Nautilus Tropical Fish — Attraction in Lakewood

RECENT EDIT: APRIL 25TH 2021

On my most recent visit to this store, I've been somewhat disappointed in the maintenance of their tanks. Ive seen a couple of dead corydoras and I've actually bought a few from them days before my most recent visit. So far, they're doing okay. Also, customer service had been somewhat down lately. The owner William himself is still friendly and always willing to help out but the store seems to be down to just him and a single employee who isn't very knowledgeable and doesnt have the best customer service. He needs to hire additional staff who have the knowledge and able to speak with customers and be more helpful and friendly. His former employee Josh was exceptional but had unfortunately left to finish schooling I've heard. While he was working there, the store was almost spotless and they really kept up with maintenance. This store is ever expanding with a new bird/reptile section coming. Someone made a review mentioning a limited amount of live corals and saltwater in general, but forget this store is a work in progress. William had only recently taken over the business about a year ago from the previous owner. In time, this place is gonna be fully stocked with most of everything you need for your aquarium. Overall, Nautilus is still a good place to stop by due to the friendly owner and the tanks are still relatively clean compared to...

Did I go to the right place? Because the store I went to did not come close to the reviews. I was actually kinda surprised because the store looked depressing and dark, the fish selection was bland and very dirty tanks. A blue acara in poor health stirred up so much ditritius that he was no longer visible. I opened the lid of the tank and the smell was god awful. I bought a fish and the color of the water in the bag was brown. The only bright side was the plants. Very large and healthy. BUT the portions that were given to me and the price that was charged didn't match. I bought 35 bucks worth of plants but when I went home, I was dumbfounded at the size of the plants. These were not rare either. We travelled 2 hours and what a disappointment.

UPDATE: Thank you for the reply. I would have LOVED to see all the species of fish you said you have but a good portion of the tanks were empty. A few rare fish, but nothing exciting. We made a special trip down to that area because of all the great reviews. But I am sorry to say the store does not live up...

I discovered this shop today and liked it enough to post reviews on several social sites. I worked in specialty aquarium shops on the east coast when I was younger, I was a member of some fish clubs, bred several types of fish and really love the hobby. Over the years some areas have seen big box stores dominate and many neighborhood expert aquarium shops have been forced out. It was great to find this little gem of a store with some good product selection, nice lives plants, inverts and fish - including many that you will never see in a big box store because their model is usually to carry the top 10 or 15 hardy/cheap fish and a bunch of painted and dyed fish. There is nothing wrong with the big box stores to get you started - I mean we all have to save money- but something is lost. You lose real experts and access to hundreds of plants, inverts and fish you will never see at a big box store. This is a great store and I hope you visit them - I know they are...