Reviews of Big Al's Aquarium Supercentres - Vaughan (Fish Shop)

Charles

Good store for the beginner aquarist

Mark Prospero

Not the best of the big Al's in terms of selection, but the nicest staff

Avi Geller

You can always rely on Big Als Vaughan. They have the best & friendliest staff. Great selection. Way more knowledgeable & the quality is way better than pet smart. I see some people complaining about dead fish, which they shouldn’t! The store has over 10,000 fish and yes sometimes some will pass away: Thats one thing people need to realize, its not a big deal at all. They quarantine their fish before selling. Fantastic store. Sheldon is the best.

Tony Marchese

Lots of great selection for any of your fish pet needs. Staff was friendly and very helpful.

Fardad Soleimanloo

Recourseful staff. Lots of options. But very very expensive.

Nighat Majid

Very nice place. Always ready to answer question and walk with you to the aisle to actually point products for you.

Denim Dupuis

Fantastic experience, friendly staff, very knowledgeable

Allan Huynh

A lot of selection but a bit pricey. Overall pleasant and amazing

Adrian Paragas

Friendly staff, good customer service.

Josh

Great location and very friendly staff.

Aman Saini

They have different kind of opinions and staff members are very friendly.

Jay Raza

Great staff and selection of everything you need for pet fish and more.

Jason Morin

The sales associate told me that the decorations in the tanks on the floor were not for sale. This is ridiculous and bad for business. I have always been able to buy things out of the tanks at other locations. He was too busy playing on his phone behind the counter than assisting me in getting a piece of wood out of a tank. I won't be back to this Big Al's location.

Fabio Mauti

Great for all your aquarium needs.

Jeff Gould

My kids love this store. They can always find something to bring home to ad to their tanks.

Jorge Perez

great service

Four Point Basketball

Knowledgeable staff and great selection

Agnes & Ian Cheung

Reasonably priced. Staff could be more friendly.

Aniketh Rao

Staff is super friendly, helpful, and very informative

Andre Tsopelas

Great for all your aquarium needs and fun to visit with the kids.

sylvia abramovici

Excellent visit, very helpful manager, all sales people very nice and good advice... ????

Sarah Hanna

Been here a couple of times. Like the fast friendly service. They pay attention to your order and double check to make you ordered the right thing. I took off one star because I think they’re a little pricey, but not too much that it’s too much of an issue.

Will J

I am disappointed to write a poor review, as I have always enjoyed coming to this store (and other Big Al’s). I recently bought 12 serpae tetras to go along with my neon tetras and over 2 dozen red cherry shrimp. I specifically asked the associate if the serpae tetras are compatible with the red cherry shrimp, and he assured me that they are. Everything seemed fine on the first day, then next morning, I noticed less shrimp being visible in the tank. I thought it was just my imagination, but that evening, I witnessed the shrimp getting chased and attacked by the serpae tetras. By this point, I had less than 10 shrimp. I called the store and the manager asked me to bring back the serpaes and exchange them for neons. When I asked if he could do anything for the shrimp I lost, he said he wouldn’t. I asked again when I returned the serpaes at the store, but again the response was ‘no.’ I think this is quite irresponsible and poor customer service. I get that they’re “just shrimp” but they do cost money and effort to keep, and their mistake caused this fiasco. I really thought they would offer me something even before I would have to ask, but I was wrong. My advice is, do your own homework before buying anything there, because you never know if you’re given misleading or faulty information.

P R

The team at Big Al's are very knowledgeable about their product, fish care and return policies. They provided excellent customer service and make good recommendations for tank setups. One piece of advice would be to update your website, to provide more information about which fish can go with others. Which fish are community and which ones need to be purchased in pairs, and in groups of 6 or more. Otherwise very good in store experience, just need to help customers continue supporting them while in lock down.. again.

Daniel DeSousa

Love this place all kind of fishes

Monk Of Crunk Gaming Network

I was just at the store and I didn't like what I saw. They had Lazer Corydoras with missing fins and had a fungus growing on the area. Dead catfish at the bottom of the tanks. Maybe it's just the species I like and own, that they dont care about.

Chris Miller

Friendly and knowledgeable staff. This is the only place I buy fish, and the associated products.

Ahmad Rauf

Worst customer service ever. I went in to this location first and was looking for an aquarium i specifically told I live in a condo and I'm not sure if the aquarium will fit there. The rep helping me didn't mention at all thatthey don't do refunds and the manager at this location was super rude he would not listen to what i was trying to say but instead kept telling me they don't don't do refunds and I literally had to ask for their head office number which they never pick up. I mean I understand if that aquarium was setup or I brought any live animal to get refund but this aquarium i purchased I didn't even open the box and I brought it back next day. Now I'm stuck with a brand new unopened aquarium.

Heres Hetep

The manager is rude, try young and steels location way better customer service and appreciation .

slac

Huge variety of fish and the staff is very helpful. Wanted 2 fish for my children with little to no maintenance. The staff helped us get everything we need and the kids each hot to pick out the exact fish they wanted

JUST IN TIME PRODUCTIONS (jjlbd123)

One of the more organized..well spaced store of Big Als.

C J

Knowledge staff

H. K.

Decent selection of fish and very informed staff.

bah and nannybah rollindowntheroad

*EDIT* THIS REVIEW WAS INTENDED FOR THE NEWMARKET STORE...my apologies to Vaughn big AL owner! (yes u did have a great 99cent deal on the neon tetras, but they were sold out????the other tank of them were not ready to sell I was told) ******************************* Newmarket big AL store ???? nice but....I was shocked at price of regular community fish. ..nothing under $4.99 even with 25% boxing day sale I was able to find my neon tetras at another place for less than 1/2 the price of big ALs in Newmarket! well stocked for all aquarium needs and very clean tanks!

Helen Grace

What is this?

Sangkeun Kim

Not franchised, service is good.

Julian Hinds

These guys know their stuff!

Dino Pantelidis

Great selection. Dimo is the man who runs the place and he is knowledgeable and honest. You will not go wrong with asking for the right advise from him. Highly recommended.

Marina Wang

Really friendly staff here who helped me find fish that fit for my tank at home. There was also a lot of good selection for freshwater fish! Would definitely return in the future

Raphael Cardoso

Good products and variety, but terrible customer service. Looks like it doesn't have enough staff.

Marius Scupi

It has a lot more fish than other Big Al’s stores.

SavagePursuitTTV

Lack products, great service good stuff decent prices

Song Fong

This location has fewer fish selections, many of tanks empty. Store itself is smaller so less selective items.

Tommy McDavid

Good selection of fish, needs a Golden Arrowana...and Koi

Johnny Rascal

Sexy fish live here

William Mazuera

Very knowledgeable and helpful staff. Keep going back to this location for my aquarium needs.

Jan Baptiste

Very friendly/helpful staff and clean place , if you have any problems call the store they are very helpful and will help solve the problem if possible. Only place I buy my fish from highly recommend them

Kathy Czyszczon

Great store, knowledgeable staff

Esther O

Had a good experience here as always. I have a 5 gallon aquarium so I usually come here to get the things I need for the fish. Sometimes I come here to look at the aquariam since I find the atmosphere calm. The staffs are helpful and knowledgeable. The animals are inexpensive, lots of varieties/species to choose from, and there is always some kind of sale. Parking is never a problem, lots of space and it's free. I definitely recommend here.

XP 12

Awesome place .

Peyman Sheikhghasemi

You can find anything related to aquarium here

Brandon Caldeira

Service was great, very friendly. At multiple times during my visit I was given information on how best to take care of and make certain I get the best results when caring for my new fish.

Colleen

Convenient location. Usually has all the filter parts that I need and will order if they don't. Everyone working there knows their stuff and can help me efficiently

peter ifantopoulos

probably the best Big Al's in the GTA

Ando Nguyen

Maybe they got new staff in recently there was one younger guy who was energetic informative and very helpful, helped me with my entire purchase. Also there was one bozo on shift who was pretty useless lol.

Michael Netto

Very proficient staff and a lot of variety of fish. They have all the Aquarium gear and apparatus needed. Definitely recommend you go here if you are getting a new aquarium or even if you've had one for a while.

Kempy Kempinski

Great tanks, great selection, good service.

shane spencer

These guys are alright

MrFirstSeed

Horrible looking fish tanks.fish suffering From .ICH. bloat.fin rot.pop eye.the piranha tank not one fish has any fins left from aggression.wouldnt buy even a goldfish from them.the Big Al's in Vaughn should be shut down.cruelty to animals big time.sadest thing is they have a whole store full of meds Never purchase fish From big Al's!!!!

James Leung (Instagram: 007banker)

Great deals! - IG - reefblogger

E N

A great place and I bought my daughter's first fish here .Stuff was very helpful

Evgeny Soloho

Thanks for adopting my Oscar!

Frank Forte

Original instructions when buying a beta fish were just "ok", but when I went back with an issue, another employee gave me amazing advice.

Franco P

Best place for all your fish and aquarium needs. Staff is very knowledgeable and experienced.

Luther V Diaz Yap

Clean, organized and plenty of fresh water fish to select from.

Alexandre

Always a good experience

Ed Lucy

It is the place to buy fish and Aquarium products and Aquarium

Kris I.

Great ace love shopping at big Al's great place for your fish hobbie !!!!!!

Pure Life H2O Inc. Water Filtration Systems Toront

Great staff, always help me out with my aquarium needs !

Adil Malik

Good selection of fish for beginners. The fish when being placed in our bag was too aggressive.

Daniel Perez

Good place for anything related to your aquatic animals. Lots of selection in fish, food, tanks, the usual stuff. Prices are very reasonable and staff are knowledgeable.

iMightDropYou

Good Service good fish reasonable price

Nam Nguyen

I gave this store a visit at around 3 p.m on Saturday just to see if they have anything interesting but the variety of live stocks that they had then was very limited. The worst part was that just from 10 minutes walking around the store, I spotted at least 2 dead fish and 3 nearly dead. There were only around 2 other customers in the store and all their staffs were just hanging around, talking to each other, they didn't care about the customers or even the quality of their fish. The prices of all the products here are not even any good, they are just the same at any other stores or a little bit higher. I would sincerely suggest that you avoid buying any live stocks from this place unless they improve their quality.

Jason Salvatori

Large location with lots of selection

Sneeky _clip

Place has a huge selection and a lot of well-trained stuff that will give you great information

Xhez z

Always great service.

Patrick Rodrigues

Clean, staff were practicing safe covid measures and also very helpful

Samantha C.

I come here very often with my husband. Staff are knowledgeable and eager to help. Very happy that they started stocking more otocinclus catfish, they're one of my faves. I fell in love with the flowerhorn there (so cute!). My wish is that Big Al's will stock more variety/colours of neocardina shrimp in the future :)

Shawn M

What a cool place - got all the stuff you need to start up an aquarium and more. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable Prices are fair Lots of parking Handicap spot and access Clean and organized inside Only com I observed Floors a bit slippery after staff removed fish - sign was there but no sense of urgency to attend to the potential slip trip and fall hazard. Otherwise it’s our go to place for our aquarium

neo max

Waaaaaay over priced! Even on drygoods that should've been uniformed among marine stores. other LFS are cheaper with better corals quality. Fishes most of the time have ich! Corals ALWAYS contains pests!

Mihai Goianu

Prices are a bit high but they price match. People are friendly and it is usually well stocked.

Sarah Kamalzadeh

The best thing about Al's is the huge variety of stock and helpful staff. Prices are a bit high unfortunately, but there's really not a lot of places to get aquarium/terrarium supplies. Their aquarium area can also be a fun place to just go fish watching.

Abigail Campbell

Kids love checking out all the fish as well as the sharks that they are hatching.

Dalton Shoup

Great selection very clean store.

Dee Bernard

Didn't have a good selection of livestock..

KRISHNA BINU

We get all our fishes form here.. the staff really helps with any questions. Great place

Rob Wilson

Nice store, amazing displays.

Christos C

Great store and is well organized. Great service and friendly staff. Bit more expensive than online but they provide that easy feedback you wouldn't get from online retailers. They also are friendly with returns of broken products.

Rob Russo

Great place to get fish and accessories. Service is always friendly.

Catarina Antunes

Great service, friendly staff and knowledgeable, sometimes I go just so see what they have in stock!

Rahul Reddy

Excellent Customer Service

Mike Meegs

I have always had great experiences with this location, great selection and price and the staff is especially what does it for me, I find they are very helpful, firendly and knowledgeable, I'm a beginner at the aquarium thing and no matter what the questions, they answer it for me. I've yet to have a bad experience with any of the personal, keep up the great work !

Sam Patel

Place where you find everything you need for aquarium hobby.I was searching for flowerhorn and i saw they had very cool one’s and bought it its doing great and I really enjoy spending time with him and train him

Jon Zagrodnik

The service was okay here, but I must strongly advise everyone against purchasing a reptile from here. I've had my leopard gecko for just a little over a month, and he has not eaten very much, and is quite sick. I spent months doing my research before I purchased my gecko so I know that my set up is the way that it should be (hot side/cool side, no loose substrate, several hides including a moist retreat). In the store they are kept on Sand, so I think that if my leo has problems it would stem from this. Do not buy leos (or any reptiles for that matter) from Big Al's.

Steve Ali

I've been there several times and everytime there's a lack of cust. Service. Nobody greets or attempts to help you to look for anything. Convenience it's right off the hwy.

Mass Ahmad

The don't have a fish. I was going other one fish price is so high.

Silvano Vitro

Great knowledge of fish, helpful service a little pricy but overall worth it

Vittorio Ravanese

I have never been so happy with the quality from a fish store before I have been getting my fish from shops like pet smart and other like that. but i always had a problem with the fish so when i set up my salt water tank i went to bigal's the gave me everything i needed at a good price. i was scared at fist because i had pick out 2 clown fish and 29.99 for 1 fish is a lot of money and when the gave them to me the quality was amazing its been 2 days since i got them i could not have gone anywhere better

E R

Very nice place

David Facini

Very helpful staff, worked with Adrian good guy

Margaret Galloway

I get all my aquarium and fish needs there.

F T

Staff is clueless. Tanks are dirty.

david douglas

Decent selection

MISYYZ

Fantastic place. Has the things you need.

Long Nguyen

Staff was very helpful

Dark_shadow

I was blown away by the amazing stuff they have like wow!! ???????????? It's so huge inside with all of the water world you need

Blitzkrieg Reptiles

WOW is all I gotta say! I LOVE their new marine set up!!! the way they now carefully treat the fish AND the new system layout..amazing. the fish were A++++ quality and bought a bunch! I was very very impressed with the new changes.

Gabriella Yapp

Review is for the plant section: The guys here really know their stuff. There was a guy here who was super knowledgeable about planted tanks and gave me tons of tips and advice and even threw in some plants for free which was highly appreciated! Would give a 10/10, however there could be more plant varieties as well as more driftwood (the newmarket location has more varieties of driftwood). Thanks big als!!

Alan Gaebel

Great staff, helpful and good selection of products and fish.

Isaac Zaidfeld

Nice store. Good prices and knowledgeable staff.

Tanya Nixon

Plenty of one-on-one time with the sales clerk.

Regina Atanas

Hey fishes lovers!!❤ have a pets fish at home it's fun!!!❤

David F

Lot of variety - will have what you're looking for.

Dora Ahuja

I love visiting Big als! Customer service is always great!

Monica Lopez

Discriminating place, there is not exemptions towards people who cannot wear a mask, the chinese manager or whatever that is was highly rude and harassing , they denied service to those with health conditions, that's called discrimination. He said his customers and employees were complaining about us not wearing a mask when he was lying, some employees offer us help they have known us for years, I hope places likes this go bankrupt, never again buying in this place even if things ever get better, I rather give my money to amazon.

Adrian Vacianna

Love this place

Youssef Elaouiti

Great selection of fish

Joseph Aron

The staff is very helpful and there to answer questions.

Nicholas Lau

Super helpful employees and very neat place to shop. I shop at different Big Al's just because they all sell different species and this location is my top three favourite. The staff there are extremely helpful. Product is almost always stocked. And the store is always clean. I have a freshwater tank at home and most recently I started a planted tank. I had some few issues starting it up because of my lack of knowledge in a planted tank but they helped me get through it. It is now running fairly well only time will tell. I do recommend coming to the store and checking it out there stock.

Raquel Soza

The staff at this location has been incredibly helpful during the lockdown, they're helpful when I have questions and my orders are always ready for pick-up within minutes.

Masis Owedesian

Always a poor selection of fish ....and the live fish manager always in a bad mood...terrible customer service.

Andrei Kastulin

Love this store

Denz Adventures

Very friendly staff , large amount of fishes . Great Service

I NT

Always will come back!

alex papa

Fish food

Ray Liang

Staff here were very friendly and shop has a wide selection; however, we waited over 30 minutes after someone took our small order, and when we went back to check on it, the employee was chatting away with his coworker with none of the order filled

Asha Dhanoa

Great selection and amazing customer service. Gill really knows how to take care of his guests, as well as the pets that live in his shop. He's got amazing experience with his fish, and really knows how to give good advice for anyone willing to take it. I've made sure I don't go to any other location anymore because I know this is a store I can rely on. From the time I bought the tank and they gently helped us load everything into the car; to every pet we bought. It's been a great journey so far and I thank Gill for making this small hobby become a passion. Thank you to all the staff there!

iTz LOIZZO

Great prices with friendly staff. Always quick, efficient, and helpful.

Zeiad El Kady

Kids love just walking around and seeing the fish and reptiles

James A. Acevedo

Big Al's Aquarium Supercentres have lost a customer for life! I was given bad information with regards to a breed of fish and their behavior. Once I returned home the fish over the course of two days were very aggressive and continued to attack one another and additional fish in the tank. I advised the sales personnel of my concerns and asked for an exchange. I was told I would receive a $5 credit on my $40 purchase on already overpriced fish. Here is the rub… I bought the fish on Tuesday and brought them back on a Thursday of the same week. I was willing to accept some loss, however, $5 dollars was a slap in the face. So, they can keep their fish and never get another penny from me. I went to Finatics Aquarium on Dixie Road the staff was very knowledgeable, the selection was outstanding, and the prices were great.

Jessica

very friendly and helpful staff, awesome store!!

J B

Nothing bad

Matthew Lacrette

This location is really customer friendly, staff are nice, lots of stock, beautiful clean aquariums, and speedy service

Andrew Dingemans

Always helpful staff. Lots of new stock coming in on a regular basis. One star from perfect due to it sometimes being difficult to get service now that the clipboards are not being used to preselect your stock

Revin Stevens

rude staff

Theepan Vr

Great advice from staff, especially Sheldon. Lots of info and he remebers the progress I made and fixed any issues I had with the tanks and accessories I bought from them. Definitely will go back when I need to stock up.

Euain B

Friendly and educated staff willing to help

Fabio Chirco

Very helpful staff.

Dave Spence

Great store with lots of different types of fish.

Robin Graves

It was so cool to walk where the fish were and the workers were very sweet and knowledgable! They didn't hesitate to ask if you needed any help or give any quick tips.

Lyndon Darrah

It sickens me to think how much money I have spent here over the years. Owning a Marine Aquarium can be a really great experience, but it is a constant battle to keep water parameters in check for both your livestock and corals. This Big Al's being primarily an Aquarium store has everything I could ever need for whichever catastrophic event is happening this week. The staff is knowledgeable, and the Big Als warehouse is just down the road so ordering stuff in is easy.

Son Pham

Many beautiful fish

Bruno Naccarato

Huge selection of aquarium supplies and fair prices

Laura Diaz

Love this place and the discounts!

Danielle Truswell

They carry everything you need to take care of your fish and small reptiles. The huge selection of fish makes it hard to walk out without wanting to bring a little friend home with you. The dwarf sharks are an attraction on their own. It's a fun place to visit on a rainy day.

Shawn D.

Expensive, limited salt water live stock and hardware selection and management is indifferent. Great customer experience. NOT.

Cam T

Always a fantastic experience. Great variety of both dry goods as well as livestock, but more importantly, a friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend this location!

Robert Yip

The staff are knowledgeable and nice!

Roberto Mancini

Great store with excellent staff. Enjoy shopping here.

Gabriel Ferri

Lousy service, expensive livestock, poor attitudes amongst managers

Brandon Fowler

6 stars. Great service. Good fish. Friendly staff. Good location. Saved my fish tank.

Nicole Bowles AVON

They always have what we are looking for and more! The staff are always willing to answer any questions we have.

Roneita Vilorio

Bought a pump wasn’t to my likening dealt with a Chinese man who was very rude was lying at me and my children when I asked him why are you laughing he said cause you don’t know how to use the pump I said either way that’s rude I don’t like how he addressed us and insulted us as well

Manjot Saini

Amazing experience

Jeff Carreiro

Great people

TA SU

best price and better quality on their live stock compare to other big al's branch.

Egor Kapko

Staff is super helpful ! Always answering all the questions I have and inventory is always on point.

Michael Kolasa

Came here to get my axolotl. Wonderful fish room staff, very friendly and knowledgeable. Clean, healthy looking tanks with a wide selection of aquatic and reptile/amphibian pets

DIYREEFER'S PARADISE

Clean tidy store excellent customer service best place to shop for saltwater and marine fish.

Taylor 123456777

All of the staff staff I talked to there were superhelpful. I talked to a few different staff about picking out fertilizers and plants for a live tank and was given great recommendations that have done very well so far in my tank. The only downsides I found were the prices. Compared to the few other Big Al's locations I've been to, this one was the most expensive. Most of the plants were 10-20 dollars a piece. Otherwise, awesome!

hoda mirgaloyebayat

Very good place to go with kids

Tech Team

Great selection of cichlids, but don't expect to find high end cichlids there. Very friendly staff although, and very knowledgeable with the lighting and filtration systems. You can find good deals on makred down stuff there, if you frequent often enough.

Vape Reaper

They have a decent selection of pet supplies. They always seem to be short of staff, getting help can be a challenge.

Girgis Insurance

Helpful staff

Allen To

Friendly and knowledgeable staffs to help you find what you need.

Family Room

You need fish? Look no further - this place has it all! Beyond a variety of beautiful fresh water and salt water fish, Big Al's carries food, cleaning products, filters, lights, live (and plastic) plants, tanks, stands, etc. If it has anything to do with aquariums - they will carry it. Also, staff is always friendly and super knowledgeable. Great work!

John Gallo

Very clean and products organized. Everything you need.

Ika Washi

The staff are amazing and you can ask so many questions and they are able to answer and provide solutions. Love going there and great prices and deals.

Gavin Boodhoo

Amazing, best location for aquarium needs. Staffed well, fish stocked well, and well taken care of. Only con is they only have aquarium needs... Nothing for other pets

Dan Henderson

These guys have one of the best selection of fish.

Mehul Patel

Store has a nice variety of fish. Can get busy so be patient

Edita Micic Mirkovic

Perfect place to buy everything for aquarium

Kimberly Windsor

They have what you need. Helpful and knowledgable staff. Pretty clean.

Joe Q

Helpful service

Jay Mandal

Best products and knowledgeable staff.

Mark Sam Bustamante

nice place. but stuff are not so friendly specialy if your kind a new customer and you want to asked lots of things.

Jessica Hunt

The lady who helped get my plants was fantastic, she definitely knew her stuff and how to provide great customer service.

Tyler Muhammad

My favourite Big Al’s location. Staff is always very friendly and all experts. Fair prices (with price match) and good store layout. Fish section is nice too, with new fish weekly.

Gilbert Quach

Incredibly friendly staff.

NorMan SHAH

Poor customer service

Vicky

Wouldn't recommend this place to anyone

slongo702

Was at the Vaughn location. Great and knowledgeable staff, plus a great selection.

Janie Baptiste

This is a nice friendly store

David Shamess

One of the best big als ive been too.

Jason C

Was looking for specific items for my reef tank and staff provided helpful information and recommendations.

Shannon Marie

Awesome Knowledge.. Friendly Staff..Great sales on Marine

Paul W.

A little bit overpriced. But has a decent livestock selection. Plants are a bit more limited compared to some of the other locations. The staff is helpful and friendly.

Deb Jensen

Great service. Great selection of healthy looking fish. Clean store.

Mithu Kuna

Excellent service. Knowledgeable staff. Lots of cool aquarium stuff. Recommended!

Saj Geo

Great service..only curbside during covid time

Marcelo Manfrini

Great place for aquarium equipment

Andrew Kachaniwsky

Excellent aquarium supply and very knowledgeable staff. After learning alot about fish and keeping aquariums and dealing with some less than awesome stores, I have come to trust the guys at Big Al's.

Gavin Steiner

Great staff and service

Alyas

Quality products!!!

Terence Tsai

Great selection of fish. Great service at the front. Store is bigger than it seems from the outside! Definitely call in before you go to confirm as some dishes are quarantined prior to selling (illness or new fish)

Vic Handa

Not too sure how to rate Big Al's. Bought fish twice and both times I added sick fish to my aquarium. Bought $40 worth meds to fix $15 worth of fish. Kinda disappointed

Kyle

Good livestock, friendly knowledgeable staff.

M and C Mancini

Great selection

Lester Leonida

A good place to buy a pet fish especially if you just recently own an aquarium. There are a variety of fishes for you to choose, from freshwater fishes to saltwater fishes.

Ambar Bin-Soekardji

Super helpful staff! They spent a lot of time explaining the basics of aquascaping to me as a beginner.

Soheil Shivarani

you can find almost everything for your aquarium.

David Vincent

i use to get all my aquarium products here including my fish. Al is a master of the craft and if you want fish related goods make sure you go here. they also do shark feeding once a week pretty cool thing to go check out.

Justin W. Anisman

Extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff. I wouldn't shop for fish anywhere else in the area.

Konstantine Palanski

No need to visit Ripley's Aquarium, just go here!

Uditha K

Great customer service. Thank you Sheldon.

Jun-Jun Alonzo

This place is awesome for your aquarium needs. Friendly and knowledgeable staff, they gave me pointers on maintaining my aquarium health. They also have a rewards card so that you get freebies the more you shop there.

Fat Rabbit

Friendly staff helped me pick out a decent starters kit for fresh water fish. All my questions were answered in detail, solutions were offered and fish were not sold to me until weeks later until my tank was established and ready to give the fish a healthy and safe home (That is very cool in my books). I'm not a fish guru but they're still alive months after the decision to keep an aquarium. I love the convenience of this location, tons of parking and the email they send out with the weekly specials is great.

Nomadic Alpine

No help in the aquarium section, there employees have a lack of knowledge, and there hermit crabs were not living in the proper conditions.

Mike Hazan

Clean. Prefer the Scarborough location as it has more.

Jeremy Yeung

Very cool place I got some few platies keep it up there's a huge selection here thank you very much

Anton K.

Great selection of everything aquarium related. Knowledgeable staff and good prices

Ben African Cichlids

Staff are very knowledgeable. Nice healty fish. Ph at this location is just above 7

pat kia

People very helpful

Tony

Over priced

mydogcujo

Great selection of animals, merchandise, etc... A good, knowledgeable crew as well.

Oscar Del Rio

I love this place. I get good advice and I like the people.

D Z

Paradise for fish tank accessories and fish varieties are huge

Yan Rabinovich

Good selection of all aquarium goodies

Gregory Luke

Big store. Lots of variety. High prices.

Jack Fong

Good service

mei li

(Translated) generally (Original) 一般

DoctorJT

Reliable. If you are looking for a store with consistent brands and healthy animals, this is a great place to visit

Ondred Ontario

Great selection of fish & accessories. They are always bringing in new types and varieties, I like dropping by to see what they have.

Cliff Q

Rad place with cool fishes of all kinds.

Steve H

Awesome fish awesome saltwater fish Big Al's flag ship store

Kehr Gomes

Excellent place for all your saltwater and freshwater aquarium needs, great customer service always.

Marco Cardillo

Great store and well organized. Knowledgeable and friendly staff who are eager to help.

Thao Dang

Organization place. Staff friendly

David Peña

Lot of products and a lot of inventory, however in some cases they send you a young person to attend your needs who doesn't have experience. This is a good to start store, but if you are a well experienced fresh or saltwater aquarist there are better options and prices out there.

Almarie G

Very helpful and knowledgeable staff

Cindy Areias

Tristan m. Was so patient and very knowledgeable. Beautiful store

Jeff Ramires

Great selection of fish, plants and accessories. Very knowledgeable and helpful staff.

Paul Smith

Very knowledgeable staff eager to assist you. There pricing is very competitive.

B Khosh

Needed a tank for sump. One of the guys there helped me find a tank and was nice to deal with.

Borna Ebrahimzadeh

1. The first time I went to this location I asked staff a question about saltwater aquariums and he very unhelpfully tried to sell me the store. 2. By the third time I visited this location my wife said she wouldn't come inside with me because she said, "they always have dead fish here and I don't like seeing that." 3. SAME FISH $10 MORE THAN NORTH YORK - The last time I went to this location I bought a fish for $70 and the very next day I visited North York location and saw the same exact size color and type of fish for $60 (if anything the one in North York was prettier). I asked the staff at North York why this would be, he said was sorry, he wasn't sure and suggested I contact that location and offered to confirm the price with them. I called Vaughan and he arrogantly explained fish are different sizes etc. (which was not true in this case) and that locations have different operating costs. They did nothing for me basically too bad. I geuss they rather I go to another location. Head office should rectify uniform pricing. What kind of franchise is this?

Tim Singh

Great store fill with large selection of aquatic life and equipment. Staff is very knowledgeable

Eric Fitzgerald

Very knowledgeable staff

David Kim

Friendly staffs

Josh lain

Great place to purchase fish, aquariums, terrariums, and reptiles. Keep on tankin!!!

Eric Chan

Lots of choices

Casey Dumoulin

I love your store I come in any chance I get, all my fish are healthy from the store and rarely die. Anyone saying the staff isn't friendly is crazy I feel extremely welcome every time I come in the store. They have an amazing selection of fish with new arrivals coming inall the time. It's a perfect store for beginners and also for experienced fish owners. Keep up the good work big Al's and I'll see you guys this afternoon

이해창

(Translated) It's best .The best service in Canada (Original) 최고입니다 .The best service in Canada

tony dicesare

D was awesome to deal with

Michelle Hussain

'Live sharks' is what attracted us to the place but they didn't have any. It's totally misleading. Staff is rude they stare you down if you are non-white or non-beige. Stop stereotyping and staring down at black people. Just because I'm black doesn't mean I'm going to attack or steal guppies from your store.

Pedro Benevides

Fast efficient service with knowledgeable friendly staff. Treat children with an interest in aquariums and its inhabitants with the same respect and courtesy as everyone else. I’m impressed!!!!

Andrew D

Lots of selection

Varun Desai

Quite dirty & You can’t ask questions, they expect you to be fish experts. Research before going, OR you can go to PetSmart and get quality service and warranty on everything. Thanks Big Als.

Mike G

Staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are a little high and variety is limited.

Michael White

great knowledge. fair prices. ok selection.

Tech Force

Awesome place. Only place I go to for all my pet & aquarium needs.

Hyiroh Metson

Many dead fish, unclean and underkept

Michael R

Best location. Great staff and everyone is extremely polite and helpful

Krys Mackowiak

Great place to visit and look at aquarium fish. Huge selection of fish, equipment and food.

Julia Hu

My son loves this place and I do too.

Cristina Marocco

Martina was a HUGE help with my new turtle. My boyfriend had brought one home the night before from work because they didn’t want him anymore so I only had a few hours to watch some YouTube videos the night before so I could educate myself with the basics before I called Big Al’s. I felt so stressed out because I just wanted him to have all his necessities. Martina patiently helped me put together all the items I would need giving different options and prices all over the phone. She was very patient, knowledgeable and professional. When I went to pick up curb side along with explaining the different food options and why they were important she even gave me a paper on aquatic turtles and that’s what I call customer service. I left Big Al’s that day and thought to myself Damn that girl is really good at her job!

Marcelo De Bernardis

(Translated) Incredible...!!! (Original) Increíble...!!!

Jeff H

was looking for items that I was told they had in stock. they did not. bit of a waste of a trip. staff seemed uninterested in helping, as tho i was interupting their sit around and talk time. won't go back to this location.

Yevgen Aleksyeyenko

Good place! Personal is friendly.

David Mascioli

I dont like the way they say that there aquarium salt is on sale. You pay full price. Then have to send in for the rebate. But you only get the rebate for 1 pail of salt. Even if you buy 3 pails. I never buy stuff from big al's anymore. There is a lot of smaller dealer out there with better sales. They make so much on the mark up on pails of salt. That they should lower the price of it. Never going into a Big Al's again. I will never send someone to a big al's from any aquarium products.

Mario Antoun

Amazing place full of amazing fish and friendly employees. Best quality fish and clean environment. It's a good place to spend an afternoon.

E A

I've visited this place few time cause of its location. Customer service in this place is almost non-existent. They don't greet you at all, usually you have to look for an associate yo help you and even then it's not a pleasant experience. Fish keeping is a hobby for most people and you want to have a good experience when you visit your local fish store.

Raffi Shahinian

Kept very clean. Generally enough space for social distancing. Staff remains super helpful.

Danny S

I stopped at your store to get some supplies and to look at your fish room Josh was helping me I will most definitely come back to your store he was so helpful knowledgeable very friendly and answered every one of my questions thoroughly and did not rush to move on to another customer I had a very good experience shopping at your store thank you Josh You're great and I will be coming back again

Steve & Diana Chiappetta

My wife and I love this place. We have been purchasing equipment for our aquarium over the last few years and they have been great!!

Travis Alcock

Great selection.

fache mar

Bring Randy back. Sorely missed! Total decline since his departure. Was in there a few times in the last couple of months and barley any salt water inverts and more than usual dead fish in multiple tanks. Little coral selection and in poor health to say the least. Wasted my time last few visits, will need to reconsider where to get live stock!

Pedro John

Staff are always ready to help

Paul Whiston

I always find what I'm looking for... and a few surprises. It's a great store with knowledgeable staff on hand.

Jeff Marskell

It is going downhill. Was my favorite Big Al's to visit. Prices seem a bit high too. Still pretty good.

Genevieve Fontaine

Beautiful place

Marco Holden

Helpful staff, very knowledgeable. The guys were great in setting us up with a new tank. Due to narrow aisles, more attention needs to be given to people not wearing the masks properly and exposing others to infection risk.

john Taghavi

Great place friendly staff always a great selection

F-Ranking

By far one of the best big Al's around. If you ever go you must ask for Dimo. He is one of the best people I have ever met at a fish store. His knowledge...professionalism and helpfulness is unmatched.

Murtaza Rahmanzadeh

Great place for all your aquarium needs.always clean organized and fully stocked for anything you need from saltwater to freshwater aquariums and terraniums. Latest in technology at great prices and always a deal or two to be had at this location. Friendly, honest and knowledgeable staff from management down from Mooney to Sheldon and Steve they can help you with whatever you need. Been going here since they opened and won't even bother with the competition because if I have a problem they help me resolve it and if I have simple or complex problems they take the time to help you understand and make the right decision for you and your needs. Give them a try and you won't regret it!!

David Khalil

Very helpful staff

Sohabe Hashmi

Hit and miss on the staff.

Anael Forbes

Got to love their Shark.

Richard F

Service sucks

Matt deJonge

Decent selection of fish, mainly your standard fare. Plants always in some various stages of melt.

Maurizio Di Placido

Good service and quality!!!

Rahul Sharma

One of the best, if not the best Big Al's location. An amazing and abundant selection of healthy saltwater and freshwater livetock, corals and plants.... not to mention a wide selection of aquarium supplies. This location is always clean and well stocked. However, most importantly, it is the wonderful management that works here that really set it apart!! Shout outs to Sheldon and Dimo specifically! - both managers will go out of their way to help customers out! They both demonstrate exemplary customer service skills that are sure to satisfy many customers (and make them customers for life). Further, unlike other Big Al's locations, this Vaughan location also gets its saltwater and freshwater livestock shipments much more frequently then the others. Definitely 5⭐'s !

Da Bucc

Great store with friendly staff! A special shout out to Daniel for helping us out. Such a wonderful young man.

matt khalil

Great knowledgeable staff,

Krystal Fair

Nice place.

B MacNeil

Nice selection

Nathan CS Fu

They don’t update their website! I checked their website regularly for a specific fish. Their website indicated the fish was in stock so I drove 30 mins to get it. Not happy! They don’t carry that fish for long time and no one update the website. The staff even told me not to trust their website!

Tuan Vu

It's really the only big Aquarium store around these days, but I question how healthy their fishes are as I see lots of dead fishes in most of their tanks. Some of the people who work here also have no clue what they're talking about and just try to push their inferior Big Al's brand to you.

Em Le

Nice saff

Lee V

Sheldon was brilliant. Sound advice and he knows what he is talking about. The layout of this Big Al's was in my books, quite commendable.

Anne MARIE Horvath

Great staff. Awesome a Selection

Kavin Scott

Awesome staff and fish shop

Daniel Oliveira

They had everything I needed to set up a small aquarium for my kids. The fish are still alive after a couple weeks so I have no reason to complain. Also, the offered a five day warranty for my fish, however it wasn't necessary.

Fred Seven

Staff friendly and helpful. Large selection.. good prices..

Fernando Iriarte

Great people, specially the aquarium manager. Great fishs. Never got one sick

E M

Very rude management, almost like they don't want to help you specially the fish department manager. (Big chubby dark skin guy)

Ryan Davies

Love the workers there they are great with the help just the one manager he knows his stuff but doesn't really have time with you the store looks great and they do have what I need

Paul Nguyen

Rude staff and manager!

Paul Paiva

Good customer service

Miguel Angel Montiel Saldaña

Wonderful, amazing

Erica Koller

Kids n I always stop to check out cool fish life. Everything you need for fish and more.

Andrea K

Normally get great service except for yesterday. They set up a line queue in the fish area where you would have to fill out your paper and wait for someone to help you out. However it did not seem to be in use, was standing there for a while but staff seem to have total disregard for it and other guest were jumping ahead. I know it gets busy at times and all the better they should be using the system they set in place. But If they aren't going to follow it might as well take it out. What a waste of time.

Kyle Kennedy

Great selection, but kinda pricey.

Mike Espo

MANAGER IS SO RUDE HERE WOULDN'T RECOMMEND GIVING THEM BUSINESS AT ALL.SO RUDE SOLD ME A FISH TOLD ME ALL THE WRONG INFORMATION ABOUT THIS FISH AND NOW WONT TAKE THE FISH BACK SAYS THERES NO ROOM LOL PLACE IS JOKES.FRONT MANGER SHOULD BE FIRED

Holly Mahar

I am sitting in the parking lot outside Big Al’s. My family just spent nearly a half hour here looking at fish to purchase our son for his birthday. When we had made our decision we couldn’t find an employee to assist us. I went to speak with the girl at the front and was told “someone should be in the back”. There was a young guy walking around on his cell phone but didn’t know he was an employee until we decided to leave. We said we were disappointed with the lack of service and the young guy that had been on his phone stepped in behind the counter. I said I didn’t realize he worked here and he said “yup”. My husband then asked for the owner’s name and contact information which after several attempts we got his name. But no phone number. In the middle of speaking with him he turned away to answer the phone completely disregarding our conversation. I said he was being rude and nobody offered to help and he said “ you should have asked”. I did. A few times. We will go somewhere else.

David Wood

This. Place. Is. Sad. I am a fan of big Al's. Most of the other locations have great service, good looking pets and a store that is well maintained. This one felt like it was rocketing toward going out of business. Lots of dead fish, burned out lights, and a general feel of a strip mall going down... Too bad... Go to one of the others, they aren't that much further away. As you can see they replied with all of the reasons why my observations and feelings regarding the quality of this fish store. As a point of education to the staff who responded, an appropriate response to a disappointed customer would be to say "oh goodness, so sorry for your negative experience. Our store is currently undergoing maintenance and is not currently reflective of our usual standards. Please email me at this email, we can let you know when our maintenance is done. At that time please come give us another go we would be happy to offer you 10 Percent off and hope you take the time to review again at that time." To instead tell me why I'm wrong is demonstrative of how the store ended up in it's current state. Your reply hardly changed my mind. In fact 1 star now as the only thing I loved about the store was the spot on customer service, but you've changed my mind.

Gray m

Huge store with tons of inventory from tanks to lights to food to rocks to plants to anything you need in the hobby, Big al's got ya covered

Travis Roopnarine

They've got all the supplies and food for fish and reptiles. Big Al's also has a sublime aquarium showcase.

Mike P

Everyone was very knowledgeable and helpful. They helped my girlfriend and i pick out a proper tank and answered all our questions.

Val Perchenok

I don't purchase anything right now. Selection weaker, prices higher. I understand everyone should recover after such a collapse, but it is not affordable anymore

Michael Binns

Great customer service

mark sunderland

The perfect store from start to finish for aquariums fish and accessories.

Amrita Gajadhar

Not much selection and the staff are only sometimes helpful.

じよいこん

Poor customer service, I recently bought an air stone and T fittings that's didn't work with my system. They are unopened brand new conditions. The girl with septum piercing is extremely rude when handling the return, because it was bought from a different location. The manager didn't responded in a timely fashion and while waiting, that girl said it's not on the receipt. After showing her where it is on the receipt, she quickly changed to that they don't have the products in their system without even typing in the computer and said the f-word in front of me. So I confronted her and took her photo so I can have her name, but no they don't even have one. She is such a bad lair if your location didn't have those basic products then you better close the store. Eventually no manager showed up for help. She also claimed that if I didn't sign up for the rewards then I got no warranty for the tank and stands at all. Manager if you read this please do a better screening for your employees and let them wear a name tag when working. I will never shopping in your location again.

Krista Mcclean

Great people! Clean place and fun experience. Definately recommend to all!

Bryan barker

excellent selection to bad my wife doesnt like fish tanks

Peyman Raji

This place is not as well stocked as their centre near Yonge and Teeles. The staff at other locations more friendly and were eager to plese.

Stephanie Muir

Great friendly staff, had what we needed for our bearded dragon at great prices! Will definitely keep shopping here!!!!

Martin B

Amazing experience! All the livestock was healthy and the store was very clean. I was there with my wife last week and the young asian guy at the back was very helpful and knowledgable although we felt bad bothering him because he seemed busy cleaning a tank (he said it was ok but still lol). He answered all our questions about starting a saltwater tank and gave me tips about it too! I will definitely come back again at this big al's location.

Shifa M

Great service. The staff is very helpful. The store has amazing and many varieties.

Tony R

They have big fish, small fish and even little tiny fish.

Frank

Nice variety. Well maintained tanks. knowledgeable staff

Jagpreet Mann

Clean! Best big Al's I've been to.

Sally Fuentes

great customer service

Vito Totino

Great selection and good quality

Juslen Jeyatharan

Good selection, decent prices. Fish arrive at store relatively healthy.

Doug Montgomery

Good service, friendly and helpful staff

T L

This was my 5th time shopping here. Beautiful place to shop or even just to look around. Unfortunately, might be my last. My family walked around for a good 20 minutes before my children decided which fish to add to our tank and after decided, I asked an associate for help. With a medical mask exemption, I was refused service for not having a face covering while inside the store. This was from an associate who was wearing their mask underneath his nose. I went in, fully aware of their curb-side pick up option, but their phones are not answered.

Kevin Lee

Great sea life store but the cost just doubled compared over years

Dan d

Two employees in particular, Josh and Luca, super helpful and friendly. They are super knowledgeable and really helped with my fish selection. Even when one of my fish passed and I went in for my credit and replacement, Josh was a great help! This place is great and would highly recommend to anyone

CRISTINA VALDEZ

Amazing store. So much variety and knowledgeable staff. We are peoud new fish parents :)

Rude Bwoy

Nice variety of fish and good service

Maria Theofanidis

The staff was super friendly and helpful. I was able to find everything I needed. One of the best Big Als I’ve been to!!!

Darren Serool

Very helpful and full of good information. I know our first tank is going to be a winner. Thanks all.

Farah ali

Had a great experience dealing with Sheldon on preping our fish tant. Finally got a few fishes to start.

Sue A

Always a fantastic experience, staff is very knowledgeable and gives great tips to help you have the perfect healthy set up for your tank.

Mike Jordan

Great store awesome products!

Ashley Musha

Always had reliable advice and excellent customer service from this store. I used to shop at other stores but the ease of access (right by highway 400 on Rutherford Road) and helpful staff make this my go to store for my fish tank needs.

Kiril Prokopiev

Got my Aquarium needs, and Loved IT!

Adriana C

Recently getting into the hobby of fishkeeping, I have been to the store 3-4 times spending anywhere from $200-300. They have a great selection/variety on fish but I find are limited when it comes to a variety on filters or other more mechanical things ... also they are always more expensive than Petsmart or amazon. One of my purchases was an aqueon 50w heater for my 5gallon beta tank - At the time of purchase I was encouraged to also buy an extended warranty by one of the associates - and I did. Less than a month after the purchase the heater did not heat as well (initially the water was heated to 24-25° consistently whether it was cold or warm in the house ... but by the end of the month it was about 21-22 degrees which is basically the room temperature in our house). The owner refused to take it back because he said since the light on the heater is on it is technically working and is not defective. He would only consider the return if I was to upgrade to a larger heater (and spend more money of course). I refused simply on the principle of the fact that I spent the extra money and then in the end got swindled. Lesson learned!!! No more purchases at Big Al’s ... I have never had issues with warranty purchases at Petsmart or Amazon and will continue to shop there.

Steven Hunt

Good selection of aquarium related products

Garret Meikle

I have visited multiple Big Al's Supercentres and while selection does differ from store to store (some stores also sell birds etc) the primary focus is fish for the Vaughan store near Vaughan Mills and the Thornhill store on Steeles near Yonge street. They offer a good selection of marine and freshwater fish, corals and inverts. They also have a great selection of aquarium accessories which is helpful if you are new to the hobby as this is a one stop shop. I have a saltwater aquarium and it seems as though it always needs something (replacement parts, water nutrients, fish food etc) all of which can be found here, or ordered in the store. I have always found the staff friendly and knowledgeable and the prices are competitive.

Greg Reid

I was able to meet the BIG AL's Team while working with them on their communications system. They were such great team to work with I recommended BIG Al's Aquariums to several friends who have since visited their locations and have commented to me on their great products & Service.

Eleni Theodoropoulos

Excellent customer service. Clean store, with a very large variety of products. I found everything I needed, and more thanks to the great staff.

Domenico Fabiano

I have had fish for years. Bought fish on two separate occasions from here and both died. Only give you 50 percent even though a fish have only lived for 3 days. They told me I do not know how to take care of fish. It is funny I have boughg fish from other places and they have lived for over five years, however they only seem to die when I buy from Big Al's.

sergio da silva

Great

Justin Tal

Went there for the first time on nye . The staff was amazing with helping me choose the perfect tank setup for my kids . Adesh ( hope im spelling that correctly ) and jason were the biggest help . They were so informative and continue to help us and guide me threw the process when i call in days later with questions! What a great experience ! With great staff !

Jeff Neven

I have visited seven Big Al's stores in Ontario and this one is the best by far. Tanks were super clean, fish were of good quality and healthy, priced were reasonable and staff were knowledgeable and friendly. Everything that you want in a fish store.

Andrew Cook

Went in for fish, came out with fish :O

MSC725

Very knowledgable staff

Great Outdoor Apps

Big Al's in Vaughan is great. They always have an awesome deal on something that beats every other price when it is on sale. They have marine plants I don't find anywhere else and they always have wonderfully unique selection of fish. I always stop by to see what they have to offer that week and the managers/employees are super helpful when I do. Totally friendly staff. Awesome place.

melissa lindao

I've never had any problems with this location. The staff that have attended me were very friendly and knowledgeable. I've just purchased a starter 20 gallon fresh water fish aquarium and have been going very week for the purchase of the fish. Not once I had a bad experience.

Premilan Thiyagarajah

Awesome people , very helpful. Clean and organized store. No complaints. Helped me load my 90 gallon tank into my vehicle!

Cosimo Fuda

Great location and super helpful staff. Very knowledgeable and friendly.

Aidan Qi

Awesome place! Friendly staff, Great deals, and a great section of fish, aquariums, and aquarium accessories. Definitely recommend this place for starting a new aquarium here.

Stephen McK

I went in to see the shark. There was no shark. The shark jumped out of the tank and staff found it dead on the floor when they arrived in the morning. It was a sad disappointment

Christina. Theo

Best Big Al’s!!! Staff was very helpful, I had a great experience

Eliza Ziva

Disappointing experience at this store! See below the email I just sent to their head office about our visit! "Hello, My name is Eliza and I wanted to let you know about my experience at your Vaughan location last night. As a bit of background, I normally shop at your North York location, which we love to visit because the staff there are great with my son who has behavioural challenges. I have previously written to you about how great our experience there has been, which makes this even more disappointed for me to see. While I normally shop at the North York location, I stopped on my way home at the Vaughan location because we needed fish food. I assumed you would close, but I got an email saying you were open so I stopped. As a mother, what I saw there is shocking regarding current events. While the staff were nice enough, I feel bad for them. About health precautions, I heard the staff saying that they didn’t feel safe and weren’t sure why they were even open. I have to agree with them. They don’t have any protective gear and saw customers getting very close to staff. I didn’t see any hand sanitizer stations as mentioned in the email, and there seems to be no leadership going on. I don’t understand. I know someone probably needs to care for the fish, but nobody has to be buying fish or aquariums right now. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately based on my experience with your stores I don’t believe this is the fault of the staff but rather highers up. After what I saw at the Vaughan location and the conversation I heard, I assume it must be the same for all of your stores. As much as this is my son’s favourite store to visit now, but I’m not sure if I want to continue to support a company that clearly puts money before the health and safety of their employees, and by connection their customers. Please consider the safety of your staff and community, and close like other stores."

Jashan Swaich

Terrible customer service skills, was told one thing on the phone and something else in person, lost a loyal customer over a 20% stocking charge return on a $75 item, that's $15. The store manager just shrugs with no basic business fundamentals I.e. the cost of customer acquisition and retention, will be driving to scarb or going online if I ever need anything from Al's again.

Neeshil Patel

Sharks are amazing!!

Andrew Papeo

Steve was instrumental in helping me set up my 70 gal tank filled with colourful African cichlids. The store was clean and organized with a friendly atmosphere, best location I have visited. Reasonable prices for beautiful fish and great advice for someone who was just looking for manageable pets for small children. Great experience thank you ????????.

The Realist

Lots of fish good price

Kev S

Great place to get all your aquarium needs and a large variety of fresh and salt water fish.

Giuseppina Cacciola

Staff was very rude and not helpful. Very disappointed in their service. Do not recommend if you are first time fish owner and you need help figuring out what you need. Extremely not helpful

Jessica Youles

We bought a $30 Peacock cichlid from another store and it was not getting along with our other fish so we took it to this Big Al's. They would not give us any money for it but said they could re-home it, we figured he was not worth much so did not argue. We have since gotten another tank and went today to buy him back, thinking he would be around $30 max. Our jaws dropped, they are calling him, an orange not very coloured peacock of medium size, a show male and asking $80 bucks! We were so upset that they were not only asking way more than what he is worth to some unsuspecting customer, but they wouldn't give us a dime for him. The guy we bought him from told us he was not a show male, he was off colour, not nearly as coloured up as his others, that's why we only paid $30. Very upsetting Big Al's, this coming from a frequent customer who is seriously considering not coming back.

Scott MacKenzie

The fish selection and knowledge are great, lots of answers to any of your questions. I've never had any issues with my purchases.

Farhan A.

They got good quality fishes..although price is a bit high compared to other per stores.

Heily Wallace

I like the points system where you can trade points for discount. Also they have everything you ever need

Nigel Foote

Great staff helpful and knowledgeable for answering questions about buying a fish tank/fish. Thank you for your time and help.

Brandon Book

Beautiful store, friendly and knowledgeable staff and a large selection of marine and fresh water fish. This was my first experience at this location since I am from out of town, and I was pleased with the service I received. Unfortunately they don’t respond to concerns made on their sites “contact us” page or on social media. Their phone number also was unavailable. I recently purchased a few Marine fish and one died during transport, the fish must not have been healthy to die during a 50 minute transport. I’ve never lost a fish on my way home before. Plus the fish was transported in a cooler to keep at temperature since these fish are super sensitive to temperature swings. Marine fish are expensive and I hope big Al’s Vaughn will help replace a fish that was unhealthy and regrettably died. Please exercise caution when purchasing marine fish here, a quarantine tank is strongly recommended since health and disease cannot be guaranteed.

Grace

The fishes are beautiful, also have good quality.

Mackenzie Kretz

Finally after searching so many stores they had red spotted sevrums!

hilario pereira

Bad service They not even know how to catch the fish You not even able to choose fish that you want they can catch them

Yacov Aboudi

Bit expensive no one really wants to help me.

Megan

Very helpful staff!

Regina Atanas Hedges

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR SHARING AND ASKING ME THESE QUESTIONS! I WOULD LIKE TO SHOP'S AT BIG AL'S. YOU CAN TOO IF YOU COULD...OF COURSE AFTER THE PANDAMICS. SO THAT YOU CAN PICK WHAT YOU LIKES.! RIGHT. THANK YOU ♥️TAKE CARE GOD BLESSED EVERYONE ☝????????????♥

John Sanborn

Cool place to walk through. Kids absolutely loved the selection.

Michael Leblanc

Great place for all your aquarium needs

Nancy Vu

Best Big Al’s in the GTA, trust me I been to all of them. Great selection of fish and staff is very knowledgeable. The store is always clean, organized and fully stocked.

AP Greco

I will never walk in this place again!! I was walking around the store looking for some accessories for my fish tank. I wandered for a good 15-20 minutes before someone helped me. I was approached by the fish manager (average size, bald ish, brown ethnicity) and boy do I wish he never crossed my path. I don’t know why he was so rude to me, all I did was ask him a few questions/advice and he was treating me like a joke and almost insulting me! Everything I tried to say he cut me off as if I was completely stupid, he insulted my choice in purchases, and made me feel like I wasn’t wanted. I suggest you get rid of this gentleman before he takes your store under. I had 150$ with of items that I literally put back and walked out, you just lost a sale and a good customer

Benjamin Gauvin

Store is clean and neat. Staff are friendly and knowledgeable. Everytime time I go is always a good visit.

Lily c

I went in today, and sold them my healthy 5 inch bala shark. The manager in the fish area seemed more worried about something else. I know that they dont need to do small talk but it would have been nice to be acknowledged.

Hayman19

Great selection and helpful staff.

Hualin Zhao

This place was OK, until I bought some fish from there recently, every fish I bought carries some kind of disease, and not only most of these fishes are dead, a lot of my fishes also got infected and dead very soon. When I went back there, I saw a lot of their fishes are showing the same symptom. White mold growing on their body. My suggestion for people who love fishes. Don't buy fishes from this place until some improvement are made. I give two stars because I did had some good time there, long time ago. Hope they can work on curing these fishes soon and try safe as many fishes as they can. Copy and paste is not the way to solve your problem. One star it is. This place is a lot better now, so I'm giving them 4 stars

Mike Martino

So I will never shop here again for anything. I called multiple times because I was on hold for over an hour. When someone answered they were very rude and told me to stop calling and asking for the fish room. So frequently because they know my voice. When i asked for his name he would not give it to me so I had to call back and lie to the cashier to get his name Steve. Dont ever buy your fish from this place. All the fish are sick here and the manager steve is an idiot.

Diego Castro

Always friendly and a good customer services

smiley smiley

Good fish

Cathy Russo

Everything is sick or dying. Super expensive

Dana Bernard

I always go there . I get live crickets for my lizards and food for my turtle

Jo nathan

Love their stores

Lucia Chiacchia

Big Al’s Vaughn, every time we come love dealing with Dimo, he knows his info and is a straight up guy. Dimo your awesome

Keith G

Best fish store of all the choices in the area.

Donald Joseph

Visited this location for a curbside pick up. Upon taking the crayfish home that I had just purchased I realized, they sold me a crayfish with only 1 pincher and a missing leg. I have tried calling the store back multiple times and now no one is answering... Strange that a store which has answered my call within 2 rings the first 3 times during the process of this purchase, is now not answering the phone. I guess I am now stuck with my purchase. Never going back to this location again.

John S

Good selection of fish and a lot of tanks in good health. A little disappointed with the person that helped me get my fish. She seems to be in a hurry but yet the store was empty of customers on a Friday mid afternoon. Didn't get the feeling that they valued my business.

Massimo Cioffi

Went to pick up a tank and a Leopard Gecko and I was not let down. The super friendly staff answered all our questions and gave us some good reccomendations.

amizzi25

Been shopping at this location for a while now as it's closer to me than any others. Staff are super friendly and always approach me to see if I need any help. The customer service is excellent! Not a negative note but just my personal preference/opinion but it would be nice to see more of a selection regarding larger fish species and other fish species that aren't as commonly found in other Aquarium/pet stores.

Christopher Jones

Excellent service, great selections and knowledgeable staff

ken moriarty

Large variety of live stock and accessories. Very helpful and knowledgeable staff. This was my first visit and i will be returning

Brandon Jay

Fish room manager goes out of his way to be helpful... prices, all be it Big Al's prices, in this instance, were good.

Merrian Morgan

I enjoy going to this Aquarium

Luca Czeranowski

I was sold two clownfish before they were ready to be sold. I know they weren’t ready to be sold because their price hadn’t even been listed yet. The fish clearly hadn’t been quarantined as they died of Brooklynella less than a week after I bought them. When I called and told them what happened they told me there was nothing they could do because marine fish are final sale, even though the only reason the fish are dead is because they rushed to sell them to me and failed to quarantine their fish properly. Very disappointed.

Skye N

Love the store. Went to purchase 4 male guppies. Was given 3 males and a female. Not happy.

Emily Chininea

Love this place!

Austin White

I have a question as a regular customer. Why would a store take a business approach of taking there premium corals off the floor as potential sales (revenue) to place in display tanks? I am aware that it’s nice to have a few display tanks for customers to view however; I would venture to say if I were a stakeholder I would prefer to have the sales in my pocket rather than carrying those costs to just display product with no intention of sale. Perhaps a better approach would be to take those smaller corals with a lesser dollar value and utilize them as display type items hrrrm yep sounds a bit more intelligent , or continue you this approach and loose sales and customer base as I know I have already started shopping elsewhere. I would in many cases agree with what you are saying other than the fact I’m very familiar with this location and frag corals ha ha ha. Yeah that’s never happened at this location and I have been going there for years and have never once seen this process done. The prior fish room manager (Randy) understood his clientele and was always stocking large corals in the tanks and very few times did I ever not see them sell. Fragging is definitely a good means of stretching revenue however; only if very educated on the fragging process otherwise what was initially thought as a potential gain is a complete loss. This also does not include the additional margins you’ll have to place on the item to recoup carrying costs and overheads (power, water, chemicals) the P&L would most definitely show a loss in this case. I stand by my comment as I see others who use to frequent to this location that are now seen at other locations making the same comments. In fact there are some of the same comments made within the last three months of reviews. We cant all be wrong

jason caetano

I am a huge fan and customer of various "Big Al's" locations and I have to state that I absolutely refuse to return to the Vaughn store. The front end is, as usual, fully stocked and staffed well. The fish room is however a completely different story. The prices are way out of line with the other locations. The overall health of the fish is poor. And most importantly the staff is unfriendly, inconsiderate and seem to think that they are doing you a favor by selling you fish. I brought in 7 med-lrg gold pearlscale angelfish because my 24K XB Arowana was going to dismember them, in hopes of trading for 2 xl angelfish that were on weekly specials for $24.99 each. I was told that they could take my fish but offer me no credit. And of course they were more than happy to have me spend $50 on the new fish. In the end I was given $5 each, the money is irrelevant because fish are not investments, however the customer service is garbage. Without a doubt, the Mississauga store would have taken the 7 from me and given me 3 bigger one's, no cash involved. This isn't the "Gucci" store, please stop acting like "Elite Woodbridgians", its an aquarium store for crying out loud. Its supposed to be fun. I think that these employees, specifically the fish room manager and senior staff could benefit immensely by spending a week or two training at the mississauga location, which by far is in a league of it's own. I visit pretty much every aquarium store in the GTA atleast once a week and cannot keep track of how much money I spend. I feel stupid every time I leave here. Much Appreciation and Thanks to first and foremost the Mississauga location and secondly the North York and Scarborough locations I will continue to visit and support your stores with enthusiasm.

Amana Haq

I'm very upset by their team at Vaughan they decided to place the store specials for red albino chilli and we get is some ordinary ones They misleads every time and makes u come to their store and u end up buying the wrong fish. Plus the staff was not helpful. I would strongly recommend not to go this Vaughan big Al's location Misleading their store specials The fishes are very pricey And their staff was not helpful.

Northern Realness

Good size. Prices can be higher than other locations.

Mohammed M

The staff can be hit or miss but the variety is excellent. Customer service needs to be stepped up here.

Shannon Summerhayes

Always excellent service... healthy fish and corals...helpful staff...Always willing to take the time to answer any questions and give honest setup tips and tricks....

Jacinta Wong

3300 Rutherford Rd, Concord. First time here, it looks like they are setting up something, some places are wet surrounded by a number of fishing tanks. They got fishes, snails, sea plants, turtles . Not cheap, a white belly turtle over a hundred. Salty water fishes, 2 tanks of shrimps not much inside. Some fish tank accessories. Fish food.

jagpreet suri

This big Al's location is awesome it's worth the travel Compared to the brampton location they have a lot more selection and very knowledgable staff One person that stands out is Randy I've known him since he worked at the Brampton location He is very knowledgable in the hobby and very helpful He goes out of his way to help you and will genuinely try his best he is the only person I look for when I go there Highly recommend this location Avoid Brampton ????

Musi Siraj

All way happy to shop there

B Z

prices are becoming very expensive at Big Als 22.99 for a 500 ml bottle of prime! that is 3 dollars more than I can get it at another pet shop the hobby is becoming very expensive and I can see this becoming an issue for new people getting into the hobby

ISSAM HAMMOUD

Good selection of fish at reasonable prices and knowlegeable staff.

Lam Nguyen

I visited and bought a few fish yesterday, but when I went home to put the fish in the lake, I found out that the store staff caught me with sick fish that was in danger of dying, I was very I'm sad because of that. I don't know how to handle these fish. I was very confident in this place, but I was disappointed.

Rakesh Jokhoe

It's the best place to go visit

amanda taricani

Never in my life will I spend another dime here!!! I have a pet Betta fish that I purchased from PETSMART and she is perfectly fine! Enjoying the home I have made for her. I came to this location to purchase 3 other Bettas AND one tetra which ALL DIED WITHIN 24 HOURS!!!!!! I don’t know if you people are selling sick fish or not taking care of them properly but I am beyond livid!! Such a waste of time and money. I am a huge animal lover, regardless of what kind of animal it may be, and to see this happen to 5 fish is very bothersome to me. I will DEFINITELY be making sure that anyone I know does NOT come to this location!! This is extremely disgusting!!!

Barb C

Love this shop. Staff are knowledgeable and friendly

benjamin neff

Best one yet

Marc Polsinelli

Always good service and answer my questions.

Moon child

I just love this place. I feel like I'm in an underwater paradise every time I go. I was able to be asked about 6 times if I needed help, staff there go out of their way and so polite. The fish all look super healthy with clean tanks. Although there were bigger tanks for the betta males, I did find one dead betta female and had to let them know. Also some bettas were so large they could barely move around in their cup. That's my only complaint. So many do look about one year old, so in my experience with similar sized bettas and their age, they can last about 1 year or more if you're lucky in a 5-10 gallon tank by themselves.