Fins and Skins

8451 49th St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781, USA

Address:	8451 49th St N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781, USA
Phone:	+1 727-851-9543
Site:	finsandskinsonline.net
Rating:	4.2
Working:	12–8PM 12–8PM 12–8PM Closed 12–8PM 12–8PM 12–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

Ty Cob

The fish and coral selection is nice, Henry the fish manager is great, very informative,and very helpful. I have been going there for years for the fish, coral, and inverts. I understand supporting local businesses even when online is almost always cheaper. The face to face interactions and for others sake, support your local stores. Now, I just recently i have gotten back into reptiles and breeding. Now the reptile manager isnt near as useful. In the span of 2 months I personally bought all the heat tape connectors, as well as the heat tape. I tried to get them to re order and support my local business multiple occasions with no avail. Ive told employees, who in turn told Joe, I personally talked to Joe...Nothing... Its bad business to turn people away and you cant sell items that you are too lazy to reorder. I know where they get the supplies from and its cheaper for me to order online but in good faith i waited....and waited...and waited... spoke to Joe many times he just gave me the run around about placing the order but then days later says he hasnt placed it yet??? Very unprofessional, very impolite, and very unhelpful. The way he degrades his employees is also unappealing. My girl went in there with her friend and those two witnessed him verbal harass a long time employee for giving advice that joe thought was incorrect. And in the end the employee was correct after all. So I give this review only 3 stars but the fish portions get 5 stars and two thumbs up.

Veronica Peterson

one of my fish passed away on monday. they were the only people open at 730pm. purchased 5 gallons of water and a bacteria treatment to try and save the fish before she passed. did a 4 gallon water change. there salinity was at 28ppt(no where near the 35 ppt it is sapose to be). ph should be around 7. Not 3.5 called the store and my answer given to me was "our equipment is rusty and we have no way to adjust or test anything. but if you would like we will give you 5 more gallons free of charge". asked why i would want to get water that is not adjusted to the right levels and they have no way to test it and was told. "owner knows about the problem for the past year and hasnt cared to correct the issue and has no plans to fix the water quality" even if they are the only one open that had saltwater on hand or chemicals to try a hospital tank. I WILL NEVER EVER GO THERE AGAIN! horible service. was told to put in kanamycin in my main tank to help heal my dieing fish. kanamycin is a anti bacteria and is not safe for corals inverts or the live rock/sand snails or anything else. would of killed my tank. do not shop here. search for local fish stores. if you go in and they are pulling dead fish out of there tanks every 20 minutes that should tell ya to stay away! they have more death in there then living!

chrt396

I visited the store a few days ago and spoke with Ivan. He had NO qualms about spending time with me as an aquarium enthusiast who JUST re-entered the hobby after a 30 years off. He spent tons of time explaining and re-educating me on the hobby. It actually seemed important to him to do so. Where do you get help like that these days?? If you visit a Petco or a Petsmart..you may be lucky enough to find a person available.... or even someone that has an idea of whats going on, They are trained on only the basics of selling what they carry. Many times, due to lack of knowledge, you could spend a lot of time and money in a big box fish store..taking bad advice.....to find out that what you were doing is actually more harmful than what you were trying to make better!. Im not saying all of the Big Box stores are the same, as there are some really good people in a few of them..but usually..its a young girl that has no clue and makes up stuff as she goes. Ivan dealt with the important basics of caring for my tank...and what I could do to make it thrive. Was not a proponent of adding a lot of chemicals which would be wasting my money. I purchased 6 cory cats and a bottle of live bacteria..($$$$)...and I was on my way. I was VERY happy with my visit and Fins and Skins and Ivan!

Sam Knuth

Given wrong info with my $800 dollar purchase of tank sand water rock fish food... Tank was $60 more then elsewhere local Sand was only 5 bucks more Water was 2.50 more Rock was 30 more Fish were 10 more Food was double the price of everywhere else. And was a food the fish I purchased doesnt eat... money wasted there. Go figure... Info given for a first salt tank setup and retested water 3 days later. Was told add fish and bacteria. And wait 2 weeks on a water change and drop food in once a day. On day 9 of tank had a spike of something. Fish snails and crabs were all dead. Will not be returning again. Followed instructions given by what I was led to be leave a reasonably knowledge fish/pet store better then petco/petsmart. But ended up getting Walmart like employee knowledge. Do wish I would of looked around a little longer. Found a better fish only store closer and blows there prices away.

David Blackman

Variety/selection of animals and products is limited but their knowledge is vast. They have excellent customer service. - update: I dont recommend going on a Saturday; theyre usually swamped with customers. update: I moved out of my rental home into a purchased one and broke down my salt aquarium. My wife and I are expecting our first child and didnt think I would have enough time to dedicate to a full reef tank. So I brought in all my corals, fish, and live rock to Joe and Henry and they gave me a really nice store credit that I promptly turned around and delved into freshwater fish and turtles! (I know I know... who goes from salt TO fresh?!) They made the transition super easy for me. Henry knew all about the livestock compatibilities, water temps, fresh plants, inverts, etc etc. Upgraded from 4 to 5 stars. Thanks guys.

Mitch Robbins

Visited every fish store in Pinellas County and even a few in Pasco before finding this place. The first time I walked in, one of the employees was educating a customer on the needs and water requirements of Neon Tetras; I knew right away I was in the right place. Clean tanks, super healthy fish and they go the extra mile to keep fish comfortable until they find a home (blackwater for appropriate species, driftwood in most tanks, etc). Even the bettas are well cared for, with an airstone routed to each cup for good oxygenation. All the fish weve bought here are, hands down, the most colorful and healthiest stock weve bought. Its nice bringing a fish home and not having to worry about parasites or ich, because you know they were well kept at the store. Support local business and give these guys a try.

Alyssa Coburn

Im currently 2,000 miles away from this store (on vacation) and anxious to visit again! Ive visited the store over a year ago searching for a specific fish, (they had it) and had a wonderful time browsing. The tanks are all very clean, very healthy looking fish, and everything is very well kept. The staff was friendly and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Ive decided to build a new tank when I return home and this store instantly came to mind for the fish I want. Im honestly unsure any other store would even have what Im looking for. I only wish I could see their stock! Id love to see a Facebook post of any new or restocked fish just so I have an idea of what is available. Ive seen a few other fish stores do this and its so convenient. I guess Ill just have to wait till I get home... Cant wait!