I was in the area to eat at Cafe Noir across the street and stopped in to check out the salt water fish here. The owner Kenny is super friendly and informative. I went in just to do some due diligence about fish and ask about pricing and upkeep. He showed me some tanks and the diverse aquatic life that is sold at his shop. He also informed me about how often a tank has to be cleaned and showed me a nifty magnetic glass cleaner that we definitely did not have when my dad kept a tank of fish in our house growing up. He does informative events at the shop and I will definitely keep my eye out for the next one. The director of the Cal Academy has done one where he discussed the giant aquarium and how it was built. Sounds really cool! This shop has sea horses and garden eels! It's a great place to go for aquatic needs and also for the events Kenny hosts. read more

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First impressions is that this store is nice but many of the fish and other sea creatures looked under stimulated with only PVC pipes to swim through. Several seem down right miserable. read more

High Tide Aquatics - Fish seems unhappy in the tank with only a cut up PVC pipe for stimulation. - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Oakland, California

Awesome store! I took my mom here to get her first fish for her reef tank. She doesn't have the ability to quarantine fish going into her display tank so knowing we are buying healthy fish gives her peace of mind. The owner, Kenny, was helpful, knowledgeable, and most importantly...very friendly! My mom ended up leaving with an awesome pair of Papua New Guinea True Perculas and a Royal Gramma. We'll definitely be back! read more

The first thing I want to say is that Kenny the owner he is really informative. He helped me with all my questions. He taught me the way to go. To the people that walk in there and say the fish is expensive I would tell you it's not expensive, because I would always buy my fish from there and the reason why he's expensive because it's the only store that quarantine's Fish in the bay area and you won't be worried of getting any ich or marine velvet and you can put your fish in your main display tank the same day so if you ask me in that case, it is not expensive if you're thinking saving 40 bucks in another store I think you should go and rethink your life, i'm really thankful to have Kenny in the bay area. read more

ABSOLUTELY GREAT LFS! Professionality: The owner is knowledgeable in saltwater reefing, taught me everything and recommended just the perfect setting for me. When I upgraded from a 10G Nano, he recommended this 25G Lagoon and I LOVE IT! He also helped designing the aquascape which I add my own thoughts later and the final result is JUST STUNNING! (Ignore the frags, I'm still designing where to put each, and they are closed up because the light is dimmed to "sunset" now) When I went through the diatoms explosion and algae outbreak, he quickly pointed the mistakes in my lighting setting and fixed them, now I have crystal clear water. High quality products: The rocks he sold developed coralline algaes in two weeks. The blue tang is so lively and healthy as well as all the snails. Corals and nems are in great color and condition and not as pricey as other large facilities. Customer service: The owner is always willing to help, patiently explaining every question I have. Although I'm new to this hobby, I've been to no less than 10 stores and this is the among the best. Now I come here every week at lease buy several items and keep myself updated with what's new in the store. I feel so lucky to have this store on my way to saltwater reefing! read more

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Got into the hobby (freshwater) during the pandemic. Wanted to venture into saltwater after a couple years. Bought a 40 gallon saltwater tank & cycled it for about 6 weeks. Felt intimidated by a couple LFS as a newbie switching to saltwater. Walked into Ken's store one day & he could not have been more encouraging, polite, & informative about which corals to start with, what to avoid in the beginning, etc... If you want to actually learn about this hobby, make mistakes along the way, & learn from your mistakes this is your new LFS. If you want to be able to ask newbie questions or expert level questions & be treated with respect, this is your new LFS. I am so glad to have discovered this gem. His vision of the store being a hub for community events about this hobby is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Customer for life. read more

High Tide Aquatics has been very good to me. I set up a little 7.5 gallon tank over a year ago. I've had reef tanks before, so I'm not a beginner. I've gotten nearly every living thing in my tank from High Tide. Their selection of corals is very very good. I'm consistently impressed with the nice pieces there. I come in every month or so because I buy RO and saltwater there and I don't see the same things over and over. There's always a nice turnover of new things coming through. Kenny can often hook you up if you're looking for something in particular. He's very knowledgeable and helpful. Very strong recommend. It's a great local specialty store. We're lucky to have it in Oakland. read more

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I have bought numerous fish from High Tide. Never had a problem with any of the fish. Great QT process takes the stress out of buying a diseased fish. Kenny very knowledgeable and great to do business with. I have to travel 3 hours to get to High Tide but is worth it knowing I will get top quality fish. read more

One of the best five stars I've given in my life. Usually review sessions are kinda biased towards negativity, but there is a reason why Ken gets solid fives. He rocks To start off, he's one of the rare finds that do full quarantine on saltwater fish. We understand nothing is 100% guaranteed yet on these lovely creatures but this is THE BEST one can have on the market. I'm a relatively new reefer but I'm not new to keeping aquatic lives. I firmly believe that the majority of the specimens should not be that difficult to keep provided they're healthy to begin with, and all the ones I got from Ken so far confirmed this Secondly, the shop setup is nice. Unlike those LFSs that would try to cramp as many stuffs as possible to maximize space utilization and having wet floor etc, Ken's shop is spacious, clean, presentable on not only the display tanks, but holding tanks as well. It even has a lounge area where one can relax and chat for whatever reason Next on, you can tell that Ken is incredibly experienced, yet very humble and honest. He would not try to upsell you stuffs, nor would he try to brush off the struggles he had been through. I saw a copperband butterfly last time I visited the store and asked Ken about it, he told me he originally had 4, but lost 3 during the process. We all know this is a finicky fish, but I have been unpleasantly surprised that at many other shops when I asked the CBB they had, they would just simply reassure me that they were eating "fine" when the fish was simply not fat Oh BTW, I ended up biting the bullet and getting that CBB. And he ate LRS the second day he was in my tank. The video is taken on the third day Cannot recommend High Tide Aquatics enough read more

Kenny is the man. He's so kind and knowledgeable about the saltwater hobby. He's always happy to share his expertise with me by answering my questions on instagram and in person. I can be in his shop for hours just staring at his beautifully scaped tanks. I've bought corals from here that have really taken off and thrived in my tank. Producing a ton of new polyps! I also got a very nice fish from here that's doing really well. What I like about this shop is that all the fish are fully quarantined before hitting the sales floor. This takes some stress off when making a big purchase. He's also hooked me up with a discount every time. You can tell he's not in the business for money but to share the joy of saltwater fish keeping with the community. You might be able to find cheaper prices at other local fish stores but the fish aren't quarantined and you'll often see dead or dying fish in the display tanks which is not good. I'm glad I found this place, you will love it too. read more

Great salt water fish selectionthat have been quarantined and the frags are fire. Kenny who owns and operates it is super cool and knowledgeable. Also he's got a fill up station for RODI and Salt water. read more

High Tide Aquatics - Local Fish Stores Near Me - Oakland, California

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Kenny has the best fish in town - literally. After losing so many fish from AC and Neptune, I have decided to get all my fish from High Tide. They come disease free due to the quarantine process, already eating, and pretty well adjusted. He has some awesome corals as well, and always goes above and beyond. Can't recommend Kenny and his shop enough! He's a good guy to chat with about reef stuff, too. read more

One of the friendlier LFS I've been to in a long time. The owner has done a great job designing the front reception area like a lounge, so you can just chill in case someone else is being helped. The owner is attentive and super helpful. I haven't had a reef tank in about a decade, so I went in there ready to throw some money away, but this guy didn't try to oversell. Nor did he brush me off when I told him that I just need some water and live rocks to cycle my tank; even threw in some free stuff. You can tell the livestock is healthy because all his tanks actually look happy, unlike some of the other places I've been that have one nice display tank, while the other ones look unkempt. Def worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood. read more

Just found this gem! I am relatively new to the hobby and had a lot of questions. The owner (i presume) Kenny was super helpful and offered a lot of guidance and insight. It was a super chill vibe in the shop, and you could tell he puts a lot of care and effort into his displays - everything was beautiful. Definitely will be back for my aquarium needs. read more

If you have not sought this place out, you are missing out completely. Kenny is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. He knows what he is talking about and doing. If you not already done so, check out his YouTube channel. i you live within an hour of here you this should be your go to LFS. Period. read more

Great selection of fish & corals. Owner is great and knowledgeable. All his fish go through QT so you don't have to.

Great shop! Very clean and organized. Kenny has many decades of experience, and takes great pride in his livestock offerings being healthy and fairly priced. Super friendly and helpful, this will be my go to shop from now on. So happy to finally have a quality saltwater shop right here in Oakland! read more

My family and I frequent here often and enjoy it every time. Ken (Owner) is really knowledgeable and takes the time to explain/teach less experienced reef tank owners like us. His fish and corals are high quality. Hi Tide is the only salt water fish store that I have seen who quarantines his fish prior to the consumer taking them home to their tank. We have bought numerous fish and corals and have never even questioned putting them in our tank as anything we purchase from Hi Tide is ready to go or it doesn't leave the store. I would recommend and stand by Hi Tide Aquatics for all of our reef tank needs. read more

Kenny is simply the best. Love going to High Tide at least once a month. He is so friendly and his shop just seems to have what I'm looking for and usually one or two other things I end up buy. I give Kenny and High Tide my highest recommendation. read more

This is an awesome saltwater aquarium store. Kenny is super knowledgeable and has an awesome selection of corals, inverts and fish. Everything is super clean and healthy. Prices are great and he has a nice selection of frags to choose from. I can't recommend this place enough! read more

If there were six stars I would give this. I second all the other reviews, as this is exactly what you will experience there. There other good LFS in the Bay Area but this is the best. You will get a) clean fish, b) clean corals, and c) 100% unbiased expert advice - which all reefers know is the most important part of the hobby. If you want to save 10% on livestock there, you can sign-up to the Bay Area Reefers (https://www.bareefers.org) and you will recoup your membership almost instantly when you buy from this store. read more

Large selection of fish and coral. Kenny is super friendly and happy to help you find what you need.