Pet Zone Tropical Fish Reviews 924

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

2.7

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 74 reviews, most reviewers were unhappy with their experience overall. Many customers expressed dissatisfaction with the products received, noting issues with quality, such as fish arriving weak, dead, or with health problems like ich. There were also frequent complaints about orders, including incorrect items, missing products, and unfulfilled orders. A significant number of people also reported difficulties with delivery services, citing issues like improper packaging, delayed shipments, and items arriving in poor condition due to transit. Furthermore, a strong consensus among reviewers indicated poor experiences with customer contact, as many found it hard to reach anyone via email, phone, or website messages, and often received no response or unhelpful replies.

What people talk about most

Product

Consumers find product quality and availability to be ambiguous. While some reviewers praise the healthy... See more

Quality

Users describe ambiguous interactions with quality. Some customers report receiving healthy fish and shrimp,... See more

Order

Customers had ambiguous experiences with order. While some reviewers praised quick deliveries, with orders... See more

Delivery service

People report ambiguous experiences with delivery service. While many customers praise fast shipping and... See more

Customer communications

Customers consistently note negative experiences with contact. Many reviewers report significant difficulty... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Fish looked very weak upon arrival. It’s recovering but very slowly. I question the quality. I requested more on the larger size bc they said between 4-6 inches. I expected 5-6. If you cannot a comod... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

4/6 of my fresh water clams died, one came dead, three were seemingly okay, but died close to a week later with great water parameters (yes I checked with the API master kit) and the tanks had always... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

I ordered several fish for an Easter tank, but unfortunately, the website’s inventory wasn’t up to date and many were out of stock. When the first half of my order arrived, the bags were only a quar... See more

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

At first I thought your website was good. I found what I wanted, and placed the order. I received a verification notice with order number after I completed the order. The next day I received an updat... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Pet Store

Information provided by various external sources

Online Tropical Fish Store & Pet Shop serving the San Diego area. We specialize in Aquascaping, Flowerhorns, Arowana, Cichlids, Rare Plecos, Discus & many other rare & exotic Tropical Fishes from all around the world! We also carry a huge variety of f...


Contact info

2.7

Poor

TrustScore 2.5 out of 5

924 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

Replied to 85% of negative reviews

Typically takes over 1 month to reply

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Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I ordered 5 rummynoses and three was…

I ordered 5 rummynoses and three was dead. DONT ORDER FROM THIS WEBSITE. They blamed me for choosing to not deliver express when I had no choice because I wasn’t home that day. I asked for a refund and they said no so just don’t buy from this place.

February 23, 2025
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Kenneth,

We’re sorry to hear about your experience and truly understand how disappointing it can be to lose fish in transit. Our team follows a strict Live Arrival Guarantee, which is outlined at checkout and must be agreed to before completing an order: https://www.petzonesd.com/live-arrival-guarantee.

This policy ensures we can stand behind the health of our livestock upon arrival. However, it also requires that someone be available to receive the shipment immediately—especially with standard shipping. We always recommend express delivery for delicate species like rummy nose tetras and are happy to work with customers to schedule a day that works best.

Please feel free to reach out directly to help@petzonesd.com if you’d like to discuss this further. We appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to clarify our process.

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Still no update on the status of my…

Still no update on the status of my order placed 2/24. Are the fish coming? And if so, what date? (I need to plan to be home!)

February 24, 2025
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Allison,

We sincerely apologize for the lack of clarity regarding your order. Our team does their best to reach out by phone when scheduling live fish shipments and may have left a voicemail if we couldn’t reach you directly. We want to make sure you’re home to receive your fish safely, so we don’t ship until we can confirm a delivery date that works for you.

Please give us a call back or email us at help@petzonesd.com so we can get your delivery scheduled ASAP. We appreciate your patience and look forward to making this right!

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Short one fish and Arowana was much smaller

Was short one fish. Arowana was smaller then advertised was supposed to be wild caught 5-6 inches roughly. from barbels to tail might be 4 inches. Update I tried picking multiple fish off the website. Just trying to complete this transaction. They advise numerous fish that aren't available. They will happily take your money before informing you they don't really have the fish. Don't bother ordering online. This company is no good. Customer service is awful at communicating. Very disappointing experience.

February 21, 2025
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for your feedback—we’re sorry to hear about your experience. We’d like to clarify that our size estimates are taken from the tip of the barbel to the end of the tail and are always provided as a rough range due to natural variations in fish size and posture during measurement.

If a fish was missing from your order, please know that it’s never intentional, and we’re always happy to make it right. We encourage all customers to reach out to us directly at help@petzonesd.com before or after their order so we can quickly resolve any issues. We’re actively working to improve communication and stock availability online and appreciate your honest input.

We hope to earn back your trust and look forward to assisting you.

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Black Oranda Goldfish Ick infection

Ordered a black oranda goldfish and paid extra to have it overnighted. Fish arrived on time and as described but had an ick infection and died within a week and a half. It was the only fish in a brand new tank that was cycled appropriately. No response received from company on resolution.

February 6, 2025
Unprompted review
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Austin,

We’re very sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate you taking the time to share your concerns. While it’s disappointing to hear your fish didn’t thrive, we want to clarify that ick (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis) is a common parasite that exists in virtually all aquarium environments. It often manifests when fish experience stress—especially after transport or entering a new environment.

We always recommend a quarantine period and preventative treatments when introducing new fish to any tank, even cycled ones, to help minimize stress and the risk of flare-ups.

If you reached out and didn’t hear back, that’s definitely not the level of communication we strive for. Please contact us directly at help@petzonesd.com so we can look into this further and see what we can do to help.

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 1 out of 5 stars
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Alex,

We’re truly sorry to see this review and would love the chance to understand more about your experience. As a team that puts our customers first, it’s always our goal to make things right whenever possible.

We weren’t made aware of any issues prior to this review, so we kindly ask that you reach out to us directly at help@petzonesd.com or give us a call. We’d appreciate the opportunity to assist you and address any concerns you may have.

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 3 out of 5 stars
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Yvette,

Thank you for your feedback and for placing an order with us. We’re sorry to hear that the fish you received didn’t match your expectations. This definitely isn’t the experience we want for our customers.

Please reach out to us at help@petzonesd.com with your order number and a photo of what you received—we’d be happy to look into this and help make it right.

Sincerely,
The Pet Zone SD Team

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bad business

I paid for a fish to be shipped to my location, three weeks later no fish I reached out to them several times by email asking for a refund no one responded. I called the company one day finally I spoke with someone and the guy said the fish was never shipped. I asked for a refund and they did just that no apology no sorry for their company dropping the ball or anything. This place don’t know how to conduct business and they will never get my business again.

December 29, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Cedric! Sorry to hear about the issue and thanks for your review. Can you send us some info about your order and we will have someone reach out: help@petzonesd.com

Thank you!!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Finally delivered after over a Month and Poor Communication

I ordered a "Live California Blackworms 1lb
$49.99 USD" on December 24. I got an email on December 26 saying that it was "Awaiting shipment". It has now been almost 4 weeks with no further communication. I have sent the company an email and messaged them on their website, but still no response. I'm really disappointed because I had high hopes that this company would be a good supplier of live blackworms for my aquarium.

Follow-up 1/21/2025
I called again on Wednesday 1/15 and got to a live person. They started by asking me to upgrade my shipping for an additional $35. I declined and asked for a delivery day. They said I should receive my order before the weekend. Friday (1/17) came and no sign of my order being shipped. I called again and was told the shipment had been delayed, but it should go out by Tuesday (1/21). I called and was told that the team in charge of online orders would "get back to me shortly." I have not received any calls or emails and every time communication has been me reaching out for updates and only receiving empty promises.

If a company is experiencing delays, I would appreciate being informed of such and being kept updated as to the status of my order and delivery. Having to repeatedly call for information is very frustrating and does not inspire trust in this company. It seems that their in-store floor team is much better at handling customer satisfaction (according to the reviews) than their separately run online-store and shipping department.

Final Follow up 1/27/2025
The company finally agreed to send me my shipment (without the priority shipping surcharge) and shipped them out on Saturday 1/25/2025. The worms arrived today (1/27) and enough of them are alive that I won't be asking for a refund. However, I will not be ordering again from this company's online store, given their very poor communication regarding my order. My advice is to stop by the physical store if you're in the area and skip the online ordering.

January 9, 2025
Unprompted review
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Rose! Sorry to hear about the issue and thanks for your review. Can you send us some info about your order and we will have someone reach out: help@petzonesd.com

Thank you!!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

Bait and switch

What I ordered was"Assorted African cichlids - 2 inches" and I was supposed to get 20 two inch African cichlids. What I received is five 2" and the rest are much smaller. When contacted them about this, they stated. They're $2.99 a piece and are sold by random sizes at this price point. 2" ones are $6.99 each. I can only go by what was shown when I ordered which said assorted 2"

December 24, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Darius! Yes that is 100% correct. Sorry it didn't work out for you but we don't think you're able to find asst malawis anywhere for $2.99 a piece even if they're 1/2".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Professional and responsive

I received my order and the fish were all healthy and are thriving. I sent an email asking a question and received a timely response.

December 27, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

=)

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The arrived dead and no one returns my…

The arrived dead and no one returns my emails.

November 29, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Brian! So sorry, did you contact our team via help@petzonesd.com? For DOAs please be sure to follow steps at https://www.petzonesd.com/live-arrival-guarantee/

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Only one star

Only one star, because I haven’t even received a shipped confirmation or fish the fish yet, lol but not really
Raymond Simental

November 30, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Raymond! Happy new year. A lot of orders were postponed due to holiday delays (it's inevitable) from late Nov to new year. If you haven't gotten your order sent out yet, we will be commencing shipments again from the order they were received Jan. 6th.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Ordered 5 fish

Ordered 5 fish. 4 arrived alive and good quality, but zero communication on the 1 DOA when I followed their procedure. That DOA was a marbled goby which I ordered 2, yet they were put in the same bag although known for extreme aggression towards tankmates; especially towards another of own kind.

November 26, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Elliot! So sorry, did you contact our team via help@petzonesd.com? For DOAs please be sure to follow steps at https://www.petzonesd.com/live-arrival-guarantee/

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

No help

I did not get a response from the help group concerning the order being received dead and the amount not being correct!

October 28, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Richard! So sorry, did you contact our team via help@petzonesd.com? For DOAs please be sure to follow steps at https://www.petzonesd.com/live-arrival-guarantee/

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

Corey cats were stressed out and all…

Corey cats were stressed out and all but one died.

September 29, 2024
Pet Zone Tropical Fish logo

Reply from Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Hi Robert! So sorry, did you contact our team via help@petzonesd.com? For DOAs please be sure to follow steps at https://www.petzonesd.com/live-arrival-guarantee/

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