pools, penguins, and beautiful ocean views. My biggest complaint is the price. You can easily see everything in about 2 hours MAX, so full price admission feels pretty steep. We go more often because through CalFresh/WIC you get discounted tickets, and they also have great veteran discounts. Parking can be tough, and there aren't many handicap spots close to the entrance. If you're visiting from out of town, it's definitely worth pairing with a day exploring La Jolla, but I wouldn't plan on the aquarium being a full-day activity.

This is a smaller aquarium, but it was a lovely one to visit. We picked the Birch aquarium as one…read moreof the spots to visit using our City Pass & it was quick and easy to get inside. There is a short walk from the parking lot to the aquarium, but the walk itself isn't that bad. There are two sides to the aquarium to explore, an outside area where you can see some adorable as can be small blue penguins and another outside area with touch pools. The area with the touch pools has a gorgeous view of the beach & ocean as the aquarium sits up higher so you'll have a great view for photos. We thought they had a great selection of sea life to view. They had several different types of Jelly fish & several different species of Sea horses. I absolutely loved seeing the Sea Kelp Dragons, they are so cool to see. The bathrooms were clean, the gift shop was nice, and all of the staff we interacted with were friendly. I would say we were here for 45 minutes altogether?

Have only been here a couple of times since the Extreme Makeover in 2009. Visited today and became…read moreAnnual Pass members. Happy to support a worthy cause. It's not a zoo but a rescue and it needs lots of support for upkeep of the animals and facilities. The place and the animals are great! We're looking forward to going back for extreme feeds. Highly recommend!

I took my family to Forever Wild Exotic Animal Sanctuary and was honestly surprised to find a place…read morelike this in Phelan of all places! It ended up being a really cool experience. They have a good variety of exotic animals, and one of the best parts was being able to get pretty close to them and even feed some of them with the help of the staff. The workers were very friendly and made the experience enjoyable, especially for a family. The prices were also very affordable. The sanctuary itself is fairly small compared to a traditional zoo, but I actually liked how close you could get to the animals. Parking was spacious, although just be aware that you have to drive down a pretty long dirt road to get there. I do always feel a little bad seeing animals outside of their natural habitats, but overall we really enjoyed our visit and thought it was well worth it. If you have a family and want to take the kids somewhere to see some exotic animals up close, or you're simply an animal lover looking for something different to do, I definitely recommend checking this place out!

Murphy was wonderful here! So helpful and educational about the marine life here. Also, she went…read moreout of her way to gift us pop badges which she had to personally hunt down. Second day in a row. First day she was educating children upstairs t n exhibit on Ocean life. Our personal favorite exhibit was the octopus. She was wow. So majestic. But many different sharks and a touch station. Highly recommend this place. An easy, fun educational, sir conditioned walk thru while you're enjoying Legoland

I love a great aquarium that has so much to offer in views for the little ones. Sea life is a great…read morespot to take the kids, you can definitely be done in under 3 hours. They have a scavenger hunt type of activity where the kiddos need to collect stamps from certain areas and at the end they are gifted with a sea life bracelet. It can get pretty busy inside. I did love coming years ago and they'd limit how many would enter, you felt like you had the whole place to yourself. Now, there's just too many inside and everyone is rushing to be the first one to view the sea life animals. Overall the kiddos and I enjoyed it, and there is an area to touch the star fish, etc which is highly popular and a washing station. They have a tank filled with sharks, you see them swim above you as you walk through this tunnel. Time well spent with the fam here.

I absolutely love this place!!! The dude that works there, sorry I can't remember his name, has…read morebeen so helpful and so knowledgeable! Highly recommend this place! Update: had to come in this afternoon, Vince helped me, this time. Very helpful! Answered all of my questions! Thanks! You guys are awesome!

Owner is a good guy and helped me scale up size on a new tank. I out grow a 10 gallon from petco…read moreand came here for some nice fish. I'm greatful to God there's fish stores like this. After moving past a petco set up I'm VERY happy I moved up and I'm hopeful for the best. It's on me now. Hopefully my guyz stay healthy and strong as I did not want to have a sacrificial fish. My tank has healthy bacteria and I've done everything I could besides kill a fish to get there. Let's run it !!

Great experience! I learned so much about the fish and reptiles. Would recommend 1000%!!read more

I will never step back in to Fish and Fangs again. They over charge people, and they dont change…read moreprices on there fish. He was going to charge me $82.00 for a diamond gobby, 4 turbo snails and 30 crickets. I like wow on you fish tank $19.99 for the diamond gobby, $4.99 each for turbo sales and crickets are $2.00 for a dozen. Should be 46 bucks plus taxs and they have 10% off all the fish. He said we just got the fish in and we didnt have time to change prices. I like so you just making prices up and over charge customers? I see why you guys are losing business. He said he is done here and took everything back and kinda kick us out. Ever since Jordan left this please has gone down hill. I been going there since they first open I brought iguanas, ball python and shit loads of fish. This how they treat the thre customers??? I hope this post stop people going there and just get rob on there prices.