Red C Aquarium

Got a beautiful Flowerhorn Chichild here. The guy that sold it to me was very nice and knowledgeable. Definitely will go back for more fish.

Edited to add: the owner seemed to be on something when I was there yesterday and that was pretty much confirmed by another review stating it «smells like dope» in the shop. I wasn’t imagining things.
I’ve been here twice and my 2^nd experience was worse than the first. I first came here about 2 ½ years ago and remember the customer service (by owner, Rob) wasn’t very good. No big deal. I could have caught him on an off day.
I moved back to WA from CA recently and was in need of a clean up crew for my newly cycled tank so I stopped by on my way to the airport to pick up my daughter. Rob proceeded to ask me if my tank was cycled and how I cycled it. I’m assuming he thought I was a fish out of water and didn’t know what I was doing. That’s fine… after I explained to him that I had thrown in a raw shrimp to introduce bacteria to the tank and cycle it, he incredulously asked me why would I put a raw shrimp in the tank as if I was a complete nit-​wit. I explained to him that it is a commonly used method and he brushed that off quickly and then decided to «school» me on how to properly cycle a tank either with bacteria in a bottle (common fish store marketing spiel) or with live fish such as a damsel of clownfish. I told him cycling a tank with a fish is inhumane which he snorted in response to and told me that is a matter of opinion. He’s correct, but it is a widely accepted opinion and most reputable marine aquarium keepers would never advise anyone to throw a fish into a tank with high ammonia and/​or nitrites. There is no good reason to put a fish through that when there are other tried and true methods such as using a raw shrimp. My tank has zero ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate with a rotten shrimp in it. Shrimp is out, clean up crew is in and doing well but I won’t be back to Red C Aquarium. I am far from ignorant and being treated as such is no way to win customers.

Wish I could have seen this shop. This is the second time I have come ten mins till open which is 1pm and after waiting no body has shown up to the store. I would think as an owner of a business you would show up early. I understand certain circumstances but twice I have yet to see red c due to nobody showing up on or around on time.

Simply and amazing selection of fish and especially corals. Owner is extremely knowledgeable and has top rate advice. Its always my first stop for fish and anything else for my reef tank.

The first thing I look at when I go into a fish store is the health of the fish and how clean the tanks are. When I go into Red C, the fish always appear to be healthy and the tanks are always clean. The prices are good, although they can be beat in some places the fish from my experience have always been healthy so its worth a few extra bucks.
As far as complaints about the customer service go, it is true Rob the owner is not the most smiley guy in the world, but not all of us are. (not to dwell to far into his personal life but hes recently divorced and his wife took his kid so try giving him a little bit of a break) Hes often busy around the shop but when you approach him and ask him questions hes always happy to help. His advice has rarely steered me wrong and hes honest and upfront with you. I respect his knowledge and his business.
He also genuinely cares about the lives of the fish.
If you have to be greeted with an artificial smile every place you go, I guess this isnt the place for you. But if you want knowledge, help, good product, this is a good place to go.

This review is more about Rob’s home aquarium service than his store. He has been doing home aquarium service monthly on my 75 gallon reef tank for the past 4 years and he is absolutely a life saver. We had an emergency once, when I was out of town, and he came to the rescue at 6am with just a phone call. He is awesome and actually cares about our fish. His aquarium service is very reasonably priced.
I read through some of the negative reviews his store has gotten and they seem to be more about «friendliness» than about the actual store or service. This guys runs the entire store, does all the maintenance himself, and does home aquarium service on the side, and does an amazing job. Cut him some slack for not wanting your 2 year old running around tapping on the tanks.
Highly recommended.
–Andrew

I’ve been in here a few times, there is a selection of freshwater plants and fish. The owner of the place doesn’t ever seem to want my business, never really seems to want to help even if you are the only one in the place. Also smells like dope consistently, which I don’t mind but makes it iffy to bring kids in.

Place WAS awesome till the current owner strong-​armed the old owner out & embezzled tens of thousands in the process. The owner now Is actually a completely unknowledgeable, lying thief. He sells garbage & is a disgrace to the industry. Go anywhere else, just avoid the dump & please do not support A-​holes like him. I quit going there 4 years ago & love Barrier now! There are plenty of better shops around, save your time, money & dignity & AVOID!!! Have heard its most likely a drug front, stay clear!

Ok, so I’ve been going to A Red Sea Aquarium for a year and a half now. It’s quickly become my favorite salt water store in Western Wa. The store has been through a move and the stock is slowly but surely being built up.
The reason I love this store and give it five stars is because of how incredibly helpful Rob the owner is. Rob not only has a vast depth of knowledge about saltwater fish and corals, but an earnest willingness to take the time to share that knowledge and help his customers. Amazingly, there have been many times where I’ve actually walked out of the store empty handed because Rob gave me a free idea on how to fix a problem or issue I had when he could have tried to sell me something instead. This helpfulness is also the reason I keep going back.
Depending on your issue, Rob also makes house calls for a reasonable fee.
I highly recommend A Red Sea Aquarium!

Awesome place for frags. Clean and friendly. Amazing tanks. I drive all the way from down town for this shop.

I also don’t understand the rave reviews about this place. I went in to browse and the owner didn’t even acknowledge my presence, and when I asked a question he made me feel like helping me was a huge burden. Not impressed.

After seeing a movie at the crest I walked over with my boyfriend to check this place out. I had seen on here that they had a freshwater section now, which they didn’t. A little disappointing for me, but my boyfriend has a saltwater tank so we looked around anyways. The store itself is small, and only had about twelve or so tanks set up even though the entire other half of the store was open, but there were a lot of interesting fish.
The entire time I was there I felt awkward. The owner and his wife had brought in their 2 or so year old son, who kept picking things up and scaring the fish with them, including a cat. Yes, there are two cats living in a fish store. There was some sort of an argument going on between the owner and his wife, and no one else in the small store, so we felt very uncomfortable. However, I imagine this is not a common experience, so once they set some more things up we will go back.

I have been to Red-​C multiple times and am very impressed by the quality and cleanliness of the store. A wide variety of salt water fish and large tank of differently priced corals.
You won’t get pestered with annoying questions and can browse in peace. When I did have questions, Rob, the owner was very well informed and enthusiastic in helping me. I have now found my regular reef shop and enjoy visiting each time.

Clean and well maintained but that’s where it stops. We got a nod as we entered and that’s it. Wandered around for about 5 minutes and never once were we asked if we needed any help. And again nothing as we headed towards the door. Not even a thanks for coming in. Not the best service for a place where you a probably gonna spend some serious money. Our first and last visit.

Very helpful Saltwater Aquarium Fish store. I stopped in after reading about them on Unilocal.I was hoping they had premixed water for sale as my Nano tank had pumped out half it’s water. He did sell water and mixed me up a five gallon bucket.
I happened to mention that I had lost the battle with majano anemones on my live rock. He told me that if I could bring it in he would put it in with some of his majano eating fish! It took a couple weeks for his fish to nibble off all the majanos but the rocks came back nice and clean!

A Red Sea Aquarium seems to be a great little place to go when you need to get salt water fish. I liked that all of their tanks were clean and very well kept. I also liked that they had what I would call LARGE selection of many different varities of fish. (Not just you typical smattering of tangs & clown fish) I wish this store had more room, but they did utilize their space well.
IF I had a salt water tank this would be the place to go, I thought their prices a little steep and that just made me want to convert to salt that much less. :(
Nice people.

I’m thrilled to have come across a good Marine aquarium store … not on the Eastside. I usually frequent Blue Sierra in Issaquah, while avoiding «the Fish Store» at all costs.
ARSA is a find. The staff is friendly and eager to share information. Offhandedly I said I was setting up a calcium reactor — the they went through their own plumbing with me to show the flow.
Other differentiators:
— Their live stock (corals and fish) are not the same as everyone else’s in town. The have unique fish and corals.
— When reasonable, they try to acquire slightly small live stock — which lowers the price.
— This is a marine only store.
It’s a bit small — but they seem to have everything. I’m thinking it will become my new favorite store.

This is the best salt water fish store, hands down. The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and incredibly helpful. As a beginner to the hobby, I found things to be a little daunting at first but these guys dole out information without hesitation. They have a HUGE variety of stock (fish, corrals, invertebrates and supplies), their tanks are kept impeccably clean and the fish look healthy. They will also come to your home for tank upkeep and assist you in trouble shooting any problems you may have. Their prices are VERY reasonable and they reward their «regulars» with great deals. They also do custom work and will order anything you need that is not in stock.
These guys will always have my business!

This place has quickly become my favorite saltwater store in the area. Super friendly service, most of the supplies you’ll need, and a great selection of fish.
Their coral selection, although small, is always beautiful, well maintained, and fairly priced.
They’re supposed to expand soon, adding a much larger coral and invert tank. Can’t wait!

I was very excited to find out about this new, all-​saltwater fish store in Shoreline.
The only bad thing I can say about this place, was that it was hard to find. My boyfriend and I made several passes up and down the block where the store should be, without success. Eager to check it out, we didn’t give up. We began pulling into every parking lot on the block, and found it tucked away in the back of the second lot we tried. The signage was dark, and we didn’t see any signs roadside. Regardless, it was well worth the effort.
I was very impressed with the store as a whole. While a little small, they have packed a lot of great stuff into it.
The fish! Lots and lots of them! Swimming happily and healthily, in clean tanks! I was blown away by the good health of their creatures and cleanliness of the tanks. There was no Crust of Mystery! No Oooze of Ambiguity! You could see the fish, which more and more has become a novelty in pet stores. Seeing what you are purchasing? Who’d have thunk it?
The fish selection was wonderful, and the prices great.
They had a decent selection of corals, but I am really hoping to see them get more in. While the fish selection is wonderful, our fish quota has been met, and we’re on the prowl for an assortment of saucy corals. We were told, however, that they get shipments in weekly, so stopping by this store will likely be a weekly routine.
The man who helped us with our purchase was very helpful and informative. He even found a part that Matt needed for the skimmer and ordered it for us.
This is definitely going to be our first stop for saltwatery goodness in the future.