Whitie's Pets — Local services in Fresno

The variety of aquatic stock and plants here is incredible and unparalleled by any other pet supply shops or chains I have been to. The interior also features beautiful aquariums cared for by the employees. The employees themselves are very knowledgeable and attentive. This is one of the few places where almost everyone I speak to fully knows what I’m talking about and can answer questions realistically from their own experiences. Their plants and fish are almost always very healthy, and those who are not they either mark not for sale or inform you prior to purchasing. Most of my larger aquarium stock is purchased from this location.

That being said, I have had two fatalities from this store the same day I brought them home and began the acclimation process. I am unsure if the fish were ill beforehand, or if the stress of the move was too much for them. One (a blue angel ram—notoriously delicate fish) appeared to have swim bladder and unfortunately was not aided by the gentle salt dip and careful attention in its quarantine tank. The other three rams I purchased from here at the same time, however, have thrived in my 40g planted tank. The second baffles me—a medium sized clown loach from a group of six. All the loaches settled in splendidly and with no difficulty, except for this one. He sat at the bottom of the tank on his side and appeared to have some seizure-like attack and was breathing rapidly. He passed on very quickly following that. I’m always very careful not to add fish to an aquarium that isn’t well established. This tank is natural planted and triple filtered, having been cycling for three months prior to any addition of fish. The water parameters were very stable and nearly identical to the tank where I keep my rams and peacock gudgeons, both of whom are very delicate and sensitive to water toxicity and general hardness. I am unsure what could have caused this type of severe reaction and have never had any fish react this way before. All that being said, quarantine and acclimate your fish slowly, and just keep a close eye on them upon purchasing. Always be very selective about which you choose and from what tank to ensure you’re not bringing home anything that could crash your tank, or that has a greater chance of not surviving the stress of a transfer.

Their return/refund policy is a bit strange, and for me not really worth the 40-50 minute drive it takes to get there from my location in Hanford. You must contact them within 48 hours if a fish is sick or dead, and bring in the fish and a water sample within that time frame for a partial refund (1/3 of the original cost) or a replacement. The replacement is entirely dependent upon your water parameters testing safely. They will NOT sell you more fish if your water is not suitable to support their wellbeing—as they shouldn’t.

All around however, their prices are fairly reasonable, the store is easy to navigate, the employees are helpful, and there is plenty of parking. It can occasionally be a bit crowded, which may affect wait times if you need assistance with something. The wait is never that bad, though.

Definitely check it out, if only for the incredible marine and freshwater displays they’ve put together! Last video is my own tank—work in progress, but almost everything is from...

I've been a customer of Whitie's Pets since I can remember because they have one of the best fish selection in the Fresno area and liked the fact thats its family owned because I support the idea of buying local to support your community. I also like that they have new deliveries every Wednesday for restock. However, my GF and 10 year old son have much bigger fish in our tanks at home because we both prefer the larger size fish over the juveniles. So... other than to get a bag full of new batch of feeder minnows, this weekly delivery doesn't really benefit us but we still enjoy window shopping and looking at them. In fact, its a weekly routine of ours just to stop by and look because on occasion they will have random drop offs of larger size fish that other people get in store credit for or to donate for the next customer to purchase at a bargain price. So It benefits everyone. We return this act of kindness by also donating our fish after they outgrow our 30 gallon tank. This kind of arrangement is unique and what really sets this particular company apart from the rest in my humble opinion. To top it off, they also made the hobby fun regardless of your budget. I thought for sure I wouldn't shop anywhere else because they made me feel that they will take care of you especially after establishing that bond. Boy was I wrong! Yesterday, I purchased a reasonably good size Jack Dempsey Cichlid that we were searching for a good deal on for several days and finally got lucky to get my hands on one. Bought it right after I got off work and went through their process of holding it so I can pickup my kid first so he can enjoy the excitement of picking up a new pet. I've done this routine before many times but what never gets old is how he gets excited over a new pet fish because to see any child this happy is priceless. But that all changed when we found out they made the mistake of selling it to someone else after we already paid for it. I understand that mistakes do happen, but it really had a negative effect on my kid after expecting to pick it up. What made it worse.. Is all that the involving parties said to us was sorry. Like that was suppose to make my son feel better. Needless to say that I was very disappointed in how they handled it after being such a loyal customer. The only offer we got was whether we wanted in store credit or a full refund. Maybe Im over reacting but I expected more and highly doubt will do any more future...

I have shopped at White's pets for 50 years. it used to be on Olive avenue. my husband died last summer. he was 90. he has been shopping at Whitey's pets since he was in high school. 40 years ago I bought a heated bird nest for inside my bird cage. it was the size of a real genuine bird nest but it was made out of clay and you could not see the electrical wires because they were embedded in the clay when it was formed . It worked great. still a great store but up until about 20 years ago it was greater. they used to carry beautiful guinea pigs and little Pot Bellied Pigs in the store , hamsters and rats . it was so much fun. I still buy all my finches and parakeets there. I spent the first 60 years of my life living on a farm and now I'm 75 years old. I do not live on a farm now and so when I get home sick for the farm I just walk through Whitey's pet store and love every creature God made : fish frogs lizards birds turtles. My sister and her husband got married ( pregnant of course) age 17 and then a couple years later I got married. But as soon as my sister got married their first and only pet for a long time was a little tiny black and white spotted mouse named Walter and his little cage was only about 10 in square. they were far too poor to afford a television. he was waiter in a restaurant and had to wear a cute little red jacket and hat. all the waiters did . So he felt like the organ grinders monkey in that uniform and complained about that . But they were happy and everyday when her husband came home from work they would sit at their tiny kitchen table with Walter on the middle of the tabletop and they would sit there and face each other. the table only had two chairs to go with it and the table was about 2 ft square and they would sit there for the rest of the evening and watch Walter play in his cage. that was their omly entertainment first few years of marriage , because they couldn't afford a TV. they were very happy back then , thanks to...