Gerber's Tropical Fish

They Watch

2023-12

This is a hidden gem! A girl at pet supplies plus recommended I go here and I’m glad I did! They have tortoises and frogs and spiders and all types of fresh and salt water fish! Decorative items, tanks. Really this is one of the best and well stocked stores I’ve ever been to. The associates both times I went were very knowledgeable and happy to help or chat with you about the animals. I was pleasantly surprised by the large amount of space inside with room after room of tanks. It was great. I highly recommend checking them out! I was there a few days prior and they got new redfoot tortoises in so check in often to see the new creatures!

Ashley Kochel

2024-04

Love this place. 1st time ever ...! Definitely going again. At first though it was just the one side but then it opens to The fish room and Then Another Fish room!!! The guy that helped us was very knowledgeable and nice and The Deals are Awesome!

Emma

2024-01

At first, I thought Gerbers was a decent place. I bought my first bearded dragon from there. He was healthy and everything seems fine. I would go back to stock up on food. I notice other dragons they have there one was a donation that was full grown with a nice enclosure and they were trying to charge over $1000 off of a donation and that poor dragon sat there for months. Also I went back and noticed a little dragon That could not walk and was deformed. They told me he had a seizure. I felt so bad I could not leave him there. I ended up taking him home with me. Come to find out they tried to charge me full price for a sick Animal that has Melabotic bone disease. One of the employees took a male full grown dragon out of his enclosure and put him in was a female and thought it was funny to let them breed ,That was disgusting and repulsive. The workers there are completely irresponsible, uneducated and rude. The owner is just as bad, I do not recommend going there for any type of reptiles. They don’t clean their cages like they should and they don’t have proper lighting and most importantly, they’re only in it for the money they don’t care about the welfare of the animals

Richard Bailey

2024-02

Absolutely shocked and horrified at this place! As someone who has been in the tropical fish/saltwater fish/ reef hobby for 40 years, seeing a dead fish in a tank here or there happens. I was however not prepared for what I experienced. Walking in, the smell from the reptile section is enough to make you want to vomit. I’ve never had reptiles but when seeing others comments on here, I know the smell cannot be normal. I used to waste my money on fish here like most people, only to have them get sick, cause my healthy fish to get sick and then everything dies. I used to like to look here every once in a while at the live plants, which is what I was there for. I decided to look at the fish and there were lots of dead fish swirling around the tanks. The condition of these fish were as bad as anything I have ever seen. The fish in my pictures were covered in ich and fungus.The ones that were still alive were struggling to hang on. The livestock in this store are clearly suffering. One would think the owner would be ashamed of himself but he clearly doesn’t care because although my last visit was utterly the worst, all of these comments and nothing ever changes. All the tank water goes through the same system so whatever is in one tank is in all of them. This is not a tropical fish store- this is animal abuse and neglect and it’s time authorities shut it down permanently. For those that need me to state the obvious, I will not be coming back to this place!

car star

2024-03

we’ve been coming here for over 7 years and always walk out with something. now it’s very stinky as soon as you walk in. the reptile cages are all very dirty. the snake enclosure that is pictured had a mouse rotting with maggots coming out of it…. all of the fish/reptiles looked very sad and miserable. the young employees clearly have no clue what they are doing. the whole place needs a clean up it’s looking pretty crazy. anyways everything is way overpriced for how terrible their living conditions are. would hate to pay a pretty penny for the reptile to die bc of it’s conditions it’s forced to live in.

Karissa Lindsey

2024-05

Love this place! Have bought so many of my freshwater fish here! Staff is great and helpful. Nice selection. A more visible sign would be nice, though (can't tell you how many times we've driven past this place and had to turn around).

Steven Turner

2024-04

Awesome fish. It reminded me of going to an aquarium. Bought a red guppy, dwarf frog and orange dwarf lobster. If looking for fish 1000% recommend.

Philip Corwin

2023-10

We come here to get a lot of the things we need for our reef tank. The store has everything you need for freshwater, saltwater, and more! The owner is very knowledgeable and the prices are good.

Joshua Bennett

2024-05

Don’t really understand how this location has so many high star reviews, unless most people are just negligent on proper animal care. Was a bad culmination of anxiety and depression walking through their fish rooms and seeing the poor treatment of their stock. I have never seen so much death in fish store tanks with at least one if not 4 or 5 decaying creatures per each tank. Most tanks were severely overstocked as well and completely barren. Worst part was initially walking in and seeing a catfish with huge portions of his mouth, upper fin, and rear fin missing leaving large open wounds. Still left him in the tank with all the rest of the fish instead of having a responsible hospital room/tanks. Almost forgot to mention the infestation of planaria in their shrimp tanks. A pest that eats any livestock it can get ahold of (baby shrimp) and can infest a person’s tank quickly. Would be quite easy to pick up a bad infestation if you was to buy stock from this location.My partner and I frequently travel to fish store locations almost weekly, and so far this is by far my LEAST liked location we’ve been too. We’ve probably seen 15+ in the last couple months and not once did I feel inclined to leave a review on one until seeing this place.

T. Muller

2023-11

Great staff, TERRIBLE care of fish.I visited this shop on the suggestion of a local aquarist I work with to buy some meds and gravel. The staff were extremely helpful, and for this I'd have given five stars; However, I decided to look at the fish for sale, and was extremely disappointed in the conditions in which their large selection of fish and crustaceans are kept; I have seen better standards for fish care at Walmarts. Every single tank was overstocked beyond belief with dozens to hundreds of animals bumping into each other and vying for space at the bottom, many of the tanks were filthy (some to the point that it was difficult to view the animals inside), most of the crustacea did not have places to hide (which is a basic need for their well being), and I spotted numerous dead, sick, and dying fish throughout, including expensive gobies lying dead next to their $50 price tags. Some animals, such as the peacock mantis shrimp they had for sale for $150, were housed alone, but in completely barren and very small tanks well below the recommended gallonage for the species inside. As a professional animal behavior researcher that works with live fish on a daily basis and who is quite familiar with fish husbandry, I am not impressed, and I'm unsure if I'll return, as it seems that this shop values offering a very large stock over offering healthy, living animals.

Darcy Ryane

2024-02

Saltwater and freshwater , he's even got scaly things now ! He also has all your needs, tanks, additions, food, everything you need. John is great and so is his staff. Highly recommend. Very knowledgeable and if you're having problems, great recommendations for additions to your tank . Beautiful fish and quality, you don't have to worry about bringing any sickness home. Highly recommend this place if you're a new or seasoned with the aquatic lifestyle!

Kelly Sexton

2023-08

They said they buy fish, we were moving and downsizing we brought in a large cichlid worth at least $25 along with a few other fish, very healthy,owner was arguing with an employee, then took our fish without looking at them, threw in a bucket on the ground then asked if they were a donation..we have a Piranha at home so since they weren't buying them, we traded for medium comets (feeder fish) he gave us small comets instead,once we got them home and in tank some started dying, few days later our entire tank had ich and killed our Playco, nearly killing our Piranha we've have for 5 years! We usually get our feeder fish from pet supplies plus never had an issue before.. the service from the owner was horrible...he just acted like he didn't care... We will not be going back to this store!

Stephen Burton

2023-12

Wow. I was absolutely blown away by the selection of fresh and salt water fish they had. Reptiles and turtles and everything in between. It's like a trip to New Port without leaving Dayton.

Chris Reason

2024-03

I’ve gone to Gerber many times over the years. Always a large selection of saltwater fish. Knowledgeable and helpful staff. Good pricing. I’ve gone here for fish, inverts, corals and frozen foods. I’ve not had any issues with my selections. Glad to have this available in Dayton.

Derricks Concrete

2024-04

Great assortment of fish and decor. Some things were very fair as far as price and others I didn't know anything about so I'm assuming it's all in the market. Take your kids to check it out for fun and take yourself if you're into your fish

Darlene Cole

2024-04

I found Nemo loved the experience to walk thru the kids loved it going to them fish very soon so guys see ya soon for everything we need and the fish

Samantha Shumaker

2024-01

Love this store and just had the absolute best experience with Ryan. She helped my daughter put together her new 10 gallon tank and I couldn’t have asked for a more patient, understanding, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic helper! Truly blown away by the customer service today.

Dallas Athena

2024-05

This place is just so heart breaking. Oscars with hole in the head disease, catfish with chunks taking out of them not removed to hospital tanks, turtles with out proper lighting or a way to even get out of the water, dead fish in every tank, planeria in shrimp tanks, the list just goes on. Not to mention watch your step because the floors are flooded.My husband and I are advid pet store hoppers in multiple states and this is by far the worst one we've seen. Honestly this place should be shut down for animal abuse.

Jared Junkin

2023-09

In no reality is 300 dollars for a leaking fish tank a reasonable ask. Then to see new 20 gallon tanks at 90 dollars for just a standard tank? I found myself becoming heated over the pricing on dry things, then I walked into the fish room. I go into a lot of fish shop. I grade the husbandry of the livestock at a D+.I will give it to them that they had a bigger selection of large fish than I've seen anywhere in a long time. But to see those large fish being kept so poorly wasn't encouraging.

Anna Hartman

2024-03

Firstly, I’ll start by saying that the employee I encountered (I didn’t get his name) was extremely kind and willing to help. My issue instead is with the conditions of the animals. They’re SO MANY dead fish AND malnourished reptiles. I’m definitely not an expert so I have absolutely no room to give advice- however I do know that there shouldn’t be reptiles, crabs, fish, etc decaying to that extent in their tanks/enclosures. So unbelievably sad. A few people I know highly recommended coming here as I needed live aquatic plants for my tanks. As many other newer reviews have stated- this place used to be a great store to shop, but has really declined in its care, cleanliness and husbandry. Hopefully they can start making adjustments and get this place back on track.

Angela Lewis

2024-01

I love this place. It is like a free aquarium.

Cody Couch

2024-03

About 10 years ago this was the only place I'd buy my fish from. I would drive 3 hours to come here specifically to get all of my fish from here. After getting out of the hobby and just recently getting back into the hobby I was shocked to find how far downhill the quality and selection has gone. Dirty tanks, dead fish, empty tanks in general. Disappointing to say the least

Alexis Kotwica

2024-04

Used to love this place. Went for the first time years today. Several large dead fish , very sad to see. 2 dead jumbo ryukin possibly oranda goldfish, multiple discus with SEVERE lacerations on the sides, large dead marine angel (don’t remember what kind) .. every reptile enclosure was nasty but the large milk snake was in the worst. So much feces, much more than what occurs after a typical snake feeding. Overall disappointed. Work on routine reptile maintenance is seriously needed.Been working in the fish industry for ove r10 years. Even with all the tanks gerbers has, it Takes less than 10 minutes to walk the tanks every hour searching and removing the dead fish from the tanks.Reptile prices are so-so. Some good deals some not. Most fish are reasonably priced for the size and you do have a nice variety and can score the larger fish that you can’t get from your general pet store.

Joe Kwan

2024-01

Walked in with maybe 4 other shoppers walking around. I was getting ready to ask to buy some corals when a whole crowd of people showed up ended up never getting help or finding someone to help after walking up front multiple times but I over heard an employee state only one worker was aloud to bag saltwater stuff he then walked out the saltwater area and left me and another 1 of the original 4 or so people from the hour earlier standing in the hot humid shop was sweating and waiting. coral vats are also nasty and filled with all kinds of pest and long algea Only people giving this place 5 stars are completely uneducated and still reptiles are neglected here can't even see into the cage with a week's worth of poop on the front glass. irresponsible selection of "monster fish" and over priced dry goods. just down right bad practice .I'd rather drive to every other shop in nearby towns individually and waste a whole day collecting what I need than come here probably save money and my time and not get sweaty doing it.

Andy Frisby

2024-05

Had to replace my pond fish this year...Great looking fish to choose from! Great staff..very helpful and the fish look really healthy

Taylor Rhoads

2022-05

This place was extensive and had a really broad variety of both saltwater and freshwater fish! If you’re looking for something specific, look no further; chances are, they have it here.Gerber’s also has a really large selection of supplies you will need to start a new aquarium; saltwater or fresh water. Massive selection of tanks, filters, kits and supplies of all sorts.I’m looking to start a new aquarium soon, and Gerber’s will be my main go-to. Check it out; you’ll have a lot of fun seeing the thousands of fish they have on display!

Richard

2024-03

They have a huge selection. On some visits though, I’ve been nervous about their water quality. It is a large facility, but there were a lot of dead fish on my last visit (and most carcasses looked like they’d been there for awhile). I would not introduce any fish into my system from theirs based on the tank conditions that day

Asia Parks

2023-05

Huge selection of fish! Rows and rows of freshwater fish with good prices. There's also a room of saltwater fish as well. Lots of tank accessories to choose from. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend for all of your tank needs.

Albert Hickey

2024-01

Been going there for years. Was looking for a bottom feeder to replace a goldfish for about $5 seen the Cory cats were $5 so I asked for one got home checked the receipt it was over $40 they gave me the larger one for $39.99. I went in thinking I was overcharged. I was told to bring the fish back for credit. I did but he was dead. Brought in a water sample and they said too high ammonia so I'm out of luck $40 when all I wanted was a $5 bottom feeder which I still don't have along with my $40. Pretty disappointed they gave me a $40 fish when I was clear I didn't want to spend more than $5 just a very bad experience

Teresa Fugate

2024-02

We usually find great things here. The staff is friendly but it seems lately they aren't as knowledgeable. Maybe new staff? Either way they will still try to find someone to answer questions and it's a great place.