Pet Central

Got my best goldfish there — healthy and lively.

I have bought 2 hamster in Petco and they always get wet tail within 4 days. I bring them back to seek vet help but they never made it.
The hamsters I have gotten from Pet Central are always healthy and socialized.
They do not always have a variety of hamsters because the hamsters they get are usually owners that surrendered their hammies or when their customer’s hammies have babies.
Unlike Petco, that gets their hamster from breeders every week or two and are unhealthy.
I would like to encourage people to support local shops more because they need our love.

It seems that they changed after negative feedbacks. Now shop is good enough, and I didn’t noticed any negative signs. Moreover, personnel was professional enough. So, things are changing and this is good :)
Definitely will return to this shop later.

So I don’t quite get some of these bad reviews where people are horrified by the treatment of Dogs and Guni Pigs. I have been to the place quite a few times and have never even seen anything like that in the store, I’ve only seen fish and I think birds, maybe I’m not looking for them as I go in there for my turtle, and the manager guy always actually talks me into paying for products that cost less but work just as well, gosh what an awful guy! It’s the best place for pinkies witch are my turtles favorite food, expensive here, but more expensive in other places and it’s close to home so I can get them in the freezer before they thaw. They are also the only store I’ve been to that have dried krill, probably her second favorite food, so my turtle gives them a five star. They do have some quirky people, sure, but it’s a family run store in China Town all families have quirks, in my opinion it’s nice that there are a few of those places left.

Pet Central has moved to a MUCH, MUCH, MUCH smaller storefront.
And it’s no wonder considering the prices they have for fish are so expensive, there was NO WAY they could’ve afforded the rent at the larger location.
There are ZERO NADA ZIP ZILCH NO prices listed for the saltwater fish.
$ 8 for a Blue Damsel? Are you out of your fucking MIND!!!
They don’t have feeder fish, and I was infoes their black mollies were female guppies.
No dude, I’m white, but not retarded.
There’s a reason they moved from their larger, more spacious location on Broadway, & it wasn’t due to a «better location». Do the math.
I’d sooner shop at Sixth (Sick) Avenue than shop here.
Hopefully, they won’t be able to handle the rent here as well because of their exuberant prices, and San Francisco will be rid of another fish store trying to gouge their customers.
AVOID THIS PLACE AT A L L COSTS!!!

I can not believe how these people can be so CRUEL to their animals. All their rodent animals are in cages that are too small for them and in direct sunlight. It’s terribly noisy on the street and you can tell that the animals are stressed out and unhappy. And of course their cages are never cleaned.
I came here back in January on a whim and saw how sad all the animals were and decided to rescue a dwarf hamster. who turned out to be pregnant because the pet shop does not sex and separate them. They do this so that the hamsters can mate and the babies can just become new inventory for the store.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I called to ask if they can tell the genders and if they keep the males and females apart. They responded by telling me the hamsters are too small to tell (not true) and that I could bring back the babies and they would sell them.
Um, no. I found the babies safe homes and am glad none of them were born in that store.
I went back yesterday to see if the store had closed down, or if they stopped selling rodent animals all together.
I was so heartbroken to see the current condition of their hamsters. In one cage they had as many as 7, with 2 of them being babies. Hamsters usually have litters much bigger than that, so I’m almost positive the others were eaten because of the stressful environment they’re living in. In another cage, they have two different species of hamsters, which is a HUGE NO. It’s just a terrible sight all around. Half of their hamsters are clearly overweight and their fur is matted over.
I wish I could save all the animals here. I can only pray that someone shuts this store down.

small store. nothing «exotic»

Yesterday, I purchased hay for my guinea pig here. [The scene I witnessed was gruesome… but it you want to know what goes on in this pet store, please read on.] As I left the store, I looked through the window. In one cage there was a tiny brown and white baby guinea pig. It was alive but part of it’s body was underneath a pigloo. The pigloo looked to be filled with several guinea pigs, including 2 large adults. I looked around the small cage, which had no hay, and on the other side of the cage and saw blood. I assumed the blood in the cage was from the baby recently being born. I thought it strange that the store keepers would not change the bedding after the birth. Then I noticed the water bottles. coated with green slime (algae?). Then I noticed a stiff, black colored, furry leg and foot sticking out of the pigloo. The foot was not of a newborn guinea pig… it looked to be of a guinea pig that was several weeks old… and clearly deceased. I looked next to the foot and saw chunks of red goo. Then I realized there was actually blood ALL over the shavings in the cage. I went into the store and told the guy at the store that there was at least 1 guinea pig dead in the pigloo. He said, «NO, just sleeping». I insisted he look, and he said to leave the store and point at what cage it was thru the window. He then lifted up the pigloo and removed what looked like the remains of 3 guinea pigs. He threw the bits in a trash bag. He left the window, no explanation. I was still outside the store looking at the cage. What remained on the shavings was awful… blood and organs. Then I saw the tiny baby who was alive huddled in the corner. The 2 adults started running around the small cage and mated. It was a horrific. This other guy comes out from the store and said something to the effect that this was typical and its their nature. But it is NOT common. If you read about guinea pigs, they ONLY eat their young if they are in extremely distressing situations. I can’t even imagine someone buying one of these guinea pigs for their kids…

Went by to get some fish and the store looked closed. They just responded to my previous post stating this and apparently they have moved down the block. I will have to go check them out soon since this was the best aquarium store in the area and i need a new fish for my desktop tank at work.

Ok, they responded to my call when i tried again, Am looking forward to visiting next time when I’m in San Francisco Chinatown
Can’t wait till then, i hope to buy a hamster here and some supplies like food bedding and toys
Glad to hear, this place is still open, though i do hope they stopped selling puppies

Horrible place that keeps the animals for sale in enclosures that are far too small for their size.
I’m the opposite of a PETA nut (I love me some grilled meat), but was appalled to see how they kept the animals here.
Avoid avoid avoid!

Just reviewing for the fish stuff. Good for supplies, but I wouldn’t recommend stocking your tank from here.
They’ve got a pretty nice selection of chemicals/​nets/​filter cartridges here — if you don’t like using Amazon for that sort of thing. They’ve got frozen food here, too.
The livestock is pretty meh. They’ve got a few varieties of small marine fish (reasonably priced), a few freshwater tanks (didn’t really check these out), and a ton of goldfish. No live rock, coral, or invertebrates.
It looks like they carry a lot of juvenile «big» fish. I’m pretty sure the staff here won’t stop you from cramming a soon-​to-​be-​huge fish in a tiny tank, so do your research ahead of time.
I got some substandard guidance here and bought a 3-​stripe damselfish. The owner claimed they were as docile as other damsels, turns out they’re actually striped balls of hate (the fish, not the owner). I blame that more on myself than the store — but there are more helpful fish people in SF (Lucky Ocean).

I can’t believe they are still SELLING puppies here. People, PLEASE RESCUE an animal that is in need. Do not support puppy mills and unethical breeding. Visit a local shelter or look up a breed rescue group. Or check out
where you can search for any breed. Do not think you need to BUY a pure bred pet when there are hundreds that are put down each year at shelters.

I bought my Betta Fish and all that the little fella needed from here. Quick and easy service.
I avoided looking at all the rodents/​reptiles (they seemed to have a lot) and made a beeline to the back where the fishies were. The clerk was super friendly and got us in and out in less than 10 minutes.
What can I say, I’m a happy first-​time fish owner. :)

Visited their new location which is a few blocks from the old. They improved on their Saltwater section immensely… but they still don’t have much and are only moderately priced. They cut down on the number of tanks because their new location is about ½ the size (if not smaller). No coral or live rock. Their freshwater tanks seem dirty and feels like they crammed all the old inventory into fewer tanks.
On a positive, I like them for their frozen food section: Hikari, SFBay, and mice too (for you reptile owners). It’s a better atmosphere but i do miss the old video/​petstore setup. They appear to have a decent selection of birds but I’m not a bird person.

One phone call stopped me from driving here to shop…
Lady on the phone: «Pet Central»
Me: «I was wondering if you stock Bushynose Plecos?»
Lady on the phone: «What that?»
Me: «Plecostomus»
Lady on the phone: «What that?»
Seriously? A pet store that sells a lot of fish doesn’t know what a plecostomus is?
No Thanks

I’ve been to this store once, but I can not, in conscious, purchase anything from a store that supports puppy mills. Their so-​called «cute puppies» are coming from torturous, barbaric situations that need to be stopped.
Find out more and stop the cruelty:

Only bought the kois here.
The kois are separated by sizes in huge blue tanks!
So comfy and spacious for them making em happy healthy kois! Yay! Long live our babies!
Talking parrot.
Doggies in the back upstairs!
And reptiles.
Bunnies and rats!
This is definitely a PET store! Hella pets!
But the guy sucked at fishing for our kois and even dropped one into a bucket of stuff in between the tanks!):
If they had better caretakers then it would have 5 stars!

I almost always enjoy coming here whenever I’m visiting Chinatown. Chinatown definitely puts a damper in my day anytime I go to visit, but Pet Central (when there are cute puppies) brightens my day.
Whenever I see cute puppies, it makes me soo want to get one. Haha :)

I use to come here a lot as a kid & do tricks with the fish in blue pools. I would put my hand out & they’d come to me like it was MAGIC.
Today, I didn’t come to play with the fish, but to talk to the talking macaw. He says «hi» and «hello» and he’ll bow down to you if you bow down to it.
I also came to admire the chinchillas & puppies in the back. They are so cute, but so $$$$. I saw a total of 6 dogs for sale, an older one for $ 600 in a cage, 2 on the left in a cage sleeping, & the 3 cutest puppies you’ll ever see. There was a yorkie that had a white line on it’s head like a skunk
, a Pomeranian & something else… they fought, played, chased each other, pounded on each other, & chewed each other like they were chew toys. They took water breaks as they were chasing each other, so the other puppies waited. THEY WERE SO CUTE!!! If you wanted to buy 1, you’d have to buy the other 2, you can’t separate best friends like that. Those puppies were the main attraction at the store with many people (including myself) taking pics and making videos of them, because their $ 1,000+ price tag was just too much. One day, I’ll be back with $$$$ to buy me some puppies.