Preuss Pets

Best locally owned pet shop I can reach in about an hour. We’ve only looked at their freshwater tropical fish & supplies. Great selection of fish, plants, shrimp, and micro fish. Knowledgeable staff. They have in stock many items that are difficult to find elsewhere. Some things are a bit pricey, but overall worth it. I almost sabotaged my son’s grades so he would have to stay enrolled at MSU so I had an excuse to visit Lansing on a regular basis.

Well all I can say is you better have a deep pocket if you go here me and my wife came in to buy a fish tank setup and the kid that was helping us seemed to want to sell me all of the most expensive things they have after about 20 minutes of trying to find the best deal on a set up we decided to go to petsmart and bought the exact same setup for way cheeper they wanted around $ 500-​$ 600 for the same setup and I mean the same brand and model for $ 370 maybe ill come back for some fish maybe

This is the best pet shop in Lansing as far as I’m concerned and I keep coming here to buy things for my older dog, young kittens, and community of freshwater fish. I love learning about products and getting pet food and grooming advice from competent staff. I also enjoy coming here with family simply to admire the exotic birds, fish, and reptiles. They have a large variety of unique species of both marine and freshwater fish, crabs, shrimp, and a whole lot more. New stock comes in all the time too! This is the place where I bought a beautiful and contemporary glass aquarium and given wonderful setup instruction from their fish department. I don’t mind paying more for some things here because I get to do my share keeping animal loving expert people locally employed.

I went in primarily for saltwater stuff, but it looks like they have allot of bird and fresh water stuff. The prices are a little high, but they have a large selection and the quality seems to be good. If your looking for something specific they can order it. They also have octopus tanks. If your a saltwater fanatic like me, you have to check it out.

We love going to Preuss! My husband and I own 2 guinea pigs and a hamster. I won’t buy my animals anywhere but Pruess. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and have always been very helpful. My husband’s friend bought a guinea pig from a chain store. It was obvious to us that the store sold them a guinea pig that was too young to be weaned. The poor animal passed away within a month of purchasing him. Their children were devastated, to say the least. They drove all the way from the Novi area to get a guinea pig from Preuss after asking us for help. We went with them and the staff there helped them pick out a guinea pig and gave them so much information that the other pet store never told them. That’s why I always recommend Preuss for those that want to buy a small animal.

I really want to like this place. I guess it depends on what I am rating it as.
For a place to take visitors to feed the fish, marvel at the colorful and creative décor, and visit with giant birds, then they are the best of the best. Really a gem in Lansing, and a highlight of any Old Town visit with out-​of-​town guests.
However, as a pet store, I have experienced some flaws. Their phone system is terrible. Every time I have called Preuss, the connection has been poor and disconnections occur more often than not. Shopping there is hit or miss, at least for cat or dog supplies. The prices seem high and the selection always seems a little sparse.
They seem to have lots of stuff for birds and fish, and a good variety of birds, fish, and lizard-​type pets. If I were in the market for those things, I might have a different perception of their level of service and product variety.

This is a great pet shop, not only for actual pets, but for your current pet’s needs as well. They have a huge variety of dog food, cat food, toys for all of your animals, along with grooming supplies and sundry other pet supplies. They also have supplies for every kind of other pet under the sun.
However, they are not just a pet shop. They have what pretty much amounts to an aquarium in the back of the store, and they sell freshwater fish, tropical fish, saltwater fish, basically everything. And yes, that includes axolotls and sea anemones, piranhas, and gold fish.
Running through the right side of the store, separating the dog and cat supplies from the birds and bird supplies is a river with a bridge; in the river reside koi fish.
There is also a super awesome reptile and small animal section, and there are even some tarantulas and goliath bird eating spiders. So definitely don’t miss that.
I could go on forever about their wide selection, but I really think that everyone should take an afternoon to check out for themselves.
And if you end up falling in love with a particular bird/​reptile/​marine life/​small animal, or if you just have questions about your pets in general, do not ever hesitate to ask an associate for advice/​help/​literally anything pet-​related. This includes (but is not limited to) recommendations for your dog/cat’s diet, what kind of chew toys your rabbit/​guinea pig should have, or the kind of insect your particular species of spider should be eating for optimum nutrients.

Hard to pick which area is my favorite! Love the staff, so educational! Don’t forte to check out the classroom in the back!

Nice display tanks

I just tried to call to find out whether the store had blood worms. I was transferred to the freshwater fish dept. The first person put me on hold for over 5 minutes and my call was disconnected. The second person put me on hold for 3 minutes and when I got the third person, I tried to explain that I had been on hold for 8 minutes. He cut me off, seeming disinterested and asked what I needed. This staff seems very apathetic. I have worked in customer service the past 8 years at the same job, so trust me, I know when customers are rude, it’s hard to care about them and because I know how hateful some customers can be, I try hard to be polite. Obviously, this staff doesn’t care about you either way.
UPDATE: The manager messaged me and apologized profusely. I’ve never had that happen before. I will give them another chance.

I cannot believe this place isn’t consistently five stars. It’s like a zoo in there, and you’ll have just about as much fun. They’ve got what seems like thousands of birds, guinea pigs, and just about everything else imaginable, including a dozen spiders as big as your fist. Horrifying, but as long as they’re behind glass I’ll keep coming back. If they know your pet’s name, they’ll talk to you every time you come back. They genuinely care about both their jobs and their customers, and it shows in their prices and kindness. Even if you’re not a pet owner, do yourself a favor and stop by.

No other pet store like it. Preuss is half zoo half pet store. Great place to see some amazing animals you wont find at your average pet store.

Wow, Preuss. I’ve been coming here since I was a tiny child, back when they were located in Haslett. From elementary school through high school, I loved to stop in after school and pet the kitties and look at the fish — yeah, that was how i spent my free time. I’d been to their new store once before, but not in a long time. I stopped in with a bunch of people on Friday, including my boyfriend and his dad, who are both fish hobbyists/​aficionados (a-​fish-​ionados?)
We were all immediately impressed. The store sort of looks like… I don’t know how to describe it… like an emporium. Like an amusement park of pet products. The layout is incredibly unique — you almost feel like you’re outside, on an exploration. There are ponds of large fish with a small bridge running over it, an extensive fish department, and lots of creative décor.
My boyfriend and his dad bought a fish, and spent 30 minutes talking to one of the staff members, who was a passionate fish owner and was incredibly helpful to them. My boyfriend says that all of the fish staff were knowledgeable, and they seem to have specialties (some know more about freshwater fish, some know more about saltwater fish). They quarantine all new fish meticulously, so you are less likely to take home a sick fish. We didn’t see any dead fish in the tanks, and any quarantined tanks were clearly being closely monitored. They had a great selection of fish, a large number of tanks, and some lovely show tanks with great lighting. Their selection of products was excellent, in his opinion.
I asked him to weigh in on this review since he’s the fish expert, and we both agreed — 5 stars to Preuss. Come here for all your pet needs — please don’t go to the chain pet stores! The staff here can’t be beaten in terms of knowledge, eagerness, and their passion for the animals.

I tried to like this place; it’s local and they have lots of animals the average person might not buy, but they just never had the products I was looking for…

Preuss is seriously awesome. They have the most amazing varieties of aquatic creatures, amphibians, smart birds, and venomous spiders! Preuss is a great place to visit now and then for fun, and an even better place to purchase quality care-​for pets and quality animal supplies. The staff obviously cares about every animal they have, and they know their stuff. I applaud you, Preuss! You’re one of the better parts of Lansing.

This is hands down the nicest pet store I have ever been to! The employees are super knowledgeable and the selection is huge. They have your typical cat/​dog supply section, as well as a huge fish department, a bird area and a great (best I have EVER seen!!!) reptile and amphibian department. The animal displays are nicer than some zoos I have been to and they keep a few store pets in displays throughout the store. I could spend a day wandering around looking at everything. As a lifelong frog lover (and owner), I have been a long time admirer of the frog tanks that preuss has on display in the ncg movie theater in east lansing. As a wonderful surprise, my boyfriend purchased three dart frogs and a gorgeous vivarium (full of live plants) from pruess’ a few months ago for my birthday. I recently moved to Chicago (the pet stores here are just ehh), but am willing to make the drive to lansing to shop at pruess because I know they take excellent care of their animals and only sell healthy ones. Last weekend, we were back to add two more frogs to our collection (they have the best selection).

What a great locally owned business. I love going to Preuss and picking up the supplies for my different pets. They have all the different kinds of food I need for my pet rat, excellent fish equipment, and a knowledgeable staff.
I do wish they kept their pocket pets in better tanks, preferably not tanks by actual small animal cages, but I understand they they don’t. They seem to treat their animals well and try not to sell their pocket pets as feeders.
This is a quality business that I will continue to patronize!

Preuss’ wouldn’t sell my roommate a mantis over their concern for its safety. I love to laugh about it, but if a store is going to sell live creatures — it better care about them. This store has a huge selection of exotic animals and the staff members are very knowledgable. They will not hesitate to spend time with you here. If you want to make sure your pet is getting the best care possible, Preuss’ is a great option.

I’ve been a Preuss customer since before they moved to Old Town.
My first purchase was a Beta in a bowl. That grew to three tanks, 20 fish, one cat and a need to visit at least once a week!
The staff is so knowledgeable. If you haven’t experienced Preuss you must go. You’ll never go to a chain again.
Also the Preusses walk the walk. They advocate cleaning up the Grand River and the CSO project which will result in less sewage in the river. They do educational programs with kids.
This is a quality family-​owned shop that deserves your come-​look-​see.

Preuss used to be one of my favorite pet stores. Their non-​standard pet selections is one of the best in the area. My problem is that their fish/​aquarium staff is often rude. I have never had a problem with the staff that works in the other areas. They have been very helpful with all my exotics or pocket pets.
The first problem I had is I wanted to purchase plant life and fish for a small aquarium that I had. It was a busy day and I dutifully joined the queue of people waiting to be helped. I waited about 25 minutes for the person to get free, when he decided that a new person who just walked into the store (obviously wealthy) was more important than the line. He didn’t ask us to wait a moment while he found someone else to help us he just left to help this other person. I understand that you need to keep your best customers happy but spending the 10 minutes to grab someone else to help the line that has been waiting for you for quite a while is good business also. Everyone in my line then had to go get in the back of the other lines for employees and I ended up having to wait another 30 minutes to get helped.
Then I went there when they were having one of their awesome large tank sales. I thought it would be a great time to upgrade my little tank to a big one and a great price. The sales person went to grab the tank and it was so heavy she needed to get another girl to help. When she got it out it the heaviness was because they had stored all the tank tops to all their other tanks inside of this one. I was a little worried about buying the tank after that, but they assured me it would be ok. I took the tank home and filled it up.
About 2 days later the tank leaked ALL of the water onto my carpets. I had to take the day off work and shampoo my carpets to get everything clean. The tank was warrantied and I had the receipt so I took it back to exchange for a new one (within 2 days of purchase). It wasn’t a huge deal. I hadn’t added fish yet and I was able to save all the plants, but it was a bit of an inconvenience.
The guy working the aquarium portion of the store was a jerk! He told me that the reason it leaked was because we didn’t buy our aquarium stand from them. We used one that I already had that was designed for that size tank. He said their aquarium stands were completely different then everyone else’s and of course our tank leaked. They wouldn’t replace it since it was our fault for not purchasing one of their stands.
I pulled the tag that came with the tank that stated that if any weight was stored in the tank that it would leak. Explained that they were the ones that had stored over 80lbs of tank tops inside of it and it was much more likely that this was the reason it leaked. Especially since the manufacturer documentation states nothing should be stored in it. The manufacturer documentation also made no mention that the tank requires anything but a normal tank stand.
We argued for a while. He kept claiming it had nothing to do with how they stored it, but because we didn’t buy a stand from him. It finally came down to me telling him I was leaving the tank. Either they were giving me a new one or I was calling my credit card and denying the purchase. When he realized I wasn’t going to back down and no matter how he treated me I wasn’t just going to leave they gave me the new tank. I haven’t been back.
I can’t imagine I’m the only one who has had this problem. I wonder how many other people they bully. I also wonder how many people get conned into buying their stands. The new tank that never had weight stored in it worked just find in my NON-​Preuss Exlusive: P stand.
I’m very sad that this happened because they used to be one of my favorite stores. I now shop at Soldan’s. While their staff is much friendlier, their exotic selections aren’t nearly as large.