Good Selection of Corals, very friendly staff and you are able to choose the amount of pulsing Xenia wanted at $10/stalk. They have ample amount! Zoa Frags are $26 each and they have reasonable priced Hammer rocks. Copepods and phytoplankton as well. Also had a decent selection of saltwater fish. They have a large selection of fresh water fish along with reptiles and rodents. read more

Dirty trashy place whole store smelled terrible many animals in very small enclosures and seemingly neglected. Exposed pipes A backdoor was left open where several birds in tiny cages were stacked up on a shelf like boxes. read more

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Place is dirty, stinks, and the prices are kind of crazy. And when I got a fish they dropped him from about 5ft high onto their dirty floor with no discount. read more

Older man at the cash register made inappropriate comments and creepy conversation with me while preceding to give me his car salesman pitch on electrolyte soak for my gecko. Aside from this encounter their insects tend to be fresher than nearby reptile stores read more

I was in the store on 10/17/25 I was looking at some of the freshwater fish planning to buy some until I seen a cockroach crawling on the stand. I got out of there immediately I would recommend to the owner Rick to call the exterminator immediately and i definitely wouldn't recommend eating from that Charlie's next-door. read more

I drove over an hour here to get some bristlenose plecos despite reading all the bad reviews. All the reviews saying about how dirty the place is, are absolutely true. It's filthy. Everything is covered in dust, some wooden shelves that hold the fish tanks are completely rotten through. Many of the wooden walls and backings for the birds and small mammals are chewed through. Some dead fish in tanks, which I understand happens, but it looked like he'd been there for a while. Apart from the lack of cleanliness, the prices suck. I paid $15 for one small bristlenose pleco, this was the cheapest they had, and they only had one. The next cheapest was $50-60. Went to Petco after leaving Ricks...bristlenose plecos were $6.99. read more

Rick's Fish & Pet Supply - Dead fish. - Pet Stores Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

I have always had a great experience at Rick's. If you're lucky you can meet the man himself and his lovely grey bird! I have a community tank and most of the inhabitants come from here, all over a year in my care and they are thriving. You will always find a beautiful selection of fish! The employees are also full of knowledge. Thumbs up Rick! read more

Rick's Fish & Pet Supply - Some of my Cory cats from Rick's, they are currently breeding nonstop. - Pet Stores Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

I will NEVER return here again and I urge anyone thinking to come here to give it a second thought. The place is absolutely disgusting. It looks as if the place hasn't been cleaned in decades, which it probably hasn't. The customer service is absolutely atrocious, nobody asks if you need help and the staff just walks around you and looks at you as if you are crazy (probably for shopping there)! Most importantly the fish and other animals are not cared for as they should be. I have shopped here a couple of times and each time the fish that I have gotten have died. The betta I got ended up with a tumor and died. The cleaner shrimp that I purchased died within 24 hours of getting it. I offered to show them my water, so it could be tested. They unfortunately refused because they knew it was a sick fish that they gave me to purchase and not my fault!! They did not offer a refund or an even exchange, they blamed me and stated that since it was a saltwater fish that they couldn't do anything about it. I have had fish for many years and this has never happened with any other fish store I have shopped at. My fish that I have kept from other stores have lived for many healthy years. I will NEVER shop here again and give them free money for sick fish that DIE within hours of purchasing! TERRIBLE business and I hope that nobody shops here hoping to receive actual good healthy animals with great service because you will NOT receive that at this establishment! Don't take this review lightly as I don't make reviews often. I have only ever made positive reviews for businesses, this is the first negative review I have made. So I hope this helps you all to not make the same mistake I did by giving this awful business free money! read more

This whole store could improve actually. If I could give it no stars I would. I wish I could say I'd come back to this store, but that's an understatement. Staff were terrible. They don't honor their return policy. If there was even a real one in place. I paid a lot here and shouldn't have. You'll definitely get gypped. read more

Update on Review: Great news! Jerry, the macaw was sold and has been moved to his new home with a nice roomy cage.

Amazing owner that is very knowledgeable and a large variety of exotic animal supplies for decent prices

We took our small children to Rick's to look at the animals and fish on a Sunday afternoon and was delighted at the variety they had. We were pleasantly greeted by several of the staff members and Rick himself. He even made helpful suggestions on the filter I purchased for our tank. We will definitely return and make purchases for our tank from Rick's instead of the larger chain establishments. Thanks Rick & Team! read more

Heartbreaking animal abuse. Went to store on Jan 20 2025 and saw birds kept in horrendous and dirty conditions (a macaw on the floor in a small cage in which he could not even turn around). How is this place in business?? read more

my husband and I went there not one of the 3 employees ever asked us if we needed anything. We spent 20 minutes in the store. not going back. we went elsewhere. read more

A very disturbing establishment - the place was dirty, unkempt and dangerous (power cables draped across floors and tanks) but the most disconcerting sight was a Macaw crammed in a glass cabinet - barely 4ft x 3ft and about 18" in width, couldn't stretch its wings and this is a large bird who was rocking on a perch, a classic sign of distress. Having now seen the dozens and dozens of negative reviews no change has occurred or whether the business is even bothered. Will contact Animal Control (who I am sure are no strangers to this store). Please avoid. read more

Nice selection of fish and some other tank/cage animals. But the place is cramped and very dirty, and the staff was unhelpful at best, even downright rude. I won't go back. read more

If I could leave zero stars I would. How in the world is this place in business?! They should be shut down. Do not give them your money. I don't think I saw one animal in this store that was well taken care of. Cages too small, too dirty and too sparse. It was also too hot in this store and some of the furry animals were pushed up against the glass to cool off. They looked exhausted and sad. This isn't someone who cares about animals, this is a hoarder that's hoping to capitalize off of their obsession with collecting animals. I couldn't be in the store for more than 5 minutes without wanting to scream at the owner. It would've done no good anyways, if he had empathy he wouldn't have these animals in this condition. read more

When you first walk in there are cages and tanks everywhere. Very hard to walk through the store because of the junk lying everywhere. The animals such as the rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, mice, and birds are all kept in very very small, dirty enclosures with way too many of them inside. All of the animals were dirty and their enclosure had flies. All of their water bowls were yellow. They were all extremely overpriced. In the back there was a poor Albino Redtail in a tank way too small for her and without the proper lighting. The fish section however wasn't bad really. But the staff were awful. All of them were talking behind the counter or on their phone. None were actually helpful or doing their job. read more

Rick's Fish & Pet Supply - Too many ferrets in one space. Plus their water is gross. - Pet Stores Near Me - Frederick, Maryland

They have a great assortment of animals that aren't carried by the big chain stores. Great fish selection and very reasonably priced. Helpful staff, I enjoy this store very much. read more

Well, I know these folks have been around for a long time. But, it's time to get get clean and organized. The place is a mess with too much irrelevant merchandise and not enough items you will need. The day I visited the bird cages, they got fresh newspaper, but the grates were filthy. A huge MacCaw was boardied in a holding area where he couldn't even stretch his wings. It's time to get a new spot and get organized. I nearly got trampled, trying to walk around. I mentioned that my fish were being imported, to which I got a smart *** response. There is so much potential for this shop. read more

if I could give them 0 stars I would, 1 star is too good of a review. all of the enclosures they keep their animals and are dirty and too small. They will sell you a sick animal knowingly and they don't have a return policy. make sure you really inspect the animals you purchase from this place before you finally make the purchase because they are probably all sick. got a snake from here that never ate, had several wounds, broken ribs, stuck shed, mouth rot, the whole nine yards. they also had an extremely sick betta they were selling for almost $40. it was so sick it wouldn't move or do anything. but did they pull it from the sales floor? no!! they put a sticker on its tank saying "i'm not sick, I'm just lazy!". as a long time pet owner I know what a sick animal looks like. fish aren't lazy, you're just a terrible pet shop owner. put some more money into your animals and stop selling them for an outrageous price especially when you know they're sick. Rick, you disgust me (not only physically, but also in your actions). you do not deserve to call yourself a pet store, but more like a pit stop to their final resting place. Gina M: that's really funny because he's always been a c*ck sucker, he NEVER discloses information on his pets and he keeps his animals in smelly dirty cages. ANY frederick native would know rick is a terrible pet shop owner :) thanks for the review though!!! i'm sure all of the other reviews that agree with me are just wrong :) i'm sure he's a GREAT person. you and him belong together, I'll set you guys up when I go to the store later to get a full refund of the sick animal he happily sold me. read more

All of the staff are pretty nice and helpful. Besides one guy with a longer dark brown beard (didn't ask for his name because I was trying to leave as fast as possible). I came in asking for some advice on which small guppy fish to get for my tank, and he treated me like I was stupid and such an inconvenience for coming in to a FISH STORE asking about FISH. He was consistently talking down at me and being super rude for asking. Also whenever I bought plants from there they were constantly riddled with snails. I tried to purge them by soaking them in hot water before putting them in my tank, but that didn't work unfortunately. Now i'm stuck with a tank full of 100+ snails. Thanks guys!! Unfortunately I'll have to be stuck going to petco and petsmart for now, their fish are healthier than the ones here which is absolutely insane. Also they have the most beautiful exotic birds (african grey parrot selling for $9,000) in the smallest cage i've ever seen. Same with the ferrets and larger snakes. Do better. read more

Got several fish from here and they are all still doing well and are very healthy. My only complaint is the set up of the place, but I know it's due to them not having much room. Other than that all my fish were very healthy read more

Highly recommend, my bearded dragon starting to act not normal and i came in asking for advice. The owner helped me and gave me a recommendation on a new mercury light and ever since i've taken this advice it's like my baby is a new baby again! i come in every week and i don't see myself finding any other place to purchase from, very friendly, staff is very helpful and the place is very clean and organized. Go Ricks!!!!!! read more

Jus spoke with Tyler on the phone about a particular stand I need for my aquarium. Very polite, courteous and helpful. Been I the store and the employees all know there stuff and where quick to react when needing help. thanks so much. read more

Customer service is terrible!!!!! I have bought pets, pet supplies and taken pets that's others didn't want to Ricks for many years and was always satisfied until recently when I moved back to the area. The staff seem like they don't have a care in the world and act like you are disturbing them. Sorry Rick maybe you should invest in customer service classes for your staff. read more

I am not sure how they are allowed to operate with the conditions they keep the animals in. The stench is truly overwhelming. How employees can be in there all day with that smell is beyond me, I was ready to vomit after a minute. I have been to rural completely understaffed and WAY overcrowded animal shelters that smell like rose gardens in comparison. Letting their shop smell this bad is red flag number one.. the size of their animal enclosures is red flag number 2. There were 3 large eels in a tank that was WAY too small. One was so big it didn't have any room to even move in the tank. A fully grown macaw was in a small glass enclosure more appropriate for a cockatiel. We drove over an hour to buy some saltwater fish because we heard they had a good selection but drove home with none because I didn't want to support this place. I'm assuming they started with good intentions and a love of pets but come on, this isn't right. Please do better. read more

Ricks fish and pet supply has been my go to for anything regarding animals, Rick is very knowledgeable about everything he sells and only hires employees who have a passion to work with animals. People are to sensitive these days, in the industry not everything is going to live and not everything sent in is going to be in perfect health but ricks doesn't sell these animals until they have been properly treated and cared for. Great store with a great selection and knowledgeable employees who are always friendly and helpful! read more

Very unprofessional, with very bad living conditions for pets and reptiles. Much better to buy from a reputable breeder if your buying reptiles. read more

Been going to Rick's since we got our fish tank this past year. Staff has always been extremely helpful (especially Jake), and while all were not knowledgeable about all the different fish, the staff was quick to ask another staff member and get me answers to my questions. They have helped our family with getting our tank planted and populated with a nice community of fish that are getting along - including a nice mix of fish, shrimp and snails. They have educated us on which fish like to be in schools v. loaners, and helped out with advice on the live bearers (already had at least 4 batches of babies). There were opportunities for them to make sales when I asked about items, but they did not push anything on me and actually steered me toward alternate (cheaper) items advising that if I moved up to a larger tank in the future, then the other item would make more sense. While I have gone to other pet stores early on, now I almost exclusively shop at Rick's. read more

The saltwater section gets two stars. There is a dark fish area full of salt and fresh water live stock. This is not the best live stock I've seen but they have a few good options. Random fish options, lots of clown fish and about five coral tanks. It's kind of hard to get help and I can't really understand why. The staff seem to lack multitasking talents. The dog is selection is so small it might as well not exist. I'm sure we will come again if our preferred stores are closed. read more

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Went to Rick's for the first time about two weeks ago because we wanted to try another local fish store other than the one we live by. The pictures make the place out to be really pretty and cool but in reality it's cluttered and barely any room to walk. You can't tell who works there unless they ask you if you need help bc no one has a work shirt. Also they have dead fish in tanks being attacked by fish of its own kind. Worst of all we ended up buying two cory catfish that were sick (without our knowledge) and ended up dying as time went on even with treatment when we put them in our community tank. We already had cory catfish in that tank whom were perfectly fine. I refuse to ever go back to rick's and I highly recommend you don't go either. read more

While I am not a fish fanatic, the fish part of the store looked ok. However the rest of the store is horrible. You walk in and immediately get hit back from the foul odor (even through your mask). I walked in and fist thing right as you enter was a gerbil with a face covered in dry blood and infection...asking $70 as is. Then you walk around and storage is everywhere. Not just like in a corner, like storage, fish stuff, storage, dog stuff. Finally I found the rest of the small mammals and they have 5-6 bunnies in a 10 gallon tank. Everything is extremely overpriced and on top of it is not well taken care of. All I wanted was some training treats for my dogs...thinking maybe I'll support my new towns small business however all i Got were bad sights. Didn't even have training treats. read more

Excellent establishment. I love the help and experience when I walk into this fish and pet shop. I always have a mouth full of questions and these guys usually put me on the right track. Thx guys read more

Sara, sara, sara, Can anyone be any more knowledgeable, devote any more time, be any better of a person to purchase Mitchell from? Whether it's an algae sucker fish, or a new pet for an 8 year old's birthday present (we are clueless) Rick's is the PLACE. That little store is jam-packed with aquatics, birds, etc. and everyone is happy and well-cared for. Right now, they have the most adorable bunny I am enamored with. He is one of those pet bunnies who wants to run around someones home! He was dropped off and is available and definitely a good buy for any child or elderly person. Please visit Rick's before Petco, or Petsmart or those places!!! Can I upload a picture to this review? If so, you would see Mitchell, our newest member to the family - a 3 month old Guinea Pig! read more

Decided to leave as soon as I saw a very large Macaw in a VERY small enclosure. He couldn't even turn around without rubbing his feathers against the wall. read more

While I frequently attend Ricks because it's one of the only saltwater stores in the area, I genuinely don't recommend it. The store is filthy. Everything is covered in dust. The tanks are NOT clean. Rick himself is rude. The staff is not always willing to help you or give you friendly fish keeping advice. If you're in a pickle, they have an ok selection on equipment but I will say all but 2 fish I've purchased there (both salt and freshwater) have died, and we've purchased over 40 fish. (And no, it's not owner error. Most have had ich while in QT) Don't waste your money if you're not in a bind. read more

I was upset about some of the cages. Three large rabbits to one small enclosure. They must go crazy ;-(

I've recently came by the store to get some things for starting up my aquarium. I ordered 3 things, 2 were wrong. 1) 1 bunch of Anacharis and charged me 9.00 ?????. 2) I wanted a red tail shark and got a rainbow instead. 3) ordered zebra fish which were write. I should of looked @ my purchases before hand but buying from this dealer many, many times, I didn't. I won't call and complain but wanted people to know to check your purchases before you buy. read more

Great selection and heathy pets and fish. Many choices available as far as food, housing and equipment.