Elmer's Aquarium

Elmer's is one of the few independent pet shops/aquariums still surviving amid the chain stores. There has to be a reason for their success. They have all the usual pet and aquarium supplies and the assortment of tropical fish is what brings me here. Fish are healthy, staff is plentiful and knowledgeable, it's a bit pricey but, to me, worth it for what they provide. They are willing to take special orders if you need anything that is not in stock!

I absolutely love ts place the fish are amazing the staff super friendly and helpful. My fiance and I started with 1 tank we are now running 3 tanks hoping for a 3rd probably wouldn't be if we didn't get advice from the employees here we tried other stores and decided we sticking with Elmer's the tanks there are clean the fish happy for being beginners we have only lost 1 fish and that's awesome would have been worse if we didn't get the advice we needed so I recommend Elmer's over any other place

The absolute best pet store around. So much selection and they really know their stuff

I practically live here. I love this place. Every employee always treats me so nicely. Everyone here is always so helpful and knowledgeable. I have been shopping here for a long and don't plan to stop any time soon. I know I can always trust their advice when it comes to the health and well being of my fish. It's been a long a time since I've lost a newly purchased fish from them.

I do quarantine and treat everything I buy but I would do the same if I purchased elsewhere as well. I have a high survival rate with Elmer's fish. They helped me with everything I needed to start breeding fish and have really good success with their help. Elmers will always be a second home to me and will always have my support. I would not be where I'm at in this hobby without the help of this store and their knowledgeable employees.

Awesome fish store. There's all kinds of fish here. Very knowledgeable staff and they are willing to help you out. They have a ticket system, which means that you may have to wait your turn if you want to pick out any animals. They have an amazing selection of exotic fish. Great place for a beginner to go shopping for fish and equipment. Prices are very reasonable as well. Highly recommend!

Best place to buy fish! The owners Gary and Karen are the nicest people! So friendly, easy to speak with! They know your name when you walk in! You can't beat this type of retail hospitality! I recommend anyone to go here for all of there freshwater/saltwater needs!

My husband and I had a fantastic experience at Elmers! I decided I wanted to own a medium sized tank, but was a bit overwhelmed. Kylie assisted us from start to finish and was a huge help! She was patient, knowledgeable, and gave genuine advice. An aquarium lover herself, and the owner of several large tanks, we really felt we could trust her advice.

We wound up with a 30 gallon tank and tank stand. We took it home to let it cycle for a few days and returned to select our first few fish. Again Kylie was very patient while I spent quite a bit of time asking questions and making my selections. I wanted to ensure the fish would be compatible. Happy to report the first three fish (2 South American Chiclids and a Tiger Barb) are doing great! We will be back in a few weeks to select a few more once the tank has had a chance to do it's thing. 5 stars and totally recommend!

What a lovely store! All of the tanks were so clean and the fish all looked very healthy. We went for plants and they had an amazing selection. We'll be back when we have cycled our tank for the fish. For fresh water they had plenty of betta, various goldfish, the cutest little gobies, and my favorite, the dwarf puffers. They were very helpful too, checking in to make sure I was getting helped and if I had any questions. Really nice people.

Elmer's Aquarium is a special place full of caring people and beautiful aquatic life. The employees are genuine, patient, and knowledgable. The management is humble. This place is way better than Petco or Pet Smart any day. These corporations do not offer the quality or varieties of food, tank care, or aquatic species like Elmer's Aquarium. But the employees make it even more special.

As an amateur fishkeeper, I bombard these people with questions & I must annoy them to the fullest extent, but they bever show it. They are always happy to help. This is classic small business done right. I really love this store & the people in it. Everything in my betta sorority tank is from this store. Even the idea for this tank came from one of their show aquariums. I learn something new every time that I go.

We have bought all of our fish, fish tanks, stands and equipment here. We come here for anything we need for our fish tanks. The staff is very knowledgeable and eager to help! Great family owned business!

Every time my tanks need something, I'm so grateful I live close to Elmer's. They have helped me troubleshoot problems and provided only excellent quality livestock. Great store with knowledgeable staff who remain professional and courteous even when they are (frequently) very busy. The shrimp/betta tank in my photo was purchased, scaped, and stocked entirely via Elmer's; the plants and animals are healthy, happy, and beautiful! I love this store!

I love going here, great live stock, lots of plants, and decent selection of equipment. There are many seasoned employees and are very helpful, the employees are friendly and I go here for anything fish!

Was at elmers for my second time today bought a few items for an upcoming saltwater marine tank. talked to one associate there who seemed very knowledgeable about setup for a new tank and helped me gear me towards better options. Not sure of his name a young kid with gaged ears talked to me about setups he has personally tired that he had trouble with and offered helpful tips.

Will definitely be going back only reason for not five stars no one asked if we needed help at first and wasn't sure who to ask for help. I blame this on my friends kids being very vocal about the fish and they probably assumed we were just there to look at the tanks.

Elmer's has a great selection of live fish and plants! It's not Pittsburgh's Aquaworld, but they do get some really rare and special creatures! If you're in the area, it's a can't miss for aquarium goods.

Good reputation. Recommended by person who started cleaning out fish tank. Heard they did military discount. Only for active but not retired with 28 years of service. Not too many bases near Pittsburgh.not too many discounts

They are always helpful when i go in with my list of questions about saltwater tanks. They got my tank from horrible to thriving. I have so much more knowledge because of them. And my fish look great now. I wish the store and tanks looked a little better but i know the store is old so i dont really mind. I will recommend thus to all of my friends and family and will definitely be back.

The best place to go for aquarium supplies. Not only is the staff knowledgeable, but they are great about explaining everything you need to know about using the equipment. They are locally owned and have been around a long time. You are welcome to bring pets into the store. A fun place to visit.

One of the best places for your pet needs not overly expensive staff very educated and friendly

Elmers that's where I first learned about salt water aquariums I work there for the summer and learn so much about how to take care of fish and what to do with fish if you're ever going to buy a saltwater aquarium you have to go to Elmers there's no other place that has the experience and knowledge

I have been going to Elmer's for almost 50 years. It's still probably the best place in Pittsburgh to find knowledgeable help. The staff does turn over, and I have had a very few issues in the past with livestock, but that is the exception. 98% of the time the service is good and the staff is competent, which is far more than I can say about any franchise pet store.

Read the negative reviews with a grain of salt. Raising fish does require knowledge and care. I would question the knowledge of any customer buying cheap fish for a little tank. The livestock is generally among the best.

Elmers was originally an oasis to me. There are not enough saltwater live fish stores around; however, after my first trip there will never be another. The sold me a red fromia starfish unacclimated to their store as well as a fire tail blenny and two corals. The starfish seemed fine for two or three days.mind you I am extremely conscious of my tank perimeters.on day four the star began canibilizng itself.

This caused a chain reaction of death that resulted in all the purchases from elmers dying. Funny thing is all my other tank inhabitants purchased from other various stores survived miraculously i did lose a hammer coral and brittle star. All in all their fish are crap go elsewhere.

Why you should not go here? * Floor is always wet * Tanks look dirty * Unhealthy fish! (see details below) * Associates don't seem to know very much when asked questions about species What did we purchase? * 2 mollies, 3 silvertips, 1 tiger barb * Guess how many died? ALL but ONE! - 1 slivertip when we got home noticed had pink spots and died the next day.

Then the mollies died a couple of days later, then a day later the other 2 sliver tips died. And while this was going on our existing healthy fish (which came from Wet Pets) started getting sick w/ Ich! All due to introducing these sick fish from Elmers into our tank Originally we wanted to go to Elmers because of the variety and slightly lower prices.

But no more! Never coming back and risking introducing unhealthy fish into our tank. Recommend you all visit Wet Pets (Peters Township) - far drive from Monroeville, but who wants to pay for dead fish?

By far the worst place I have been regarding aquatics supplies. They have a lavish assortment to meet all of your needs, if anyone would ever help you. I had two employees make eye contact after standing around for ten minutes and then one just went to the front of the store and continued to ignore multiple customers as her tasks assigned must be more important.

I am disgusted at customer service here and I do not plan on returning. I am a charge nurse for multiple local hospitals and I know what customer service is, and by no means are the employees even coming near an average rating. Complete disappointment and guess we will find another supply store.

My wife and I went to elmers to purchase a lamp for our ponds tetra pressure filter. We had the old lamp which has four prongs on it. We purchased the filter a year ago at elmers for approx $400. We were told the lamp with four prongs does not exist any more and they would give us a 10 percent credit on another unit with the new lamp style. We left and ordered the part on line. They are a scam and we will Never be back.

I have been going to Elmer's for a long time, lately they have been firing all the employees who knew about my saltwater tank. The last time I went in, I got some lady who has no idea what fish are reef safe and told me that my goby eats ich. Where do you people get your information! Never returning!

I love going here for our fish supplies. Everyone's so nice, helpful, and knowledgable. Everytime I visit, there's always quite a few other customers as well which tells me other people feel the same as I do! I would much rather support this store than a big chain like Petco & Petsmart.

If you are thinking about getting an aquarium or just need some new fish, Elmer's is the place to go. The best thing about Elmer's is the staff. They are very knowledgable about this hobby. If you are having problems with your setup, a staff member can usually solve it. The other great thing about Elmer's is their selection of fish.

You will find both freshwater and saltwater here. Much bigger selection than the chain stores. Although they sell small pets and supplies, their main focus is aquariums and fish. You may find some supplies cheaper at other stores but overall I think Elmer's is the best choice in this area for aquarium supplies.

When I lived in Pittsburgh I bought almost all of my aquarium supplies here. I love this place. I found it through other hobbyists who told me this was definitely the place to go. Their selection is awesome. I used to show up every Thursday just to window shop.