Apex Aquariums

Healthy fish at great prices ! Picked up a discus. Great customers service as well. Shared pictures of our tanks. Had a nice experience and will be coming back.

This is a fish store and not the aquarium of the pacific. It is dated but they have what other fish stores don’t have usually and at the best prices always. Healthy selection of fish from different sizes both fresh and saltwater. The owner and Eric have always helped me. They are very knowledgeable but not very talkative :-) They know their stuff and will answer any question; they will not guess the answer.
Great selection of beta fish too!
Aquarium, fish food and supplies are also at bargain prices.
Nice little koi pool, kids love to feed. It is $ 1 per cup but usually it is on the house.
Plenty of parking in the back and they always carry my 5 gallon jug to my car for me!

I love this mom and pop store. My kids love to feed the koi. Yes no A/​C, but fish tanks need to be warm. Yes staff not Disneyland friendly but they’re very knowledgeable. Bought many fish there. All have thrived. Been going there since I was a kid. Prices are great. Lots of variety. Go yourself and form your opinion, not from someone who had a bad day.

One of two major fish stores in culver city. A few parking spots in the back behind the building, or you can park on the metered street. They sell fresh and salt water fish and accessories. They re did their salt water filtration system last year, but the tanks still lol like they need a lot of cleaning. No a/​c when you walk in, so it’s a little warm and humid during the summer. Not a great variety, but their prices seem reasonable, less than their competitor. You can also feed the koi fish for a dollar. They also have some fish tanks, but hardly any stands or canopies. Looks a little messy when you look at the accessory section. Could use some shelving and some price tags to make it look like a store, rather than just a mama papa store that puts it on the back burner for later.

Been coming here10 + years This place is awesome, there prices beat everywhere els I’ve been. huge selection of tank décor, my kids love feeding the koi and I’ve had good luck with all the fish I’ve bought because of helpful advice from the guys that work there.

i’ve had a series of good experiences here. there is a very indy vibe, which i like and miss from back in the day. one afternoon they were eating lunch and blasting heavy metal, not music i usually listen to, but as i browsed the displays of fish, i noticed how lively the fish all were, and it did seem like they were moving in sync with the rhythm somewhat – this was delightful to see & lifted my lazy, late afternoon energy as well.
the guys who work here/​owners? have to suffer a lot of fools like me, who know nothing about aquariums and are going to make a lot of bonehead mistakes and then turn around and blame them. each time i go in i ask about a million questions which they must get asked an awful lot. they are patient and answer all questions very well, and i am grateful.
one of them sold me a beautiful piece of driftwood out of one of the tanks which i really love. it is the centerpiece of my aquarium and really a work of art. even though i paid for it, i feel it was a gift, because he picked it out, literally, out of a giant tank, and sold it to me, all dripping wet and covered in delicious fish slime.
i love this place. they could have sold me a bunch of stuff i didn’t need, because i don’t know what i’m doing, but they told me several times, ‘no, you don’t need that. no you don’t need that. just do this instead – helpful tip, helpful tip, helpful tip.‘
in keeping with the indy vibe, they are not long on small talk, or even smiles sometimes, but they know their stuff, and i’m really glad they are there and thank god not petco.

I’ve been here a couple times already and I cant stop coming back! :) Every time I go in they have a different variety of fish (going twice a week). This is the only place in culver city that has an array of fish that actually stand out. The workers are more than helpful and greet you with a «hey, whats up man, anything I can help you with?» And of course I say no because I just walked in lol. But, they do check on you and if they see confusion in your face they ask you again which is awesome. Of course, in any fish store, the saltwater fish stand out more than the freshwater fish. SO, I’m always so intrigued at how much character the saltwater fish have and how well kept they are. The freshwater fish are well cared for as well but lack character, is it the salt? lol There is an asian lady and older white lady who work the registers who are super nice! :) The guys that work there are beyond old school and trust me when I say that these guys are VERY knowledgeable. If these guys seem «un-​interested» or «laid-​back» its because theyve been doing this for years and what may seem to you as an emergency is just something regular they deal with on a daily basis; thus, they’re going to give you a seemingly «un-​interested» answer. These guys helped me save my 150 gallon from parasite infestation and my $ 20 invest in medicine saved me in what could have been $ 200 in losses from fish and plant death.

Customer service is above & beyond! We came here to check out the fish and the guys here made our experience nearly magical. My daughters loved feeding the koi! Of course all of the fish were an attraction to two littles but going home with a fish made my daughters day! We took home a beautiful betta with great coloring and energy! I will definitely be coming back here for all of our aquatic needs!

Went again. Needed red ear slider turtles to complete an in home pond. Eric was amazing. So helpful and friendly. Prices were fair. Didn’t even have to haggle over five or ten dollars difference. Bought some Lilly pads and some rocks. Very happy. #allnight

awesome fish store. really good prices on corals and aquariums and super helpful staff as long as you have a small idea as to what you need. great live rock and live sand with even better prices. i bought the best carpet anemone for a great price there who has now trippled in size and is one of my healthiest tank mates.

You don’t go to APEX for advice. You go there to buy TROPICAL or EXOTIC GOLDFISH at a MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE PRICES than most other local tropical fish stores (get your advice from other stores). They have the lowest exotic goldfish prices in town – perhaps 30−40% less on average than any other stores in the greater L.A. area.
Since these days virtually all exotic goldfish are shipped from suppliers in mainland China (by cargo jet), for that reason whether you buy a goldfish here or at Oranda Aquarium on La Brea is pretty much the same – except for the money you save you can afford to spend it on either more fish or something else for your tank.
Apex may be no frills in terms of store tank décor, but at least they keep their tanks cleaner than many other fish stores (and I have lived in L.A. for years and been all over town). They are the only local L.A. area fish store that will also consider taking healthy fish from owners that you need to find a home for (if a fish doesn’t get along with other fish in your tank, etc.).
So I recommend them overall. Help is attentive, but not overly friendly which is fine with me.

I usually go here with my daughter to get fish, especially since she loves feeding the koi in the pond. There are some people who work here that seem very knowledgeable, and it’s usually a good experience.
Recently I went in and bought three new fish for our existing, established fresh water tank. Of the three fish, two are doing great, but the third one died within 48 hours.
Obviously he was already sick. There’s no problem with the other 2 fish, or the other fish already in my tank.
I called them to see if they had any sort of guarantee, or credit they could give me, seeing as though I just paid them full price for a (now) dead fish, and I said they could test my water if they wanted, so they would know it wasn’t «user error». But they said they don’t have any guarantees or returns or credit on any fish. Period.
Great. Well I sure won’t be coming back to buy fish from Apex… I don’t want to risk spending my money on fish that could be dead within a couple days.
At least at Petco and Petsmart they’ll replace the sick/​dead fish they’ve sold me…

Stay away!!! They sold me a $ 20 cichlid that was infected with ick and would not tell me how to treat it over the phone. The old lady in the front (she would not tell me her name) yelled at me saying that they can’t disclose that information over the phone. She was extremely rude and is obviously not familiar with anything fish related. Ended up calling the Aquarium (name of the store) down the block and was taught me how to do a salt dip even though I was not (I am now!) a customer. Never again will I go back!!! At least now I know about the Aquarium on Sepulveda!!!

I’ve been going to Apex for over 9 yrs. they may not remember me.
So today: I pulled into Apex. I thought it would be nice to go with my Dad, while I picked out fish like when I was a child. I’m 39 now and it’s one of our things to do. He loves aquariums this was my purchase, my mission, I invited my father and opted to drive his car oh, since he is 83. The type of car is irrelevant until the end of this complaint.
ERIC helped me since we spoke on the phone earlier. Of course, I asked, «Is that the best price you can do?» He gave me few bucks off and I was grateful. (It was an impulse buy anyways I won’t have much after rent and bills, taxes ehh .) I really was not sure which one I wanted so we left. .Parked in the back lot and from their back screen door… I clearly hear, «Oh wow, she wants a $ 10 discount and driving an AMG Mercedes?»
Damn right, I called him out and confronted him. First he denied it, then he offered me more discount, then he blamed another employee, then admitted he said it and offered me more of a discount .
First, yes I look young, second don’t assume anything ERIC. What a rude, judgmental, spiteful way to think and behave in life. My father has worked hard all his life and at 83 he deserves it.
My fathers car has NOTHING to do with MY purchase, my life PERIOD.
Honestly, I teared up. My feelings were hurt, they really were. To be judged for someone’s success or being judged by association is wrong and disrespecting an elder is wrong.
I did not choose to be born. You too can have the AMG whatever guess you should’ve pushed harder at 16
Like he did.
You don’t know, my own financial status and you thought I was rich Daddy’s girl? ONE THAT IS SELF SUFFICIENT AND PROBABLY AS OLD AS YOU and owes 65k in student loans like everyone else and drive an 30 yr old truck.
When all I wanted was a nice outing with my father and some damn goldfish.
I’m not sure I want to return ever again.
Shame on you ERIC. I hope you see the world differently from now on.

My review will only be about the hardware we purchased; not fish or plants.
After research, we decided to give Apex a try since we needed a new canister filter and air pump. Eric was very knowledgeable about the items we wanted and did not try to sell us what we did not need. Because the original filter we wanted did not have everything in the box, he gave us a discount on another filter. Of course the air filter we wanted was about $ 90 bucks and he suggested the less pricey tetra that is working great in our 110 gallon tank.
The place is dark, but it looked like they are remodeling.

Think of this as a fish store run by your friendly IT department. So basically a staff that is 50% asshole and 50% undiagnosed autism.
F–

Apex gets 5 D’s: Dirty. Dingy. Dark. Dilapidated. Depressing. Dramatic.
Apex was my glorified aquarium store… You know the AMAZING pet store every child wishes they could live in. Well, I went for the first time as an adult – what a disappointment. Instead of «Oohing and Awing» there was a scratch in the Beach Boys record that was playing over the speaker system. (Really? Seriously? Beach Boys?!) It was especially disappointing since I had talked it up to my boyfriend as this amazing fish store (of course I added the bit about it being in Deuce).
Despite our initial discontent we perused. We started with the 2 empty rows of tanks. Some are filled some are empty. Some have trash. Some have merchandise that’s long been dead, but still in the package nonetheless. The senior silver haired gentleman, which I believe might be the owner, was hardly of any help. It felt like we were interrupting his gazing out of the window when we tried to make conversation about our fish tank experience thus far. He wasn’t having it. There might as well been a sign on the counter that said, «Hurry up and buy/​bye!»
Being the shopaholics that we are, we bought some celestials and the happiest looking oranda. We took extra precaution to make sure their water was PERFECT so I could gauge the quality of the fish. The celestials died about 2 days later. They just couldn’t endure planet earth anymore (I’d drown myself too if I had to endure Apex). The oranda is doing much better – amazing what a clean tank will do.
I didn’t think I’d be returning to this place anytime soon, but the BF is slightly obsessed with fish now so he wanted to return to see their new shipment. Supposedly they get shipments every Tuesday with new varieties of fish – that was a bunch of BS.
On our 2^nd trip we noticed one tank had 3 larger clown fish that were clearly bullying a much smaller clown fish. They would grab it by the fins and thrash him. We figured we’d say something to Olde Trout Face behind the counter. Again, we must’ve been interrupting his traffic gazing because he said he’d check it in 10 minutes. We stood by the tank for about 15 mins and Trouty was busy doing a whole lotta not givin’ a damn. So, we went to ask the younger guy whom they have painting the darkest corner of the shop instead of tending to customers for some assistance.
We explained what was going on and asked if they care when fish are attacking each other or if they just let them fight to the death. As he sauntered over with the urgency of a rock he replied, «Well, it depends…» Depends?! On what?! The alignment of the stars?! At this point we are beside ourselves and ready to go, but before walking out I tapped on the tank to scare away the clown gang one last time. Well, big mistake. Tweedledum jumped down my throat and scolded me. «Don’t tap on the tank! There is no reason to tap on the tank!» It wasn’t until then that he grabbed a net and swooped the fish out of the tank. Maybe I should’ve been swinging fish around by their fins and that would’ve been ok. Ya know? Like just sometimes. Depending…
He should know best though… I know I shouldn’t question a professional young man’s judgment. Especially a young man with 9 fish tanks in his home. (Kinda creepy dude. You’re home must smell oh so fresh and oh so clean).
Don’t bother with this place. Go to Medusa’s at 12 003 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90 064. It’s got a great selection of fish and reptiles, knowledgeable and friendly staff, CLEAN, modern and updated.
There’s also The Aquarium at 5403 Sepulveda Blvd. Culver City, CA 90 230.
What agency has jurisdiction over pet shops?

Oh Hollywood. How you hype up a store into thinking it might be… only to get your hopes let down.
If you’ve seen Deuce Biggalow, you are already familiar with Apex. It’s the store prominently featured throughout the movie. It… left a lot less shiny to it when I finally went there though.
I used to frequent the coffee shop next door often when I lived in the area once upon a long time ago. I would find myself in Tanners tempted to go next door but held back thinking that I would be doomed if I dared enter Apex’s doors.
I was wrong.
When you first enter, there is a giant in store koi pond filled with kois big enough to potentially eat any small child should you want to drop a baby off or something. I would strongly advice watching your kids as if you are not careful, one could only guess if they also could be eaten.
(Note at the time of this review no children were eaten by the koi… that I know of)
The next thing you see is a big sign that says «No refunds.» This made me go through the store with an extra amount of caution… but perhaps not enough.
(That comes later in the story…)
The rows of massive tanks filled with colorful fish are enough to make anyone smile. From the beginning acquarist to the kids to maybe an old lady (if she wasn’t eaten by the koi). There are many unusual looking fellows there as well as massive ones. I’m not without certainty one of these other fish could potentially eat a child if so tempted kind of massive…
However since I saw the «no refunds» sign and really didn’t see much in the ways of potential «mid» to «starter» type fish (although I did realize here that guppies can be in tanks with betas). The tanks they had ranged in price and size but were all. dusty. The big tanks with the fish themselves were nothing special either aside from the fish and tanks were not labeled with prices nor descriptions of what was inside. It was a bit «Rodeo Drive» with its «if you have to ask, you can’t afford it» ambiance. minus that whole being dazzled thing.
I ended up getting their second cheapest tank there which was more like something used for hamsters or rats than fish. Nonetheless it would be an upgrade from the empty kimchi jar my beta had been living in (hey it’s bigger than a lot of those normal fishbowls so don’t go fast into knocking it and betas live in puddles) by a lot so I thought it would be a good little upgrade. Almost got some guppies to go in there as, at a gallon sized tank that’s a lot of room for one beta. Catfish were tempting too. They also had freshwater crabs. Considering going back purely for those but not sure if the rest of the experience is worth the jump.
Gravel for a buck? Sure! Little red plastic tree for $ 2? Ok why not.
Totalled only at $ 11.
As this tank was a little big for said beta like I said, I decided to jump over to the nearby Petco as well just to see and potentially get a bigger tank for some tropical (but not gold) fish…
What I immediately found was that I spent too much and the tank was poorer in quality than even the cheapest varieties at that store… and I couldn’t go and get my money back. Lame. I ended up buying another tank over there (and more betas as they had a tank there with a divider) and thought that I’d just either get some catfish or crabs to go in the cheapzo tank and/​or give it to my oldest son.
The tank, instead, sat on my bathroom counter unused as the one from Petco just was. fantastic and simple and. clean.
However yesterday I decided to put another beta I’d bought in there (alone) to vary it up a bit. I found that matching tree colors with the betas is something they seem to enjoy as they can hide in them to play and the beta logs are a bit expensive for us poor folk.
Immediately when I poured water to rinse the tank, the gravel was soooo filthy that the water was brown. I dumped the gravel out and cleaned the tank and rocks but the water, even now clean and treated still looks a bit dull. My brightly colored red beta barely even pops in that tank and neither he, nor the t-​rex I put in there seems to be helping this tank look like it has. half as much of life as its cheaper counter-​part. (Both are sitting on the bathroom counter)
As for the idea about the crabs– I was told from various friends that due to the cheap plastic lid, I should probably refrain from getting them as they could easily escape a tank like that and, with an infant on the way, waking up with a crab missing does NOT sound like something I’d really want to deal with.
Two stars for the experience. only really boosted up due to the koi pond inside (half star up), the movie reference (another part of a half star really), and the close proximity to my favorite coffee shop in Culver.
…just go to Petco or maybe another one of the other aquarium stores in the area. I’m now seeing, in hindsight that there are a few of them. even if you’re just wanting freshwater fish like I get.

Apex Aquarium has a good selection of Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Fish.
The were running a special on small Labidochromis Caeruleus, the Electric Yellow African Cichlid, 4 for $ 10. I bought 8, but when I got home, I only had 7 in the bag (and they were too small to eat each other, so I know that’s not the case), so I do take ownership and responsibility in part for not counting ‘em before I left the store, so I basically got 7 for $ 20.
I’ll update this review in 21 days if there’s any issues with the health of the fish, but they look hearty and are supposed to be sturdy fish. I’ve bought fish from here before and they’ve all gone through their natural survival of the fittest life cycle in my tanks (usually my tanks become somewhat of an aquatic ghetto where I overcrowd the tank and put aggressive fish)
Overall the service is good, the prices are good, and the selection is good. It’s not the most elegant of fish stores, but does the job for the area, since I only know of about 5 freshwater fish stores (not including Petco or Petsmart) in the areas around the Westside to South Bay, and they are: APEX on Sepulveda (Culver City); South Bay Aquarium on Redondo Beach Blvd (Gardena),; The Aquarium on Sepulveda (Culver City); Allan’s Aquarium on Lincoln (Venice); and Jim’s Exotic Fish on N. Sepulveda (El Segundo). So, usually I go on a fish run to all of the stores, but always make sure I check out APEX since each store has different prices and selection.
The store has a small parking lot in the back, but it’s somewhat challenging to move in and out of, so as an easy alternative, if it’s filled up or you don’t want to deal with navigating in the lot, there is metered parking, but the best option are the free parallel parking spaces in the neighboring residential area which is plentiful (always read the signs ‘tho).

Even with four roommates our apartment seemed to be lacking a little life. So I’m thinking, let’s get a hedgehog!!! But CP says no. I guess we need something more low maintenance. Fish for the win!
I drive by this store regularly and figured it was as good as anything and probably better than a Petco/​smart. It’s very dim and dingy and a little wet inside but I didn’t go there for ambiance. There were tons of fish in many different varieties. I wanted to take them all home and love them! I would name them squishy and they would be mine.
The man there was able to narrow down our options. I told him we wanted two fish in a bowl. He said, goldfish. I said nothing else? He said no. Well that sort of stinks but I’m glad he was honest. We can’t afford a whole set up so he grabbed us a bowl, threw some complimentary blue rocks in the bottom and let us pick out our fish.
Fish man says, «point one out, I never miss.» And what a catch phrase that is. We picked our two little cuties out. I chose a sweet spotted, colorful fish and named him Derp. CP has a smaller, black, bug-​eyed fishy named Herp. We put a little plant in their bowl. Fish man gave us some food and some water conditioner since our LA water is so chlorinated. All for about $ 20.
Herp and Derp are having a great time. And we love them tremendously. Apex, though a little poorly maintained, was very well stocked and helpful. I’m a fan.