They are extremely rude. I've gone there twice and I will never go there again even if it was the last store on earth. They treat consumers like idiots and you can totally tell they hate their jobs. Old lady is the worst. She's rude and unprofessional. read more

This place is nasty. The fish and the birds are living in gross conditions. A friend of mine and I went in there today to look at the fish. The fish tanks were not very clean, some were really bad. The sea horse tank had a dead seahorse in it, the birds cages really needed to be clean and the customer service was obviously forced. Meaning they clearly forced themselves to be professional. I asked the lady why there was a dead Sea horse in the sea horse tank and she tried very hard to hide her annoyance but it was clearly visible she did not like me for asking that. 10 long seconds later she responds "that happens sometimes". I never seen such a horrible pet store. read more

Tropical Haven - That dead Sea horse has clearly been there a while - Pet Stores Near Me - Modesto, California

I was having a big problem with cloudiness in my fish tank for months. I tried almost everything to fix it bit nothing was working. Then I went to tropical haven and they sold me the mini green killing machine and now my tank is crystal clear. The customer service is great here also their fish selection is the best in town. I highly recommend going here for all your fish needs. read more

Bought a 30lb bag of blue buffalo puppy food and the nice lady at the register signed me up to get a free 30lb bag after my 10th purchase of blue buffalo:) read more

Tropical Haven - American bulldog - Pet Stores Near Me - Modesto, California

This place has everything you need as a pet owner. Prices are way cheaper than pet stores in town. We been shopping here for the past 4 years since we had our GSD. The ladies can have attitude sometimes but that doesn't bother us much because we want to get what we need and get out. The owner is a friendly guy with good tricks. When you swing by ask him to show you his tricks. read more

this is for sal / sam. couldn't catch your name under the mask . great customer overall friendly person ready to help as soon as i walked in very knowledgeable about each fish i wanted. made my experience very quick , enjoyable and pretty easy. thanks again i grabbed some guppies and some mollies , all great fish . read more

Went to tropical haven yesterday for the first time. They have a good selection of different kinds of fish of varying sizes. They're prices are pretty reasonable. The only thing I didn't like was some of the tanks the lights were burned out but that's not a big deal. read more

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Always very happy with the "Mom and Pop" atmosphere of this place. Definitely different than the chain pet stores. Staff has always been helpful (when not swamped with customers) and knowledgeable in regards to my fish questions. The livestock can at times be hit and miss, but I have never left unhappy with my selections. Yesterday, I picked up a Blue Tang and the gentleman took $10 off the price because they had a few too many, this has never happened to me at any other pet store but it's the small things like this that keep me coming back (and the fact that it's an awesome store). I have never been up-sold unnecessary products, and have always left feeling more confident in my hobby than before. I have been coming here for years with my father, some of my best memories with him (even coming back after the fire), and will continue to do so with my son! read more

The worst customer service I ever experience! I went there to have my salt water tested and the elderly lady was very rude and really didn't want to accommodate my kind! I wouldn't recommend this racist establishment to anyone! read more

The older man at the desk was very nice the older lady in the fish department was so rude i was afraid to ask her anything in a time when people should be glad to have a job she is angery and bitter just wanted to give business to s local company but will go back to petsmart read more

0 stars the guy in charge literally charged me 16 bucks each for feeder goldfish. I spent a good amount of money setting up a new tank and they didn't even want to sell me a fish probably why he overcharged me. feeder goldfish are .38 cents at petsmart not 16 bucks I hope he doesn't do this to all his customer. he should feel bad. read more

Place is a joke! Had them build me a fish tank stand and then they don't have the tank to fit it. Lady who answers the phone is completely rude and seems bothered if you have the nerve to ask a question. Wish I could take the stand back, but I will never step foot in this place again. Sad since I heard they used to be a great place to shop. read more

Yesterday was my first visit to Tropical Haven. The one thing that turned me off was how when my family and I walked in all of the employees and owners were at the door, not one greeted us. It made me a little uncomfortable. The staff was very knowledgeable and there was a good selection of fish! read more

Best pet store in the valley! A real pet shop great for beginners and enthusiasts and great prices. I've been shopping here for years.

Great store for aquarium stuff. This is what my review is based upon. They have the biggest selection of fish anywhere around here. The fish tanks are healthy looking and you hardly ever see a dead one. They also have the largest selection of aquarium supplies from filters, equipment and decorations aswell. They are definitely my go to spot for my aquarium. The staff are friendly and helpful. My only gripe is that they are not as good as they used to be when it comes to live plants. Maybe they just weren't selling much plants before? They generally over ever java ferns, some anubias and one or two other types. They also lack freshwater shrimp species so if you're looking to plant your tank or get some cool cherry or flower shrimp you're out of luck! Otherwise this is the BEST aquarium store anywhere around modesto. read more

The only place in Modesto were they have basically anything I need for my pups. Super friendly service and great people. We have been going to them for years! read more

Stupid place. The lady said we need masks to enter the store but the workers weren't even wearing one... cmon now rude lady

I truly like this place but sometimes I wonder if there is only one employee who really cares.. I wanted to buy rock yesterday and I walked out with empty hands. The gentleman that works the tank are is always helpful but I lost site of him when I found what I wanted and after that he was helping a newbie .. Lol I remember them days.. This place is great for information and they are very helpful .. I'll have to go back and see if they sell me what I had my eye on .. Thanks read more

Tropical Haven - My tank with some of their great help. 3 years later .. Lights just came on. - Pet Stores Near Me - Modesto, California

The older ladies that work here have been nothing but rude the past two times we have gone there. We had multiple fish die. We went back and they asked for a water sample. We provided it and it was good. One of the ladies was yelling and saying she wouldn't help us. After about 10 minutes, the older man, who has always been kind, ended up helping us. I will no longer be going there, they have lost my business, along with many other people I have talked to. It doesn't take a lot of effort to be kind but it clearly is a hard task for the ladies here to be. read more

Ok folks, I have been in this store twice now. I don't care if the place looks old, the store looks dark. The staff has been very helpful and I will continue to be a customer . May be there are reasons that you can't bring your dog to the store, maybe the dog wasn't trained. You are going to get better supplies from a person that has been in the business for 30yrs than a kid that works in a store chain. There fish look very healthy, and the staff is worth the wait. read more

Go for the fish, tolerate the employees..... pretty good fish selection. Horrible service. They all seem very knowledgeable, but they are all so rude.... it's really unbelievable. read more

We have been here several times and their prices are pretty good, but their employees have got to be the unfriendliest employees I've ever talked too. Even if they don't seem all that busy they seem like asking a question is such a stressful task. Sometimes they won't even answer or look at you they will just shake their head no. I've worked retail for years and I get they probably don't love it, but you don't have to be constantly grumpy and mean to your customers. read more

I went to this store for the first time only about a month ago. At first I thought I'd discovered the best place to buy pet supplies for my cat. And as far as the merchandise they sell, I have no complaints. They have some brands of cat food that are high quality and price is good. It's the staff I have an issue with. On my first visit, I talked to the woman upon checking out. Found out she was an expert on Cats so I chatted with her for maybe 5 minutes or so. No problems but just got a bit of a condescending vibe for some reason. So since then I've been back maybe 3 or 4 times to buy supplies. Last visit was yesterday. Upon leaving I remembered something and thougt I'd ask the lady about it. I should have listened to my intuition that told me not to, but I did not. So I told her, I had some new neighbors who'd moved in a few days ago, and brought in 2 dogs. Once big one, maybe 80 pounds. The big one has an extremely loud bark. This dog barks constantly 24/7 and I have gotten little to no sleep for the last week that they have lived there. So I ask the lady about those devices which emit a sound every time a dog barks. I know these are supposed to train a dog to 'shut up'! So I only asked her, 'Do these work'? So after telling me that they my or may not, she asks, "have you talked to your neighbors". I just said "no"! Her reply, in a very stern manner, "You NEED to talk to them! You CAN'T just do what you want"! Well, her response came off very condescending and authoritative to me! It was a bit shocking and offended. I basically felt like I'd been insulted. What I should have said was, "I can do what ever I want" but I didn't want to start an argument where I'd probably never get the last word in anyway. No I just calmly said, "okay" and walkout out feeling extremely humiliated that I allowed her to talk to me in that manner. It's been festering in my mind ever since! Should I 'MAN-UP' and just go back and tell her how I feel? Yeah I suppose some of you reading this might say that! But what is the point? Just so I can defend my Ego? And if I did that rather than being a coward, as some might say, and rant on YELP, then you wouldn't be reading my story. And this is what YELP is for. So we can share our experiences, both good and bad, to help others. I decided to share this story because I feel this is an inappropriate way to treat a customer. I only let her know that I hadn't spoken with the neighbors. That could have been for many reasons. Maybe I tried, but they weren't home! It's like she assumed that I just wasn't planning to bother. And let's say I did talk to them first? What can they do? They aren't likely going to get rid of their dog. And I doubt many people are going to invest in a shock collar just to please the neighbors. So it's not going to change anything whether I talk to the neighbors or not. But what does it matter anyway. And another point. She didn't know that I've owned my house since 1990, and these people are only renters, only living there one week. There are no laws against me installing such device. Whether or not she thinks I NEED to talk to my neighbors about this or not, makes no F*ing difference! It is not a question that should even have come up! YES I CAN DO WHAT I WANT!!! WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO??? THAT'S RUDE AS HELL! There I said it! I'm telling you so you will know what to expect if you get into a similar conversation. That's just inappropriate to treat customers this way! If you want pet supplies at a fair price, go ahead and shop there. But just be warned. Be careful talking to this lady. Or you may walk out of there feeling insulted. read more

My husband and I have came to this store a couple times and Jen has made it to the point where we don't even want to come back anymore. This last time she was Very rude and had horrible customer service. We told her that we wanted to get an Oscar and pleco & she said " okay well they are over there " and pointed as if we were suppose to get the fish ourselves. I also asked her is she had a certain type of fish and she answered back very rude. read more

Horrible customer service, whether it be the time I had been on hold for 25 minutes then hung up on, called back, then spoken to extremely rudely. Or the time I went to buy fish and the women feeding the fish had ear buds in and couldn't hear me trying to get her attention and I guess couldn't see me standing 4 feet from her either waving my hands at her becuase she was ignoring me for a good 2-3 minutes until I finally got a flat "can I help you?". If it wasn't for the fact that their drift wood and rock selection is so good I wouldn't set foot in that place. Becuase there employees have horrible attitudes and their fish are not healthy. read more

We drove an hour to get fish here only for one of their employees (who was in charge of getting the fish) be rude and completely unhelpful. Their tanks aren't labeled well and any question we had was met with attitude. Total disappointment! We believe in supporting local business and had researched and found all the fish online but chose to drive here. Next time we'll go somewhere else! read more

I dont understand why people are getting so upset? People do get busy especially when they have so many things to take care of. I would be tired too if I was being asked a million of questions by so many customers and tanks to keep up with. Fishes are dead in the tank? I am sure they do care but having to deal with rude ass inconsiderate customers, what do you really expect? They are extremely helpful, and as some of you mentioned, not many people work there so they can only do so much. I love going here. They are not pricy at all and they are very welcoming. read more

About two years ago, I bought a plant there, un denounced to me, it had a snail on it. I went back to the store, and they were no help with eradicating it. I just spent about 15 hours striping my tank, and starting over. I had literally 10's of thousands of them. Allie, you suggested that, I bought four of "chain loach's"... You suggested assassin snails, I tried that... I even put twenty copper pennies in the tank, as you suggested. I have a 240 gal. tank, the last thing I wanted to do was start over. read more

This is hands-down the best fish store in the entire Central Valley. Ted, one of the owner's, has amazing customer service. Trish is also very helpful in the fish section. I had problems with my fishtank and they helped me problem-solve it for over a month. They do right by their customers. read more

Went there to sample their water. They don't mix their own saltwater but they sell a brand that comes pre-mixed. So I only bought the freshwater. They said it was RO... so I assumed it would be RODI. I didn't test for TDS but phosphates measured .08 ppm. I measured the nitrates with two different kits. The Red Sea Algae Control test kit only measures up to 4 ppm. So, I performed another test with the Red Sea Marine Care kit and got a reading of 5 ppm. Freshwater tanks looked good. Saltwater tanks were overrun with algae. Everyone I spoke with was very friendly. Not everyone was knowledgeable about saltwater but there's nothing unusual about that. I'd go back for supplies and equipment. They carry a lot of stuff I don't care for, but they also carry items that I've only seen online. Probably has a good distributor network for special orders. read more

Bad customer service I was going to buy a fish and the lady at the counter gave me a attitude and i was will to pay for the fish but when she did that to me i just left there was a couple leaving before me and they say had a good day but they just look at me when I was walking out read more

My #1 local go to aquarium store. Staff have always been helpful and informative and if they don't have just the right answer they have me talk to Ted. On a number of occasions have given me his number to help. Ted and staff helped me as much they could through a tough disaster when my aquarium ended up throughout my living room. From trying to save the remaining fish to offering up their shop vac to help with water damage. They have been amazing to me and I can't say enough and how grateful I am! Now aside from the great customer service and expertise, they have a wonderful selection of aqua life that you will not find at Petsmart or Petco and if you still can't find that extra special something you're looking for just ask as they will either tell you where to find it or it will probably be coming in soon. I have an amazon addiction but have learned quickly that Tropical Havens prices are less and the professional advise that comes with it when purchased at tropical haven can't beat amazon for anything.... sorry amazon, these guys have saved me quite a bit of money. Their quality, commitment, and professionalism has made me a repeated returning customer....weekly....even to just look at the fishies read more

I went into the store today and their cashier young girl with blonde straight hair was just talking away to a friend. I went an picked up what I needed and she just started ringing it up. She never looked and me, but she continued to talk to her friend the whole time. I needed some fish but I could not get her attention so I just decided to just leave. With all these businesses losing money I would think that you would get better customer service. read more

I rate this business a 5. I'm a regular, and maybe that's why all the staff is friendly, yes it's cluttered, but can you beat the prices. Idk about everyone else but it's nice to be able to get things $5 sometimes even $15+ cheaper then other stores. For the amount of tanks that are maintained I think they are maintained well. I have a hard enough time taking care of 6. I have pretty good luck with fish from here. Look pass the decrepit looking tank stands and the cob webs and enjoy the variety. Surely but slowly the owner is working on switching out to newer tanks. Remodeling is always a little dirty. read more

Be very careful when buying fish from this store! Stopped in on 5/18/12 and took a tour of the fish room. They had a large tank of lion head goldfish and I noticed something on some of the fish. The girl who was working in the fish room had no idea what it was. The parasite was round gray and was moving, It was a louse. Eek fish lice! Really? All it takes is one sick fish to infect you entire tank! Ive gone to this store because they do have good prices on supplies but I wouldn't buy anything living. Last time I was in I saw multiple huge cockroaches. I mentioned it to an employee who told me that "oh ya they are everywhere". So for the people who don't know the way this store works is if you have a pet you don't want ; rabbits, fish, reptile. bird. This store will take it as a "donation" then turn around and sell it for full price. I am doubting they take every animal in for a health check. Seems kinda underhanded to me. Hello profit I guess. I have known multiple people who have bought sick fish from this store. I say sure buy your cheaper supplies but stay clear of everything else! read more

I go here for all my dog, fish, turtle, hamster, and birds needs. Sometimes the employees are not very friendly but if u ask for help you'll get it. read more

I shopped here to buy everything I needed for a big new aquarium, and indeed, Ted was indispensable. I checked his prices with some online stores, and his are nicely competitive. But the best part was Ted's willingness to drop what he was doing and spend time with the customer. I was there for an hour and a half and Ted gave excellent advice, steered me away from unnecessarily expense items, and even demonstrated how to do things. After that one visit he's got a loyal customer in me. read more

This store would get a lot more business if they let go of the rude employees. The fish guy was simply awful. He didn't even try to hide the fact that he was put out by having to help me. I hope the owner reads this. There are plenty of nice fish experts out there who need a job read more

Don't expect Petsmart when you walk through the door. This place is like mom and pop's garage of Pet stores but with Costco type pricing. The only reason I keep coming to this place is their low prices and it's been working for years! I remember this store has been in the exact same spot for almost 20 years or so. They have the best fish and bird selection in town but their Aisles are very crammed together and the staff isn't super helpful. You go in, get your items, pay less and get out. There's something positive about that I think. As opposed to walking into one of the giant pet chains, everything looks all nice and clean but you're paying probably 5-15% more for everything, more if you donate at the end of every purchase which you're usually asked to do. I go to Tropical Haven when I know what I need and that they have it. If I want to go "play" in a pet store, I'll go somewhere else. read more

I went here for my first time last weekend. I was amazed by their prices and how low they were. I was kinda suprised because the prices were at least $5-$10 off from the other pet stores. So I just HAD to ask an employee why the prices were different from Tropical Haven than the other pet stores and they told me owner isn't a corporation store so he doesn't have to compete and he likes to keep his prices low for the customers. The employees were super nice! read more