 This store must have changed management recently. the tanks used to be imppeccable-- but now I see algae growing on glass, dead fish, half-eaten carcass, etc in the tanks. fish price is ok. equipment price is very high. Used to be a great store due to fish quality, but lately it hasn't been all that good. linda 09:47:07 2/17/2010 |
 They're really cool people and have a lot of stuff. BUT, they're REALLY over priced (and that's probably an under statement). Most of the marine fish have ich. I hate to give them a bad review cuz they're helpful people, but they charge you an arm and a leg and smile when you leave. I go here as a last resort when nobody else has what I want and when I'm too impatient to buy what I want online. Don't really know about their fresh water selection though. Alex 21:37:02 11/27/2007 |
 My GF and I frequent Ultimate because it is the best quality of the LFS, but we have grown into aquatic plants and more advanced freshwater niche`s than they specialize in, but that is not to say we do not still visit frequently. The prices are a little steep on a few items, but they will bend over to help you out when you are in a pinch, with advice or if they do not know it, they have a few experts whom they can call and will if you have a need they are not sure of. They have very healthy fish, and like all stores can occasionally have a bad batch come in, or have problems with some of the heat waves going through... it happens. They warranty their fish and stand by their products. They might not be as big and as bright as some of the other stores around but they are defiantly grade A in terms of customer service and willingness to help. Warren 13:39:21 9/02/2007 |
I noticed they have great service when it comes to warranty. All I have to do is call them if I have a problem instead of filling out the warranty card and sending it to the company. All I had to do is show my recipt and they made a phone call, the part was there within about a week. stuart 10:16:49 8/19/2007 |
 After sometime of noticing the colorful painting on the window, I managed to make it to the store. Parking isnt too bad, the Al Sam lot works out fine. The selection of Saltwater, Freshwater, and Pond fish is pretty cool. In addition they had seawater available and some warm water brine which was new to me.The employees were helpful, asking me if I needed anything and then answering some of my questions regarding lighting for my corals. They have a really cute little tank upfront too with a small percula clown and a shrimp. They even helped me order a hard to find impeller for my protein skimmer. Overall a great store worth the visit for the curious individual wondering what lies behind that painting. Michael 23:02:42 7/14/2007 |
Had a large healthy variety of fish to choose from. Employees were very patient and helpful. Best place in the area for freshwater fish. Saltwater coral and fish selection is also very impressive. I always have a positive experience shopping here Jeyu Yen 21:26:33 7/02/2007 |
 I have gone to this fish store twice in the last three months and in both cases I have seen several dead fish in their fishtanks. Sure, the aquariums seem clean and the darkened look is striking at first, but finding ten fish belly up as you look through their tanks is unacceptable! I am exclusively interested in freshwater fish, so this is that this review will focus on. The store seems to take a lot of rejects from private aquarists, since there is a number of nice large fish in their tanks, however, the store seems to be not all that great at keeping the said fish alive. On my last trip I saw a dead 4 inch pleco, 3 inch redtailed shark, half eaten demasoni corps in a tank of starving Auratus (fish's stomach's were sunk in), numerous dead tetras/barbs/goldfish in the other tanks, and a pair of very sick corys (ich? velvet?) in a German Ram tank. And that is on a Sunday, when a LOT of customers come through the store. That is simply depressing! This store has great variety to offer to the clients, considerably better then many other stores on the Peninsula, but due to blatant disregard for the well being of their fish I can't bring myself to ever purchase from this store. List of other peeves about the store: Hard to read tags, employees are not always knowledgeable about fish, I DID see a dyed glass tetra in a tank, but I think it was a donated reject. I don't want to completely diss the store, they have potential and decent variety, but the numerous, numerous dead fish are just not something one can look past. |
This place is way to cramped and dark. Yes it might be cool to have a store dark to show off your tanks, but this is no acception. The customer service is horrbile unless you want to go in there to BS with one of the owners or workers, otherwise forget it. The fish are usually decent looking, but rather expensive compared to a few other places. The salt water fish have had ich on more than one occasion. their reef tank is rather nice, but the price is not. fishboy 08:46:06 10/20/2006 |
best in the bay area!!!!!!! the store cleark went out of the wayto help me. im a beginerand he warned me that for a new tank the nitrats could kill my fish. he gae me stuff to solve my probles and said i should want toget more fish.he will get my servace for years to come. fishfan 15:24:35 8/16/2006 |
Very Sorry, confused this place with another fish store..(aquatraders).. But the ultimate aquarium is actually decent.. fish look decent.. prices were ok to pretty steep. depending on what your looking for.. staff was good at trying to help you out. Decent coral selection, fish selection is decent as well. But parking sucks since its on a busy street in el camino and sometimes parking is hard to get. |
The reviewer below doesn't know his geography. This is a different place from what he was talking about. This is a small store found a few block from Hillsdale mall. The fish selection is good with a few oddballs. Fish health is good and never saw a dying fish. Staff are kind and helpful and prices are reasonable. Randy 20:16:33 6/12/2006 |
This is basically another type of warehouse location like aqua123 where they get cyanied caught fish and stuff. Then when they can't sell the fish by the weekend, it ends up @ 6th ave aquarium where a couple of day after buying your fish they pass away, gills turn brown to black, classic signs of cyanide caught fish. and most of them have a lot of parasites or nasty infections. I've been there a couple of times and have bought fish there with warning from other friends and fish stores and ended up having to tearing down the saltwater tank due to parasite out break from fish from those places. saltwaterfishlover 13:38:53 3/13/2006 |
 This is a very clean store with healthy fish. They have the most coral and saltwater that I've seen. Freshwater fish also looked healthy. I was greeted and asked if I needed help by two different workers. I didn't feel pressured to buy something, which was refreshing. I did purchase some catfish and rams for my freshwater tank and they're all doing well. There is parking available next door in the flower store lot. Jerry Morse 17:31:36 1/14/2005 |
| Great selection of saltwater fish and coral. Largest SPS selection I've seen in bay area. Healthy specimins. Prices seem about average. Good customer service for a busy store. fisherman 19:22:46 1/07/2005 |
| They are honest, good people to do business with. The 2 owners are knowledgeable and genuinely try to help you, even if the solution doesn't involve buying something from them. The fish are pretty healthy and the salt livestock is better than anything else I've found in the bay area. Michael 16:12:09 8/09/2004 |
| I really liked it there. Good clean store - fish are cramped in the tanks but all around cool place Alex 10:23:13 7/25/2004 |
| Parking: Can be a bit scarce, since it’s located right on El Camino Real. Overview: It seems to be about 50/50 freshwater / marine. Most of the fish seem pretty healthy, although I did see one dying cichlid in one of the tanks, and some of the other cichlids seemed kind of stressed. The have a larger than average selection of equipment for a small LFS. They do provide hiding places in the tanks to help keep the fish stress-free. Customer Service: Not great. Even when it’s not busy, it can be hard to get service, and the service that’s given is cursory and not necessarily helpful. Selection: They seem to have the standard freshwater fish in stock, with nothing out of the ordinary. The only loaches I saw were clowns and dojos. They have a small selection of cichlids, both South / Central American and African.They do have a lot of marine fish, but I’m not really qualified to comment on the selection. Plants: They do have some plants, sold in pots, but they aren’t the highest quality and they seem to be overpriced. Price: Pretty standard on the fish, maybe a little high on the equipment. Equipment: They do have a lot more equipment in stock than the average LFS. Humane treatment of fish / ethics: The fish seem pretty well taken care of, if a bit streesed in some cases. On one visit I saw an employee feeding shyer loaches with a dropper so other fish wouldn’t get all of the food, which is a good sign. There are no bettas in tiny bowls or even fish bowls for sale that I saw. Also, I have never seen dyed fish here. A decent store with a basic selection of fish in stock. Not the place to go for harder to find freshwater fish or if you have a lot of questions. |