Austin Aqua-Dome

Address:	1604 Fortview Rd, Austin, TX 78704, USA
Phone:	+1 512-442-1400
Site:	austinaquadome.com
Rating:	4.5
Working:	Closed 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 11AM–7PM 12–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

Hillary Fisher

I wish I could give it 5 stars. Cool building, turtle pond, interesting fish, and lovely rock selection. I also like that they are a sort of pleco sanctuary for people who couldnt house them anymore. However, one incident that really pissed me off was when I noticed white spots on my fish and realized they had ICH. I had already turned up the heat, added salt and lowered the water level, but when I went to Aquadome for additional assistance the owner said those things will only shorten the life span of the parasite, and handed me Rid ICH to buy hands down. The Rid ICH killed my Fire eel - my favorite fish :(. He should have told me that Rid ICH kills scaleless fish and inverts (eels, plecos, snails etc.). After my fire eel died I continued what I was doing before, without chemicals, just heat, salt and aeration and I didnt lose any more fish. Customer service is really lacking. I usually (always) feel unwelcome although Ive spent quite a bit of money there and go pretty often. I wish they were more helpful. I research the fish I want to buy and note certain things Ive read to the employees before I buy the fish, and they just shrug me off like I dont know what Im talking about. Then I go home with said fish and do more research to find I was right from the beginning. For any kind of hardware (heaters, lights) and chemicals I would go on Amazon for cheaper prices and a much better selection.

Kerri West

Its really hit or miss here with both fish health and service. I have had some terrible customer service and some great service. It depends on the day, which is honestly not a good thing on their part. The guys that work there are usually patient and considerate, but the lady Ive interacted with is often short and impatient. I have also had a number of hardy fish die after bringing them home lately, despite having excellent water quality in an established, planted aquarium. (One of them even exhibited symptoms the day I brought it home, and one of my established and healthy fish started acting abnormally within a week of this!) I have been met with defensiveness and rudeness from the female employee when trying to determine the cause of the problem, so I dont know that I will be bringing business to them anymore after spending hundreds of dollars here and then getting treated rudely. I dont want to feel like Im playing Russian roulette with customer service and not knowing how Im going to be treated when I walk in the door. I feel bad about giving them this kind of review when other employees have been gracious and they have an interesting selection, but I am tired of getting fish that die unexpectedly and having anxiety over how I will be treated when I attempt to understand what the problem might be.

Jo Woodman

The owner is incredibly knowledgeable, and uses the best practices Ive ever seen in buying and selling fish. I have a very unusual planted tower tank, and so the fish that live in it have to be vertical swimmers, and also small, and preferably eye catching. ( I can find nothing that can live in my tank at a normal pet store, except maybe for some shrimp!) The Aqua Dome had species I didnt know existed that were perfectly suited to my set up. I mentioned that I drove in from out of town, so my fish were packed with pure oxygen and in styrofoam insulating containers. Not only were the fish in excellent condition when I got home, but not a single one has died in the months since. I was delighted to see a fish trade that was humane, took excellent care of the stock. This is NOT the questionable experience of the recently unemployed getting fish fins of dying Cory cats caught in a net at Petsmart, this operation is exquisite and run by a true expert! Even though I had a small order for under $50, I was treated like a regular customer and with great respect and careful consideration of my tank setup. If I had seen a tip jar, I would have stuffed a 20 in it!

Lam Huynh

Hi, all customers of Aqua Dome, I have spent over thousands of dollars at Austin Aqua-Dome.last month came buy the fish and the salt for my fishtank. Before i left, i checked the receipt They didnt give me the discount. I came back and told Gary. He asked me, "DIdnt I?" and he gave me the discount. He looked at the receipt and gave me money back for the discount. Today, I came back to buy the fish and salt for my fishtank the same last month. When I got to the cashier,before i sign the receipt i ask Gary are you take out the discount ?,Gary the owner, he told me that he already gave me the discount. Right then, I checked on the receipt and turns out that he didnt give me a discount. I asked him why he lied to me about giving me the discount. When I opened my club card, I had to pay $21. He said that every time i buy i fish or any equipment, I get 10-20% off. I already asked him about the discount before I checked the receipt. Therefore please remember to check your receipt if you have a club card. Im honestly very upset that Gary lied to me about the discount. Lets not have this happen again.

Red Star Customs

Great place, always very knowledgeable and helpful when needed. They have a great selection and do not mind giving their time to answer your million questions. I have been here numerous times to buy salt water fish for our 30 gallon tank. Salt water tanks are definitely a chore and very expensive and take time to learn what will and will not work for your tank. Ive bought fish from here that have been very very healthy and lived for months at a time and then just dropped dead, with the water being perfect. This is in no way the stores fault these fish are going through huge transformations throughout their life span and sometimes just do not have the ability to adapt. I think some of the negative reviews given to this store are inaccurate and in no way reflect how they operate. If you cant keep a salt water fish alive, buy an eel they last forever!!!! Just be careful

A Private User

I bought 3 Cardinal Tetras Monday. Monday night, one died, which I understand, it happens. I called, they said just to bring it in and I could get a new one. Thursday night, I still had two alive, but after looking at them, I discovered BOTH of them had Ick! I have had fish for years upon years, and have never had a problem with Ick. I have several other Ick-prone fish in that tank and none of them are showing any signs of it. I can only conclude that it mustve come from the store. I called and they are willing to just let me bring all 3 (two dead, one alive) back in, which is why I gave them a 2 instead of a 1. Buyer beware.

Steven Eldridge

3 out of 5 fish died from aqua dome this past summer but the staff is awesome i got refunded with no problems with a water sample and i like the fact that they give complimentary water PH tests with my tank water when i come in to shop around . On the down side some merchandise is a little more pricy compared to other places and some of the staff dont really take the time to catch the exact fish you chose out of the display tanks but the fish are reasonably well priced. The fish are very unique and different from the same stuff i see at every other chain pet stores. So i give em a 5 star rating and ill still shop there for now..