Usually we love this franchise. We like buying gear and fish from them and even just stopping by to see the beautiful variety of fish they have. Our most recent visit, mid day on a week day, was oddly not so good. The floors were overly wet, heavy metal music was playing, and too many tanks had multiple dead fish. Staff were still helpful and friendly, though.

Beautiful store, friendly and knowledgeable staff and a large selection of marine and fresh water fish. This was my first experience at this location since I am from out of town, and I was pleased with the service I received. Unfortunately they don’t respond to concerns made on their sites “contact us” page or on social media. Their phone number also was unavailable. I recently purchased a few Marine fish and one died during transport, the fish must not have been healthy to die during a 50 minute transport. I’ve never lost a fish on my way home before. Plus the fish was transported in a cooler to keep at temperature since these fish are super sensitive to temperature swings. Marine fish are expensive and I hope big Al’s Vaughn will help replace a fish that was unhealthy and regrettably died. Please exercise caution when purchasing marine fish here, a quarantine tank is strongly recommended since health and disease cannot be guaranteed.

This was my 5th time shopping here. Beautiful place to shop or even just to look around. Unfortunately, might be my last. My family walked around for a good 20 minutes before my children decided which fish to add to our tank and after decided, I asked an associate for help. With a medical mask exemption, I was refused service for not having a face covering while inside the store. This was from an associate who was wearing their mask underneath his nose. I went in, fully aware of their curb-side pick up option, but their phones are not answered.

Shoutout to Kier a certified legend and best manager of the fish department I've ever seen. The amount of quality fish is incredible no other big alls compares, he gets everything. Not to mention the prices are a lot more fair then other big alls locations (especially Thornhill). Great experience everytime and I look forward to the next time I go to pick up salt water!

I have to say I am extremely disappointed with this location. I have spent literally thousands of dollars in the past 2 years on marine fish and corals. The owner is well aware of this, a good return customer. I purchased 2 female anthias Saturday afternoon, as well as coral like I usually do. I added the 2 anthias to my 180 gallon tank with all healthy fish, very clean etc... 1 was fine, ate, swimming around the other would not eat and had white patches on it breathing heavily. By Sunday morning the sick anthias was dead. I returned to the store this morning asking for a simple exchange as they have around 20 of them still in stock. Obviously they sold me a sick fish of which they have many and can easily replace for me. If the fish had died after several days I would never have brought it back but 14 hours? The owner just arrogantly refused to exchange the fish. He said the "industry" does not do that, no guarantees, even for good return customers. I simply removed my mask to make sure he sees my face for the LAST TIME! Pretty poor business man willing to lose a good return customer for $40. Save $40 today and lose thousands in sales. Just brilliant! I predict this location will soon be out if business because it is so poorly managed. Good riddance, I will shop elsewhere from now on. There are other better options where they recognize customer loyalty and do NOT sell DISEASED LIVESTOCK, trust me.

Went there today to buy some fish. I was helped by a young man called Tristan. Extremely helpful to me, he answered all of my questions honestly. How do I know he was honest, because I already knew the answers. The young lady at cash was also very nice and polite. Sorry, I forgot her name. Anyways I will be buying all of my aquarium needs here from now on. Nice clean store and larger than most Big Al's. Great service.

Not a good experience...I had bought 3 fishes which one was sick once I brought her home and could see it in my tank...since I was living far north I could not return it...it died on day 5 and I took it to them on day 7 because I go to town only on weekends. They deny to give me a replacement. They told me you should have called us ..seriously.???..is it part of warranty to do so? ....I will never go there again because they can not stand behind they products.everything you buy is good until it is not.this fish which I bought was a sichlid worth less than $10 dollar, imagine you buy a expensive fish or expensive equipment for tank.Once it is in bag it is yours regardless of what happens. When you go in and ask about a trouble with product or support, that nice faces change and you see a different attitude. When you are buying and spending money , every body is nice. Until you ask for support, then you see real faces.This style of doing bussiness is wrong. If your bussiness is dependent on a $10 fish and you prefer to loose customers for $10, If I was you,I would close it and do something else. That is why I always purchase from Amazon and I am sure if any thing wrong u have no issue. Unfortunately they don't sell fishes

Bought a Betta for my nephews and niece's, and after a week they moved on to other things and I am now the owner of a betta that I have fallen in Love with. So I did some research of what it needs and tank mates and took a trip back to Big Al's in Vaughn. There I met a Young man named Roman, he literally showed me every tank and fish in the store and explained everything about every fish he showed me. I was amazed at the amount of knowledge he has when it came to fish. Then I asked about plants and he spent almost 20 minutes showing me all the plants and again explained what they do, what they need to survive, which ones were compatible, again I was left speechless at how much he knew, it comforted me because I had so much questions since I'm new to this. I could not have asked for a kinder and knowledgeable person to get help from, I had such a great time, He totally made my experience a memorable one. Then he took me to the show room and introduced me to Ben who told me everything I needed to know about the sand and substrate I should use in my tank, again I was amazed at his knowledge and hus kindness was exceptional absolutely amazing. Last but notlt least the young lady's at tge register had the most amazing smile and they were so kind, I'm sorry I don't remember your names. Oh, the manager also gave me the most welcoming greeting while he was in the middle of helping someone as soon as i walked in and i really appreciated that. I just want to thank the Manager at Big Al's in Vaugh for hiring the most amazing team, it takes a great manager to find such great talent and help. Thank you all for my wonderful experience, its one I will always remember.

I'm come to this place at least once a week knew alot of the staff here, then the manager got fired and they went through alot of staff. Seems like the staff there doesn't know anything about fish. Update, they've changed managers here maybe 3 or 4 times in 2 years. The management is clueless, irrational and they have more than 1 price up for the same fish in the same tank. When asked about it they will ALWAYS give you the higher price. Dead fish in tanks all day. Coral prices are just whack . Stay away from this store.

I have visited seven Big Al's stores in Ontario and this one is the best by far. Tanks were super clean, fish were of good quality and healthy, priced were reasonable and staff were knowledgeable and friendly. Everything that you want in a fish store.

Planted aquarium meterial like lava rocks, live plants complete aquarium accessories. Fish 🐟 food medicine, complete set-up .. aquarium lovers must visit this u will all items @ one place nice supporting staff..

$$ stuff haha but nice place to get what you need for your aquarium and see rare sea creatures

I went in just before close to get some feeder Goldfish and Rosy Reds. I found some outdoor pond plants and decided on that as well. The team member who helped me, tall, slim, light haired male, was a pleasure. He asked all the right questions which guided my purchase. He asked if the fish were for a pond and selected the brighter, lively fish. He made me a priority while he picked out the fish and the plant. Such a nice experience during what seemed like a busy night of shoppers. The casher, a shorter, brunette female, was friendly and quick with the purchase. I'm glad I decided to go out tonight to get some pond fish and plants. Thanks!

I just love this place. I feel like I'm in an underwater paradise every time I go. I was able to be asked about 6 times if I needed help, staff there go out of their way and so polite. The fish all look super healthy with clean tanks. Although there were bigger tanks for the betta males, I did find one dead betta female and had to let them know. Also some bettas were so large they could barely move around in their cup. That's my only complaint. So many do look about one year old, so in my experience with similar sized bettas and their age, they can last about 1 year or more if you're lucky in a 5-10 gallon tank by themselves.

I have had fish for years. Bought fish on two separate occasions from here and both died. Only give you 50 percent even though a fish have only lived for 3 days. They told me I do not know how to take care of fish. It is funny I have boughg fish from other places and they have lived for over five years, however they only seem to die when I buy from Big Al's.

Big als is a great spot if your looking for high quality fish! I would say the Vaughn location is the best and most advanced. All though it is pricy the fish are some of the highest quality in North America! Overall I think it’s a great store for a experienced fish keeper.

I've been a customer of this Big Al's location for quite some time now and the manager, assistant manager and all staff who I dealt with were nothing but helpful in guiding and educating me about the do's and don't. For someone who had no knowledge about aquariums, they took their time to provide guidance and education. I was never rushed! They're all extremely friendly and knowledgeable and I've always received healthy fish and plants from them. I already have 3 aquariums and looking forward to my next visit!!!

Andrew is so nice and friendly. He gave us a lot of tips. He helped resolve our issue of green water and it was great help. He also helped my daughter choose the perfect addition to her fish tank. Great fish and good prices! I would recommend him and this store to all my friends. Thank you for the amazing customer service. We will come again soon

Knowledgeable, reputable, reliable. Beware of their limited live fish return policy. However, the workers seems like they really know what they’re talking about. Clean tanks, with a variety of healthy fish. They had forgotten to pack a plant and they kept their word to give me a free one for the trouble!

Martina was a HUGE help with my new turtle. My boyfriend had brought one home the night before from work because they didn’t want him anymore so I only had a few hours to watch some YouTube videos the night before so I could educate myself with the basics before I called Big Al’s. I felt so stressed out because I just wanted him to have all his necessities. Martina patiently helped me put together all the items I would need giving different options and prices all over the phone. She was very patient, knowledgeable and professional. When I went to pick up curb side along with explaining the different food options and why they were important she even gave me a paper on aquatic turtles and that’s what I call customer service. I left Big Al’s that day and thought to myself Damn that girl is really good at her job!

3300 Rutherford Rd, Concord. First time here, it looks like they are setting up something, some places are wet surrounded by a number of fishing tanks. They got fishes, snails, sea plants, turtles . Not cheap, a white belly turtle over a hundred. Salty water fishes, 2 tanks of shrimps not much inside. Some fish tank accessories. Fish food.

Amazing place full of amazing fish and friendly employees. Best quality fish and clean environment. It's a good place to spend an afternoon.

Love the store. Went to purchase 4 male guppies. Was given 3 males and a female. Not happy.

It was so cool to walk where the fish were and the workers were very sweet and knowledgable! They didn't hesitate to ask if you needed any help or give any quick tips.

Very helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable staff. I've always had great experiences here. One thing I would say is the prices of aquarium decor are super expensive. I wish they have more sales.

Took my daughter here for the first time and she loved it , so many different fish to look at. Store was clean and easy to navigate.

Terrible housing conditions for their live animals. There are dirty tanks, dead fish, lizards and geckos without access to any water, the list goes on. As an exotic-savvy pet owner, I wouldn’t trust this store or any Big Als. Service representatives are also incompetent and are unable to provide important information about responsible pet ownership regarding the pets that they sell. If you’re looking to buy an animal from here (rabbit, lizard, gecko, fish, etc.) go a rescue or an animal shelter instead because at least you won’t be contributing to the problem that this company creates.

Great place to get all your aquarium needs and a large variety of fresh and salt water fish.

This place is great and the customer service is awesome. Those guys know what they are doing. Very friendly and happy to answer all your questions. Every time I go there I'm so happy because you don't need to look for a specific person to get the assistance. They all up to a standard and great. I am there few times within last month. Have two Bettas at home and my causins have a big tank got it from them. Overall great team!!!

I've been fishing keeping for years and this hobby can be challenging at times. I've been having a small issue with my tanks and I believe it was the store manager at Vaughan big al's helped me figure things out. Great store. Very knowledgeable staff. Couldn't do it without them. Thank you

Helpful staff answered my million questions about getting started and helped me get set up with everything I needed. Definitely beats going to the pet store where they dont know what they are talking about. Will definitely recommend big al's

Service was great, very friendly. At multiple times during my visit I was given information on how best to take care of and make certain I get the best results when caring for my new fish.

Two employees in particular, Josh and Luca, super helpful and friendly. They are super knowledgeable and really helped with my fish selection. Even when one of my fish passed and I went in for my credit and replacement, Josh was a great help! This place is great and would highly recommend to anyone

This is a review for online orders/customer service. I was so impressed with how great the staff were when I called to clarify a few things before an order. Staff were helpful, accommodating, and I got what my dog needed promptly. Thanks Big Al and staff - great selection of things I couldn't find elsewhere, and really good customer service. Will definitely re-order from this place.

Big Al’s Vaughan is my go to aquatic store. Ive been shopping here for over five years now. Staff are respectful and knowledgable. The managers are top notch always treated me with a smile and made sure i was looked after. 5/5 because their live stock were always healthy, they often have cool exotics, top notch customer service and lots of knowledge about the hobby. Definitely one of the best Big Al’s out there.

Great location and super helpful staff. Very knowledgeable and friendly.

My favourite Big Al’s location. Staff is always very friendly and all experts. Fair prices (with price match) and good store layout. Fish section is nice too, with new fish weekly.

Gorgeous store/aquatic life admiring spot. The staff there are very knowledgeable and kind. The reason I give 4 stars is because a select few staff seemed very unwilling to talk to any customers at all. Other than that, you won't regret going to big Al's if you have a fishy, a turtle, or just an aquarium full of plants. Is vvnice

Went there for the first time on nye . The staff was amazing with helping me choose the perfect tank setup for my kids . Adesh ( hope im spelling that correctly ) and jason were the biggest help . They were so informative and continue to help us and guide me threw the process when i call in days later with questions! What a great experience ! With great staff !

They don’t update their website! I checked their website regularly for a specific fish. Their website indicated the fish was in stock so I drove 30 mins to get it. Not happy! They don’t carry that fish for long time and no one update the website. The staff even told me not to trust their website!

Never again. After many failed attempts at liking this place I’m never going to it again. I’ve bought so many fish from them and all I’ve ever received was dying fish. Do your research before don’t trust what the employees say. Them telling me aggressive fish are good with each other? That picky eaters will eat anything I give them? That a juvenile tang will be happy living in a 60g tank (WTH)?? The employees are beyond rude, only good person who helped me with my questions was the manager of the fish room everyone else either wasn’t able to help or just did not want to. Save yourselves the trip and don’t go to this location ever. Besides the horrendous customer care with this location their care for the animals is also sad, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking for that case…