FISH and other ICHTHY stuff

Ryan B

2024-04

Great shop! Just double check the salinity in the saltwater you buy here. I tested both with a hydrometer and refractometer, both measured 39 ppt (1.029) I had to add 4 gallons of RODI freshwater to aquarium to get it to the correct 1.025-1.026.

Root Weaver

2023-12

Nice selection of small frags of mostly soft corals and a few saltwater fish.Customer service equivalent to the clerk in monsters inc . Can't blame it on a bad day, ive tried again multiple times, we're all human, he's just not friendly.

Karen DeHaven

2023-05

Great place, the live stock and corals are unbeatable.They take great care and time to make sure every animal is healthy for you before it’s taken home.There recommendations on fish pairing and tank building they are superheroes at.I even use them for my monthly servicing and cleaning of my aquariums. A+++

Diana Lee

2022-05

I love this store, the owner is incredibly knowledgeable of all of his fish and corals. All of the livestock are exemplary representations of their species. All of the fish are quarantined and in excellent condition, and the owner truly cares about them and what home they will go to. It can be hard to hear that a certain fish or invertebrate won’t work with your currently stocked system, but I would rather know than accidentally kill animals when it could have been prevented. The owner is also knowledgeable of aquarium equipment and has helped guide my decisions. Wish I had asked sooner as it would have saved me a lot of headache. All in all this store is exemplary, and a staple in the Tampa Bay reefing community.

Dave Casale

2024-01

Super knowledgeable, always informative and absolutely beautiful aquariums.

david brooks

2022-05

A great local fish store who quarantine their fish and always have healthy fish for sale. I have had a problem trying to get my fish to eat that I purchase from them. Very clean tanks !! If you want healthy fish and corals this is the place. John and his wife are very knowledgeable. Thank you guys for great service and healthy fish.

Edgard Colon

2015-05

Been in the hobby for more then 30 years and I still learning new stuff and techniques every day.Wend I move to the Tampa Bay area wend looking for a good reef shop and stop by FAOIS. Nice store, OK prices, but they need a to learn to handle costumers a little better. I wend their on 2 different occasions doing my homework on the store before I do business with them. Both times the same guy was present. I ask some questions (simpler and technical ones) testing the knowledge and honesty of this store. Every question was answer with a sarcasms or a idiotic look, if not answer at all. I been told that guy was the owner and that he has a reputation to be a jerk. Well my experience prove that. Not matter how good is the store, if the employees are a bunch of assholes is not worth it. This hobby is all about learning and passing the knowledge. Is better shops in the area with better costumer service. Places that take their time to engage in a conversation with their costumes and care about them.

Paul Keller

2024-02

They always have live food in stock. Friendly owner.

Cam

2021-05

Truly an operation where they have the livestock' s best interest at heart paired with an approach of educating the consumer allowing for best chance of success and long term health of the tank and inhabitants. Tried and true quarantine system in place and buy with confidence knowing they have taken precautions, . Understand the staffs mentality is not to sell you something you don't need. If you don't know an answer they will educate you and that may result in a delayed purchase however that is the beauty of how FAOIS works. Don't be afraid to speak up, John and staff will break things down for you in a way that is easy to understand for some of the more intricate methods in reefing. They allow you to browse without standing over your shoulder so when you are ready for assistance wave em' down. Should be on your list of local shops to visit for quality, information, and specialty items.

Antron Benbow (Tron)

2023-05

Stopped in after work to try to find an anemone for my 26 gal nano. Unfortunately they did not have what I was looking for, however the person working there who I think is the owner was super helpful in answering my questions about what I was there for. I will definitely be back there to pick out some of their nice looking coral frags.

Maurice Thorne

2016-05

I have been looking for an aquatic store for nearly seven months and finally came across Fish and Other Ichthy Stuff. What a great experience. The first time I went to the store, two employees were eating their lunch and were insisting on helping me. I told them I would wait and looked around the store. I told Rob that I wanted a certain coral and he let me know that based on my very limited experience and maturity of my tank, that coral would not be a good choice. Rob pointed me in the right direction on what things would work best in my tank. He was exactly right and now my tank is thriving. The employees at this store are very knowledgeable and very helpful. Nine pieces in and nothing but success. I now have a red slime problem and will be going to see my Professor tomorrow. My fault for over feeding. Thank you Rob for your patients.

Matthew Blackburn

2018-05

Owner knows his stuff for sure. His wife is really nice, but sometimes his demeanor comes across as less than desirable.

Tabbi marquis

2019-05

Short and simple. This is my new favorite fish store. Clean, healthy livestock and the prices are great. The (I’m guessing) owner isn’t the warmest guy in the world but I’d rather have direct knowledgeable answers than big smiles and a lot of bs. There is a fish store down the road who has the friendliest staff I’ve ever dealt with and charges twice as much. So, take your pick.

Jacob Baxley

2023-05

While they may not have a $5 rack, every piece on his coral rack were visually appealing, chunky, and bright. So excited to come back for some of those cheap hammers and zoas I went out and got more glue!

A. Colin Flood

2021-05

Although I rarely came in and bought very little, the owner always greeted me by name and was always nice to me. He supported our local miniature reef club. He modified a Dursa overflow box for my algae refugium. His shop GREW during the Great Recession! That speaks volumes about pricing and service. Highly recommended.

Michael Elmore

2023-06

Here are the facts, John and Jen are absolutely amazing people, John might come off as "rude" as others have said, but he has never been rude to me, he's honestly one of the most knowledgeable individuals in this hobby, and if you take what he says as being rude you simply just can't accept being told the truth, that's it's, I've been a customer of John and Jen for almost 10 years and if I need honest no BS advice this is where I'm going.

Kevin Arrington

2022-05

Great LFS. The owners are very knowledgeable and helpful. They may not always tell you what you want to hear, but they will tell you what you need to hear. Some folks can not deal with facts. They care about the livestock, not only getting the sales. The livestock it healthy and properly quarantined. FOIS is my go to!

Stephen Dunham

2023-05

John and Jennifer are the best. Have been shopping for coral and marine fish here for the last 7 months! The healthiest selection of all marine critters are here.

roy lovato

2022-05

Small store but primo fish and coral selection! Clean frag plugs and corals looked pest free!! Healthy looking fish! Owner seemed kinda down and out about the company but times are hard right now! Over all 5 star review go here and support this LFS! I was in from out of town and in no place to take something home or this would be my go to store!!

Ken Kunsman

2022-05

Don't judge a book by its cover. The owner knows his fish! I only buy my fish here now. All fish are quarantined first, and the date they arrived is on the tank. He won't let me add a bad fit to my tank.

Matt Duren

2018-05

I've been going here forever, like 15+ years. The entire time John has had the healthiest fish in town and easily cares the most out of all the stores nearby. If he comes across as rude, know this - John is the only owner I know that cares more about the wellbeing of the animals he sells than his customers which is hugely underrated.

ron zamott

2023-12

John the owner know his stuff and has quality fish

Logan Miller

2022-05

FIAOS came highly recommended by two personal friends when my wife and I decided to get into marine fishkeeping. The owner and his wife are very knowledgeable and helpful, their stock always looks and performs well, and as someone who is newer to keeping marine fish they really take the time to make sure you understand what you're doing. I think most places that sell fish in the area care about the product, but FIAOS seems to care more and that means a lot to me.

Christopher Brown

2016-05

John the owner helped save my tank this past week. Even though the shop was busy, he immediately went into action to help me. Chris was also an incredible help! These two know their trade! I will continue to give this place my business and tell all who listen where to go. Thank you so much guys!!

Richard Lozada

2019-05

I am getting back to the hobby and was looking for some guidance on how to start a new tank. I got a tank from my wife as an early xmas gift. I went in the store and the gentleman working there was helping someone else so I just started looking around. The store looks clean the fish look healthy and I was really liking what I was seeing and I really thought I came to the right place. The clerk greeted me and asked if he could help and I responded that I was starting up a new tank and was interested in fish only. I told I already had a tank and wanted advice on what to do next.I knew he was still helping someone else so I patiently waited as I looked around. He finished with his customer and never came back to me. He did not seem interested in helping and I noticed he started feeding the fish. So I approached him and started asking some questions. He answered in a vague way and in a tone that made me feel that I was annoying him.I could tell this guy really didn't want to help me. Unfortunately, I felt uncomfortable and just left. I went to another store a few miles east and when I asked the same set of questions the response was totally different I actually got some friendly answers and felt like the person really wanted to help me. So they got my business and not my first store.My advice is if you have a business in a specialized hobby like this, you will get people with all levels of knowledge. Novices will have many questions sometimes and it doesn't hurt to be a bit friendly.Yeah, based on response below you can tell he really doesn't care.Good luck.

Elizabeth Keel

2014-05

I think it's really funny how things work out sometimes! I started out upset that my favorite store with the highest quality livestock had "grumpy-gills" working there and ended up loving it so much I wanted to be there all the time. Both gentlemen that work at the store are very knowledgeable in the hobby and are incredibly helpful, not to mention funny, and really do care about their animals! Now, after leaving my first review and updating it over time, I feel compelled to update my review for the 3rd time.I love the store and taking care of the fish. I have a new found respect for the level of dedication and excellence they expect for their fish and invertebrates and I am pleased to be a part of the experience. It's wonderful being able to work all day with what you love and I love FAOIS. I hope everyone likes our product photography, it's a real pleasure to work with such beautiful subjects if only it could be a full time job!Come see us at the store sometime!Old Excerpts:"I really like the fish and how clean this store is, much better then any of the other places around Pinellas and Pasco. They have a great selection. One busy Saturday one of their employees actually went over in detail some of my choices for a new tankmate and was very nice and friendly. I'll continue to update experiences but for now I love their fish and their other equipment (decently priced I might add!)."

PJM

2021-05

This place can get you whatever you want at a great price and delivers sound advice and knowledge.Tire kickers be warned tho. No time for “it’s a dollar cheaper on amazon” and don’t ask a question and then say “well that’s not what I read on.....😂😂😂That should apply to any business but go in,Get what you need and listen to truly sound advice.Patrick Murphy

Stylianos Splinis (Hades)

2014-05

This is the only fish store I trust. FAOIS is great, both John and Chris are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. I recently had a 2 minute lecture from John of why I should choose a specific salt vs a cheaper one and I decided against his advice which hurt my tank. Both Chris and John were there to help me get my tank back to health and I will now heed the advice. Great job fellows. No more Red Sea Salt! wooo!

Cody Beck

2021-05

Fish and Other Ichty Stuff is the best local fish store in the state for fish. Selection isn’t always huge BUT the fish are quarantined, colorful, and eating. John and Jennifer are extremely knowledgeable about the hobby and tell it like it is, if that isn’t for you then that’s on you. They really care about the animals.

Gabe Montero

2022-05

Don't tell me what I can and can't buy especially when I'm trying to replace something that I purchased there. It's MY tank, MY hobby. There's plenty of other places that will happily let me stock my tank. I got 20 years in the hobby, I never asked for your opinion.