Franco's Aquariums

Negative experience: The store has a good selection of fish unfortunately there’s some stuff that I wish I didn’t see fish in tanks bullied by tank mates to the point of missing fins and chunks of flesh. Any responsible aquarist would remove the problem fish from the tank. Tanks were a bit filthy as well

Negative experience: Disappointed The fact that he has 2 adult male Cichlids in 1 tank even though there is clearly a pair. Both males are tore up they basically have no fins. Yet still is asking $80 for a beat up fish is ridiculous. Was my first time ever going and it’s definitely my last

Positive experience: Bought some fish for a new tank and they had ich. Edit: treated the ich and the fish have had a healthy and high survival rate since. As a result the review has been updated.

Fantastic experience: First, we were greeted by a wonderful lady who took her time explaining everything and answered all my questions with patience and HONESTY. There was absolutely no pressure or upselling. We actually left to check another store, but ended up coming right back, the fish here were so beautiful and healthy, we couldn’t resist! I’m so glad I found this place. Huge selection, great service, highly recommend.

Negative experience: It was our first time visiting the store because we love aquariums but as soon as we entered they were irresponsible and had there dog off leash running all around the store and running towards us at the door, and we cannot be touched by dogs due to our religion but they didn’t seem to care and just laughed at us, secondly the lady was communicating with us in an extremely rude manner with no respect on how to talk to a customer made fun of us and internally kept calling us stupid due to our knowledge on aquariums as it is just a hobby for our family and didn’t know as much. Please stay away from this low quality aquarium store, the store isn’t even nice and overpriced for no reason there are much better much better quality stores with ACTUAL respectful workers that you should take you business too. thank you have have a good day.

Fantastic experience: The owner of this shop is amazing. Not only is she so knowledgeable and helpful, she is such a kind person. My daughter has wanted to start a fish tank for years. We unknowingly purchased a kit from a generic pet store, before finding her. I wish we had just came to her from the start. After realizing our mistake, she helped us get everything right for the aquarium, and was just beyond amazing to my daughter. The kindness, knowledge, and helpfulness she has shown us on our aquarium journey is unmeasurable. We will never spend a dime anywhere but here. She has such a passion for what she does, and her tanks and fish are clean and so healthy. Cannot recommend this shop enough!

Fantastic experience: If you a fishes lover, strongly recommended this shop. The bosses are wonderful, and super helpful! Deal are great as well. My kids love the fishes and shells we bought them. This is our go to aquarium! Own by local owner as well.

Negative experience: Dirty tanks , fish looked incredibly unhealthy, and sick, zero help not that I was going to buy anything some neat fish to bad they are in such bad shape

Fantastic experience: Great service and healthy stock. Will be back.

Positive experience: Decent selection of fish livestock, but customer service always seems a bit impersonal. Livestock is healthy, but tank aesthetics could be improved. Lots of unsightly and unwanted algae in display tanks that you probably don't want to bring home into your tanks. Prices are also unclear because livestock is mixed into the same tanks versus being divided. Prices are a bit better than Pieces Pet Emporium.

Negative experience: Incredibly rude on the phone. Called to find out if they had a fish in stock. A lady answered the phone with "Oh my god what!". I finally had the time to check out this store as they are closer than Pisces but being snapped at before I even got a chance to say hello was very off putting. No support for this local business. Treat your customers right and they will be customers for life and support you with word of mouth as well. I was looking to purchase something in store and support your business so a bit of courtesy would have been nice. Will give this one a definite pass.

Fantastic experience: Nice to have lots of small pet shops

Fantastic experience: As a novice fish owner, I sought out plants for my tank. After a quick google search, we found this place and had a fantastic experience. Linda patiently educated us on fish and plants, answering all of our beginner questions. This store has earned my loyalty for all my fish needs.

Negative experience: Not recommended. The owner didn’t even know what they are selling, they told you one thing while selling you another. It seems that they get fish randomly somewhere and then put everything into one tank and randomly name the fish and give a price. If you ask the gentleman the price and a moment later you ask the lady what’s the price they can tell you two difference prices. A lot of price labeled on the tanks are wrong or there is not even a price. Basically the owner tells you price randomly. If you are looking for some quality fish, go somewhere else , if you just want to have something in your tank and don’t care what’s the species then here might be a choice.

Fantastic experience: Very knowledgable staff and friendly to chat with. Great selection of critters and all the fish were very healthy and happy looking. Will definitely be coming back there.

Fantastic experience: Lulu is an absolutely gem, cares about her fish first! she took her personal time to help me combat ick in a tank I inherited through a breakup and was patient to give me knowledge on how to help me understand and took it down to “how to care for dummies” lol. Thank you so much!!!

Fantastic experience: Bought galaxy rasboras today. I’m super happy with them! They look fat, healthy and started eating right away. The woman was super knowledgeable and nice and I felt like the purchasing experience was really personalized and will be back for 20 more rasboras soon.

Negative experience: Not recommended at all. Prices very depending on the tank for the same fish. Gold fish was $6 in one tank and for the same fish in another tank was $35. The owner even said same fish. And then bought 4 small shrimp for $50 for 4. Also the cold fish brought back ich in the tank. As soon as we put the gold fish in everything got effected and killed 3 of my other fish. Very dirty and very cruel to fish as many are very very overcrowded. Again do NOT recommended

Fantastic experience: I absolutely will recommend Francos to whomever is looking for healthy, quality fish stock. Linda went above and beyond to assist in helping me choose my fish.

Fantastic experience: Friendly service , very economically priced and they have a real passion for your pet and they consider that to be the forefront than rather sell you supplies , which I found really helpful.

Fantastic experience: Great place... not fancy, but has what you need... I went to big shops earlier and they ask a lot of questions if you want to buy a fish as pet for the first time... This place was so easy...

Fantastic experience: We are still starting our aquarium and Linda helps us with everything. We bought our fishes in there store and follow all her advice especially us beginners. I recommend everyone who reads this to go to there store and find everything you needed there.

Negative experience: This place needs to be inspected and regulated… The tanks and fish are so poorly kept it’s sad to walk through the store.

Negative experience: Should have city inspection done here. Don't think they are keeping the tanks and fishes according to standard.

Fantastic experience: Best aquarium store in North America

Fantastic experience: Outstanding dedication to the excellent dissemination of knowledge. Linda was endlessly patient and answered all our question, regardless of how many time we asked the same question!! She took a lot of time with us to make sure we understood how to set up the tank and which fish were good together. All the fish and plants were so healthy! Thank you so much!

Negative experience: they have a good selection of fish but it’s upsetting seeing some of the tanks. a lot of fish are sick and lots of tanks are dirty and definitely not a good condition for a fish to live in. clean your tanks properly

Fantastic experience: Came in to get my 75yr old grandma her first fish tank set up for her birthday, Linda was absolutely amazing. She made us feel so welcome and provided such a wonderful crash course on becoming a first time fish parent. This experience was one we will never forget, I will be a lifelong customer. Definitely the place to go in Calgary for all your aquarium needs.

Fantastic experience: Good selection of freshwater fish, super satisfied with prices as well. 6 dollar loaches, tetras 4.50, excellent shrimp collection. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Visited every aquarium in town and this is one of my favorites

Fantastic experience: Bought some healthy fish at a reasonable price

Fantastic experience: Great family run business. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Fantastic prices and healthy fish. Will definitely go back

Positive experience: It's no pisces pet emporium, But it will do in a pinch. They have a fairly good selection for a small store, The prices are a bit higher but that is kind of expected from a smaller store. Biggest downside for me is the lack of cleanliness of the store and the aquariums. However all of the fish i have bought from there were healthy and are still alive a year later.

Fantastic experience: Tiny little Aquarium shop... Crazy selection of tropical fish. They have stuff you haven't seen in other shops. Very cool. I went in looking to replace a goldfish (R.I.P. Moop) and found the perfect little guy! Healthy, energetic fish in all the tanks. No flashy tank set ups, just easy fish viewing Decent prices too

Fantastic experience: Great selection of fish, very knowledgeable staff. Honest and caring fish keepers. They had a corydora over 10 years old. Can't wait to go back for my new cichlid tank. Local and family owned. They once took an order over the phone for me for a door pick-up because my kids had fallen asleep on the way.

Positive experience: Lots of cichlids to choose from and a variety of sizes

Fantastic experience: I just visited this place and I'm so impressed from customer service to the way they treat and care about the species they have. Linda is so knowledgeable and wonderful to talk to, she'll give the best advice to beginners or experience fish keepers. I highly recommend this place, eventhough it's not a huge place but they have many many species and stock. We will definitely be returning customers to Francos Aquarium.

Fantastic experience: Great place to buy fish, there is a wide selection to choose from and the price range is affordable and reasonable. This is a locally owned family business, they are friendly, knowledgeable and helpful! The tanks are clean and fish are healthy, we've never had any issues with the fish from here and they are thriving in our aquarium. Highly recommend Franco's!

Negative experience: The tanks were clean and the fish looked healthy. The prices, where marked were reasonable too. The problem is that nobody said hello to us and I was unable to figure out who was working there. Strange. So My kids and I left without talking to anyone. It's too bad too, because I really quite liked the emperor tetras and I would have bought some before I left town back to BC but Francos is closed on Fridays so we left town without buying anything. I am not sure how to purchase from this store. I'm stumped. Maybe you will have more luck than I.

Positive experience: Have many nice freshwater fishes.

Fantastic experience: I’ve been shopping here for years. Great fish and the knowledge is unmatched. Definitely worth the money and you should be supporting these small shops. It’s a family business.

Fantastic experience: If you haven’t gone there before, I just want to suggest Francos Aquarium for freshwater fish! I showed up there with 3 kids a husband and myself and no real plan and we left with some starter fish and a plan for what we wanted to build up to in our community tank! And bless Lulu for patiently answering all my questions and offering her experienced guidance. I really just got a fish tank from someone and assumed I would be good to go! Lol! I had to run out a couple times for basic stuff that I didn’t even know I needed, but now we have a really great tank started up! We will be back for more fish soon!

Fantastic experience: First visit - Clean, more spacious than other Aquariums, has adequate selection of décor, sand/ gravel & Substrate, and knowledgeable owner. Provided helpful tips on water care, Food options and general tips for our aquarium.

Fantastic experience: They have a large variety of fish, I finally found the jellyhead goldfish, that made me happy. They treated us very professionally and greeted us as we arrived. They were very helpful. Was a great experience.

Negative experience: Overpriced cichlids in town.

Fantastic experience: What an amazing little store to buy all your fish aquarium needs. It is a little on the smaller side in relation to size but let me tell you they go well out of there way to make sure your needs are met and they have a large selection of fish. I will definitely be going back there.

Positive experience: The tanks are clean and staff are nice and helpful They have a good selection of freshwater,tropical,shrimp, snails

Fantastic experience: Extremely friendly owners, very knowledgeable. One of the best places to get fish in the city.

Fantastic experience: Great customer service the best

Negative experience: Nor good for buying fish all their fish they have are mostly not for sale have hile in the head or deformed from inbreeding to much. Ans prices are to high also.

Negative experience: The store and tanks were unclean and many of the fish looked sickly in their tanks. I was heartbroken to see full grown turtles crammed together in such a small space.

Fantastic experience: I always enjoy stopping in at Francos. Linda is great to talk to and I have had great success with the fish that I have purchased here. It's a smaller store but has a good selection of fish. There are a few basic accessories and such in the back corner, but the focus is certainly on the fish themselves.

Fantastic experience: Linda is exactly what I needed in my life starting out with my new tank. She took the time to explain everything and show me the differences between all the products. I can't wait to pick my fish out here!

Fantastic experience: Great local aquarium store. The staff is super friendly and knowledgable :) Not a great variety of plant but they have good variety of accessories, stuff, fish, turtles, etc. Prices are fair.

Negative experience: I bought a pleco from here feb 1 it is now feb 14 I stupidly did not quarantine and it brought some infection in and I have now lost all my pleco babies and a juvenile and the fish I bought from them and spend good money on$40 plus tax . I will not recommend them and will not buy from there again .. I have proof with my bank records I was charged $42 for a female bristlenose pleco on Feb 1 /2021 NONE OF THE OTHER FISH WERE SICK IN THE TANK WERE SHOWING SIGNS OF ILLNESS TILL I BOUGHT THE NEW ONE

Fantastic experience: Really clean aquariums and healthy fish. Not sure what the negative reviews are about, my family has been buying fish from Linda and Franco for a long time and we've never had any problems. They have great customer service and are super knowledgeable. Prices are reasonable for the quality of fish, I also know that they properly quarantine new fish before selling.

Fantastic experience: The hands down best fish store in Calgary. They had all the fish I wanted, which I couldn't find anywhere else, and I could not believe how happy, friendly, and helpful they were. This is the best LFS hands down.

Fantastic experience: I absolutely love this aquarium shop. It was my first time visiting and the lady that helped us was an absolute riot. She was barely knowledgeable about all of the fish she had and was very funny and conversive. I would definitely recommend this aquarium store to anybody new or experienced. I picked up three male fancy guppies 3 Giuli Coreys and to my suprise some Subwasertang that I've been looking for in local aquarium stores for quite some time.

Fantastic experience: The customer service, knowledge and patience to teach new clients is beyond expectation. Our family had gone in thinking we would get a goldfish and left with a gorgeous tank of African Cichilids. We are enjoying our beautiful new tank and have a new fish store. I will not go anywhere else.

Negative experience: This store gives people bad advice on fish care, and sold me aggressive angel fish who have eaten all my tetras and shrimp that the lady said would be fine, she made a big sale and the aninals suffered and died will never ever go here again.

Negative experience: Sept 14th- It is such a shame to write this review, as I had nothing but a wonderful shopping experience BUT I feel is important for potential buyers to know what kind of accountability this stablishment will take if there's issues with their livestock. After many months of debating, I was finally ready to get some dither fish for my many pleco colony tanks. I got a 55 gallon tank ready for quarantining and planned on getting schools of 15-20 of each dither fish. Despite my best efforts, I had a hard time finding the number of fishes I needed and still needed like 10 more galaxy danios and small numbers of cardinals and rummynose tetras. So, one day, I decided to go check this place out. Got the bit of the fishes and then some. Come home immediately. Follow my proper acclimating procedure, put in the tank with the other 50+ fish that had been quarantining there for almost 4 weeks ( with no problems). Checked for ich and everything looked fine. Night comes and the new fish were dropping like flies. Performed a 50% water change immediately, checked water, temp, filters, etc. Couldn't figure out what was wrong. Spent a very late night working on that fish tank and watching how the fish I had there originally were starting to get sick as well and a few died. Researched and researched and thought it was neon tetra disease at first but then my 9 year old talks to me about the "new funny looking fishes" I got and shows me the pictures of two of new galaxy rasboras ( that costed me $10 each btw). Looked at the pictures and it was obvious these two fishes had a horrible internal parasite. This parasite has to be the worst I've ever seen ( and I am not an inexperienced fish keeper) I was upset but never mad at this stablishment because I understand s*** happens. Heck, even I didn't noticed the two funky looking fishes at first. I gave this stablishment a courtesy call to let her know what I had just experienced and that she most likely needs to treat her tank and she wasn't rude but she was in deep denial. " it wasn't my fish" , " maybe it was your tank" , " I sell a lot of fishes all the time and have never heard of such thing" etc. She did however offered I could go back and get a few fish to try again but told me to write a message on fb to show pics, which I did and still to this date, no response lol No refund. No apology. No even an acknowledgement. Thank goodness I quarantine and medicate long and hard or else this could've killed my tens of thousands of dollars in plecos. So far, my losses were only 29/76 cheap ornamental fish but definitely buyer beware. I gave away the slates I purchased from this business as I don't like to take risks with my expensive livestock and this business never takes responsibility. I'll go ahead and add a picture of how this quarantine tank looked like earlier that morning, the two $10" funny fishes" and proof of the internal parasite on these new fish.

Fantastic experience: Despite being a small family owned business, they have a very good selection of fish and aquatic plants. The customer service is great as Linda and Franco are always super helpful and informative. They both have a lot of knowledge! The tanks are clean and fish are healthy, my family has been buying fish from them for years and we've never had any problems. Their tanks sometimes has algae but that's not a cleanliness issue, it's due to light exposure, I get algae in my tanks even though I clean it often.

Fantastic experience: Linda is amazing! Extremely knowledgeable with fish and its very evident that she loves what she does and takes pride in her fish. If you are just setting up a tank or needing advice for your currenttank i would highly recommend coming here.

Fantastic experience: Great store great service and lots of fish to choose from. This is where I got my aquarium and my fish.

Fantastic experience: Awesome place. The owners are very knowledgeable and friendly. Went in with a bunch of questions and they had all the answers. There are some neat fish too!

Negative experience: She was very rude!! Very bad customer service. Its seems like she didn't want my business. She talk down to me because I didn't know anything about fishes. Do not go to Franco Aquarium, I certainly will not never ever return!!

Fantastic experience: Linda took the time to help answer my tank cycling questions, and helped me pick out what I needed.. Thank you so much!!! I won't be going anywhere else for fish or advice!!

Fantastic experience: Good deals only place in Calgary that I've been able to find red crystal shrimp. And currently getting them to quote us for 2 custom tanks. Super happy with them

Fantastic experience: Awesome place to get your aquarium supplies and they have a huge variety of fish. Owners are friendly and knowledgeable, fish are healthy and prices are reasonable. Great place to support a local business!

Fantastic experience: What a gem! Amazing customer service and advice. The interior of the store is simple with the focus where it should be — impeccably clean water and healthy fish. I will definitely be back. Support local small businesses! We are in this together.

Fantastic experience: Bought some African cichlids from Franco’s and I’m really happy with the purchase. I was able to find certain fish here that I couldn’t find anywhere else in the city. They have a very wide selection on fish

Fantastic experience: Thank you Linda! Our tank looks amazing! Our son loves his tank so much...Linda regularly takes calls from him and mentors him on how to run his tank! She is so helpful and caring!!!

Negative experience: We will never return to purchase fish from here. The tanks were unclean and the service was beyond awful. We felt very unwelcome and were spoken to rudely. It was one of worst retail experiences we've had. We strongly recommend going elsewhere.

Fantastic experience: Honestly love supporting this store. Their fish are so healthy and their filters so aged

Positive experience: Great place. Bit fast paced, keep up. She's knowledgeable about the fish and will offer advice. Been back a few times. Note to everyone talking about fish looking sick; always quarantine your purchased fish, no matter where you go. Its the damn rule. Great place, I can match her sarcasm. XD

Fantastic experience: Just got my first full set up from Franco’s! Couldn’t be happier, I felt very confident and informed after leaving there, the staff made sure we had all the information we needed to start up our tank. Beautiful selection of fish, and they are incredibly knowledgeable on how to make your tank look stunning, not just sub par. Excited to go back and pick up some fish!!

Negative experience: Came from Edmonton just to come to this location to pick up a male kribensis and litterley stood there for a half hour asking this person to take out fish so I can purchase she was very rude not impressed at all won't be going back again

Negative experience: Cichlids are way over priced.staff is rude and short with customers.very unpleasant experience.will not be returning.

Positive experience: Needs a better tank maintenance regime! No way will I put those fish in my tank without a lengthy quarantine first.

Fantastic experience: Super knowledgable. They go above and beyond every time to answer your questions and help you choose the perfect fish for your aquarium. They have hands down the best selection, and they bring in some beautiful and rare fish.

Fantastic experience: Small store with a great selection of fish

Positive experience: Healthy fish, lots of rescue fish that they help out with. Knowledgeable help, little higher prices but the fish are bigger, healthier and worth the minimal extra cost.

Fantastic experience: Good prices and the fish are always healthy.

Negative experience: Tanks are very dirty and crowded, fish did not look healthy

Fantastic experience: Healthy fish, great knowledge and prices

Positive experience: The aquariums were very unclean and unkempt. Many fish looked sickly and alot were very overpriced and overcrowded tanks. Also many were not for sale or display only which I didn't quite get as your a fish store so shouldn't most be for sale? Nice enough staff but not sure I'd buy a fish without a quarantined tank at home.

Fantastic experience: Nice family owned place. I've been going here for fifteen years and still my favorite place to get new fish for my tank

Fantastic experience: I came here and fell in l fell in love the plecos, so i was planning on buying them but found out that my tank was too small for them, that's why i am going to be coming here to take a look at them!

Fantastic experience: Great section of tropical fish.

Fantastic experience: Great prices, great knowledge and great service. I bought my first setup from them and the fish lasted for years. Totally recommended experience for first time buyers.

Positive experience: Great prices and good knowledge ... Got Red parrots from there ... Healthy ..!!!

Fantastic experience: Franco's is by far the best place in Calgary for Cichlids! Both Linda and Franco are very knowledgeable and super friendly. Their low prices are great and their abundant advice is priceless. They have taken me in as if I am one of their own and they always go the extra mile, helping me through some very tough, discouraging times with my fish. I highly recommend Francos for both newbies and seasoned enthusiasts of the hobby. But don't just take my word for it, stop by and see for yourself, you will not regret it.

Fantastic experience: I have been a customer of Franco's Aquarium for over 10 years. I was setting up a Cichlid tank for the first time and needed advice and direction. Linda gave me invaluable information, hints and tips. She has remembered my name and my kids names over the years and is personable and knowledgeable. I love the individualized service you get with a small owner run store - you can't get this at a box store. The quality of their stock is top notch too. Thanks Linda and Franco!

Fantastic experience: I've been to this place twice. Great selection of fish. Great selection of aquariums, parts, supplies, etc. Everything you need. Also fantastic for getting equipment to start shrimp tanks. The owners are super friendly and knowledgeable and can tell you everything you need to know about whatever it is you want to buy. I really like this place, rest assured I will return here over and over again.

Fantastic experience: Awesome experience here!! They have the most beautiful fish I have ever seen in my life! Will always go there for my fishies and their needs! Both the owner and his wife are super nice and know a lot about every fish you can think of! Always there to help and ready to answer any question that myself and my husband had! Defiantly going to keep coming here for everything my tank needs.

Fantastic experience: Great place to pickup fish! The lady working there was very knowledgeable and helpful. They have a nice variety of fish to choose from as well, purchased an awesome strawberry peacock which I got an amazing deal on. Highly recommended!!