Store with a late amout of pet food options. Staff have always been very friendly and helpful…read morewhenever I have visited.

Lots of dog toys, food and bedding. Can take dogs instore. A good place to visit…read more Staff are friendly.

This pet shop is an example of what I think other pet stores should strive to be like. They don't…read moresell puppies or kittens which I think is the most important way of judging a pet store because pet stores that sell puppies and kittens not only support puppy farms and dodgy breeders, but also encourage the impulse purchase of an animal that requires a great deal of commitment. The staff at Petbarn are knowledgeable and helpful, and are all animal lovers with lots of experience in pet care. The range of fish and aquarium products here is excellent and they have staff dedicated specifically to helping you establish and maintain your own aquarium. Another thing I like about Petbarn is that pets on leads are welcome, so if you need to get your dog a new collar for example, you can actually bring them in to see what fits (and you can count on them getting cuddles and treats from the staff as well!). Petbarn has a wide variety of pet products including foods, grooming products, accessories, toys, and treats. They also sell some medications such as worming and flea treatments. The staff here are happy to consult with you about whatever pet advice you need. Many times I've come into Petbarn to seek advice about my fish tank and have had a long, helpful conversation with a staff member and then gone home without needing to buy anything because the staff don't push you to buy things in return for their help. For this reason, whenever I need to buy anything for my dogs or aquarium, I head to Petbarn. They also have a customer loyalty card and lots of information about obedience, puppy pre-school, and other pet activities.

Rather than feeding your animal some junk scraped from the abattoir floor, mixed with…read moregrain-processing rejects, and held together with preservatives and that creepy, creepy jelly, come here. We changed our cat over to the complete meal and she has never been better: she isn't thirsty all the time from eating dry food, she actually ENJOYS eating, and she she's... as crazy as ever. You can get the "complete meal" for either dogs or cats, which is a mix of raw, human-grade, ethically-sourced meat (the owner, Jenny, ensures she personally knows the owner of the farm that the meat comes from) and some seasonal vegetables; it's all frozen, so no preservatives. If you'd like to give them something to chew on, you can get a range of bones, from chicken frames (our cat's favourite) to kangaroo tendons and tail bones. There's also VeganPet food for those who want to mix things up. The owner, Jenny, is extremely passionate about animal rights, as evidenced by the range of posters and pamphlets around. She is also a dog listener, so if you have a poorly behaved pooch, have a chat with her! The shop has some natural remedies for a range of illnesses, and it next door to an animal naturopath, if you're interested in some alternative therapies for your pet. If you haven't been before, go in and ask Jenny to explain her philosophy and if you're unsure about anything. But I cannot recommend this shop, its philosophy, and its animal food enough.

From the owner: The raw dog & cat food is not only the best pet food on the market, it has also been carefully…read moredeveloped using Cruelty Free Meats.

I walked out of this store thinking the whole experience had been pretty awesome and then later…read morereflected that Aquarama isn't without faults. I think the "awesome" vibe stems from the fact that there are some very impressive exotic fish here - the type you see when you go to a proper theme-parky aquarium - and the vibe of the store is a bit magical. However, that's how I generally feel about all aquarium stores. You're surrounded by colours, water and brightly coloured fish that can't touch you. You're living the dream. If I was in the market for anything other than a betta (Siamese fighting fish) I might have had a different experience, because most of the fish looked pretty healthy. But the bettas (though there was a VERY large range of them - the largest I've seen in Brisbane) were of varying health. I saw one dead betta, one dying betta and a few fish - particularly giant bettas - that were too big for their little cups. The online betta community forums (mostly US-based) frown upon keeping bettas inside these little cups, and I've noticed the other aquarium stores I've visited generally keep them in slightly larger "hanging tanks". A few of the Aquarama fighting fish in fact were so distressed that a long veil-tail male appeared to be attempting to eat his own tail, a behaviour normally associated with close confinement and depression. I noticed this earlier on in my visit, long before I'd bought some nice accessories for my betta tank and after cheerful repartee with the staff. It wasn't until walking out afterwards that I thought of the betta conditions and wondered over the morality of it. Bettas in the wild are born in small rice paddy puddles, so they don't need much space. Still, bettas need room to move.

Aquarama certainly has a huge range of aquarium products like tanks, gravel, supplements, filters,…read morelights, and of course fish. The staff seem to know their stuff, and are usually happy to help you out although sometimes it gets super busy in here and you'll have to wait a while for your turn. My favourite aquarium shop closed down a few years ago and after that I patronised Aquarama a few times. It can be a bit pricey compared to elsewhere and sometimes I wonder about the health of their Siamese fighting fish (I've had a couple from here that didn't last long after I got them when others from elsewhere have), but they definitely have an excellent range of the hardware type stuff. I find the store to be a little bit grimy sometimes, and think they could make a better impression if they paid more attention to keeping everything looking a bit neater and cleaner, but at the same time I can appreciate that that's a hard task with so many tanks and so much stock. If I ever decide to set up a fish tank again, I would happily purchase some of the equipment from Aquarama, but would probably shop around elsewhere too.