The iFISH Store provides one of the widest selections of freshwater aquarium and pond fish available online today. We have been providing freshwater fish to aquarium and pond enthusiasts for over 20 years. Here's what you can expect from The iFISH Store: High Quality Fish / Low Pricing / Fast, Low Cost Shipping / Superior Customer ServiceFollowing quarantine, all shipments are sent via FedEx Overnight at a flat rate on all orders regardless of size. Interested in something you don't see in our store? Contact us at [email protected] or 516.524.6423 and just ask!
The iFISH Store (theifishstore.com) has 4,236 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5.
Also known as
theifishstore.com
Website
theifishstore.com
Category
Pet Stores
Location
Richmond Hill, New York
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 28% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: October 2026.
Edits
Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
Score
This company cannot pay to remove reviews or change its score.
I have had a well established cichlid tank for years and never had any problems until I ordered from this company. I ordered 20 fish: 10 demasoni and 10 electric yellows. About 5 days after acclimating the new fish, I noticed fuzzy white areas on 2 of the yellow fish which usually means fungal infection. Within a week, 7 yellow fish died. Then a few of our well established fish died. Now the demasoni are dying. We started with 35 fish and have 7 left! Four more died today. We checked our water throughout the process, but it was perfect ph and nitrite/nitrate levels. We took it up to our reputable local fish store and had them check it and they agreed our water is pristine. Even after repeated water changes, our fish are dying. Frank, the owner of this company is rude each time I’ve talked to him, so I dont even want to ask him for his input. I would like to inform other customers to stay far, far away from this company.
HB
Heather B.
Bad customer service
Was my first time buying fish here guy waited a week to tell me there was no more bumble bee catfish .. I wait a week was so excited .. Bad customer service will never buy fish from this company ..
Response from The iFISH StoreDec 4, 2019
Hello Heather;
We're sorry you were disappointed in your experience with us. We'd like to take the opportunity to clarify the events as they unfolded from our end. You had placed a large order for several Discus, a Pleco and Bumble Bee Catfish on Monday evening, November 18th. We quarantine all fish for 12-24 hours prior to shipping. We ship on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, whichever comes first following quarantine. Your fish would not be ready for shipment by Wednesday so the were scheduled for shipment on the following Monday. When we were removing the Bumble Catfish from quarantine for packing that Monday we did not approve of their general behavior or health. All of the other fish in your order were in perfect condition and ready to be packed. Unfortunately, we did not have any other Bumble Bee Catfish ready to leave quarantine or any in stock at that point to place in quarantine. We clearly did not anticipate having the Bumble Bee Catfish we had quarantined for you to take a downturn. Attempting to accommodate you as best as we could, we then called you and asked if you'd like something other than the Bumble Bee Catfish so we could ship your entire order that day. If you didn't, we simply would have either given you a credit on a future order or a refund for the catfish. Your request was to cancel the entire order which we gladly did.
Again, we are sorry you had this experience with us and hope you'll consider giving us another try. We genuinely didn't wait a week to call you. We were following our standard of Quarantine, Inspection, Packing and Shipping Schedule and this is where the one-week timeframe came into play.
AW
Arthur W.
HIGHLY Unreliable. Don't Do It.
Incredibly unreliable.
Response from The iFISH StoreDec 2, 2019
Hello Arthur;
We are disappointed in the way this transaction has played out. We take great care in preparing and packing our fish for shipment and place confidence and our reputation in the hands of UPS when we release them for shipment via UPS Next Day Air. It's extremely unfortunate that UPS was the cause of the delayed shipment in both of your orders to your location in NY. What's yet more disappointing is that you originally gave us a 4-star review citing the following:
"Shipping and packaging very thoughtfully and professionally done; their Discus are a very hardy stock. The first Discus I got here got tied up in shipping for about 65 hours due to weather and the fish arrived ice cold - yet today it swims around my tank, happy and healthy. Very beautiful and reasonably priced Discus as well. A man named Frank stayed in touch throughout the process which was comforting." You went on to acknowledge the unreliable service from UPS in your location.
How we went from that 4-Star review to this edited 1-Star Review is a bit boggling. You even went as far as to accuse us of not shipping your fish in the second order and we responded with a shipping verification from UPS. To now rate us with a 1-Star with a two word comment of "Incredibly unreliable" is quite unfair. We worked very closely with you and provided as much assistance as possible. We think some of your frustration should be aimed at UPS. We certainly provide our grief to them from this end but when our shipment leaves our facility they are in control.
We are very sorry this has happened and wish we were able to appease you. That's very difficult to do when UPS is at fault here. We would just like you to know that we carefully packed your order for safe travel to your destination via UPS Next Day Air like we do the thousands of other orders we process. And we gladly replaced the fish that UPS' faulty delivery caused to perish. We did the best we could to make your experience with The iFISH Store a good one.
MA
Max
The fish never arrived
The fish never arrived. I can't really say what happened to the fish which I'm devastated about. However, like the website states the fish was not delivered to my door. I was never made aware of their delivery. The mail man never attempted to even come to my door after the considerable amount of money spent on expedited shipping, which is unacceptable. They were delivered to my garage which is a secluded area located behind my building. It was completely unsafe and nonsensical to deliver the fish here. When I contacted the owner after being concerned of not getting any updates about the fish, the owner took no responsibility and attempted to send me on a dead-end hunt with UPS. They informed me that the owner was supposed to handle what he was trying to put off on me. When I tried to contact him, he had blocked me so I had to use a completely different phone to get an answer. He then became extremely unprofessional. I recorded the entire interaction, and kept tedious records once I realized he had me on a wild goose chase with UPS. Glad I did because this guy is very dishonorable as a store owner and fishkeeper. He is good at shifting blame and never taking any responsibility. I suggest you keep strong record and keep record of all conversations and emails. If it's your word against his, he's good at flipping things, but you can't flip evidence. What's even more sad is that he didn't even seem to care at all for the missing fish. He refused to send a replacement fish in which he initially said he would when I first made him aware of the problem. Instead he forced a refund on me.
Update after reading owners reply: Firstly, my garage and home are located on two different streets. So please let's kill the checking around my home argument. Again, it was nonsensical to deliver the fish to my garage and we see why. As your website states, your company ENSURES delivery to our doors and that didnt happen for me plain and simple. I do however want to point out how once again, true to nature you are on here trying to shift blame again stating that "I" didn't leave notes on where to deliver my package. There is only one place to do that sir. Regarding the email, you were made aware that I never received your email. Representing it differently is yet another poor business practice. Thankfully, Gmail has helped me with those receipts regarding the shipping email. Now on the 7th when I contacted you, it was you who let me know that the fish was delivered to my garage and told me "You need to take that up with your local UPS", when I told you then, I had no experience with missing packages especially live animals. You blocked my number after that call and I was never able to get through to you until I used a different number and you answered immediately. After this incident I read several reviews from different sites stating that this is a common practice, as well as rudeness and belligerence with your company when there are problems with orders.
I also see that you took the time and liberty to specifically call out the details of my order which is extremely unprofessional and has nothing to do with the fact that my package was delivered to a very unacceptable area for the safety of the fish and disappeared bearing my very sensitive info on it. Fyi, the reason I was willing to pay 3xs the value of the fish on shipping is because it was for my nephew who tragically lost his mom and sister in a fire last month and barely escaped with his own life. While nothing could ever replace the lives of my sister and niece, he loves fish and I wanted him to have something to love and care for in his new home as he gets completely acclimated to a whole different life without his mom and sister and heals mentally, spiritually and emotionally himself. Sadly, I entrusted your company with the purchase and I regret that. I didnt have the heart to tell my nephew who has already suffered beyond what I hope any other child would ever know. It was NEVER EVER about the money, that's why I asked you repeatedly to just resend the fish and you refused; contrary to what you have tried to represent here today.
The only good thing is that I also ordered two ranchus from a different company two days after yours and they emailed and sent text updates the entire time from the moment the fish were taken from their tanks quarantined and shipped to guess where? My FRONT door like everything else. No worries because what goes around comes right back around. His happiness is my only concern right now. He will get an Oranda.
Response from The iFISH StoreNov 20, 2019
Hello Max;
We really need to provide a thorough view of the events as they unfolded here. You had ordered one Red Oranda Goldfish on November 1st. You included no additional notes on where you wished the package to be delivered at your home. After our standard quarantine prior to shipping, we shipped your Goldfish on Monday, November 4th via UPS Next Day Air to the address provided and we sent a shipment notification email with tracking information to you that same day. We were notified that your shipment was delivered by UPS on Tuesday, November 5th. On Thursday, November 7th you called us asking where your fish were. When you called, we suggested that we launch an investigation from both sides. When we checked on our end, our records indicated that the shipping notification was sent on Monday, November 4th and we had electronic verification from UPS that your fish were delivered on Tuesday, November 5th. On your end, you relayed to us that once you rechecked your emails, you found the shipment email from us so you, in fact, were not aware they were being delivered on Tuesday and did not check around your home for the package until Thursday when you discovered the unopened shipment email. This is when you discovered where the package was placed by UPS. We in no way, shape or form were being argumentative, trying to shift the burden of locating the package on you or were being deceptive. On the other hand, you were extremely argumentative on the phone and even after we offered a refund or replacement, you continued to be abusive. At that point, it wasn't clear what was going to make you happy about the entire transaction. Nevertheless, we went ahead and issued a refund.
We take great pride in our Customer Service efforts and spend a lot of time on the phone, emailing and messaging our customers to maintain good communication and making sure our customers are pleased with doing business with The iFISH Store. Most important of all, we take great care in the health and welfare of the all the fish we ship, using exceptional shipping/packing procedures and maintaining a close relationship with our carrier of choice, UPS. Quite simply, the facts behind your order are that: (1) you did not check your email for our shipment notification, (2) if you preferred that UPS drop off the package in a better location at your home, you did not include that in the Notes section of your order and (3) you were quite disagreeable and aggressive in your phone conversations with us as we tried to work with you.
We are very sorry this played out in this manner and at the same time believe we tried to help you to the best of our ability as a responsible online retailer.
SH
Shirley
Poor Customer service and delivery
When I ordered my fish I was expecting them based on the quarantine and shipping process. I waited for one full week. No one contacted or notified me of any delays.
It was only after I sent an email inquiring about the status and the wait that I was informed that the fish that was selected for me was a bad batch and they were awaiting another shipment at which time a new selection will be chosen. It’s been two weeks and I still have not received my fish.
Response from The iFISH StoreNov 20, 2019
Hello Shirley;
Just to clarify the cause for the delay, you had ordered a Red Oranda, a Red Cap Oranda and a Red and Black Oranda. We emailed you to explain that we had the Red and Red Cap Orandas you had ordered. We did not have a "bad batch" of Red and Black Orandas. The situation as we explained was that the few Red and Black Orandas we had left, at the time of processing your order, showed a high level of black in coloring and we wanted to wait until our next batch came in so that we could provide you with one that had a better red/black coloring. Our goal was to provide you with a nicely colored Red and Black Oranda. We didn't have a "bad batch" in any of the varieties that you ordered and we take exception to how you've chosen to word your review when we were simply trying to provide you with an exceptional selection of Orandas. Your order was placed on October 30th and you received your goldfish on November 14th. Yes, there was a delay that we attempted to explain was due to us wanting to hold the whole order until our next batch of Red and Black Orandas arrived to ensure you would be happy with the coloration. In the end, we are very sorry you were not pleased with your experience with The iFISH Store.
RU
Ruffinette
Fish died within 5 days
Fish died within 5 days. New fish purchase is thriving well
Response from The iFISH StoreOct 10, 2019
Hello Ruffinette;
We're very sorry to hear your Plecostomus died within 5 days. Even though we have a Live Arrival Guarantee we still would like to hear from any customer that experiences a perished fish within a few days after acclimation. We typically look further into the behavior and appearance of the fish, tank parameters and tank mates to help pinpoint the cause. We prefer to work with our customers to ensure a positive outcome. If you are inclined to provide us with more information, you may contact us at 516.524.6423 or [email protected].
We thank you for your feedback and hope we hear from you on the details of the Pleco.
CP
chris P.
All the fish die within a week or 2 if…
All the fish die within a week or 2 if not they will die in a month
Response from The iFISH StoreSep 26, 2019
Hi Chris;
This doesn't sound good at all. When this happens, we like to work with the customer to understand more about the tank parameters, tankmates and the behavior/appearance of the fish upon receipt and after. You ordered a Rasbora, Pleco and Guppies and it's unusual to have 3 different species of fish die in such a short period of time. We'd really like to know more about the situation. We do like to work with our customers in prepping their tanks and maintaining a healthy tank once they acclimate their fish. We encourage all customers to communicate with us so we can avoid these experiences and ensure that there is a positive outcome. If you are so inclined and would like to provide more information on tank parameters, tankmates and the behavior/appearance of the fish, please email us at [email protected]. We'd be happy to help determine what exactly went wrong in this situation. Thank you for your feedback and we hope we hear from you!
RP
ralph P.
I wish I could get to this screen…
I wish I could get to this screen without selecting a star. I made an order and ten days later no fish. I emailed them twice while waiting for my fish and called on the tenth day. In the phone call I asked about my order and was told I will get new fish this weekend and I will send your order out. When I asked how do you do business like this, the person I talked to asked if I wanted my money back and I said yes. I got fish in four days from a competitor. ifish store is bad business.
