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Ocean Treasures Aquarium - CLOSED
Categories: Active Life Aquariums Pets Pet Stores Aquariums, Pet Stores [Edit]
49 Duboce Ave(between Stevenson St & Woodward St)
San Francisco, CA 94103
Neighborhood: Mission
(415) 861-9100
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
27 reviews for Ocean Treasures Aquarium
27 reviews in English
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Review from zach s.
San Francisco, CA
9/7/2008
I reviewed Ocean Treasures a few years back (see my original post below) and gave them one lousy star. I would have given them 0 stars back then if I could have.
I ended up avoided this place like the plague for a year. For the past few months I've began visiting the store again out of laziness--it's only 3 blocks from me. While I wouldn't buy a complete system from them again, I will say their customer service is 100 times better. Seriously. The main guy working there (not the owner) is great and has been a pleasure to deal with. He really knows his stuff, has good advice, and has done a great job making the place feel a bit more friendly. I feel so comfortable with them now that I'd even let them service my tank.
I applaud their effort to be more friendly and to make customers feel welcomed in their store. People who invest in salt water aquariums usually do so at an incredible financial investment. For all of the money serious reefers spend on aquarium supplies, it's important to feel like the place you're spending all of that money is in your corner. I think Ocean Treasures has done a great job improving their service and I would now highly recommend them.
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This place really, really sucks.
Sure, it looks nice from the outside, but take it from someone who dropped over $4,000 there... buy somewhere else!
Their customer service is as bad as it comes. The owner has such awful people skills, you'd think he was disabled--seriously. The other main guy who works there is SLIGHTLY more tolerable. It's as though they are miserable working there--and they enjoy taking their misery out on other people.
The tank they set up for me seemed nice on the outside, but once i really got into this hobby, i realized how poorly it was designed. It cost me hundreds of dollars to fix the mistakes they made (sump pump was x10 too strong for the sump flow. flow in tank was x5 too low... stuff like that)
I could go on and on about why you should go somewhere else. There are much friendly establishments out there who are more knowledgeable. I learned the hard way. -
Review from Gladys c.
Los Angeles, CA
3/14/2007
I watched an Indonesian orange frogfish try to eat a blowfish.
There is a shark in the back tank.
Their variety of beta fishes are much better than the ones from Petco.
WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED? This is truly unique and awesome store! -
Review from A X.
Oakland, CA
9/11/2009
I was really excited about finding a higher-end aquatics store that specialized in marine corals.
I went with a friend and both of us were astonished at how rude the staff was. We were the only two in the store, and there were two guys behind the counter; neither acknowledged our existence as we stood around for 10 minutes looking at the tanks and supplies.
When I finally asked a questions about a couple of the inverts they had tanked, the guy wouldn't take his eyes off his computer or respond with anything longer than single-syllable words.
I then asked about a bulb replacement for my tank - they were out of stock... I paused, thinking he'd chime in to tell me when they'd get some in or ask if I'd like one ordered, but I was dealing with Alex Tribec from Jeopardy and had to ask the question mysel: "What is, customer service for $1000, Alex?"
I realize that Facebook status updates may be pressing, but the overall attitude/service was unacceptable. I was budgeted to drop around $200-300 on some corals and inverts but did a google search on my phone to find another store.
$1.75 in quarters wasted. -
Review from J Angel G.
San Francisco, CA
7/30/2008
Really like this store it's my top choice when it comes to salt water animals.
everyone is really nice and help full, not to mention knowledgeable, love coming in and checking out their corals, i myself have a small reef tank, only buy my specimen from hese guys. A+++ -
Review from Paul L.
San Francisco, CA
8/5/2007
I'm going to admit that I'm a freshwater planted guy, so I don't have experience with reef tanks. So take my views with a grain of salt (tee hee).
This is a really swank store. Clean, with healthy livestock. This is where I'd go if I decided to get into reef tanks.
They have three *giant* custom open top reef setups with tons of corals. Each of the three tanks are hooked up to its own surge tank and each has its own filtration system and 80watts of UV sterilizing power! (You can tell I got a tour of their behind-the-scenes basement). My planted tank only has 7watts--I'm feeling very inadequate. They also had a remora in the rear tank. Awesome.
Given the space limitations of SF, they have a limited selection of hardware and dry goods. They do have a surprising number of nano-setups for sale. Red-Sea, JBJ etc.
They also have a pretty small fresh water selection, but they did have Juleii corys, which are often hard to find in stores. I agree with another reviewer that their discus, while healthy, are probably too old to be a good buy.
I spoke with one of the owners and he was describing their plans for the future. An upstairs room dedicated to freshwater fish and aquatic plants, and a greenhouse on the roof to propagate their own corals. Can't wait! -
Review from Gusty S.
San Francisco, CA
10/17/2006
If you are into aquariums as much as I am, then waiting for this store on Duboce Ave. to open has been almost a long running joke. When Nippon closed down, everyone was told that a new store would be opening on Duboce that would serve the same type of market. We waited, and waited, and waited...
It took over a year, but it's finally here, and after a quick tour I can see why it took them a year. This store appears to be very well thought out and organized. They have tons of display space, and their staff seems friendly and knowledgable. I like what I see so far.
It is a new store so expect some glitches, I've been in twice and the first time I couldn't get any prices, but hopefully all of this will get sorted out in the first few months of operation. -
Review from Derek D.
Stevensville, MD
7/14/2007
I stumbled upon this place while heading to Scuderia to drool over motorcycles...
Impressive selection of creatures and tanks, well stocked with supplies and a friendly staff. Seems to have everything any level aquarium enthusiast might need. -
Review from Crystal B.
San Francisco, CA
4/15/2007
As aquarium stores go they're either bad or awesome. In Ocean Treasures case they are pretty awesome! I love the assortment of salt and freshwater fish they carry! I could spend days upon days just simply staring at the Moray eel and the orange frog fish. Even the Discus had me saying "wow" !!!
If I was to ever start a tank of either fresh or salt...this would be the place I'd go. Great service and an excellent assortment of fish and products.
Check it out! You won't be disappointed... the orange frogfish alone is worth the trip. -
Review from joseph s.
San Francisco, CA
1/3/2010
Here's my breakdown after 2 consecutive weekends store hopping every aquarium in SF area, everything rater on scale 1-5, 5 being great and 1 being very weak :
Freshwater - 1
Products - 2. selection is pretty weak and pricing is not good
Saltwater - 3.
decent amount of fish and inverts. fish are in so-so health at best. not just your average sick fish here and there, but maybe disease a little more prevalent than i'm used to. pricing is a bit across the board. some fish priced to sell, others not so much.
corals are pretty nice. nothing AE or LE really, but nice pieces. nothing for beginners or that price range either, but the nicer corals are not priced too bad.
Key Points - store is beautiful but not kept well. a sense of pride of ownership is lacking you might say. i also did not feel a sense of confidence. like i would have to double check every price, and check for healthy animals myself. -
Review from David M.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 7/7/2008
The store started off pretty damn awesome, but now honestly there isn't much option when it comes to livestock. Like everyone else says, visually it's one of the most high tech and good store in SF, but really that's all its got going.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/14/2007
Before I ever came here, I heard many things about it. Took me forever to find this place because I… Read more »
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Review from Rana C.
San Francisco, CA
1/18/2008
Don't go here! Don't spend your money here at all!
Understand this review is written after frequenting this fish store for over 6 months and spending over $2000 there.
So you could consider this a qualified review, in short.
You may guess that after all this time why would I write a review... you guess it, because something has changed.
Back in summer 2007, the owner (manager?) was a very informed fellow named James with great staff. The store itself was the attraction - walked by it (after cruising Scuderia, of course) and it was very well-lit, nicely maintained with a couple big tanks and very cool livestock.
And that started the reef tank hobby for me. James and others were key in helping start a small tank. Then a few weeks ago we decided to go big - after spending on fish, corals, EVERYTHING. And of course getting their expertise. The smart fellows were James and Ian. Then there was a guy named Justin who mostly sat around there and offered a random and usually grumpy opinion.
When buying the tank, we noted James and Ian had not been around in a long time, and a new guy named Robert was there. He seemed to know something. Justin is grumpy and inapproachable and SELF-PROFESSED TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT FISH. That is a direct quote by the way.
Last week, we paid for the second bunch of things to set up our SECOND tank, 30 gal, including a small helmet cowfish that I had eyeballed for WEEKS.
Robert asked me to PAY for this fish since they were holding it for us for more than 2 weeks. We paid in full.
Just tonight, I walk in, the fish is gone - a guy named Derrick says oh yeah we sold it. I said, you're joking - we paid for it.
THESE GUYS ARE UNETHICAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL. They made double-money on that fish.
OVER THE LAST 2-3 MONTHS OVER ONE-THIRD OF THEIR FISH ARE LEFT DYING IN THE TANKS. They are clearly not maintaining the way they used to. Justin has confirmed James is gone and it's clear things have gone downhill.
I am heart-broken the fish is gone after WEEKS of sitting there, but I don't want to buy any more fish from them because for weeks now everytime I walk in there are at least 2-3 dead fish laying around.
Aquarium keeping is for folks who conscientiously love fish and marine life - if this "shop" even felt this way they wouldn't have dead fish sitting there and treating their loyal customers like this.
By the way, did I mention that we weren't even graced with a response about what happened to our fish? Quote "i think we sold him, or he died, i dunno". And our recompense? Oh we'll give you a credit - why don't you buy something else?
Wow. -
Review from Jessica B.
San Francisco, CA
12/20/2009
I never actually bought a fish from this place, but that is because when I walked in I saw a dead fish floating around. This fish was in the very first tank as you walk in the door, great welcoming display! His eyes were a little "mixed up" and he was trapped in a 'death float". That was the first part of my bad impression. I then looked through some of the other tanks and saw that the fish seemed stressed and nervous. Many were in tanks without any plant life or rocks and were all mixed together. I was looking for for freshwater tropical, so only focused on those, I can't speak for the marine fish. Overall very bad vibe and I would not ever buy a fish here.
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Review from Anthony L.
San Francisco, CA
5/16/2009
Love this fish store -if you're in to the reefing scene, this is a place you should hit up. Great price on corals, and invertebrates. Mini mariculture colonies for $30-40? That's awesome. Frags in the the range $10-60, and they usually have a really nice selection -every time I come here, I never leave empty handed. Also, Derek is a gem -he is super knowledgeable about anything salt, and definitely takes care of his customers. I don't know how some other reviewers can slam the staff ... ever think it was you and not them?
Freshwater enthusiasts ... sorry, no bananas here. -
Review from Jack O.
San Francisco, CA
2/26/2008
We have been coming here for a year now. We have bought many fish from them as well as supplies. Alot of our fish have died, not do to neglect on there part but possibly stress from moving them . When you buy salt water fish , you need a GOOD eye for any symptoms. The shop is always clean and many items to choose from.
There is one guy though (I think he`s part asian, which is here only for the visual.He`s the shorter one.) He`s very nice but ruff on the life he`s extracting from the aquarium. I hate when he is the only one to get anything. I will not buy anything if he is helping me for now on. Otherwise the other guys are great. There is on guy that had a beard and always wore a bbcap , and is no longer there, he was the best. '
The reason for only 4 stars is do to guy mentioned and parking(I do however know this is the city, but the owner should break somesort of a deal with the electrical supply , which has a huge lot.) I go here much more often if I could patk and not worry about my car.
UPDATE`6/11/08
I took away three of the four stars as one left remaining, because of no option on NO stars. This shop has gone down hill. They cannot be bothered with customers. All the fish we bought last weekend (4 of them) all died within 2 hours of purchase. Seems odd that this happened since they were well aclimated to the tank before letting them go . When I mentioned this to one of the guys there , he could NOT be bothered. I understand that this occurs and I except this risk, but come on -all of them? I was not expecting anything in return, but there answer was as such. The "mytosis" shrimp we bought two days ago is very dark and not sure if I should feed to my fish . I called and there closed today (wed.) so I hope I find some food to feed my fish today. Thanks guys!! -
Review from Dirty S.
Pacifica, CA
8/5/2010
Cool shop, terrible location. Other than that they did have a great setup w/ the saltwater tanks. I certainly hate to see any marine bizz shut down. R.I.P
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Review from kmaintl L.
San Francisco, CA
9/6/2009
Totally agree with all the 1 star reviews on customer service and true lack of knowledge about marine systems. Employees behave as if you're bothering them and the appearance of this business seems like the owner is just running a business, clearly trying to be a high end shop without the high end knowledge. What even sucks on top of everything is it's difficult to find safe parking in that area. Not a good place for lady reefers.
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Review from George C.
San Francisco, CA
8/13/2007
Thought I'd post a review after picking up a Citron Clown Gobie this past weekend. I'm a novice saltwater/reef person. So, this review covers aspects of the store from that perspective. They have freshwater as well.
Setup/Quality: In addition to the standard wall-tanks, this store has three large wave-tanks holding a variety of corals from softies, to LPS, and SPS. The tanks all look clean and well cared for and the fish fairly active.
Service: They were a little short-staffed when the store first opened, but with more help, the service has improved (less wait because of other customers in the store). If someone is free, they'll greet you and ask if you need help. But, they won't pressure you to buy something that you shouldn't. Helpful advice on fish selection.
Selection: Good variety of corals, inverts, and fish. Fish selection depends on the day. They had a frogfish in this past weekend. The coral tanks were packed compared to a few months earlier when the store first opened. They also sell pre-mixed saltwater, frozen, and liquid foods.
Value: I'm dinging them one star on value. The prices on the fish seem decent (not cheap, but reasonable for quality). However, the corals seem a bit expensive - or maybe I just object to seeing Xenia offered up at $20 a frag when you'll get more xenia than you can shake a stick at by asking local reefers.
Overall, great store. I've purchased from them a number of times for coral, fish, and supplies.
Neighborhood is a little tough to find parking in (better on weekends), but it's the city, what can you expect? -
Review from Michael D.
San Francisco, CA
3/11/2009
I'm sad to see a place go downhill in this economy but it hurts all over as I'm sure we all know. They've scaled back a lot here, even limiting themselves only to salt water fish. I'm a freshwater enthusiast myself. That said it's still a beautiful set up and I love going there. They're the only place I've found that carry the food my fish love to eat. Sera Goldy Royal. Hopefully they keep stocking the freshwater fish food. The guys are pretty knowledgable there. I was looking for someway to clean my tank naturally and they had these little freshwater clams. The water in my tank has been much cleaner since I bought those.
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Review from Spooky B.
San Francisco, CA
8/1/2007
The cleanest aquarium store I've ever been in. It's almost art deco in there. The staff is friendly and helpful. The fish are vibrant and healthy. Prices are very reasonable. They had a pair of Australian clownfish that was selling for $200- was a treat to see that. They need to bring in more livestock though. Overall, very nice place.
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Review from JACOB L.
San Francisco, CA
3/12/2010
They have a very limited supply of dry goods and products but they have a decent amount of coral available. Once in a while you can find a good deal on a frag.
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Review from Keoni U.
South San Francisco, CA
12/14/2009
They have a lot of variety of fish here and prices are pretty good. If you want a specific fish or coral I'm sure Derek can order it for you. They also sell Rod's food and PE Mysis here. When they have sales they give real good bargains. Ez to find parking close by on the weekends or I believe you can park in the lot next door if you're quick.
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Review from Michael M.
San Francisco, CA
2/10/2010
This place has really beautiful healthy species of everything they carry. I really recommend this place especially if you care about getting tank raised stuff. There's tons of parking right on mission st, which is great. Some of these negative reviews MUST have been confusing this place with 6th ave aquarium. ?
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Review from Robert D.
San Francisco, CA
3/25/2008
The selection of large freshwater fish is small, if you have a salt water tank I would say it is one of the best places to go in the city.
The people who work...well, they are all pricks and act like they have better things to do than help you out. Buying a fish/pet should be fun..they should be informative and answer questions when asked..one time I asked something about a fish and Justin(Ithink) gave me a one word answer, nothing more even after I asked for more clarifcation.
What a dick. -
Review from Boy R.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 9/1/2009
How soon time goes by. I'm smarter about aquariums, and have enough exprience by now to know good service at a LFS. Sometimes they have sales on corals, and thats great. They'll probably still get my business for the lower priced items. But the last couple times I was there, I was almost completely ignored by the tall Asian guy (dont know his name). In fact, today he didnt even acknowledge me when I walked in and patiently waited for him to finish up with another customer. Then he went right behind the desk to screw around on the computer. He seemed bothered that I was there (& I was ready to drop some cash today).
Look, I'm all for saving the little guys who are struggling, but only when they deserve it. As said before, I'll ONLY spend my hard earned cash here when I KNOW I'm getting a GOOD deal, otherwise I'm driving to Lucky Ocean (where at LEAST there's parking to be found)and they actually give a crap about your repeat business!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/9/2009
So here's the scoop. I'm new to saltwater fish, and have used Yelp to help me find the best places… Read more »
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Review from Joey H.
San Francisco, CA
9/7/2008
the have cool stuff, but their service does really suck. i went in a few minutes before closing, nobody told me they were closing, i just figured it out when they started to shut the lights off while i was still browsing. no "Hellos" no "Thanks for stopping bys" nothing =/
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Review from brad s.
San Francisco, CA
5/15/2009
I don't know how this place stays open. We were in the market for a salt water aquarium, had done our research and needed to get the final information and guidance from knowledgeable professionals and went into Ocean Treasures because its so close to our home. But whoever own or runs this place doesn't know the first thing about customer service. We couldn't even get anyone to acknowledge our presence two visits in a row. Now I don't expect someone to stop a conversation with another customer to help me, but to say 'hello' or 'be with you in a minute' in basic manners. What was really irksome was there was someone just sitting there who wouldn't make eye contact. You think you're going to get my money? We went to Lucky Treasures Aquarium on Balboa, and got the best service. Don't waste your money at Ocean Treasures.
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Review from patricia d.
San Francisco, CA
11/8/2007
This is a wonderful place to visit!! Seahorses, rays, eels, right now they have a nurse shark, coral reefs - it's dreamy. The store is spotless and it doesn't have a fishy smell.
