Something In The Water

Well I have to say that we 100% thought they were amazing and spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Then as time passed we started to question the experience, knowledge and customer service they provided. There are not many business’ in Phoenix that specialize in fish. Our initial purchase in Mar 2015 showed a bit of inexperience or at least the lack of ability to provide the customer with basic info when starting a freshwater aquarium. We let this go because Jason, the owner, seemed to know what he was talking about and his daughters were the ones we dealt with initially. As we built up our knowledge and continued to increase our aquariums and sizes we saw a lack of knowledge from Jason but yet he continued to give us info and all has turned out to be inaccurate and flat out wrong. We have bought numerous fish from him that die within a week and/​or lately a day later in our established tanks. (I do liquid master tests weekly). He provided us knowledge (well we thought in the beginning) about CO2 planted tanks and nearly all info has been wrong and has cost us tons of money! He never provides us info about compatibility of fish so we highly recommend doing YOUR OWN research before ever putting a fish from his store in your tank. Make sure they are not aggressive, get too big, etc. Our initial purchase was 2 male platies and 1 male Molly in our 10 gallon tank. We talked to them before we did or bought anything. Come to find out that it is impossible for 3 males to cohabit in a 10g tank without being aggressive and that mollies need a min of a 20−30g tank to be happy. Anybody in the speciality business should know the basics to tell their customers!!! We were also told that we could have up to 6 – 8 fish in our 10 gal tank. Come to find out that when they become full size they would need a bigger tank. This obviously forced us to purchase a larger tank. Probably info you should mention! Since Mar when we began our tanks, we have taken the 10 gal and upgraded to a 60 then to a 125 and then another 125 and then a 20 for fry. We took the original 10 gal and made it a saltwater as well as the 60 gal.
Before you consider ordering anything special order, make sure you ask if he is ordering the sml, med, or lrg. Jason will always order the biggest most expensive first and then tell you this is all they have or just play stupid. Make sure you research if they are compatible with the fish you have because if you bring in a lrg special fish that isn’t compatible with your tank you will be given a nasty look and attitude when you attempt to bring it back. We also bought over $ 50 in freshwater colored shrimp (cherry, blueberry, Rili, etc) and all were eaten by our mollies and platies!!! Liquid Water tests again were always done weekly. When we went to pick them up WE had to bring up the question on if they would be eaten by our Bala Sharks and then he said probably not a good idea. So we attempted to raise them in my tank where we only had mollies and platies and were told they would do fine. Well obviously that was inaccurate because a week later not 1 was to be found. Jason stated they only come in the itty bitty size. Guess what? We don’t believe him after talking with Ocean Floor and AquaTouch!
We bought over $ 40-​$ 60 in planted tank lights and plants and Jason stated it would be plenty of light for the plants. Well once again we threw another $ 40-​$ 60 in the toilet (not including the $ 40 in hyphen sharks we lost due to his error in ordering a large fish for us that terrorized them!!) we now lost more because it wasn’t enough light and ALL our plants were dying! We spent over $ 150 more to add adequate lighting for the plants. If you don’t know or have experience with a specific subject then keep your mouth shut and say «I don’t know» or hey let me check for you.
Another complaint. He stated that we should do a saltwater tank (we now think he said this only because he wanted us to waste more money since we were so stupidly gullible with all the crap with the freshwater tanks!!). Everyone knows salt costs way more. This is exactly how we figured out he either had no clue what he was taking about and BS’d his way to making you think he did or just flat out didn’t know and didn’t care to look it up or did and thought he could try and take all he could since he did so well before). He told us when we wanted to buy our soon to be 5 year old Nemos for his bday that we needed to get the biggest one possible because they are too sensitive and would stress out and die immediately if we didn’t. Plus he told us that once we put the saltwater in our tank and got it up and running that we could add the Nemos immediately after. Both bits of advice completely contradict each-​other!!! Why would we add such a sensitive fish to a non established tank?! Once again he thought we were stupid and trusting and would continue to purchase new expansive non Guaranteed saltwater fish and he would make a killing off of us!!!

I just purchased a lion fish from this store. He is awesome. I am now on my fifth aquarium and I’d never go anywhere else for my fish or supplies. Jason is always happy to please his customers and takes the time to talk with them. They even test your water for free. This is a family owned business and you can tell they all know their fish. They are the kindest most caring people. I will never go to a major chain store again. We are so lucky to have them. I’m a very satisfied customer. The highest you can rate a business is a five but they deserve more.

Just saw «Ava G» post something inflammatory on this place. Please, note that she is a known spammer and uses this on many sites. Unilocal should remover these posts and her other ones as this person is not a real person.
Really great place. The owner is great and they have a great location.

I am very concerned about the animal cruelty that this business is practicing. They sold my two children and I, 2 Comet Goldfish listed under their scientific name listing their max growth to be 2.50 inches. I told the sales assistant I owned a 20 gallon tank with 3 fish and a handful of snails and wanted two fish under 3 inches. He says these will do fine. As these fish are already over their quoted ‘max’ growth after owning them only 3 months, plus 1 original fish and 3 snails have died since getting these goldfish, I decided to research what type of fish these are and how large could they truly get. Turns out they are both Comet goldfish that will each grow to be apx 12 inches in length, and I would need at least 40 gallons a goldfish to give them the right amount of space to develop! Why in the world a fish shop would recommend these fish to me based on the information I gave them is beyond me. In my research I learned many people are under the wrong assumption that goldfish can remain small due to their smaller tank space and be just fine. WRONG! They will die in a few short years as their organs out grow their outer bodies! It’s like telling a human to grow inside a 3 – 4 foot box. Eventually you will develop somewhat disabled in order to survive in the box, and you certainly are not fine or living the life you want! This is cruel and I will repost this on every site I can until this dang store re-​writes their growth rate to say 12 INCHES! And they stop this hanneous act of selling them to make a buck, while putting horrible stress onto the fish who can’t speak, and customers who don’t know any better, who are being misguided by whom they assume is an expert, who now battle a more demanding food and cleaning schedule, have the stress of financially purchasing a larger tank, building a pond, or re-​homing the goldfish to somewhere they can grow and be happy. I took option c, drove from Surprise today to donate them to an honest fish shop off 24^th ave and Thomas called Ocean Floor. We purchased two aquatic frogs from them and they’re happy so far! REMEMBER! 40 gallons for 1 goldfish with no other fish at all in the tank or you’ll need an even larger tank to accommodate more fish! Truly, to respect these beautiful sacred goldfish and Coi, they ought to be in filtered, maintained large/​deep ponds to give them the life they deserve. Peace, love, and equality to all life! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

Jason is beyond his competition. I will never again go to petsmart or petco for fish supplies. He was nothing short of wonderful in helping me find my new Betta fish! Thank you Something in the Water. Youre an amazing store and deserve the best!

Jason and his crew are friendly and knowledgeable. They will certainly take care of you and if they don’t have it, they will order it for you. Every time I’ve needed something special, Jason has got it for me. Thanks guys.

A refreshing sight from all these «corporate mass-​produced» chain stores. Jason the owner, runs the business with morals and integrity, unlike that of many larger stores we’ve all encountered.
I know for a small business owner, it’s imperative to maintain a strong return clientele in order to succeed. I am never pressured to buy but rather encouraged to ask questions so that I can learn the hobby more through knowledge rather than trial and error.
What I am most impressed about is that although Jason is beyond knowledgable in many areas, he does not claim to be an expert in EVERY aspect. I’ve had questions to which he’d say «I’m not sure, let’s look it up». How reassuring that? An honest approach to the situation. Makes me trust the information that he does give me.
If there is something you’re trying to find, give Jason a call. He did a special order for me for my protein skimmer. Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean he doesn’t carry it or can’t get it.
I go there weekly, many times just to talk story and let my daughter sit in front of the 2 display tanks. Like I said earlier, what a refreshing new sight!!!

Finally, there is an aquatic animal store in the West Valley. Without any further review, Something in the Water already earns points for this as I have been traveling all the way to East Phoenix/​Tempe for most of my live fish needs. They are now the closest (non-​chain) fish store to everyone from Glendale to Gila.
As for the store itself, it’s pretty cool. It is small now, but they have only been around for a few months and have room for a little expansion. They have both salt and freshwater fish, including fresh water plants, but no coral. They have a limited amount of supplies, but it should be enough for anyone to start off and their prices are good.
It isn’t surprising that they can’t keep the salt water fish around very long as they are the only store that sells them between there and Phoenix. This is good for consumers as it ensures the animals won’t be hanging around in the store for months at a time before going home with you. They also will special order for you, so you don’t need to worry about them not having something you want.
They also have a little section with couches were you can just chill out and look at the fish. Everyone who keeps fish in Surprise, Peoria, Sun City, Glendale, Litchfield Park, Avondale, Goodyear and the surrounding areas needs to check this place out.