Carson Tropical Fish

Fantastic experience: The best fish store around! I live near downtown Long Beach and I don't mind driving an extra four/five miles to come here. Fishes, supplies, etc. They're your one stop shop! The pricing is fair and reasonable. Lots of value for your dollar.

Fantastic experience: Ive been going here for more than 25 years, and it is hands down one of the best fish stores around

Negative experience: I recently visited Carson Tropical Fish and was disappointed with my experience. While the store had a semi decent selection of fish and supplies, I found the customer service to be lacking. The staff seemed disinterested. Additionally, I noticed that several tanks appeared to be dirty and overcrowded, which made me concerned about the well-being of the fish. Overall, I would recommend looking elsewhere for your tropical fish needs.

Fantastic experience: Best fish store I've ever been to. Maybe not the fanciest, but best value and selection both salt and freshwater! Like someone else said, I have a feeling the negative reviews are coming from the competition. These people are friendly and their customer service is second to none. Can't beat the prices on used equipment either

Positive experience: I had one bad customer service moment previously. However, I was there recently and the gentleman at the counter was incredibly helpful! He even had me put things I didn't need to buy to purchase what I actually need (which was less expensive). I'm happy again with this place.

Fantastic experience: They have a lot of fish both fresh water and salt water. They also have coral. Prices are reasonabel and staff are knowledgeable.

Positive experience: litterally the best place ever to get your tank, if you just need get some supplies for your tank and just wanna get it quick and cheap? get it here! and also the tank prices are PERFECTO! me and my dad got a 90 gallon for 400 bux, and also! a trick is to also to bring it in cold cash! no tax perfect.

Fantastic experience: New to the area and I’ve been look for a pet fish store near by for the last couple weeks. I came across this store on google search. Let me tell u, I’ve been in the freshwater aquarium fish hobby over 7 year when I was in West Virginia and now I’ve entered the reef hobby just a year and a half ago since I’ve moved back here to Cali. When I had a freshwater tank I had African Cichlids the whole time and only dealt with one store because the owner and staff alway done me right and I mean “always” and that mean something to me. So I went to this store and I tell you, Bryce made me feel welcome and he didn’t even know how much of a passion I have for this hobby. Now I can write countless of paragraphs of my experience in the store, but let’s just say I was there for over an hour. As a reef tank hobbyist theirs countless effort we put into our aquarium, so when I say give the store a try, you will not be disappointed in spending your hard earned money with them (Bryce). Have not met the owner personally yet, but I can only imagine he would be a reflection of his employees.

Fantastic experience: Always excellent. I love Tom and his crew.

Positive experience: They are very nice and helpful

Fantastic experience: I like the store will be back.

Fantastic experience: One of the gentlemen here took great care when we were looking for some rare salt. They have a massive selection of aquarium products and even helped us load out the heavy salt into the car. Great service here and excellent selection. Thanks guys!

Fantastic experience: Exelent costumer services thank you

Fantastic experience: Super friendly! Great place to get live fish and coral and supplies.

Negative experience: Seems like I was being rushed and give u very to know info about products was going to spend a few hundred in there for reef tank ended up just getting a Syphon from the rush

Fantastic experience: They dominate in saltwater items. From used equipment (that go for less pice) to fish and corals. They have an impressive selection of corals and frags, but the fish selection could use some variety. But still, epic display tanks.

Negative experience: I've been coming here for a while but had a terrible experience here today. I've been on look for a fire hawk fish for a good deal and found one. The tank said he was "$14.99" so I jumped on the opportunity. When I went to cash out, they tried to casually say the fish was "$41.99" I went back to take a picture of the price advertised on the tank, but when I went back to take a picture of the tank, the owner was standing over the spot changing the price. I have worked retail all my life, and have always honored the price even if I made a mistake pricing. If they straight up said it was the wrong price I'd have no problem, but really was disappointed with how they treated me and acted. Won't be coming back here.

Fantastic experience: i’ve been coming to Carson tropical Fish for over 20 years I’ve never had an issue with the owner Tom he’s actually really cool or chin or anyone that works there their prices cannot be beat he works with you on everything honestly it’s the best fish store I’ve ever been to and I’ve been in the hobby for 30 years as far as returns go and stuff like that that he absolutely will always back the product he sells so don’t believe in the negative reviews is not true must be somebody working at strictly Fish. You get very high end coral here for half the price of anywhere else , And he has a awesome selection of used equipment that he will sell you for really good price like I said tom is an awesome guy the owner the staff is really friendly don’t believe in the negative reviews they are not true

Fantastic experience: good fish good price

Fantastic experience: Awesome spot with amazing prices and a huge selection. The guy that works here is a really friendly and helpful person. This is going to be my new place. Thanks a lot!

Positive experience: It's more saltwater fish and corals not to much fresh water fish. Prices are ok.

Fantastic experience: The store is small but packed with great looking coral and fish. They also have a large inventory of used parts in very good shape.

Fantastic experience: Place was very informal and great spoke with Bryce and he knows his stuff great location keep it up guys

Negative experience: Great staff but the place needs to be clean up water tanks look dirty and poor lights in the whole building

Fantastic experience: Ok so this place is a bit on the dirty side, however it doesn't have that fishy smell. They seem to specialize in corals, and reef tanks. Why this place gets such a high rating from me is that their customer service is second to none, and their prices are very fair to excellent. And the health of most of the fish in the store seems to be very high.

Negative experience: It looks dirty I wouldn't buy no fish from there

Negative experience: Sold me a “new” tank. I was convinced. However, when I got home it clearly was a repaired tank of some sort...full of scratches and poorly siliconed (it was hard to see the damage/imperfections in the poorly lit store. You get what you pay for. THEY DO NOT DO RETURNS. The store is also extremely dirty. Do yourself a favor and Drive a little bit further and spend a little more at Strictly Fish. This is an expensive hobby where quality is a must. Listen to the bad reviews.

Fantastic experience: Always come here for my saltwater and corals. Yeah I've been coming for years, so I can't say if they are rude or not to others. I just walk in and get what I need. Fish, coral, and water conditioner etc. I get that strickly fish is down the street, and yes they keep their business nice and up kept. Yet, I come here for the prices, which is less than strictly fish. I'm not saying I dont go to strickly fish, but I do for other needs. It's a great selection to have, plus they have great steals. My coral from are all thriving so I dont know and I can't Say for others.

Fantastic experience: Good fresh water and salt water selection of fish. Friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Fantastic experience: I shop here all the time. Great service, price and selection.

Fantastic experience: Typical LFS. Good knowledge staff. Kinda messy inside but they have what you need. Prices are fair but negotiable (live stock)

Fantastic experience: Great range of fish and equipment

Fantastic experience: great service everyone there knows their stuff and they are honest they will tell you if the fish you want will get alone with your fish they don"t try to sell you something just to sell and make money. love this place AAA+++

Negative experience: I recently got salt water from them and as soon as I added it into my reef aquarium all my corals started shriveling up and the fish and corals died an hour later. At first I thought maybe my water temp was too hot but nope it was absolutely perfect. I spent 6 hours trying to figure out what had happened and I measured the salinity of the water that they gave me and it was wayyy to salty and the water even smelled funny and the worse thing is I asked them if the water was safe for saltwater reef aquariums and they said it was perfect:( and a lot of the freshwater fish look like they are in terrible shape. I recently bought some goldfish because they are 12 for a dollar and I was going to add them into my mini pond but the water that the goldfish lived in smelled really bad and made me nauseous. They had pacus with gum infections and 99% of the freshwater fish looked stressed out. But some of the people there are friendly. Overall they have good prices on some stuff but don’t let that fool you because they’ll end up dying.

Fantastic experience: Great selection of fish and corals. Friendly workers with lots of knowledge.

Positive experience: I was weary of buying fish or plants from this store because of concern for their health. I know the difference between an aging store and store that may not be doing the best maintenance on all it's tanks. My service wasn't bad, but all I was doing was grabbing RO water. After visiting stores from Covina down to San Diego this fish store scores low compared to the dozens of others I have visited. If this is your local store and you just are toying with the hobby it will meet your needs. However if you are looking for inspiration and mastery knowledge I have to say this one misses that signature.

Negative experience: Wow seriously these fish are all sick or dying holes on their body ich fin rot horrible conditions roaches and ants place is dark dirty amd messy i would not put a fish from their in my aquarium employees not to bright or helpful like they dont care about business stricly fish down the street is were to go remeber you get what you pay for!!!! You dont habe to take my word you can take a look for yourself i feel so bad for the fish

Fantastic experience: Tom and his staff are so helpful. I have been a customer for 20 years.

Fantastic experience: Went here trying to find better prices on fish and Carson Tropical Fish has them. Staff is always ready to help you and everything is a great deal. Will definitely be returning for any and all fish and supplies.

Negative experience: Overstuffed tanks, slim selection, gross tanks, rude employ (he was an extreme dick), store was unkempt with ants crawling from tank to tank.. Even the fish looked really sad.

Fantastic experience: Great selection of reef fish and coral. Great service!

Positive experience: Awesome store for any saltwater aquarist looking for excellent service at a great price! This place has a lot of fish, and coral selections. Huge live rock reservoir. Lots of materials and supplies to pick up at amazing prices. The employees are very friendly and knowledgable. I visited the store with my girlfriend, my only critique would be that the store is a bit messy, but other than that we both had a great experience here. Highly recommend.

Fantastic experience: A good selection of coral and good customer service

Positive experience: These guys know their stuff! They are always willing to help and answer questions. Awesome customer service. If you bring them a water sample, they will test it for you and let you know what you need to do. I drive past other fish stores to come here.

Positive experience: Small fish store. Lots of salt water fish to choose from. Not a lot of tropical fish choice. Tank was dirty, algae hard to see fish in tank. Most of tank had no light. It was kind of dark Inside.

Negative experience: The positive reviews here have to be friends of the owner. I've been here three times, usually after visiting the outstanding Strictly Fish up the street. The difference is striking. As well lit as the alley behind it, tanks as dirty too. Livestock selection limited to sick or dying. Ich, hole in the head... Been to quite a few places, dozens really, this shop ranks at the bottom.

Fantastic experience: Great customer service and extremely helpful. They have a big selection of salt water fish and corals.

Fantastic experience: Been going to this place for over 10 years and would highly recommend it to beginners and anyone looking for quality at a great price. I have over 5 locations closer to me here in OC but I'd rather drive a few more miles to go here.

Fantastic experience: one of my favorite fish stores. great selection in coral reef. always finding great deals on collector corals. good place for new and used equipment. The people who gave this store a bad review was for the stores appearance. this is not a petco or petsmart. selection, prices and customer service is the reason why i shop here.

Fantastic experience: Idk whats wrong with these people and their bad comments, this place is awesome o drive from Fullerton to carson. Everyone in the shop helps you and pretty much educates you. I was afraid to own a salt water aquarium because of all the special needs of it but after I visited this shop I wanted my.aquarium and they showed me everything I need it and what to do and not do and its easy. I really recommend this place they will answer any question

Fantastic experience: They have alot of fishy :)

Fantastic experience: Best Place for coral flags, everything is reasonable there. And they know what they are doing, willing to help as well. I've been there since 5 years ago for all my fish and reef tanks. can't go wrong

Positive experience: These people and their reviews, A BAD experience at Carson?? Get outta here.. This shop is by far the best shop around..I travel quite a distance and always have. I pass 4 other Tropical Fish Stores just to go see Carson. Let me tell you an experience. I was living in Fountain Valley. Shopped called TONGS, I had a aggressive fish in my coral tank. I asked what solutions that had to get the fishy out. I was told to go look over on that isle and they had fish catchers. $80 for a glass box with a closing door. I needed it and bought it cause I couldnt make it to Carson before they closed. Caught the fish that night. Took the fish to Carson the next day. Saw the same Fish Catcher at Carson brand new for $50 but they had a used one they said "Next time you need to catch a fish come borrow our catcher and bring it back." Carson has been the only shop that doesnt mind testing my water and they do it with a smile. Instead of saying "oh your good" they tell me exactly what I need to do to get things running 100%. If you ask for help you get it at Carson. I also own a retail business and I understand the importance of customer satisfaction. My hat is off to the guys at Carson Tropical Fish..

Positive experience: 7.7.2011...I started keeping tropical fish in 1985 and I could immediately tell that this is a bare bones operation for the hardcore hobbyist. If you need frou-frou hand holding and a shiny store just limit your worldview to PetCo and stay there! If you are an experienced reefer with 4+ years experience come here and you will find bargains galore. You need to look past the dust, coralline algae, and salt creep and REALLY LOOK at the corals. It's like going to a club swap, really cool selection with rock bottom prices. The same applies to the used equipment, you have to know what to look for. I bought a used & working 250W HQI MH Nanocube hood for a steal, with ballast included; and tons of SPS & softie frags too for a client's setup. There are good deals on new aquarium packages. The new dry goods selection was okay, but they can always order what you need at fair prices. The marine fish selection was disappointing but I've noticed that many brick & mortar shops have stopped trying to compete against the online retailers on both regards. You're better off going to the shops near LAX for fish. Even Vivid Aquarium, Age of Aquariums, Pacific Reefs and so forth halfheartedly stock fish. Tong's in Fountain Valley has a good fish selection, but only with a 65% survival rate once brought home. I don't even know why Carson Tropical Fish stocks freshwater, they seem like an after thought, but it must be for the neighborhood families and kids. The owner's English isn't the best but there's usually a younger employee around if you have problems communicating. I received excellent service and noticed other customers did as well. I drove over an hour to get to the shop, and albeit off-putting at first, am glad I did. Now it's ranked amongst some of my favorite SoCal LFS's. Give it a try!

Negative experience: The place was run down, no lights on , the tanks were filthy and the smell of rotten pond water was baddddd, We were excited when we pulled up, it looks realy nice from the outside but once inside we could not leave fast enough!