Things are cyclical in quality... maybe management? The place was a disaster when I was there last. Puddles of water everywhere... dead fish in tanks. Cyanobacteria and hair algae on most of the tanks... some so bad you couldn't see into them. Sometimes the employees could be amazing. This last time, they were friendly and quick to want to help. But their tanks leave a lot to be desired. With that said, they have some of the best selection of fish in Dayton. Not sure how they price because some things are value-price conscious and others are absurdly overpriced... of the things I know about. For instance $9.99 for a cherry shrimp? I assume that's for the guarantee ... but their Amano shrimp were -reasonable- for a pet shop for less than that. There were some other items from plants to food where even Petco had better QUALITY and prices. read more

I got my Snowflake whites tree frog on 7/6/26 and he sadly passed away not even 24 hours after I got him. He had this bubble looking thing beside his mouth and I got concerned but after some research I thought he was just trying to shed his skin. On 7/7/26 around 5:30pm I went to go check on him, and he looked like he was all spread out. I put on some gloves and picked him up and he wasn't moving at all. He also wasn't eating the day I got him I wasn't sure when he had eaten last so I tried to give him a baby cricket and he wouldn't take it. After he passed away I disinfected everything and I will now be buying my frogs from somewhere else. RIP Jasper read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Dayton, Ohio

I can no longer continue shopping here for my fish considering there are much better options such as Aquatics Galore in Fairborn and Aquatics Artisans up in Cincinnati . As typical, I cannot seem to keep any saltwater fish that I buy from here alive longer than 2 days. Yesterday I payed an overpriced amount of $100 on a Midas Blenny for my tank which is matured with 5 other fish and lots of coral. As per usual with any fish I by from Gerbers, the Midas Blenny never acted right and has since died in my tank. I have NEVER had this issue with any other fish from any other LFS. Gerbers is the only store I seem to have problems with when it comes to their fish, and after seeing some of the conditions the other fish are in in several of their tanks, it seems their fish are kept in unhealthy conditions. I would not recommend purchasing fish from Gerbers. read more

These people are Crooks and the Better Business Bureau is investigating them for unscrupulous business practices. They tell you straight up as well as they have signs showing that they are understaffed and the majority of their employees are new, meaning they have no experience with aquariums or with fish in general. My family and I have had an established tank for 20 years and we go to this place and buy three fish and the young lady tells us to put bacteria in our water to combat algae and it killed every one of the fish in my tank, including the ones we've had for years. Not to mention, we'd bought fish from there the same time and they died that same day. We noticed many tanks had dead fish and didn't look maintained, but we had bought from them years ago and didn't have the same experience then. You'll literally walk through the live tank aisles and see not only dead fish in their tanks, but multiple fish on the floor in open totes deemed ill or infected. To make things worse, they dodged me for days and once I finally got a hold of the owner, he was extremely rude, sounds slightly uneducated (ya know...Murica!), but more importantly he laughed at the fact I told him how hurt we were that ALL OF OUR FISH DIED and that we've invested thousands of dollars over the years keeping our fish and maintaining them and our tank! He said I sounded like a problem customer and that he did not want me back in his store. This place may have been around for a while but it's because they rely on the assumption that aquarium owners come to them for fish & advice so when things go wrong they can simply put it back on you instead of being accountable for the fact that they have employees there that have no business trying to give advice on aquarium maintenance! On a side note, the owner told me to let every other customer know that he doesn't give a crap if we have problems and good luck ever trying to find out what his name is if we want to pursue concerns further. What a disgrace to be a business owner and act this way and more importantly to be in the business of mistreating other living creatures....DISGUSTING! read more

Awesome selection of fish along with a very knowledgeable staff. They have a good selection of reptiles and amphibians. You will also find a good selection of aquatic plants and equipment. read more

Great place, knowledgeable staff. Always have a recommendation of what I'm looking for!

Well I thought I found the perfect fish store. I live in Cincinnati and travel to Gerber's to buy fish. I have spent more than $600 in July alone on goldfish from Gerber's. Every fish I have bought from there has been great. I spent $149 on a panda Oranda and he states at the bottom of the tank and really never ate. I tried calling plenty of times in the last 5 days for advice but all I got was a voicemail. My panda Oranda died 6 days after purchase. My tank is powered by 2 Fluval FX6 canister filters and ph is checked every other day. The water in the tank is clean and has a perfect ph. They went back and looked at the fish and said they look fine and that the one I purchased must have been getting bullied. The only thing they would offer is a possible trade in fish if they can get one in. I know most people don't clean it test their tanks but my tank is constantly being monitored for ph swings. I don't know if I have ever been more disappointed. There are pictures so everyone can see my tank. The worst part is customer service is nonexistent anymore. Kingofkoigoldfish will ship free in two days and they offer a 14 day refund if anything happens to your fish. I never thought the internet would give better customer service than a local business. I always try to buy local to feed economic support to small businesses. It looks like that time has passed read more

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The shop is kept in horrible shape, a half inch of water is always on the floor. You expect a fish shop to have some water on the ground but you actually slosh around. I complained on a local FB group and the owner called me and left me a nasty message. He banned me and threatened to sue me if I said any more about his shop online. Go to Dayton Ohio Saltwater and Reef Keepers group and you'll see the interaction and just how awful John Gerber is. read more

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I joined yelp so I could leave an honest review. I have bought 3 salt water fish from here a blue tang $50 on sale, Emperor Angel on sale $125 and a a bred of Butterfly $80. All of these fish had velvet. I treated them all as directed with appropriate medication or ice/velvet. None of these fish survived. STUPIDITY on my part I did not quarantine these fish first and they infected 5 of my healthy fish that had been in my tank for months. I have a lot of live rock in my 80 gallon tank so they were very hard to catch and I have a large amount of invertebrates so using copper was not recommended. BUT per directions I could use at half strength. I lost 2 clams, an emerald crab, and 2 clondys. I did have to end up moving them all to my quarantine tank to treat I only have 3 fish total left out of my 80 gallon tank. Lesson learned! I will NEVER get another fish from there. Tons of money lost! read more

Gerber Tropical Fish is truly a diamond in the rough here in the Gem-city! They have every species that you can imagine for your aquarium needs and wants! When I saw the filtration system, they have I was so impressed. I have never seen anything like it anywhere in our area. They have exotic fish for freshwater and the saltwater selection is exponential. You almost have to see it to believe it. I would recommend this store to any person ,any age. Personally, I have kept African clawed frogs for over 15 years now .Illegal in some states, but not Ohio. It's a must see to believe, just go the staff is limited, but so knowledgeable and so helpful. They are courteous and make sure everybody stays in rotation. Sometimes you have to wait, but it's always worth it. You can stroll around their massive facility and they will find you when it's your turn, no worries. read more

i gotta say it was amazing for a while and recently it has been very bad. Pass couple weeks of going there ive seen more and more fish die and or injured badly. i bought a koi fish there muiltple times , i now have 3. i got another one and notice when i got home he had like a bite taken from him. was treating it and 2 weeks later he didnt make it i was very upset and alot of money for him. i went today on 08/23/24. They seem to be more worried with house plants and aquariums for the lizards, i counted over 12 fish dead in one asle, go look at the koi, big yellow one has a gash on its side another with fin rot and another with its left nostril gone. What i saw today is horrible and fish cruelty. im now looking for another fish store, i no longer trust this store read more

Picked up some corals this month, there selection was incredible and the prices couldn't be beat. I live east of Cincinnati where there are three decent saltwater fish stores, but made the long trip to Dayton on the advice of another reef keeper. Was worth the long drive! read more

Molded food all over the shrimp takes cover the gravel, dead fish everywhere, fish look sick. As hell They need someone that really cares again. that is the worst I've ever seen that store. I'm just going to buy off the internet. I had to do one start to post this.Don't deserve that read more

I went here with my 16yr old daughter who is starting a fresh water tropical tank. The staff was very helpful to her, they answered all her questions. We bought stone, drift wood, and rock for her to set up her tank. I was amazed by all the fish they have. Worth a visit just to look at all the fish. read more

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I run an aquarium club for kids at my church. We came to Gerber's when we received our first tank three years ago. If you are looking for a mall pet store, this is not the store for you. If you are looking for knowledgeable staff that is friendly and excited about aquariums, this is the store. The front part of the store is simple to modern complex tanks, equipment, decorations, and chemicals needed to start this hobby or care for an existing advanced hobby. They have Nanos, reptiles, insects, and arachnids in this area. Yes, if you go in the back, there is water on the concrete floor, and in some spots, there are puddles. It only smells if you consider sanitizer a fragrance. The tanks are clean, the fish are healthy, and I have gotten very few snails in their plants. The plant price and selection are phenomenal; they have sea anemones, starfish, etc. It is a great place to take children to see the equipment, the fish, and have a great day just picking things out. We have a few children in this program who cannot have a pet or afford an aquarium. We started with five goldfish, two tetra, two gourami, and five mollies. Excluding the fish our largest goldfish ate(we have an aggressive fish), they are all alive three years later. I have had to isolate said fish. I am trying to figure out how to change its behavior, but this punk goldfish ate two plecostomus, a tiny snail I added, and the most miniature goldfish. I run a farm tank to place plants and new fish in so as not to contaminate our sixty-five-gallon tank. The snails that come off the plants remain in the farm tank, but in three years (sending up prayers, I don't jinx myself), the plants have not died, the fish have not died, and my tanks are lovely. The goldfish are very hard on the tank, but Gerber's have helped me find plants they don't eat, so I the fish have a more natural environment. Gerber's has helped me with dealing with the punk goldfish along with so many questions. This store exist off Dryden Rd in Dayton it exist mostly by word of mouth. The way I found it was through a friend of a friend. I grew up with fish and many different freshwater varieties so that is what I deal with. I have bought used tanks from them also which personally find preferable to using Facebook. I bought a 55 gallon tank used from them for a 130.00 with wrought metal black stand. I have had not an issue. I will say I have never had to return anything so returns can not speak to but I also can say I have never wanted to. read more

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There's no doubt they have some cool and interesting fish nobody else locally does, and at good prices, but you have to balance that against the husbandry and risk of bringing disease into your tank. Due to a lack of staff or inexperienced staff or apathy (more than likely a combination) the place is a mess. Don't wear nice shoes: there's always a sea of puddles in the fish room. The tanks are often more algae than livestock- some you can't even tell if there's any fish in there. They stock wild combinations of fish together- I understand that temporarily, but if those groups were recreated at home it'd be a bloodbath. There's also fish in tanks that are barely big enough for them to physically fit in. Every other tank has a fish dead or on the verge of death- I know that's inevitable with fish, but not to that scale. They have the best selection of bettas by far, but they are pricey, especially for how sickly they look. TLDR; good for oddball stuff, but only if you're ready to quarantine and prepared that they may not make it. For regular community fish, go elsewhere. read more

Takes forever to find someone to assist you.. mostly due to 3 staff member helping one person and not even attempting to ask other guest if they need help. Could improve alot on this read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Dayton, Ohio

Great selection and wonderful staff highly recommend this place if you are new in the hobby or have been doing it for years.

DO NOT BUY FROM THIS STORE!!!! If there was an option to choose 0 stars I would. My husband and I have been avid aquarists for the past 5 years and are quite knowledgeable when it comes to fish care and maintaining the best life for aquatic animals. We visited this store in hopes of finding a reputable aquarium store close to home but we're shocked at the condition of the fish and aquarium life there. Not to mention they only have teenagers working there who know nothing about the hobby and are working and maintaining these tanks. We saw countless dead/decaying fish and I understand it happens, fish die, but every other tank had 1-2 dead fish and the tanks were filthy. An entire rack of crawfish/fresh water crabs dead in their cups, and what really sent me over the edge was the state of the axolotls. Very sick, lacking color, and a dead axolotl floating in the tank littered in bite marks and missing flesh. To top it off further there was a fish acclimating ON THE FLOOR. Anyone could trip over it, knock it over, and the tank itself was overflowing water so he was obviously set there and forgotten about. We will never visit this store again and I will make sure everyone I know knows to never support this store. If you shop here you are supporting animal abuse, that's what this is. Absolutely disgusting, this store should be shut down. read more

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I was shocked at the conditions many of the fish tanks were in. Cloudy, unclean tanks, some dead fish, water all over the floor, a terrible smell throughout the store. I walked in, saw the situation, and walked right back out. I think management needs to take a look around and make some drastic changes! read more

Went to buy corals and an anenome. Had signs showing a sale asked for help , guy said oh that sale isnt any good, we have new signs. He walks half way down the aisle for a different anenome saying no these are whats for sale. Same price half the size. He tried to say that the highlighted part of the one i asked about was it being crossed out. Sorry but if thats the case why not tale down the paper sign. Won't be shopping there again. And i was a customer there for the past 7 yrs. read more

Gerbers has a great selection of salt and fresh water fish. The employees are all super helpful. They are always friendly, answer any questions and test your tank water for you. It is fun to walk around and check out all the fish. They have 3 different rooms. Pretty much all of your aquarium needs are found in this one place! read more

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Amazing variety of fish customer service is always friendly and willing to help I am new to the hobby And have been Trying to cycle or a new tank for a few months the employees are always willing to test my water for free let me know how my tanks doing and if I was ready to get more fish........ finally after two months I have my two tanks fully cycled with happy fish thanks to gerbers tropical fish read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Dayton, Ohio

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Visited recently to pick up some fish for my 29 gallon tank. Looking through all of the selections, all of the fish looked healthy. James helped me pick out some fish that would go well together. He was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Great customer service. Thanks. read more

Ok- I'm not moved to post review often, but I feel I must. This place is looking great! I am almost 50 and I've been in to Tropical fish since I was 8. I've been to shops all around the Midwest and to many wholesale auctions over the years. I haven't been to Gerber's in quite a while. I've always known and respected it as hardcore, but generally, I make the trip to Columbus when I'm looking for stock in the 7 or so tanks that me and my family keep. When we walked in today, the first thing we noticed is that they've expanded and you actually walk in thru a different door as there used to be. The fish inventory, selection and water quality were absolutely top notch. The Associate who helped us was super and I could tell everyone else who worked there also seemed engaged and informed- wanting to help and loving what they do. Lastly, I have to re-mention the water quality. They've upgraded their already impressive, home made filtration system and it was in top form. You could really tell. Great job! If you haven't been to Gerber's in a while- go. You'll be delighted. -mitch read more

DO NOT BUY FROM THIS STORE!!!! If there was an option to choose 0 stars I would. My husband and I have been avid aquarists for the past 5 years and are quite knowledgeable when it comes to fish care and maintaining the best life for aquatic animals. We visited this store in hopes of finding a reputable aquarium store close to home but we're shocked at the condition of the fish and aquarium life there. Not to mention they only have teenagers working there who know nothing about the hobby and are working and maintaining these tanks. We saw countless dead/decaying fish and I understand it happens, fish die, but every other tank had 1-2 dead fish and the tanks were filthy. An entire rack of crawfish/fresh water crabs dead in their cups, and what really sent me over the edge was the state of the axolotls. Very sick, lacking color, and a dead axolotl floating in the tank littered in bite marks and missing flesh. To top it off further there was a fish acclimating ON THE FLOOR. Anyone could trip over it, knock it over, and the tank itself was overflowing water so he was obviously set there and forgotten about. We will never visit this store again and I will make sure everyone I know knows to never support this store. If you shop here you are supporting animal abuse, that's what this is. Absolutely disgusting, this store should be shut down. read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish is a true spectacle. You don't see this type of selection of fish anywhere else in the area, and frankly their collection rivals public aquariums. They carry a huge selection of saltwater and freshwater fish, inverts, live rock, driftwood, aquatic plants, frozen food, and they've recently started to carry a wider selection of corals. They also have a decent selection of dry goods. Prices are a bit higher here than elsewhere... expect to pay about 20-40% higher here for livestock than what you might see online or at other stores in the area. Keep an eye out on their weekly sales as they are more competitive if your timing is right. Gerber's is almost always busy, so you might have to flag someone down to get help -- but most of the time I am approached within a few minutes. Tanks are always clean and well-maintained and their livestock is well-cared for; this is one of the only places I trust to buy fish locally. Overall Gerber's does a great job and the Dayton area is lucky to have a fish store with such a great selection. read more

Not gonna lie, I was kinda disappointed. There is an amazing variety of fish, but so many of the ones I was looking for were in bad conditions at least on the freshwater side. Unless it was a desirable or expensive fish they just seemed poorly. Hopefully it's improved since I've last been there 3 months ago. read more

Awesome animals. Sad I couldn't touch any and wish they had monkeys. Over all an amazing store though.

I was in the store on August 22nd, 2018 looking for some larger clown loaches for my display tank, not only did I see many dead and dying fish in the freshwater area but in the tank that had the loaches I was looking for there was a dead loach that had obviously been there a while, other tanks had dead fish that were partially eaten and completely colorless. They have improper housing for the 3 sting rays as the large black one had no room to flatten its disk, the rays should be moved into one of the larger tubs in the ground. We were there during feeding time and the tank with the rays was only given a small handful of pellets that were very small and most of these pellets were eaten by the arowana and the oscars. This store has really gone down hill over the past few months, I come in often but it's unlikely that I will return unless there are some serious changes here. read more

Bought about $100 worth of fish and lost about $50 of them to fin rot.Went back in to get some erythromycin and noticed a lot of the tanks have fish with fin rot in them.Cost me $40 worth of erythromycin to get rid of it.This is a new tank and all the fish came from Gerber's.They have some nice fish but its not worth the risk. read more

Huge selection of fresh and salt water fish! Staff is extremely helpful, great prices!

Very knowledgeable/helpful folks, and great selections, but we've had four fish die, in the last four months. Big $ lost.

I had a tank over 10 years ago and decided to start up a tank again. Gerber was so helpful and knowledgable. They helped me pick out fish that would get along and would be easy for me to start out with in my new tank. They have an amazing selection. I feel much for comfortable with their guidance and have few fish deaths in the process thanks to them. read more

Okay,I'm going to start off by saying that Gerber's takes great care of their saltwater fish and the employees are nice. That's kinda where the positives end. I'm a huge Betta fish fan and realize that I may know more\care a little more than most people about these fish. So,with that said,I was horrified to see how they care for their Betta stock! There were two male Bettas housed together in a 2 gallon tank. One of the males had lost nearly ALL of his fins due to being attacked by the other male. There were other bettas being kept in a non heated,non filtered plastic jugs. There were lots of dead bettas which had obviously been dead for quite awhile still in other containers. I told an employee that they needed to separate the two males and was told that they "must have jumped" into the other tank (the bettas were never separated). I let the same employee know that he had multiple dead bettas,he responded by scooping the dead fish out with his hands and saying "oh,bad day for the Bettas". I really feel that a higher end fish store should take great care of ALL their fish and not just the expensive ones. Also,there was noticeably much less care given to all the freshwater fish and several dead ones lying about on the ground in front of their tanks. read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish - Motorola sting ray - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Dayton, Ohio

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Bought a Betta from Gerber's on the 6th. It's now the 8th and the poor thing died, I have had many Bettas before and know how to take care of them and this one was clearly sick. Called them to explain that the fish died and her response was "yeah sorry we only have a 24 hour strict refund policy." It's 48 hours. 48 HOURS. Working in retail as a manager it was always the customer is right, and you do whatever you can to help the customer in the moment, whether that be a refund or a store credit, etc. Not in this case apparently. I was told the only thing they could do was test the water or look at the fish to tell me how it died. What so I can waste more money on the drive there for them to make some excuse?! When I first went there I thought it was the neatest place. A little overpriced but so cool, yeah never again. They'll never get business from me ever again. I've had Betta fish live longer from PetSmart than from here. Don't even waste your time. read more

Fish very expensive and not healthy . God forbid you go back with a problem they show you their true colors. Give me hard time to honor their gift card. read more

Pros: Gerbers did have in stock the fish listed in their email ad, and were selling for a decent price. The 2 young men were helpful cathchng & bagging the fish. The fish we did purchase made the journey home, so far...... Cons: The stores overall interior appearance was a big let down. I have seen much better. Several of the saltwater fish are kept in very small containers individually and priced so high, I know why I've always had freshwater. My wife and I did see some unhealthy fish in a few different tanks. Aquariums, filters and the supplies were priced higher than even PetsMart. Even though we traveled over 50 miles each way, I was really hoping for a good tropical fish store to do a continuing business with; Gerbers is not it. The entire store, from stock tanks with fish for sale, the empty aquariums for sale, the floor, everything just needed a good cleaning and organizing. Conclusion: We won't be back. read more

I drove here from Springboro, OH a few weeks ago and fell in love with the place! The store is organized and the employees are great with both customer and the fish. The tanks are never over stocked and are kept clean. The front room is the salt water room and the back room is freshwater. They carry live rock, freshwater plants, drift wood, all kinds of fish! I got asked a few different times if I needed help finding anything. I went home with a guppy pair that cost me $6.00. The fish were worth it, very healthy and beautiful. I highly suggest this place if you want some quality fish. read more

Love this place!! Healthy fish, helpful and knowledgable staff. My fish are so healthy and so active. I wish I would have found this gem a long time ago!!! read more

Gerber's Tropical Fish - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Dayton, Ohio

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