The Aquatic Dog has what most stores on the front range do not. They specialize in nano fish and the supplies to go with them, everything from nano tanks to aquascaping hardscape and plants. I have been shopping here for years and I have yet to have a fish that was not healthy and thriving, so you can see why this is my favorite LFS. The other thing which makes them highly competitive is their prices. In this world of internet sales and box stores the LFS has to really focus on keeping overhead low so they can price their items at or near the Amazons of the marketplace. Aquatic Dog does an amazing job of this. Their fish prices are a bit higher than you would find at the box stores, but this is made up in quality.
Let’s get the housekeeping out of the way. Aquatic Dog is located at the corner of Quebec and Illiff in the Central Park Shopping Center. The actual address is 7429 E. Illiff Ave., Denver 80231.
Their hours are Tuesday - Saturday 11-6 Sunday 12-5, closed Monday's. Greg and Sheila have been in this location since 1990 and have kept fish since childhood. Their experience shows in the quality of their service! Just to be thorough, they also sell puppies and pet supplies for cats and dogs.
With this glowing review comes the question, “what’s not to love about Aquatic Dog?” I would say not much! Their prices are very competitive, esp. on supplies and the selection is great for smaller fish. If you seek larger fish like arowana, oscars, larger cichlids and red tail catfish this is not your place. They do have some rare fish though like uncommon plecos, green rasboras, discus and more. Expect to pay full retail on them though. The rare fish are subject to availability, so it pays to stop by on a regular basis. I certainly do. I sit here trying to think of reasons to skip this store on a weekend fish crawl (visiting a series of LFS in a certain city or locale). The only thing I can come up with is they don’t carry large tanks or fish. They do carry the lights and some tank covers though.
I have posted pictures of the store here so you can get an idea of the stuff they do carry. Full disclosure here, they are only a few miles from me, so this does weigh in my fish shopping choice. Though to be fair I have 2 other good LFS within the same distance and I will be featuring them in up coming blogs.
Sequoia Elisabeth
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