Tropical Showcase — Attraction in Town of Oyster Bay

I have lived in Hicksville since they lifted the tracks. Over the years there have been many businesses that have come & gone; there have been businesses that were short-lived and age old ones like this one. I used to take my daughter to these guys back when they were on the corner of Newbridge and Old Country. They are in a much smaller space now, and have changed families. The new young men that have taken over are some of the most passionate, kind, and knowledgeable young men I have seen running this place in decades. It gives me hope for this country and hobby where big stores have ruined it. I have spoken with each of them and I have compiled a list of reviews for the staff and owners they clearly have their strengths. Owners: Rocco - This gentlemen is the one with the black hair, he'll often have a curly beard. He is knowledgeable in small mammals, soft corals, and cichlids. His strengths are salt water fishes, particularly gobies, wrasses, angels, and groupers. He is best at merchandise and will recommend for me where I can get eheim parts which they themselves don't carry anymore but still have parts. He may seem hard to approach but he is very nice and professional with a firm handshake. He's also the man to talk to if you want a beta. 4.5/5 Jesse - This is the short ginger fellow, he will sport a wide variety of facial hair and occasionally be clean shaven. He's got a cheerful pitch to him, and a warm demeaner. He's knowledgeable on both freshwater and saltwater in general. This one is generally the best one to talk to while getting fish, especially if you have young ones that need some things explained. He also has a good reading of the guardian, which is important. He'll entertain small talk which a lot of the others seem to be hesitant to do. Go for this one when you want good customer service, and a good conversation. Not to many good hands-on owners where you can say that. 4.7/5 Staff: Jim - This young man reminds me of both Zachary Levi and my grandson and is about the same age too; he's the only one with professional short well trimmed hair, and clean shaven face. I go to this one for plants, he supplies the store with some of his own stock and does most of their orders. If you want African cichlids, this is the man to talk to. This is usually the staff member you'll deal, he seems disengaged sometimes but is all-round a pro. Go to him for anything reptiles or plants. 5/5 Frank - This young man is probably the least knowledgeable out of them but makes up for it in customer service. He's apparently my son's age complains like it too, I wish I was as young as you kid, wait till your 90. He always happily helps my little goobers, like I said he makes up for it all with customer service. A good broad sense of knowledge on fish keeping and he knows when to ask for info from his coworkers. He's the oldest one there and has prominent brow wrinkles. 4/5 Ben - This one is a new one and has dark brown hair. He usually sports a goatee or full beard. I'm seeing him more often. Another broad knowledge kid. This one has a good sense of knowledge with all corals and saltwater inverts in general like the owners. he even has pointers for brackish. 4.3/5 Brian - their new service manager, this one you'll be dealing with if you want to use their home service which is excellent. He does service for some of my friends and their kids. From what they've told me he is also blessed with encyclopedic knowledge on reptiles, birds, amphibians, and small mammals. I would say he is better with these than Jim. He's hard to catch however, in my experience he is there between 5 and 7pm. That's your window for him at the store, talk to him directly to set up appointments if you don't have the patience for phones. 4/5 Part-timers: These three are the irregulars for better or worse. Gordon - good man, broad knowledge, go to him for building ecosystem tanks or questions about fresh inverts. Rarely in. Mutton Chops. 4.4/5 Mia - Nice girl, enthusiastic 4/5 Big Frank - Nice man, good knowledge, this man...

Do not go to this place!!!! Over the weekend, my boy friend and I bought several cichlids to put in our already well-established tank. Over the course of the week, we've lost 5 fish due to a fungal/bacterial infection. Our tank is on ICU-lock-down because the fish we bought from this place were diseased. The fish were absolutely fine when we brought them home and got them acclimated to the tank. But, some started to die suddenly without showing immediate signs of illness. We did some research and discovered that the fish have a fungal/bacterial infection.

Today some of the other fish started showing signs. They're exhibiting the following symptoms: lack of appetite, lethargy, lay on the bottom of the tank, and have white patches along the sides of their bodies and mouths. Only 2 out of the 5 fish we brought home are still alive. The rest, including a few old fish which have been there since the tank's establishment, have died in the course of a week. Today we flushed 2 more down the toilet. It's absolutely heartbreaking to see all these fish go in the matter of a few days. The tank was established in April of this year, and we have NEVER lost a single fish until this week, and the water levels are mint.

We should have realized not to buy fish from this place because it was dirty and they probably never change the water or feed the fish properly. Some of the marine fish look diseased and in pain, and pricing is insane. We are never going there again, and we hope this review helps those to make a wise decision never to go there either. They only thing they have going for them is a good selection of freshwater and...

Let me first say that this is not intended to be an attack on a small business. I understand that there are a lot of challenges that go along with running a store during COVID, especially one that runs on livestock.

That said, I stopped by here for the first time today. While the staff was very friendly, I have to say that I was really disappointed with the quality of the store. Poor lighting and inventory-crowded aisles made the store feel unwelcoming and cramped. Even worse, however, was the quality of the livestock. While the saltwater fish seemed mostly fine, a lot of freshwater fish seemed suffocated (probably poor water conditions) and remained listless at the bottom of the tanks. I dont know what the story behind the baby axolotl was, but it was frankly horrifying to see them in such dire conditions.

I strongly advise that the store quarantine and medicate their fish. Though an expensive undertaking, better quality stock means more happy customers and more purchases. The least the store could do is clean up some inventory lying around and fix the lighting. I have no doubt that the store could be greatly improved. The staff seems knowledgeable but...