Thee Fish Bowl

Shiw: Shiw here, reviewing the Three (Thee?) Fish Bowl on Dempster! We come here to get stuff for our doggie, who is about 1 year old. We buy all of our dog food online, so we only come here to get accessories and stuff (chew toys, doggie boots, new collar, etc.). The selection here isn’t exactly huge, but it actually seems to have the basic stuff of what we’re looking for. Price-​wise nothing too fancy — decent quality for the prices charged. I will say though that while we’ve never bought an animal from here, it is an EXTREMELY fun place to just walk around and browse in — they have all sorts of cool animals on display from bunnies to ferrets to a giant 15-​year old tortoise, who our dog has a great time hanging out with =)

WOW, what the owner, Barb, should have said is, even *SICK* live animals sold by her store are not covered by their 7 day return policy. If you purchase an animal from this store and discover within 7 days of buying that the animal is sick, you will NOT be able to return it for a refund.
As in our case, the owner offered an exchange for another guinea pig that could also possibly have been sick, as all the guinea pigs at the time of our purchase where housed in the same pin. She also offered to cover vet treatment upfront over the phone, then gave us the run around after the animal had been treated at the vet and the vet’s bill had been tallied, by throwing in some crazy stipulation that some outlandish condition must be met before she’ll actually follow through on her offer to pay the vet.
And to be clear, the owner offered, over the phone, to have her vet look at the animal and take care of the cost herself BEFORE we arrived at the vet. It was only AFTER the vet’s exam had been completed, medicines had been prescribed, and the bill’s amount had been announced, that Barb, the owner, stipulated she’d only pay the bill IF we allowed her to take the animal we’d already paid for back to her store (where it had originally gotten sick) and let her keep it there for the FULL course of its treatment which would be *at least* 4 weeks.
–The woman also refused our reasonable offer to state in writing that we would not seek out further payment from her for any possible follow up treatments in future, if she’d pay the initial visit as she had freely offered to do during our first communication over the phone. I told her I had no idea if she would try to charge us additional money for the animal’s care while it stayed at her store during treatment, so I did not feel comfortable allowing her to take the guinea pig back to her store, where again, it originally got sick. Our perfectly reasonable offer would have ended the matter that very same day instead of drawing it out for weeks, but she adamantly turned it down which made me feel even more the owner was not on the up and up.
–Furthermore, the owner would not refund our original $ 41 payment for the purchase of an unbeknownst to us sick guinea pig from her store, even though we ended up paying the vet bill ourselves.
The store owner claims below that she tried to resolve the problem and that she cares about the animal’s well being, but in actuality, she sold a sick guinea pig to us then gave us the run around when contacted. And how she can say she felt «threatened and bullied» when she’s ripping off customers by selling sick animals and not seriously trying to rectify this problem and does not allow a refund, is absolutely mind boggling. By her own admission below, her 7 day refund policy DOES NOT cover sick animals sold at her store (a policy that was not at all stated when we purchased the animal, by the way).
So again, I definitely would NOT recommend this store. Thee Fish Bowl is tainted!

They really know fish. Great at what combinations will work and what won’t.
They handle all their small animals, so the animals are kind and used to handling. All our gerbils and hamsters have come from there over the years. It’s really nice for my daughter to have gerbils that don’t bite.

Thee Fish Bowl has been one of our favorite Evanston places for the last twenty years. We love the helpful staff, the care they take for the animals, and the whole «vibe» of the place which is personal, helpful and unceasingly caring. If you are a parent who wants their child to have an experience of small animals, Thee Fish Bowl is a wonderful place… not only to purchase a small critter (fish, reptile, bunny, or other small critters), but a place which will always be interested in their pet and their overall relationship with critters and creatures.

Terrible business practices!
I had purchased a bag of cat food earlier this month and had to return the unopened bag, however I didn’t have the original receipt and brought my credit card statement with the purchase. I was hoping to either get a refund or a store credit. I was told by the manager that the state mandates that food items cannot be returned without its original receipt, but offered to donate the unopened bag of food to a shelter. Admittedly, I was annoyed and just said to donate the food and I left. About halfway down the block, I decided to go back and get the food and donate it to the rescue group I am affiliated with. I went back to the store and asked for my bag of food, and to my surprise, I saw the manager grab the bag of food off the sales shelf. I am appalled that they would try and resell the bag when I was told the food was going to the shelter. I am disgusted with their business practice and will never do business with them again, nor will I suggest to anyone to go there.

I absolutely love this pet store and I have for many years. I remember coming here when I was a college student and it was one of the few places I could just relax. It really has the vibe of a local gem… They always have a really interesting selection of reptiles, in the past I’ve even seen a panther chameleon, and as of late they have a massive turtle roaming the store with their cats. I love to come and look at the animals. Great bagel sandwich shop across the street.

Excellent experience in purchasing my daughter a rabbit. The owner took a great deal of time to explain the responsibility involved and even got her to do her homework! Greta environment! Will definitely be a repeat customer!

After a particularly rough week, I stopped in to this shop to look at animals (because when has gazing lovingly at a bunny not cheered you up??). I ended up leaving with a betta fish, thanks to two very kind and knowledgable gals who were working on Saturday. They took the time to explain how to care for my new friend, Seymour, and then gave me tips on how to spoil him (who knew you could spoil a fish??). Seymour and I have been adjusting to one another for a day now, and I have thankfully not killed him (always a plus!). Once I get a handle on taking care of this guy (who is much more high maintenance than I remember my goldfish being as a child), I might get brave and go back for a second! I loved hanging out with the cats and the tortoise, who was growling and grunting as I meandered past his warm spot. I left very happy!

I love this little pet store. I honestly make excuses to visit even if I don’t actually need anything. While I have never bought a pet here, Thee Fish Bowl is my go to place for finding my hamster food, bedding, and even a new house after she ate her first one. I have always received good customer service and the staff have been very knowledgeable when I have asked about various animals or products.
And the best part… the pets of the store! There is a giant tortoise and two sleepy cats that roam free. The giant rabbits they sell are also very unusual and fun.

I used to hate this place because they sold puppy mill puppies. Since they stopped, I thought I would try it again. One day I had awesome service from someone who was very knowledgeable. Since then no one knows anything, even the owner is unhelpful. The past half dozen times I have been in there they are out of the product I need. They sold my mom dog food instead of cat food. They promised to order certain products and then never did. I’m though with them. It is the biggest waste of time ever. I will go to Jameson Loves Danger in Andersonville instead where they actually care about service.

This is a very special place. Not only for it’s local, small town charm, but for the completely unique experience offered here. This place loves animals. They have a large tortoise, occasionally with painted nails, that freely walks around the store. A parrot sits on a perch near the register. A very LARGE bunny also roams freely. A small pen has guinea pigs running around that you can pet (if you can catch them!). Their corner window is home to up to 6 lizards that you are dared to try and find in their window habitat (I never count them all). The staff seems quite knowledgable, and has been helpful to me in the past. Bring kids here. They will love it. Mine do, and we’ve been coming here for years. While they don’t have the inventory of your superstore pet supply house, they have much of what you will likely need.

To be honest, I don’t really purchase anything here. We come just to visit and see the cute critters they have that you can pet. They have a Flemish Giant Rabbit that probably weighs 25 pounds at least, and a giant tortoise with painted claws! They sometimes have some friendly cats lounging around. They have lots of toys and supplies, but the prices do not seem that competitive. I am glad that they started adopting cats and dogs rather then selling from breeders. If you are having trouble finding the right pet to adopt, stop by here and maybe you’ll find one – it doesn’t hurt to try. Otherwise, this place is kind of fun just to visit because it has a very friendly-​part-​of-​the-​neighborhood feel to it.

This is clearly not a pet store for dog and cat lovers like me. This is an old school bug, fish and reptile warehouse that is smelly and dirty like those stores always are. There is one shelf of puppy poop bags, and I don’t even know what else, for dogs and cats. Otherwise, the two rooms of the store are full of fish, turtles, and aquarium accessories.
The silver lining of visiting this store was the GIANT bunny and turtle walking around. Very cute, but … makes the floor icky. :(

Very possibly the most amazing pet store on the planet complete with giant hare and tortoise. Staff know exhaustive amount about all things pet related & are super friendly.

Only good in a pinch!
I would like to say there are so many pets available for adoption at shelters and rescues. Even exotics. And I’ve only ever adopted I don’t really see why people would purchase one at a store.
This store is pretty cramped and disorganized and the prices on food ad merchandise is not that competitive. Bad customer service. The kids are goofing around and talking to each other. The older lady who works there is so rude. One day I asked her for a bag for the food and fluff to carry home and she me a look like I just took a crap in her punch bowl then told me they were out.
What kind store runs out of bags? I really wish the employees were personable and informed since pet owners typically have questions and besides, what shopper wants attitude and apathy?
This store is only good if you run out out of food or litter and need it ASAP for your animal pal.

Kudos for selling rescues.
Any chance you could sell rescue bunnies fom Red Door Shelter??? That’d be utterly awesome of you.

Just. Awful.
Bought a rabbit here that turned out to have the snuffles. Sounds cute? It isn’t; it’s life-​threatening and highly contagious (I was worried it infected my other rabbit, but thankfully it did not). A store should not sell unhealthy animals, imho.
Watch out for these guys – and their other company, Pet Watchers.

I have read the previous negative posts about this business and most seem to deal with purchase/​adoption of kittens and puppies. My first response to that is anytime you are getting a rescue animal, there is the potential for serious health problems. When we adopted our first dog in a line of 6 from anti cruelty 20 years ago, she was diagnosed with heart worm, 4 days after we brought her home. Instead of complaining, my family and I decided her surgery was more important and after a long recovery she lived for 19 years! The point is shit happens, when getting an animal you are bringing that creature into your family and you need to be prepared for the unexpected…
My most recent visit was wonderful. The store is always busy and most times you have to wait for service. The employees are not rude, they give as much time as needed to each customer. After waiting 20 min for help, my guy gave me 30 min, in the fish department. Excellent advice and ideas! A hell of a lot better service than Petco. I would recommend this shop.

This is a little cute pet shop in Evanston. They have a variety of goods for fish, turtles, birds, cats and dogs. I found here some very cool peanut butter easy to digest rawhide bones and my dog loved them.
The highlight of the store is the GIANT turtle walking around. It is awesome.
Staff was nice and friendly.

Thee Fish Bowl, thank you for never judging me, even though every time I come here I plop myself on the ground and play with your animals for an undetermined amount of time that I’m sure makes all your employees give me sideway glances frequently. Your cats are gorgeous and I love the hijinks they play on each other with the catnip cigars and bananas. Your pups are adorable and playful and make me hate my landlord all over again for not allowing them in the condo, and your bunnies make me squeal with glee. (Also I apologize for trying to stuff that one ginormous bunny under my jacket… I couldn’t help myself…)
Great products, great pets, and conveniently located from the Dempster El stop.