Azalea Aquariums

Azalea Aquariums is by far the best place in Richmond for fish. They have a massive selection for nearly any aquarium set up. The staff are extremely helpful, knowledgeable and patient. They have helped me with every step of setting up my tank.

Out of all the aquarium stores I have visited, this has been the ABSOLUTE BEST!!! The staff are very knowledgeable and have helped me out so many times. I have never had a fish die (aside from incidents from my fault) from there

I used to work at a specialty fish store in NY and I can be extremely picky when it comes to fish. Azalea is awesome, though! It’s a bit of a «hole in the wall» but they have a good selection of fish (mainly freshwater) and they’re all really healthy! I got 2 Cory cats, 2 kuhli loaches, and 3 zebra danios from them and they’re doing great! The staff is also friendly and knowledgable, and I was happy to find locally made ceramic aquarium décor that was fully finished! (Smooth edges mean no ripped fins for fish like betta) they also have a nice selection of aquatic plant life. I highly recommend!

Very cool little store everyone seems to really care about the fish. It seems like they take alot of rescues which is good. All the tanks look so clean. Its a mom and pop store so dont expect all shiny and new. Expect to talk a while about fish lol

Wow what a great variety of fish and very knowledgeable staff. Huge variety of cichlids to be sure. Not a lot of aquarium equipment. Only negative is they don’t open until noon.

This is my go-​to fish shop. They’ve been nothing but helpful and fun to work with. They are very realistic about how to take care of fish and which fish will live happily with each other. The owner showed me an example of why puffers do not belong with other fish! Their selection is good, and prices are very competitive. From the products that I’ve seen so far, Azalea’s prices are equal to that of Petco & Petsmart.

Overall visiting this store was a great experience. I was a little thrown off on if we were allowed to go behind the counter (which lead to the other half of the store) but after getting the courage to ask all was well. The staff was a little strange but friendly and helpful and not at all what they might appear to be on the surface. They had what appeared to me was a great selection of fresh and salt water with along with live plants. The staff was very knowledgeable and really seemed to care about fish.
My wife and daughter and I went for a fish for my daughter which we got with everything we needed to include live plants. When my daughter said she wanted a little bridge decoration the man cashing us out said we could just have it. He was very knowledgeable and helpful with our many questions.
Don’t judge a book… If the place looks weird or people look like weirdos you might actually end up very surprised. Great shop great people.

What a fun little adventure! This little shop has tank after tank of incredible aquatic life. Half of the store is fresh/​brackish water and the other half is salt water. While the shop isn’t pristine or new, the dimly lit rooms really let the tanks mesmerize your attention with their above lighting.
My friend and I love to keep fish, especially betta fish and this place had the most beautiful betta fish for half the price of the big pet stores! My friend also got a blue crawfish, something I’ve never seen before, and he is very cute in his new tank!
If you are into home aquariums, I would absolutely recommend this place for the incredible variety of animals. They also grow amazing coral in many of the tanks that are also for purchase.
The only thing I would say is that the staff wasn’t super talkative which would have been nice since I had never seen many of the fish before and wanted to learn about some of them. Other than that, this little place might look like a hole in the wall but they for sure know how to breed healthy fish and aquatic life.

I honestly don’t know where all the negative feedback is coming from. Since I moved to the Richmond VA area I have frequented this shop several times and have gotten nothing but superior service from both the owner and his staff. They have an incredible selection of fish for very fare prices, and truly care about the quality of their livestock.
From what I’ve seen from the negative reviews on this and other sites, people get upset when the owner, who has DECADES OF EXPERIENCE, tells them that they are not prepared to buy fish from him. Sorry but Azalea isn’t PetCo, they care about their fish and if they find out you’re trying to dump them into an un-​cycled tank yes they will be leery to sell to you.
Think about it, your average joe buys a fish, brings it home, and it dies. Knowing nothing about the nitrogen cycle, they assume the fish they bought from Azalea wasn’t healthy and tells everybody they know the store has bad stock. By being careful about who they sell to, they ensure the safety of their livestock as well as their reputation as a business.
I have personally purchased 4 emerald cory cats, 4 peppered corys, and 4 otocinclus catfish from them as well as 2 bunches of anacharis. All the fish are very healthy, and my anacharis has exploded to the point that I may have to bring some back to the store just due to the fact it’s taking over my tank! If that doesn’t speak to the quality of Azalea Aquariums, I don’t know what does.

This place is for a true fish lover. The owner himself has an almost annoying amount of information on just about any species of finned creature there is. If you ask a question, be prepared for a real answer that covers about every detail of the subject you could imagine. He is a true delight. This would also be a fantastic place for a novice fish tank owner to start to learn how to care for the pets in a more advanced manner. The place carries an array of fish an has a few back rooms for some more exotic species. When you go in hopefully it will not be busy, if it is you may be waiting for a while. It is surely worth the wait for a chance at the accumulated knowledge the owner has to offer.

The store has bad points and one good point.
The staff is horrible. Don’t bother asking them questions if all you have or want is a small tank. They will make you feel stupid for asking average questions. They get really annoyed when you tell them you’re just looking around. If you happen to have a large tank, their eyes will light up with dollar signs as they try to sell you one of their largest and most over priced fish.
Worse still, they’re sheisty. My fiancé and I were there two days ago and were asking about an albino Oscar for our 180g tank. The man told us the one that was the size we wanted would be $ 35. I told P we would talk about it and come back. Today P goes back to Azalea’s to get the fish, the guy said the same fish would cost $ 70! They told him they charge differently depending on how much money they’ve made that day and if it’s slow they «need money for the bar.» He also explained that any price they give you is the ‘right then’ price, not the ‘go home and think about it’ price. Needless to say, P blew them off and stormed out, getting a bigger, prettier oscar down the road at Lakeside for $ 40.
The only good point to this store is the fish. They have a pretty good selection, with a few unusual ones. And they maintain their tanks decently. But this is the only good thing about this store. To me personally, it’s not worth going back. It’s a shame, since if the staff could be even somewhat nice, it would be a wonderful aquatic resource.