Age of Aquariums — Attraction in Signal Hill

Parking lot is a bit small, so can be hard to find parking if a lot of patrons. Store is well kept and organized. Prices are a bit high. Black aquarium substrate 20 lbs on Amazon and at Petco $29.99 but $39.99 here. Feeder ghost shrimp at $0.89 each. I've been to fish stores that sell feeder ghosts for 4 or 5 for $1. Some mom and pop stores even give you discounts on top of that if you buy a lot of stuff. The staff was helpful, but didn't seem to want to engage customers. Maybe ask them how their day is going...Just a thought. It was in the middle of the afternoon, so maybe everyone was affected by post-lunch lethargy or maybe they're just tired or overworked. Who knows? It's a shame. It was my first time there. Hard to find a reason to go back.

Update: I was contacted by the owner of the store offering store credit if I returned to the store and possibly edit my review. I didn't return but added a star since this shows me that they at least care about holding onto their customers. Also, I understand that small businesses like these won't ever be able to compete with big chain pet stores or Amazon when it comes to competitive pricing. That said, I've been to 8 mom and pop stores this month (1 in Silverlake, 1 in Brea, 2 in La Puente, 1 in Hacienda Heights, 2 in West LA, and 1 in Cerritos). Three of them had feeder ghost shrimp for 4/$1. The remainder had them between $0.33 and $0.50. The same substrate I mentioned in my original post (Caribsea Eco-Complete 20lbs) was $29.99 at two of the fish stores, $34.99 at three of the fish stores, and was not carried by two of the fish stores. One did not have Caribsea, but offered a 20 lb. bag of the same type of substrate for $23.99. In defense of my original post, pricing feeder ghost shrimp at $0.89 each and marking up the substrate by $10 is a bit much. Age of Aquarium does have competitively priced aquarium plants - $4.99/bunch for healthy rotala mini pink, $7-9 for...

I came into this store excited to purchase a pair of black and white clownfish and also wanted to get a second opinion on my saltwater tank’s water quality. I brought a water sample for testing, expecting a thorough analysis since I paid for the test. However, they used the standard API saltwater test kit, which I already have at home and had used beforehand. My home test results showed my water parameters were fine, but they claimed my ammonia and nitrite levels were high and advised against buying the clownfish.

I explained to them that I have multiple saltwater tanks and the clownfish would go into a well-established tank with proper parameters. Despite this, they continued to question my knowledge and kept an unnecessary watch over me as I shopped. I remained polite, picked up some Brightwell bacteria and the clownfish, and proceeded to check out.

When I reviewed my receipt, I noticed I was charged an extra $6 for something I didn’t buy. When I brought it up, the employee claimed it was “for next time I come in.” This explanation made no sense—why would anyone be charged for an item they didn’t purchase? It’s like going to the grocery store, buying eggs, and being charged for ham with the explanation that it’s for “next time.”

Not only was the extra charge ridiculous, but the overall experience left a bad taste. I was treated like a beginner who didn’t know what I was doing, despite clearly explaining my experience and setup. This isn’t how customers should be treated, especially in a niche hobby like saltwater fishkeeping.

I won’t be returning to this store and would caution other hobbyists—new or experienced—to avoid this place. There are plenty of other stores in SoCal where the staff are knowledgeable, respectful, and treat their customers like valued...

I love the friendliness of the staff however I brought 12 fresh water fishes by day 3, 5 are dead. I don't live near this business so their 24 hr return on fish is beyond what I could do. I live almost 3 hrs from this place. I called to see what was wrong or if something was wrong with the fish. I have a new tank no fish has been in the water I had the water tested twice, however the person I spoke to said it could be the water suggested some things to use. Again, fish were still dying after I treated the tank as she suggested. I am deeply sadden by the fish dying I just hope buying fish in the future will not be so traumatizing for me. I'll try a different store, freshwater fish here, I'm not sure being several other tanks was off limits because 1 fish had the icke! I should have left then. Can't post my fishes floating (sad face)

*Update: the owner contacted me and we spoke. He was very compassionate about what had happened to the fish. After knowing that I live far away from his store he helped me come to a conclusion with the purchase I made. Many store owners will not even try to know what's going on just take your coins and keep going. But not this owner. I revised my stars from 2 to 4 because the owner is very...