Petshop for tropical fish

duanea

Hi everyone!

just thought I'd start a new thread about petshops in dublin to buy fish. Joe in ballybough seemed to be the best place to go but he has closed down and although he said he would recommend somewhere for his customers to go after he'd gone - he hasnt! I went to Petmania in Santry which looks like an amazing store and has a great selection of fish.... however, I bought 2 guppies and 2 platys from them 2 weeks ago and all died within a few days!! the last platy to die seemed to have a fungal infection where a chunk of the scales were missing.

I was afraid the sick fish would affect the rest of my tank so I went back to Petmania with the dead fish and they basically said "sorry must have been a bad batch" and sold me some fin rot and fungal treatment for the water!! For a shop that claims to replace fish that die within a week I thought this was really bad form. Although I did not want any replacement fish (I dont want my own fish to get sick from dodgy fish bought there!) I would have expected the fungal treatment to be free! :mad:

Anyone else have any experiences like this? I want to get a betta for my tank but want to make sure I get it somewhere with a good reputation for healthy fish.

Thanks!

Lauragoesmad

In all fairness it can happen. I bought fish for my cold water tank in Ballybough that I had set up for 2 and 1/2 years. Don't know what happened but all my fish died in a week and the 2 new ones I bought lived. I went back to the shop and the fella basicly told me to **** off!
I think the best place to go is THE BOARDWALK PET STORE on Wellington Quay in town. They won't sell you ANY fish unless you have your water tested first and they are really helpful. I bought my first tropical tank from them nearly 3 years ago and I still have 2 black widows and a tiger gurami that I got with the tank!
They also have a great selection of fish and tanks and everything you need to run them.

duanea

God cant believe he was so rude! and he bad mouthed every pet shop out there! what a hypocrit!

Great well I think I will give the place on Wellington quay a try then!

thanks!

Reku

Well in terms of selection Wacker's Pet Shop on Parnell St. seems rather impressive, I've yet to buy anything there yet though. As I understand it they do have another store elsewhere which actually specialises in fish. I was rather impressed recently when in there and talking to a staff member I mentioned that I'd come in hoping to buy some platies and guppies but they hadn't any in stock, came back the next week and they'd loads of them.

él statutorio

Wackers is the place to go. I've been keeping fish for 17 years and Wackers has the best selection and most knowledgable staff in Dublin. Ask for Kevin (usually downstairs) in the Parnell St store or if you want a huge selection of fish, including saltwater fish head out to Wackers on the Long Mile Road (behind Aldi) and ask for Gav.

ValerieR

Around Dublin, you also have Wackers' new shop located on the Long Mile Road (behind Lidl I think).
Aquatic Village has also opened a second shop (the 1st one is located in Brittas) opposite to the Old Mill Pub in Tallaght.
They both enjoy a very good reputation.
I hope this helps.
ValerieR

Lauragoesmad

farohar wrote: »

Well in terms of selection Wacker's Pet Shop on Parnell St.

That maybe so but the last time I was in there the place was stinking!! And they have a snapping turtle in a tiny pond. The thing looked bored out of its mind. I would never buy any fish from there. Also the guy didn't know what a clown roach was!! I'm no fish expert but really!!

Reku

Lauragoesmad wrote: »

That maybe so but the last time I was in there the place was stinking!! And they have a snapping turtle in a tiny pond. The thing looked bored out of its mind. I would never buy any fish from there. Also the guy didn't know what a clown roach was!! I'm no fish expert but really!!

Can't say that I've ever noticed any of the turtles/tortoises (afraid I don't know much about either so the difference escapes me) in "tiny ponds", they are usually all in medium-large home aquarium tanks. I'd imagine any creature in a tank will get bored eventually, regardless of the size of the tank, it's still a confined space with limited exploration available afterall (yes I do have the odd pangs of guilt over keeping fish in a tank:().
As regards the clown roach, who did you ask there?

Lauragoesmad

farohar wrote: »

Can't say that I've ever noticed any of the turtles/tortoises (afraid I don't know much about either so the difference escapes me) in "tiny ponds", they are usually all in medium-large home aquarium tanks. I'd imagine any creature in a tank will get bored eventually, regardless of the size of the tank, it's still a confined space with limited exploration available afterall (yes I do have the odd pangs of guilt over keeping fish in a tank:().
As regards the clown roach, who did you ask there?

A youngish looking chinese guy. I also had to wait about 15 minutes for him to bother his hole to come down the stairs and he was talking to his mate.
The turtle was downstairs down the very back. Theres a sign on the tank that says "NOT FOR SALE". The only reason I noticed it was because I went down to see if anyone was there. The place was so bad I actually rang the DSPCA after and they said they always have loads of phone calls about the place but are powerless to do anything.

Fishyfreak

I'm sure he didn't have a clue what a "Clown Roach" was, it's called a Clown Loach!!!!!!

Aquatic Village is the place to go, Wackers in town is gone to the dumps.

Lauragoesmad

Fishyfreak wrote: »

I'm sure he didn't have a clue what a "Clown Roach" was, it's called a Clown Loach!!!!!!

Aquatic Village is the place to go, Wackers in town is gone to the dumps.

My bad. It was my mate asking for the fish. To eat snails or something.
Anyway I just thought the place stank and the staff were not so helpful. Plus it really bothered me about the turtle.

Reku

Well I'm planning to go in to Wacker's this evening to buy some guppies and platies on the way home from work so I'll let you know how well they survive as I find this tends to be a good indication of how good a shop is as a place to buy fish. Shame the phoenix park garden centre one closed, their fish used to have great lifespans when we bought them, some we had for years afterwards.:(

Lauragoesmad

farohar wrote: »

Shame the phoenix park garden centre one closed, their fish used to have great lifespans when we bought them, some we had for years afterwards.:(

One of my mates who has been keeping fish for years said the exact same thing. He used to drive over there all the way from Donaghmede.

Fishyfreak

farohar wrote: »

Well I'm planning to go in to Wacker's this evening to buy some guppies and platies on the way home from work so I'll let you know how well they survive as I find this tends to be a good indication of how good a shop is as a place to buy fish. Shame the phoenix park garden centre one closed, their fish used to have great lifespans when we bought them, some we had for years afterwards.:(

If new fish die upon introduction to a tank it is more likely to be an indicator of poor water quality in the tank.

i.e the existing fish have built up an immunity to the grudual increase in Nitrite/Ammonia/Nitrate present in the water and the new fish cannot cope with the high levels and die. Then people think they bough a "bad batch" when in fact it is their fault the new fish have died.

I'm not saying this is gospel but it is something to consider. Fishkeepers should always have a test kit handy.

syklops

Lauragoesmad wrote: »

A youngish looking chinese guy. I also had to wait about 15 minutes for him to bother his hole to come down the stairs and he was talking to his mate.
The turtle was downstairs down the very back. Theres a sign on the tank that says "NOT FOR SALE". The only reason I noticed it was because I went down to see if anyone was there. The place was so bad I actually rang the DSPCA after and they said they always have loads of phone calls about the place but are powerless to do anything.

Dont bother talking to the chinese guy. He is barely with it, not to mention he can not pronounce "roach". Not being racsist, just saying this guy is awful.

I was looking for some stuff for my mums Dog, but fell in love with the slider hatchlings in the tank, all over again. I kept a Red Eared Slider for over ten years, and am thinking of getting another one, maybe from Whackers. It seemed like a good deal. I did my usual test: making sure they were lively, checking for snot, made sure the reacted to being touched etc. They looked good to me, though I know it can be tricky to raise slider from such a small size(shell size about the same as a 2 euro coin).

TBH I did not see the snapper downstairs. I know it looked bored, but lets face it, a snapper is only happy when he has his mouth open luring fish in to its mouth so it can snap down. Hardly an image you want kids seeing! They would be sued within the week, for scarring children.

Lauragoesmad

syklops wrote: »

TBH I did not see the snapper downstairs. I know it looked bored, but lets face it, a snapper is only happy when he has his mouth open luring fish in to its mouth so it can snap down. Hardly an image you want kids seeing! They would be sued within the week, for scarring children.

The pond it was in was WAY too small!! And if the thing is not for sale then why do they have it? And lads, this turtle was massive!! Shell at least the size of a dinner plate.
It just made me sad seeing it cause he/she was so cramped.

donal7

Is Joe in Ballybough gone?

I got some excellent advice from Joe on starting up. Pity, he was a bit far away from where I was based.

I got the feeling he was going to finish up as the last few times I had been down to him last year he had very few fish.

The wiper

hi im looking to buy a nice fish tank for tropical fish they seem very dear in the normal petshops any1 here selling one or know any1 that is???

Loomis

My cousin has a tank which he's looking to sell. I'll try get more details and post back