Aqua Imports remains The LFS for rare or hard to find aquaria. They have a great selection of freshwater fish, inverts, and plants which may be hard to find elsewhere. Their located at 2690 28th St # C, Boulder, CO 80301 and their hours are 11-6 Monday thru Saturday, Sunday 12-5. Upon my entry, I was greeted right away and given a short tour of the nicer aspects to the store. Nothing was arranged and others who came in at opening were also taken care of right away. Impressive customer service even though they were short handed. The tidiness of the store was lacking, and things are basically as they were last time I visited in May of 2024. The store is well stocked and the sections which really impressed me are the reptiles, plants (both aquatic and tropical), and the cichlid/specialty room. If I was looking for rare or unusual plants for my terrarium, I would start here.
The saltwater room was lacking as usual of late. There selection of corals in the front room looks nice, so they do have some nice saltwater aquaria, just not an abundance. I did not see any floaters (dead fish) like last time, so this is good. The store itself continues to degrade and without routine maintenance the place will eventually collapse. Check out the photos below and look at the walls, you’ll see what I speak of. With prices climbing recently I am impressed with the reasonable cost of their livestock. At some point though, things will have to give and either to store moves and prices increase or they do repairs and prices will increase. I pray for the highest and best good, may Aqua Imports continue to be the go to LFS in Boulder and surrounding metros.
The area where Aqua Imports is thriving is their online internet sales. They just shipped out 40 boxes of orders and still have plenty of stock in their back room. This seems to be a wonderful way to keep the doors open and have fresh livestock. If you don’t already know, the name of any business is throughput. Profit comes in volume, while maintaining quality keeps them coming back. My hats off to any LFS which can keep its doors open these days. Let’s support these landmark LFS’s which have kept us engaged and supplied. After so many years, 50+, I still love going to the LFS and chatting with the knowledgeable folks there. It is part of sharing this hobby we all love.
Sequoia Elisabeth
