Fish Gallery | Aquarium Superstore — Local services in Houston

Roger, the owner took the time to call me and apologize for the service I received and let me know that the one person that was the basis of my prior review was no longer with the company. Hated to see that but in a customer service business, if your not taking care of the customer and trying to resolve issues, your in the wrong place. The fact that he took the time to do that and was very honest and open has made me decide to update my original review. I respect that out of an owner and this shows how much he cares about his business!

I purchased my dream aquarium at the Fish Gallery in Houston ( Would NEVER do Business with them AGAIN!) at the end of December 2023. It was almost a 300-gallon tank and custom stand. They told me at the time of purchase that they would be building everything in house, custom. Was told it was being custom built by them and would take 4 to 6 weeks. Even brought in a door from my desk and handles to match the stand to my office furniture. Paid in full for it and waited. After 6 weeks, I began to call them. They had no updates for me. Finally on March 15th they sent me pictures of the stand and said it was ready. Drove over 45 minutes to see it and when I got here, they told me it was not in as of yet. Drove back on the 16th and once I arrived, was told that the manager was the only one who could help me and show me my tank. He was going to be gone for the next hour. Texted the regional manager Kendall and they got a hold of the store manager and had him come back early so I could see my tank and stand. The stand looked great, but the tank was the wrong overflow box (it was internal and not external) They told me that they could fix that by the next day. I arranged for my person to go pick it up and they called in the late afternoon to say they had to get me a new tank. I was paying my person for all the time he was waiting and the trips to their store for empty promises. It will be on Tuesday, the next day. No tank Tuesday. Given some excuse about it taking longer and needing more dry time. No tank then on Wednesday, said their delivery truck broke down. They said they were getting a delivery service to bring it from their other store on Thursday. Finally on Saturday my aquarium guy was able to pick it up. Cost me almost $500 dollars for the trips and time my guy had to put into all of their missed promises. He did pick up the tank and brought it to the house and it was then that we noticed that the tank had scratches in the glass both inside and outside of the tank. They also sent the incorrect overflow box. It was way too large. It took almost two weeks to be put in touch with the person who was going to get it fixed. They finally agreed to get me a new tank after I found out that they did not custom make this tank at Fish Gallery but purchased it from DFW Aquarium Supply in Dallas TX. The aquarium glass cover still had their sticker on the boxes. On their website I was able to see that I needed the 18” overflow and they sent me the 20”. I had to walk them through that so they would order me the new one. They finally got my replacement tank in on April 18th and they delivered it on Wednesday April 24th almost 17 weeks and not the 4 to 6 as promised. Asked the name of the person who built the stand. He did an amazing job and I wanted to know the brand and color of the stain they used on the stand. I want to have some bookshelves made and match them or ask if they are interested in building them. They have never provided that. I also asked for a reasonable refund or store credit since they lied to me so many times and took over 4 times what they told me for getting my tank. After it was delivered, was told that they would not be giving me anything for my time and hassles. I would never do business with this company again. After doing more research have found they have had numerous problems like this, and things have even gone to the point of being...

This review is regarding the Fish Gallery Aquarium and Design service. TLDR: Serious issues with design, execution, and quality of a very expensive aquarium. Horrible communication and customer service. I made a huge mistake choosing to work with the Fish Gallery and I recommend you avoid them. PROBLEMS: (I should have seen the early signs and backed out of this deal). I asked Dean multiple times for the dimensions of the cabinetry internal space and door openings so I could arrange for a sump that I wanted to fit my needs. He basically refused to provide me this information even with multiple requests. It seems that he wanted to sell me his sump, which ended up being a 30-gallon Aqueon aquarium with a cheap plastic drop in piece that holds very little media. This DIY looking “sump” cost me $445, is grossly inadequate for a 195-gallon aquarium, and is not something one expects to see on a $10K + aquarium. Delivery Day. The very first thing I noticed was that the stain on the cabinetry was very wrong! I am at fault for accepting the delivery and not returning it immediately, I admit that. Initially I thought it was my fault, since this aquarium order/purchase took place over many months and I was in the process of renovating and then moving into a new house, I thought maybe I wasn’t clear about what I wanted. After reviewing all of my communications with Dean and the Fish Gallery, I found the email where I told him exactly what stain to use including the brand, the stain name/color, and a picture sample of the color. The stain I requested is not anywhere close to what I received. Leak!!! Within a few weeks, the aquarium developed a leak in the plumbing!! I called in to their customer service people a few times with no answer. Finally, I left a message informing them of the situation. You wonder what they did for this situation, well, they did nothing. No answer, no call back. I had buckets and towels under the leak for a week. A leak on a 195-gallon aquarium is a pretty big deal, they did nothing, no response at all. I ended up repairing the leak myself. Quality. The 72” long aquarium came with 3 custom fit lids, left, right, and middle. The problem is, the lids they provided are made of plastic and they bow such that the middle is sagging low, and the corners are all raised up, some of them almost 1”. They barely cover the area they are supposed to, and often fall into the water. One of the main functions of aquarium lids is to control evaporation but the lids they provided fail to do that. They are also not something one expects to see on a $10k+ aquarium. I called to discuss this problem but again, no answer, no callbacks. I did email and finally got a response from Dean, he said he would order some glass replacement lids. I waited 4 weeks and then followed up with Dean asking for a status on the lids, both by calls and emails. I called and emailed multiple times over a few weeks, now being totally ignored. It was made clear that he was no longer responding to me at all. I tried a different route; I called in to the Dallas office to their service/maintenance folks. I spoke with a nice lady that listened to my concern (only the lid situation) and said she will work with management to find a solution and promised that I would receive a call back by the end of the day from either her or management. Guess what happened, Nothing! No call, no email, nothing. I’d say it is now crystal clear that they have no intention of providing any form of customer service, I made a huge mistake choosing to work with the Fish Gallery and I recommend...

Let me preface this by saying I’ve been a Fish Gallery customer for over 10 years. Last week I purchased a drilled 150g from Facebook marketplace being sold by Fish Gallery; the aquarium had been “meticulously cared for” per the FB post and it came with a sump, all plumbing and canopy. I inquired if it held water, they said it did last week. I asked if both lids were included, and he went to check and confirmed they were both there. Everything was super easy, they even offered delivery. I arrived at the store and looked at the tank. It was dirty, but I knew I could clean it, no problem. I did feel a little rushed by the manager (assumed it was due to them almost closing, understandable). I went ahead and purchased it for $400 + the $125 delivery fee since I can’t move the tank myself and the fact I trust Fish Gallery to not sell me a faulty aquarium that is claimed to be “meticulous”. First off, they delivered two days early, and I was not expecting them. Luckily, I was off. They moved it to where I wanted it and immediately left. I went to look at the tank and noticed many imperfections. The canopy was patched with black duct tape (which I didn’t see when I looked initially), both lids were broken in half ($200 to buy new ones), I went to take the sump out (cracked on top), and then noticed there was a random black piece of wood not attached to the stand. This piece of wood ended up being a major support piece; there’s also water damage on the back of the stand. I doubt this stand can hold 1800 lbs of water. There was also missing plumbing that no one told me about. I can handle a few issues. I’ve sold used aquariums myself. I would NEVER sell someone this without disclosing the defects. Much less if it’s from one of the nicest aquatic stores in the area. I was misled that this was “meticulously” cared for either. I now must buy new lids and make a new stand ($400+), neither which I was prepared to do or pay for in addition to $525. I did give them a call a few days ago. The manager said he would have the person who made the FB post call me very first thing tomorrow morning. I still have not received any call from them. I don’t even trust this fish tank can hold water, I doubt they know.

Y'all check out their Yelp reviews - they definitely have a lower rating. They 1000% don't care about their customers.

Update 6/5/2025: I've tried calling multiple times regarding this. No one will call me back. The manager, Bryan, is useless. Daniel Wilson is the one who is supposed to contact me, but obviously doesn't give two shits about upset customers. I ended up building a brand new stand and buying new lids ($500 more on top of the $525 I already spent).

I'll update this review if I hear back from them. FISH GALLERY IS SHADY.

If you want a used aquarium, buy one from Aquarium Design Group. They sell them in GOOD condition for a fraction of the cost.

UPDATE 6-18-25: they finally emailed me back after 6 weeks of trying to get a hold of them. They want me to return the full aquarium/stand/canopy even though I paid for delivery. I also trashed the canopy and stand. I still haven't heard back from them after responding to their email. See attached the last two images from that email...