I KNEW ALL THAT DRIVING WOULD PAY OFF!!
I've been ALL OVER san diego.
No joke.
I made it my mission to search out pretty much everything below the 56. (too far to drive, but I called all of em up there.
). From every El Cajon Blvd. asian goldfish store to a place in the south bay that kept their dead bettas (still in those lil display cups) in the freezer next to the frozen food:barf: ....I've been to 99% of them.
In my opinion, the only place to get reliable info and good fish is Pet Kingdom on Sports Arena Blvd. The people who work there are pretty helpful, and will take the time to answer any questions you might have...or more often, point you to the employee who has the most experience in that particular field.:thumbsup:
Since you're up north, Aquatic Warehouse in clairemont and Goldfish World on Convoy St. are both good.
Aquatic Warehouse has alot of stuff..ALOT. Fish and plants are a bit overpriced compared to some stores, but the quality is great. Selection of freshwater fish is somewhat limited to the normal stuff...with a few gems sprinkled in (the discus were wattley and they sell gold rams instead of the normal blues). Good luck getting help most of the time. While there are a couple older people on staff who seemed knowledgeable, most times I've been in, it's staffed with teenagers goofing off with each other. It seemed to me that they might be a bit more savvy when it came to saltwater judging by the customer pictures displayed at the checkout. If you are looking for replacement parts or oddball stuff, this is definetly THE place to go.
Goldfish World has good prices and some cool niche fish...flowerhorns, discus, parrotbloods etc...
This is where I differ from apparently everyone else in san diego....
I don't care for Fountains. I've bought from them, don't get me wrong. Their fish are usually good quality and the store looks cool (the huge cichlid tank at the entrance to the fish room is awesome). My problem lies with the service and the selection. They just don't carry that much stuff. Several times I've travelled out there only to find that they don't have what I'm looking for. :thumbsdown:
My main problem with Fountains tho, is the staff. I can't vouch for anyone else on this board who's been there, but the staff at fountains has alway's came off as rather unfriendly and a bit like "the comic book guy" from the simpsons. This is no joke...kinda sarcastic, giving off a "you're stupid for bothering me" vibe. It actually made me laugh the first time. Being a bartender will make you appreciate a snarky outlook, but when it happened again, and again, it made me kinda raw on giving them any of my hard earned cash:thumbsdown: .
Maybe it's just me. Maybe they are great with everyone else, and I'm just overly sensitive, but I don't dig being ignored at the fish store. If it was busy, I could understand a wait, but when they just kinda stare at you and then go back to joking around, it makes me wonder why I made the trip.:thumbsdown:
I'm not here to bash any store. I shop at them all on occaision, and find each one has it's own uniqueness to it. Well...except the asian fish stores. I'm convinced that they are all ran by the same shady overlord. I call em the Fish Tank Mafia, and they ALL carry the same stuff. Coincidence?
Anyway's, I hope this helps you. I wouldn't trade checking them all out on my own for anything, but there's something to be said for having a bit of a heads up before you make the long drive down from vista.
