As our lives become increasingly busy and chaotic, online shopping has never been so desirable. However, we take a moment to highlight why visiting your local fish shop might still be the best option.
With just a few clicks, you can buy some new fish, a piece of equipment, or even some aquascaping decor, without leaving the house. Which is great, as it makes the hobby accessible to people that are less able to get out and about. Unsurprisingly, we believe that a hobby as great as fishkeeping should be available to everyone, so we fully support this.
However, there are still some major benefits to visiting your local fish shop (LFS) instead. We love nothing more than a weekend trip to a fish store, and we are here to tell you some of the benefits that we feel LFSs provide.
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Expert fishkeeping advice
Fishkeeping isn't always easy, fish can get sick, equipment can malfunction and you may need help fixing it. You can get that help through numerous avenues.
You can always send us your questions via [email protected]. Our team of experts are always ready to help through the Fishkeeping Answers section, but this isn't always the fastest way to get help. You can post on forums and social media, but again you rely on someone with the knowledge seeing it quickly enough. Plus, you need to be confident at checking sources and spotting advice that doesn't seem right.
Enter the local fish shop employee. They spend the majority of their lives looking after a huge number of aquariums. They have seen it all.
Every great shop will have great staff working there, helping their customers succeed in the hobby. And they will be more than happy to help you as well. This is something that is not normally available when shopping online and it is well worth travelling for.
They will be happy to demonstrate how to set up that filter, program an LED light unit, and they can suggest fish suitable for your water chemistry.
What they will not enjoy, is spending all that time going through it with you, only for you to order it online when you get home. Instead, speak with the store staff as they may be able to offer a price match. Either way, it is worth supporting the people that are there to help you, if you can.
Related article: Fishkeeping questions commonly asked in fish stores.
Get face to face with your new fish
When shopping for livestock, seeing your prospective new pet in person first is often best. You get to see the size, the quality, and the health of your new fish, shrimp, or coral before parting ways with your hard earned cash. We covered what to look for when buying new fish in the February 2026 issue of Practical Fishkeeping.
You can also often tell apart the genders of the fish, ensuring you get the right mix to reduce male aggression. Similarly, pairs may be forming in the sales tanks already. Meaning, for example, you can pick the two Apistogramma showing spawning behaviours, giving you a better chance of success.
Apistogramma female with fry Photo by Shutterstock.
Good staff will also ask questions to ensure your aquarium is suitable for the fish you have picked. Don't worry, they do this to everyone and it is just because they care deeply about their livestock's wellbeing. Plus, it gives you peace of mind knowing that your new additions won't start a war in your community tank.
Buying fish online often lacks many of these positives. You often only see a stock image of the species you are buying. Plus, you may not even be able to speak to the staff that care for the fish.
Good online sellers will engage in conversations with you about the fish. They will often happily send videos and photos of the fish in their tanks, too. Plus, you get more choice of specialist or rare fish online. So, it certainly has its place in the hobby as well.
Top Tip
Look out for an Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association (OATA) sign in stores. Members of OATA sign up to a Code of Conduct which sets the standards of how they must look after their fish.
Other perks of local fish shops
Immediate spare parts - Many stores will have a handful of spares for the products they sell. This means if your filter's impeller shaft breaks during a clean you can get a replacement the same day. No waiting around for delivery. This is the same for replacement equipment, for example, replacing a glass heater that has smashed.
No minimum orders or delivery charges - This is fairly self explanatory. You don't end up £2 below the minimum spend for free delivery and have to make unnecessary purchases to bulk out the order. What you need, is what you buy. That is unless their wonderful livestock offering or new live food delivery tempts you into additional purchases.
Water testing - Many shops offer a water test service. They may charge a small fee for it, but they will test your aquarium's water and offer advice based on the results. While we believe every fishkeeper should have a test kit of their own, this can help you learn to interpret the results.
Customer orders - As fans of more obscure fish, we don't often see the species we want in stores. However, many shops will have a list of customer requests behind the till ready for their next livestock order. This can be a great way to get certain species that you cannot find. Our editor, Alex, sourced his Borneo redline halfbeaks in this way.
Community - Fishkeeping can be a lonely hobby. It keeps us in the confines of our home all too often. But, visiting your local shop allows you to meet like minded people, whether that is the staff or other customers. Plenty of friendships start in this way, and in the era of social media, it is nice to have a proper local community around your hobby.
Support the shops to inspire the next generation
Our local stores are a place full of inspiration. Their store displays and racks of tanks housing wonderful fish help to inspire everyone. People love to visit fish shops, they are kind of like free aquariums. The more they visit, the closer they get to buying a tank themselves.
But it is not just inspiring for people who currently don't have fish tanks at home. Freshwater keepers slowly become inspired to try a marine aquarium. Community aquarists fall in love with aquascaping, or maybe biotope aquariums. A good LFS inspires new ideas in all of us.
Without this source of inspiration, where would the hobby be? Well, less people would probably keep fish. This could mean the industry would slow down and the improvements we see in technology, species choice and husbandry practice may plateau.
These "brick and mortar" stores have all been there to support each of us, and they need us to support them too.
If you run a fish store, contact us on 07350 360313 to discuss ways in which we can support your business.
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