The Fish Hut of New Jersey — Attraction in Saddle Brook

I have been shopping here for a few years and have came to a few conclusions about the staff and store. Starting off with Jr, you can tell he is reading from a script and the knowledge he dispenses is purely just regurgitation. He does know his basics and can help you with pretty much most of your beginner issues and is and expert in African cichlids; however once it gets technical I.e water chemistry, he fizzles out. I also can sense a general disregard for fish life, I have heard a multitude of times Jr saying pretty unsavory things about fish. All in all he’s an ok guy.

Pete knows what he is doing and can serve you very well with any of your fish questions. His expertise is medication for your fish and can help you cure most if not all of the ailments afflicting your fish. He’s a very nice guy and will make sure you know exactly how to take care of the fish your taking home before you leave.

Johnny is a very sweet and smart guy. You can really tell that he cares for not just his fish, but any living creature on this planet. He will go in-depth on how to take care of and medicate your fish. You can tell that he has been in this hobby for a very long time and has amassed a vast plethora of knowledge on fish. If you have a micro fish you need identified, or a rare fish in general he WILL be able to identify it. Not only that but he has always gotten me the correct gender of fish every time I have asked (something Jr never does accurately)

Rice is a very nice and new addition to the crew. Although he is still learning some of the mechanisms of being an aquarist he will always make sure to get the correct answers to you and never make anything up. All in all he is always great help.

The heavy set guy that is there in the morning and is either behind the counter or doing nothing is a thug, no nicer way to say it. You can see by the way he treats/talks to his fellow employees that there is a general distain around this man. I’m not sure if he retired or not but he was formerly a police officer for the Saddle Brook police, so possibly his training is leaking over into this job. He is short with customers and everyone in general. I don’t know why he is there he seems miserable.

Chris is a very nice kid, he knows the ins and outs of fish keeping and can help you with anything you need for your aquarium. From water chemistry to medication, he WILL fix your problem. You can tell that Chris has taken his research very seriously and enjoys learning anything he can about the aquarium hobby. I have heard multiple times him voicing his concerns about fish life and how people view fish as lesser beings and how horrible is makes him feel.

If you get nothing else from this store get your Fluval filters and lights here! They are always no matter what steeply discounted. Other then that their products and fish are reasonably priced. However I’d be careful when buying fish as even though the tanks are individually filtered It’s more often then not Jr will not disinfect the nets between tanks. That causes cross contamination and eliminates the purpose of the individual filters. Make sure to quarantine your fish and you should be fine. If you do lose a fish just make sure to go in when Jr is there he’ll normally replace them for you.

TLDR: Good...

I am updating this review from 2 stars to 5 - Update below

My Mom and I stopped in on July 13th with the intention of buying a tank for my mom's new place. Jr. helped us and he was incredible!!! We left there spending over $600. for everything.

This review is for what happened AFTER purchasing everything.

Jr. set us up with everything we needed. He and some of the guys even loaded everything into the car for us, off we went. I set up the tank as per the directions given by Rich. Twenty four hours later went back and Jr. plucked out the fish my mom had chosen. Jr. even went as far as to request we call the next day to let him know how the fish are doing. At that point when I called back the next day, everything was going well.

The next few days 3 of the fish died. I called, not to complain but to get help to figure out what could have happened and how to prevent more fish from dying. I called Fish Hut, Jr. wasn't there and no one else could assist me. They would respond with, "Jr.'s not here" and hang up. After the 3rd hang up I took it personally. When I explained to the one guy who picked up he basically was like, "I'll give Jr. the message" and hung up. On the next 3 calls I explained what had happened and got short takes for responses and again, hung up on.

On Friday the 21st I called back again asking for Jr. This time a gentlemen picked up who was actually helpful at the moment but that failed fast. He explained what could have occurred and then told me he would speak to Jr. on Monday when he returned and/or call me back to discuss water maintenance for the tank.

It's now Wednesday and no response from Jr. and no call back from the gentlemen.

UPDATE:

Jr. came through!!!!! He was away on a mini vacation and instead of staff saying he was away for a few days - they continually just said, "he's not here/he's not available" every time I called for him.

Communication goes a LONG WAY !!

Jr. took care of everything!!!! My mom and I are completely happy now!! Everyone visiting Fish Hut should specifically request Jr.

Jr. EXEMPLIFIES what a true professional is!!! He is not only a professional but friendly and pleasant and takes the time to communicate - not because it's his job but because he really cares. I will also add in Rich was just as helpful as well. It shows both Jr. and Rich care about their customers.

If you go to Fish Hut and don't ask for Jr. and/or Rich - you are doing yourself a disservice!!! They are the only ones to work with!

Jr. is...

A GREAT OVERALL EXPERIENCE!!!!!

My 7-year-old kid, wife, and I have been here 2 times already. The first time we were just checking out the place and what kinds of fish they have because we were around the area and I knew right away that I found my go to store for all my aquatic needs. Both times every staff were very welcoming and friendly attentive to us and what we were looking for. So, to start of this 2025 year I am a new Cichlid owner and after all the vigorous online research I’ve been doing I am so obsessed with this new hobby. My wife’s uncle who passed away at the beginning of the year-God Rest his Soul, had a huge 125gallon tank that his wife wanted to get rid of and wanted to make sure it goes to someone who will want to care for them and home their cichlids in a good place, and so enter me. To my surprise my wife mentioned to me that this particular store is where he would usually get his cichlids from. So, I definitely wanted to check them out ASAP!! Just over Memorial Day weekend my family and I headed straight there for some new Cichlids to join our other water family members.

Rice was the employee that helped my family and I out in our quest to pick out new colorful and beautiful cichlids. Again, I cannot stress enough how the employees are so knowledgeable and very friendly. They and Rice were very kind and cool to my 7-year-old boy that was running around all over the store and Rice was so patient and helpful with any questions I had of finding the best looking male with all the bright colors. Rice was even showing me pictures of his set up that he has at home as I was too. One thing that both Rice and I agreed on is that this is a very addicting hobby lol I was mentioning to him that the year just started and I already have 4 tanks (a 125g, a 55g, a 30g quarantine tank, and a small 10 gallon one lol).

After Rice helped pick out and pack up my 6 new Cichlid members Pete rang us up and Rice helped with loading them up in my car. Over all the Fish Hut of New Jersey is hands down your ultimate go to for all and any African cichlids that you are looking for. And if they don’t have it, they definitely can get their hands on them if need be. Their prices were reasonably priced and there’s even a punch card where you can get more fish so that’s a great incentive. I definitely will be back for more fish and I would 100% recommend checking this store out to beginners like myself and to long time...