Tropic Isle Aquarium

i was going to give this a two star, simply for the fish health and selection, but i decided on a one star rating for a couple reasons: 1: the ""lady"" behind the register seems to have a permanent scowl, and treats you as if you were robbing her and beating kittens. what did we, the customers who are PAYING you, ever do to deserve your absolute scorn? 2: Nobody can be found, and those employees who CAN be found, either ignore you or really don't know anything. there is a couple good employees that seem to know their stuff, but they were busy helping the one other customer in the store, and then promptly disappeared as soon as that other customer went to the register to be stared down by the angry faced woman. if you can finally pin someone down to catch you your fish they act like they had something better to do, and hurry through helping you to go and do nothing again. (in the process nearly squishing my purchases.) my rating=bleh more

First, the good: Katy is phenomenal. I've had my planted freshwater tank for almost a year and a half and was about ready to give up and chunk it into the front yard a few months ago. Katy worked with me extensively to troubleshoot all my issues and get my aquarium to the point that it is gorgeous and thriving. No matter how busy it is, she spends as much time with me as I need. Now the bad: For starters, I can't tell if the manager, Sharon, is evil or just socially retarded. She stands behind the register glaring at everyone, never speaks except to tell you your total and is just generally unhelpful. I'm sorry. I have spent a lot of time and money in that store and a little appreciation would be awesome, but barring that, at least decent customer service is a must. I purchased a CO2 tank and regulator from them on February 26 and that along with a couple fish and a plant came to over $500. Mr. London and Katy showed me how to attach it to the tank, filled the bubble chamber with glycerin, and showed me how to adjust the dials and count the bubbles. I set it up per their instructions and it worked great up until this past Wednesday, when the regulator just died. I drove 30 miles to take it back to the store yesterday. They plugged it in and were also unable to get it to work, but refused to help me, even though they know me and Mr. London had personally set it up for me and remembered doing so only three weeks prior, because I ""didn't follow the rules"" and didn't take the receipt with me. They told me that they ""sometimes have problems with"" the regulator manufacturer and don't want to eat the cost of the regulator themselves, and that without the receipt the only thing they are willing to do is ""work with me"" and sell me another regulator at a discounted price. I looked everywhere when I got home and am still unable to find the receipt. I don't have a lot of money, but I love my aquarium and saved up for several months to finally get a tank and a good regulator. I can't afford another one and wouldn't buy anything else from them at this point, regardless. I love Katy and will miss her advice, but I can get almost anything I need for my aquarium much more cheaply at any number of other places. I refuse to give my hard-earned money to any business that thinks so little of their customers. more

First, the good: Katy is phenomenal. I've had my planted freshwater tank for almost a year and a half and was about ready to give up and chunk it into the front yard a few months ago. Katy worked with me extensively to troubleshoot all my issues and get my aquarium to the point that it is gorgeous and thriving. No matter how busy it is, she spends as much time with me as I need. Now the bad: For starters, I can't tell if the manager, Sharon, is evil or just socially retarded. She stands behind the register glaring at everyone, never speaks except to tell you your total and is just generally unhelpful. I'm sorry. I have spent a lot of time and money in that store and a little appreciation would be awesome, but barring that, at least decent customer service is a must. I purchased a CO2 tank and regulator from them on February 26 and that along with a couple fish and a plant came to over $500. Mr. London and Katy showed me how to attach it to the tank, filled the bubble chamber with glycerin, and showed me how to adjust the dials and count the bubbles. I set it up per their instructions and it worked great up until this past Wednesday, when the regulator just died. I drove 30 miles to take it back to the store yesterday. They plugged it in and were also unable to get it to work, but refused to help me, even though they know me and Mr. London had personally set it up for me and remembered doing so only three weeks prior, because I "didn't follow the rules" and didn't take the receipt with me. They told me that they "sometimes have problems with" the regulator manufacturer and don't want to eat the cost of the regulator themselves, and that without the receipt the only thing they are willing to do is "work with me" and sell me another regulator at a discounted price. I looked everywhere when I got home and am still unable to find the receipt. I don't have a lot of money, but I love my aquarium and saved up for several months to finally get a tank and a good regulator. I can't afford another one and wouldn't buy anything else from them at this point, regardless. I love Katy and will miss her advice, but I can get almost anything I need for my aquarium much more cheaply at any number of other places. I refuse to give my hard-earned money to any business that thinks so little of their customers. more