Fish Haven

Not like the store run by Jim. No sure what it will be … I guess its OK, but way too much emphasis on environmentally unsustainable salt water fish (90% of salt water fish are wild caught). There’s little to distinguish this piscatorial monger.
As for fresh water, they’re about on par with the local Petco with some offerings more complete and some being less; but; way off the beaten path. For example … Petco easily carries 5x more Bettas, and with greater assortment than Love Aquarium.

They changed owners recently, and are now called The Love Aquarium! They haven’t changed the signs just yet, but it’s a great place!
They have a few nano fish available that I couldn’t find anywhere else, such as sparkling gourami, Galaxy rasboras (celestial pearl danios), and Pygmy cories! The new owner said he plans on getting more nano fish, which I’m very happy about, since all the other fish stores in the area don’t really carry any of them.
The staff were really friendly and sweet and patient with me, and I was pleased to hear that they actually would take special orders (though I would ask them to be sure, since they don’t really take orders for just one fish for a tank). But even so, they have a clipboard up in the front for you to write for requests or for them to contact you when they reorder and receive new fish.
Honestly, in my opinion, it was completely worth driving half an hour to this place, since I finally got to find a good variety of fish for my ten gallon tank.

The stars I gave are for the knowledge of the staff. At least the employees. The owner/​manager (the older gentleman) didn’t know much at all and had to ask the younger workers many questions when I was talking to him for advice. So the «kids» knowledge earns the. HOWEVER. They are extremely irresponsible with their ethical practices and choices. They have knife fish, red tail catfish, enormous cichlids, and many more fish that are too big for ANY TANK. Even a public aquarium would not be able to house most of these, and certainly not house ALL of these enormous fish that Fish Haven has. now, I understand that the thinking is that the holding tanks are only temporary, and that the fish won’t be in there for very long. But how often does a 2 foot long arowana fish or a 40 pound catfish get sold? NOT often. So these poor fish are forced to live for LONG periods of time in their «holding» tanks, that in some cases that I saw, barely allowed the fish to turn around. In addition to the large number of cruelly housed fish, Fish Haven regularly stocks extremely difficult to care for saltwater fish. Before starting my saltwater aquarium, I did an extensive amount of research, and in doing that research, I discovered many of the most difficult fish to care for, so that I would know to avoid purchasing them. A list of them can be easily found in any book or online. A quick search brought up this site
Of the 10 categories of fish that should not be kept on that list, I saw a seven of those in the store. They have sharks that are far too large to ever house comfortably, I once saw a moray eel, and mandarin fish are notoriously difficult to care for, and have probably the highest mortality rate of any salt water aquarium fish because of its beauty. But it’s also an extremely picky eater, eating ONLY tiny crustacean-​like creatures called amphipods or Copepods. They are literally the size of fleas, and the Mandarin fish cannot eat anything besides those because it is specially adapted with a mouth that can only eat those. BUT FISH HAVEN DOESN’T SELL THE CORRECT KIND OF AMPHIPODS THAT THE MANDARIN EATS. They knowingly purchase, and sell fish that will certainly die. Because they have already been malnourished when they are sitting in the store. I could write a book about the negative things I’ve seen in fish haven but I will summarize by just saying: it is extremely clear that money is what is important in this shop. Not the fact that these are lives that are being sold. Not the long term well being of an actual animal. Just money. What a shame.

Had some issues with my fish tank went to fish haven talked with the owner and he was able to solve my problem thanks so much for all your help will continue doing business with you

Fishermen has an amazing selection of fresh and salt water fish and other critters. On top of pretty much every aquarium and fixture you might need, they even offer bulk salt water, specialty feeds and rocks.
On top of all that. they have been super patient with my 6 year old and I as we window shopped MANY times in our quest to find the perfect first pet.
A big thankyou to Fishhaven, and keep up the good work!

Best fish store in San Diego county! They have an awesome supply of both fresh water and salt water fish. The owner Jim is very knowledgable and has a solution to every problem. I was having issues with my salt water tank and he helped me get my tank up and running again. He always took time to help me.

I’ve always had problems with this store. The owner overprices everything and is always rude to customers. Usually when I go in, I don’t see ANY staff other than the one planted behind the register not able to help with your questions, he goes and gets the owner, he is very dismissive and comes off bluntly rude every time you ask him a question. The last couple times I went there I was always disappointed coming out of the store. Now I drive the extra miles to go to an amazing fish store in Claremont mesa and have nothing bad to say about them! Prices are WAY LOWER than fish haven and they have happy employees! So happy to give my money to a business a lot more deserving.

I took my daughter to Fish Haven to get her a starter fish. She wanted a gold fish and I figured that would be easy enough.
1.) The owner was there and not helpful. He failed to tell us that it’s not a good idea to put goldfish in a bowl with no filtration.
2.) He had no helpful advice except showing my daughter the expensive glo-​fish tank set ups. Somehow, we ended up leaving there with a 2 gallon glass bowl ($ 40) which ended up cracking and other accessories.
3.) He sold my daughter 2 sickly feeder fish that died that night.
My daughter’s first fish experience was getting 2 sick fish and a broken bowl… and I ended up spending over $ 65 (which was way over my budget). I am extremely disappointed that nothing worked out there AND the experts didn’t even educate us on what NOT to do with goldfish. He wasn’t friendly and his one staff member there was stuck behind the register with no one else in there and didn’t mention anything either.
Very sad. :(

Helpful and knowledgable staff, great variety in stock, excellent healthy fish. We keep coming here again and again for our aquarium needs. They even helped me find the best solution to treat my sick fish I got from Petco (never again!) and he bounced back. Very happy with this store!

Very well equipped store with large assortment of equipment for both fresh & saltwater fish. Most of the staff is very customer service oriented.

Look, we all know that prices at the LFS tend to be a little higher than Amazon, or other online retailers. With that being said, do your research before making large purchases and talk with the LFS employees to see if you can reach a middle ground. I am giving this store a five star perfect rating for a couple of reasons. Reason 1 — Customer appreciation. These guys take the time to talk with you and educate you about their products. If you have a question they can and will answer it for you. Very well educated. Reason 2 — The tanks are beautiful. You can really see they put a lot of effort and love into their tanks. They’re mostly algae free and I didn’t encounter any floaters. The final reason I am giving this store a perfect rating is because their salt water was perfect. Super clean and pure and already cycled. This takes a huge load off of my shoulders knowing that I have a place to go to get somewhat inexpensive and perfect saltwater for my tank. I will definitely be making the commute from Oceanside at least once a month or so.

Nice shop with lots of fish and equipment. Stopped in a few weeks back to pick up some food for the fishies. The employees here really know what they’re doing. I don’t know much about fish but the man does.
He was asking them a lot of questions about different products and they seemed very familiar with every product that they referenced.
The store is actually rather large I didn’t realize when I first walked in that they have a ton of aquariums for sale. I couldn’t believe the variety of fresh and salt water fish that they have available including sharks!
I’m not a super big fish person but the man is really into them. If you need anything to take care of your fish or aquarium this is definitely the place to go in escondido.

In the last two weekends I spent $ 1,400.00 and the staff could not be any better and the owner Jim is a complete dueche bag, I wanted to work a deal on a tank and stand so Sam called Jim for me and after he told her yes he started talking about other stuff with her and made me wait until he was done talking to her then when I went in the next day and same thing the following week he was in the store Sam was helping me and he asked her who I was and NO THANK YOU for spending my money there.
I DONT LIKE HIM
Been shoping there for 15 years and the owner does not recognize me
great fish and supplies
And the staff is the best in San Diego and I have delt with them all
THE OWNER I WILL NOT DEAL WITH!!!

Fish Haven is the best. Forget Petco or the big brand stores. Jim the owner is great at helping you with any questions you have. I recently set up a large saltwater aquarium and they helped me with all my novice questions along the way. The staff is very knowledgeable as well. Great selection of fish and supplies. Highly recommend fish haven.

I enjoyed this place very much. There are a great variety of aquatic life, which was pleasantly surprising since I haven’t seen great diversity at many places like this. The place is clean, and the creatures are well taken care of. Max especially is very knowledge and welcoming. He knows a lot about the animals and taking care of tanks, so he is very helpful. Will come back for future corals too!

Best tropical fish store i have ever been too! and i have been to alot of them around san diego. i collect moscow guppys and they went out of there way to order them color of my choice just for me! :)The staff are the nicest people and know how to take care of there customers unlike other tropical fish stores ive been too. I think i met the owner too he introduced himself really nice person. ill forever be a frequent customer they got my business:)

The staff at this place is wonderful. They’re so nice, and extremely helpful and you never have to hunt for someone to ask a question — they always stay close by. My husband and I showed up one day about 2 minutes before they closed needing some medicine, and there wasn’t even a mention that they close soon, just a friendly smile and asking if they can help me find anything.
They have pretty much any supply you could want — aside from DIY stuff (they still have some.) The tank prices are high in my opinion, however one of the staff explained that they carry tanks with the higher end glass or something like that. I can completely back that for larger tanks, but not necessary for 20 or 30 gallons, and I know most people don’t want to spend over $ 100 for one that comes with absolutely nothing else.
That being said, they have a wide variety of fish, both fresh and salt, and if you wander to the back (down the hallway to the right of the entrance) they have a HUGE tank and some koi tubs. Very cool. Pond supplies are also back there.
I think one of the things that impressed me the most the first time I was there — and this might seem silly to some people — is that they circulate and aerate (and I’m assuming filter) the water in their betta bowls. I’m sure we’ve all been to stores with super depressed looking bettas in stale, stagnant water, stuck in those little plastic cups without air circulation and everybody’s small child tapping on the side. I always feel so guilty for not buying all of them and giving them a better existence.
I don’t know that I’d buy expensive fish here, but anything mid-​market level or below price wise is a no brainer.
Just be prepared if you’re bringing kids to be holding some little hands very tightly… the store is a bit tight on space and there are lots of fun things well within toddler reach.

It’s a good enough place to do your shopping. I’m not too thrilled on the prices but if you’re in Escondido, it’s definitely a cut above Petco and other local outlets. The staff gets the job done and is friendly, and you can find some gems here and there in the store but otherwise, it’s a pretty run of the mill place.
As far as saltwater goes, you could do worse, but when you’re in north county, there’s not a lot of selection that you can go with.

Selection of fresh and saltwater fish that rivals an aquarium with paid admission !
I’ve been to a lot of pet stores and NEVER have I seen such selection. Rare and exotic salt water fish, corals, anemones, and even sharks! You can buy a variety of pre-​assembled tanks as well as purchase real salt water that’s PH balanced for your particular set up.
Ain’t no high school kids running this place either. The employees are knowledgeable and can answer questions or offer advice — totally unlike many chain stores that have much the same selection. Seriously, spend just a few minutes looking at their selection and you’ll HAVE to agree!
Salt water aquarium maintenance classes are also offered, so check it out!
These people don’t screw around. You want the biggest selection of salt water fish you’ve seen? Come here. Of course, a good selection of fresh water fish also available.

After class from San Marcos, I spontaneously decided to go here. Definitely a nice surprise for me. Staff was friendly and the place sells both freshwater and saltwater aquarium stuff. I came in just to look, but I came out buying one of their Anubis Nana. Pricing wise is reasonable but definitely little more expensive than the chain brand pet stores like Petco and Petsmart. Nice varied selection of freshwater tropical fish and they, for the most part look healthy. Though this place is random I would recommend people to go here.