Best Petshop to buy Tropical Fish in Dublin

cynos

Rippleman wrote:

Hi Cynos,

Saw your post looking for a tank builder... while your in Ballybough ask Joe about custom built tanks. I don't know if he does them but I did see a huge glass tank there one week which was obviously custom made. He does a good deal on Juwel aquariums including cabinet if they are of interest to you.

Carl

Thanks
I'll ask him on sat.
I'd like to cut out the middle man and got direct to whoevers making it so as I can make sure I'll be 100% happy with what will cost me a fortune
Juwel does not really interest me as the cabinets go a little shabby after a while and I'll be using it for a marine setup and will just be ripping out the built in filter and possibly loosing the hood too

cynos

the Guru wrote:

Aquatic Village , Brittas Road on the way to Blessington ask for drew (Northern Irish guy) www.aquatic-village.com

I would not buy my fish anywhere else.

Also wackers, I have never met a more ignorant bastard in all my life , stay clear there tanks are full of dead fish

Couldnt agree more with you about w***ers
They havent a clue in the donaghmeade one either.

ChrisM

Wackers
Good selection of cichlids,extremely overpriced when you consider their fish are tankbred and not special in anyway.I have seen some really bad specimens on display,especially Tropheus which were retailing at €45 and had barely any fins left.

Pet Stop Blanchardstown
Poor selection of cichlids,focuses too much on Haps which retail from €25+ which is too much.Quality conditions and fish usually seem in good shape,though I dont think they are fed specific dietary requirements.

Kinsealy
Generally poor selection,sometimes can get a few lovely fish in,though I think more by accident.They can sell a fish for €10 that would sell for €30 somewhere else,then sell a fish for €30 worth €10 elswhere.

fishbreath

hi guys i live in lucan and go to a pet shop on the clebridge road just outside celbridge called the orchard it's a garden centre but they have a huge petshop with about 30 tanks and loads of aquariums and ponds for sale that have reasonable prices and the guys that work there are helpfull and know quite a bit as they keep fish themselves!
and they can order in pretty much anything and plants are 3 for a 10er!
i got african butterfly fish and ghost knife fish, red claw crabs and loads of other stuff there cheaper than whackers.
just ask for steven or billy.
this is there site www.orchardonline.ie i've never been on it but i'm sure their details are there?

animalhelper

hiya everyone,
aquatic village is very good but if you live near clondalkin,
newlands garden centre do a great selection and are really helpful and know alot about the fish, the aquariums are fairly priced and the fish are well looked after, even if they die for no reason,they will check out why and replace the fish i think....
hope that helps, it is a lovely place to look around for any pet items.:D

animan

joe's in ballybough behind henry's tackle is brilliant and if he doesn't have something he will try and get it in

Jimkel

Whackers in Parnell St. has a wide variaty of tropical and exotic fish downstairs, the advice there ive found to be poor however as each member of staff seems to contradict the other on how certian animals should be kept, Sounds like some of them are just telling you what you what to hear in order to make a sale., Altough in saying that there is one paticular individual who is like a walking textbook on animals. The coldwater section upstairs is poor and overall a little pricey.

My fav petshop overall is Kinsealy pet Shop on the Malahide road, altough not perfect they have excellent staff each specialising in a different area. a large tropical fish section with great and expert advice, Its nice to see Koi and goldfish kept well in the indoor pond altough the coldwater fish in the tanks seem a little sickly. They will also try and get anything your looking for, Enclosures, equipment and animals even if they dont normally stock it.

I like this place for many reasons, most recently I went in looking for a book on bearded dragons and walked out with the book I wanted (half the price of Whackers) and a huge illustrated book on reptiles which the kind member of staff lent me for as long as I want, I was suprised at this kindness and impressed at the proffesionalism and overall helpfullness of the staff.

flavus

Hi!

This may be of little use to you, but there's a new petshop that opened in Co. Galway ... Apparently they have the biggest stock in the country with regards to tropical fish species, and people are going there from all over the country, even N. Ireland to buy or pick up special orders...

The name is AquaPaws and they seem to be in the middle of constructing a website... The fish lists for some of the Cichlids have just been added in the last couple of days... Am keeping an eye on it, but it seems like they have pretty long fish lists ... Address is http://www.aquapaws.ie ...

dbrock

there is a new fish shop opened in dunlaoighre where fish fx was,, check it ot excelent selection and friendly very experienced staff,, they also have some reptiles there to, the new shop is called fintastic aquatics i highly recomend a visit to any one keeping fish or reptiles although the reptile section wouldn be anything like you would find in reptile haven,, its basic enough but the guys can get you almost anything

Glassmaker

Ive had a pond for about 5 years and was told to go to Joe in Ballybough by a few people,,,,I wanted the pond as a garden feature,,not because I particularly liked fish r knew anything about them.
When I started to buy fish Joe was very good at giving advice,,,wouldnt let me put in too many at the one time,,,gave me advice on filter pump clearing algae etc etc,,,,was very good when it came to analysing problems I had and how to clear them..and often replaced fish that died soon after purchase...
I intend to get a tank for tropical fish from him,,,and while I will admit his stock is not huge,,,anything Ive seen in there seems to be of a high quality...

Ive looked around a bit recently...and from Newlands to Petstore in Blanch Wackers etc,,,,all seem to sell "iffy quality",,,Think its a bad sign to see dead fish floatin on top of a tank.....and ive seen that in nearly every shop ive visited,,,,

As a beginner ,,any advice on what types i should start with,,, I would really prefer a tank full of smaller fish,,,,rather than a limited number of the larger varieties.............

flavus

Glassmaker wrote:

As a beginner ,,any advice on what types i should start with,,, I would really prefer a tank full of smaller fish,,,,rather than a limited number of the larger varieties.............

Neon Tetras are always nice to start with... They're cheap, hardy and can look really well when stocked in large numbers and proper lighting. When happy, they really look like they're glowing...

Different variations of Danios are also nice.

Other fish that are very easy to start with are Swordtails, Guppies, etc.

Once you get a little algae growth, some Flying Foxes (or Siamese Algae Eaters, which are better because they eat more algae and are not aggressive towards eachother) or a Pleco are a nice addition.

Glassmaker

I was in Ashbourne today ,,,in that new shop Aquarium Solutions,,young lad called Andy is running it,,

I was totally blown away by the place,,,its amazin,,,he has a huge selection of both Marine and Tropical fish,and his prices wud match anyone else around.
He gave me a great deal on a tank / pump /filters rocks gravel etc,,,,(and Ive phoned around to compare !!! )

He spent nearly an hour talkin to me about different tanks, fish, the problems that arise with keeping both tropical and marine, how to solve them,,,what to buy and what can and cannot be mixed...
Im deffo a beginner,,,but this guy certainly taught me a lot,,,confirned what Ive read on here,,,
He seems to kno his stuff,,,and more important ,,I have a feelin hes not gonna push shoddy gear r fish onto his customers,,,
For anyone that has the time,,,give this place a visit,,,its in the little shopping centre across the road from Dunnes ...

Erm,,sorry Joe but his goldfish are also miles nicer, bigger , and cheaper !!

nag

long story short: Aquarium Centre, Clonliffe Avenue, Dublin 3. Ask for Joe



short story long:

Before I ever got my tank, I spent a couple of weeks gathering info online and talking to different people about the hobby. I took a couple of trips out to the Aqautic Village in Brittas where I used be mesmerized by all the different tropical and marine fish they had (and reptiles ). After a couple of trips, I felt I was ready and bought my tank (only 70L), gravel, stand and a whole heap of other stuff to get me started from them. After making the trip to Brittas a few times, I decided that I'd do a little looking around to see if I could find a reputable shop closer to home and found this thread where I read about Joe in the Aquarium Centre on Clonliffe ave. So I made the trip and thanks to the good directions of a previous poster, I found his place and haven't looked back.

Joe has been in the fish business for 30 years and would talk the leg off ya if you'd let him. He's a fountain of knowledge. Yes, his shop is small but he can pretty much get you anything you want but he wont deal with any endangered or dyed fish (the proper way to do business if you ask me). He also wont sell you anything that wont suit your tank and if any fish you buy off him die shortly after you buy them, he'll replace them. He's a bang up guy if you ask me and a rare find and he doesn't try to flog you stuff that you don't need like most other shops out there.

As for the Aquatic Village, while I love their shop and some of their employees give good advice, you can't avoid the sense that they're in this hobby to make scads of money (it is a business after all) and in a hobby where lots of personal care and attention is needed, that's not the best combination to have. I've also heard numerous times that the owner is a complete jerk. Joe on the other hand is not out to make money, you can tell by just looking at his shop. He's in the hobby because he loves it and gets a kick out of customers coming back to him telling him how well their tanks are doing.

cherrycool

The one in Dun Laoghaire can be overpriced for equipment, but you can get that elsewhere, the quality of their fish is very good, I reccomend them.

Don't go near the one in Cabinteely, almost every time I go in that place there's a dead fish in one of the tanks.

Same goes for the one in Blackrock.

dbrock

cherrycool have you been to the shop in dunlaoighaire,, recently its under new managment and the dry goods,,, ie equipment have come down alot just wondering when you were there last as there jewl reckord 120 is 180 euro and thats cheap as far as ive seen in other shops

Demonique

Arcadian wrote:

Shop on Parnell St and the one at Newlands Cross are 2 that tend to have sickly fish.

Wait, which one on Parnell Street? Whackers (one time I went in the parrots seemed a bit tatty, but they had a gorgeous healthy one last time I was in) or Paddy's Pet Store? (baby iguana with scabby feet in too small a tank)




Ummm, Boardwalk Pets (on the quays near temple bar) seems to have a good selection of fish, I got a beautiful healthy baby gecko almost two weeks ago so I'll assume their fish are also in good nick.

Demonique

Shelli wrote:

Stay away from Whackers is my opinion, I've had and heard of too many bad experiences coming from that shop.

Some of the guys in the reptile section don't seem to knowledgeable. My boa was off her food and the guy there said boas tend to go off their food during the winter, the following week I went in again and another guy said boas don't go off their food during the winter.
Also, they were selling baby caiman at one point

irishmarine

feel free to read my thread on fishkeeping, i think titled marine aquarium. If you want any advice re:marin fishkeeping give me a shout. Dont be too put off by the price of things, there are ways around that, and...after i moved from tropical fish when i look back now i just think man thats so boring! you'd be the same, consider marines is all im sayin!
I was in whackers new store...and yes I found it a joke and has to be the most expensive pet store ive been in .....for marines anyways, i cant speak for any of the other pets

nag

i was just in whackers new place on the long mile road this weekend and i got quite a fright when i saw their prices... they're astronomical! they're charging €50 for a f/w test kit that the aquatic village sell for €35! i couldnt believe it. and, from what i could tell, while their fish werent quite in the same league as the test kit, they were definitely a euro or two more than i found in other stores

without a doubt though, it's a very "nice" pet shop but when you go in there, leave your wallet at home or consult your bank manager before you venture in

Nala

I've been in there too and it is very expensive.

Wackers on Parnell St is good, great selection and I think they breed some of their own fish.

Paddy's on Parnell St- stay away. They were featured on "Naked Camera" (hidden camera show). The prank was, the guy would go in and say he thought his dog was gay and would not be a good guard dog. The guy in the pet shop tried to sell him a snake, saying they are good guard dogs.

Newland's is great, fantastic range and very healthy fish. Good prices too, and when they have sick fish they will mark the tank as "Not for sale".

Petstop in Blanch is a joke as always, lot of the fish crawling with white spot amongst other diseases.

duanea

Hi everyone! Great advice so far! I have a clear seal tank but dont have a light, heater, filter etc. I went to the aquatic centre in Ballybough and agree with everybody, Joe was very enthusiastic and had great advice however I didnt realise how expensive it was going to be! to buy a new tank with all the accessories actually works out cheaper than getting all the equipment separately! I was just wondering does anybody know if I would be able to buy the equipment on the net for cheaper and then just get the fish from the aquatic centre?

whiteshadow

duanea wrote: »

Hi everyone! Great advice so far! I have a clear seal tank but dont have a light, heater, filter etc. I went to the aquatic centre in Ballybough and agree with everybody, Joe was very enthusiastic and had great advice however I didnt realise how expensive it was going to be! to buy a new tank with all the accessories actually works out cheaper than getting all the equipment separately! I was just wondering does anybody know if I would be able to buy the equipment on the net for cheaper and then just get the fish from the aquatic centre?

Definitely... much cheaper to buy mailorder on the internet
my fav place is www.aquatics-online.co.uk
and then just pick up fish in fish stores..

p.s. see the new wackers on the longmile road.. excellent selection of fish and dry goods.

duanea

Thanks a mill! now I just have to figure out what size i need etc!

nag

whiteshadow wrote: »

p.s. see the new wackers on the longmile road.. excellent selection of fish and dry goods.

... if you dont mind paying more than you should for stuff. it is a nice shop to "see" alright but you'd want to be pretty desperate to buy anything there

bettalover97

I have found that the aquatic village in brittas is the best place to go. big selection, friendly people, nice looking fish, and more importantly, healthy fish. they also have a reptile section!

bettalover97

I started off with bettas, gouramis, corydoras, guppies, mollies, neon tetras and plecos. they are all still alive today........:D lol!

cichlid child

i read on boards somewere that if your buying alot of equipment its worth a drive up to belfast. does any body know if its worth going up to buy live rock or were is the best place to buy it

Rippleman

cichlid child wrote: »

i read on boards somewere that if your buying alot of equipment its worth a drive up to belfast. does any body know if its worth going up to buy live rock or were is the best place to buy it

A few phone calls to the shops you are thinking of visiting will soon answer your question.
I have bought stuff in the past in Belfast but would not make a special journey to do so (travelling could cost more than you would save and tale up a whole day). Having said that a quantity of live rock can work out quite expensive so an hour on the telephone doing your research could pay off big time. Start with all the suppliers close to you though.

lucozader

Try the long mile road market

Jimkel

Whackers Parnell st: Good selection but poor health and the place has an awful smell of dead animals. I see fish I could get for 12 euro priced at 45
The small cichlids (Peacock, Haps, Mbuna, Psudeos etc) there are in the region of 15 euro:(, they are 3.50 In petmania. And the arrogence and Condiscending attitude of the staff...nuff said, I would'nt touch the place unless They had something I wanted that I couldnt get elsewhere.5 out of 10


Boardwalk pets:

All fish are in great health and good prices but the selection is tiny, good for the small community aquarium fish. 6 out of 10

Pet mania Santry:

ONly a new shop, It's quite huge and the fish prices are ridiculasly low.
4 - 5 Inch Haps, Moori,[FONT=arial,sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Labidochromis caeruleus[/SIZE][/FONT] and high colour Peakocks are 12 euro, The 5 - 6 inch Alhi's, Psudeo's, Calico Peacocks are 22 euro.

For the Community keepers the Neons, Glowlights, Black neons etc are 1.20 and the Zebra Danios are 1 euro, guppies are 1.60!

Best of all the Large 6 inch Oscars are only 16 euro. Seriously Check this place out for value> Place is very busy sometimes thats the only draw back, you may have to wait a few minutes to be seen as there are only a few staff members and many customers, but they are all very nice knowledgable and helpful. 9 out of 10 This may go up to ten when they get the Marine section open.


Kinsealy: good selection not as expensive as whackers but still not as cheap as petmania. They sell 3 - 4 inch haps for 20 euro +. I like the fish and reptile guy dave though, nice guy who seems to know his stuff. They are selling a 950 Litre Beta aquarium and stand with 5 chamber sump filter for 1500! Thats amazing value, Pity about the fish, there tanks are always nearly empty and overpriced and they get there fish from Czech rep, which has a bad rep for fish disease. 6 out of 10

Wackers Long Mile road:

Stunning shop, stunning set up, fish arent overly expensive, although still half again what I pay elsewhere. General Staff level of knowledge is poor, there are 1 or 2 guys there who really know there stuff, unfortunatly they have the general wackers cocky attitude and arent very helpful.
7 out of 10

Wackers Donaghmede:
Don't even go there! Goldfish in with water dragons:eek: Selling Turtle with goldfish bowls!! Would'nt be caught dead in there. 1 out of 10

Thats my view on some of the shops out there.