Top Shelf Aquatics

DEAD LIVESTOCK!! HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!! This was my first purchase from Top Shelf Aquatics and my last! After placing an order over 2 weeks ago, I finally got my livestock to discover everything was dead!! The bags all in the styrofoam shipping container were ICE COLD! The water smelled like ROTTEN EGGS! All livestock was deceased. I instantly reached out to the sales team. After jumping thru a bunch of required time wasting steps, taking pictures, email etc only to be told they will offer me store credit for my purchase. Or they would send out another order but I wouldn’t receive that for another week. IM GOOD!! Keep the money and lose a lifelong customer. This business should be ashamed!! Although FedEx is the shipping company, this is Top Shelf Aquatic’s business model to ship fish. BEWARE!! Because if your fish come dead, they won’t refund your money, just offer you a measly store credit or another opportunity to receive more dead fish at a much later date. Instead of making this right, they will just take your money and pass the loss along to the consumer (YOU AND ME)! THEN, THEY WILL NOT PRIORITIZE THIS SITUATION AND SEND A NEXT DAY REPLACEMENT! This is the worst customer service I have ever encountered online. I won’t be returning. And I won’t be using the useless store credit they are offering. Enjoy taking over $100 of my hard earned money. I hope you all at Top Shelf Aquatics are proud!!! Good Riddance

I haven’t been to top shelf in over 6 years because it’s quite a drive for me. But I went today and I was surprised at how much they have grown over the years. I had the pleasure of meeting and annoying Isa, I don’t think she cared too much because I ended up purchasing WAY more than I planned to. She was awesome, knowledgeable and fun to deal with! All of the staff was extremely helpful and willing to answer questions and joke around. Definitely planning to go back.

Just received my overnighted cleanup crew and other accessories. Everyone is active and seems ready to roar after acclimation and entry into their new world. Very pleased and extremely happy with the whole ordering process, shipping, arrival, and unpacking. A lot of care went into the packing.

Top Shelf Aquatics is in a league of their own. From start to finish, my install experience was nothing short of outstanding. The install team was lead by Gene, they arrived right on time, were incredibly professional, and clearly knew exactly what they were doing, true experts of the craft. They had my new Innovative Marine 120-gallon all-in-one completely installed in just under four hours — including lights and pumps — and everything was set up cleanly, efficiently, and dialed in perfectly. What really stood out was the attention to detail and care they put into the entire process, even my wiring. Nothing felt rushed, questions were answered thoroughly, and the end result looks flawless. This was easily one of the smoothest and most stress-free aquarium installs I’ve ever experienced. If you’re considering a tank install, upgrade or anything reef-related, do yourself a favor and call Top Shelf Aquatics first! I also encourage you to go in the store and meet the incredible team of experts they have. I have been in the hobby for just under 2 years and I’ve never been to a shop with kinder individuals who are ALWAYS happy to help and share knowledge. They have truly set the standard, they continue to be THE BEST and everyone else is playing catch-up. — Tony Colon

I have loved this store since the first time I heard of them on reef2reef during a Christmas sale they were having 2 years ago /picking up my sale corals at their store. Their store is so beautiful with all there gorgeous corals and I especially love the way they display their macroalgae in a swirl of red perfectly tumbling in the sump under the tanks. The most impressive thing about their store is the online experience. I live in north Florida about 150 miles away and if I could go to their store all the time I would be broke, but with that being said, I order my bigger items for my tanks from them because usually I get it the next day ( pumps and apex gear), that is a big benefit. The staff is pretty knowledgeable about their products and they are happy to answer questions without making you feel like a newbie. They are the best

Sometimes speaking with a real person makes all the difference. I am not very knowledgeable about aquariums, but Bodhi was extremely helpful and knowledgeable in guiding me to the right water heater for my fish tank. He went above and beyond to make sure I understood my options and felt confident in my purchase options. Excellent customer service

Love the selection of corals there not to mention their maintenance service department is top notch. Had a big issue with hair algae and Kayla was able to bring my tank back to life after over a year of fighting it on my own. I can’t thank her enough!

This is a great place to go for beautiful corals, unusual fish and invertebrates, and knowledgeable staff. Thanks for the help, Jed!

I would like to share my experience purchasing online from this store. This was my first—and last—purchase here. I ordered one Bubble Tip Anemone (BTA) and one Tuxedo Urchin. When I received and opened the package, I immediately noticed that the urchin was extremely large, around 4 inches, whereas Tuxedo Urchins are typically sold at 1–2 inches, especially for nano tanks. I contacted the store about this and was told that I should have called before placing the order to confirm sizes, and that they were not responsible. Respectfully, this should work the other way around. The website does not specify sizes, and customers should be informed of what will be shipped—especially when livestock size can significantly impact tank compatibility. Additionally, the urchin arrived in very poor condition. It was mostly bald, and the bag was filled with fallen spines. Despite this, I attempted proper acclimation and placed it in my tank to see if it would recover. Unfortunately, after 48 hours, the urchin did not survive. As for the BTA, the experience was the opposite. I received a very small anemone, noticeably smaller than BTAs I’ve purchased from other online stores for a similar price. Thankfully, the BTA appears to be doing well so far, and I’m hoping it grows over time. In the end, I lost my money on the urchin, but more importantly, this store lost a customer. Customer satisfaction and clear communication are essential when selling live animals, and unfortunately, that was not my experience here.

I want to say thank you to Steve at Top Shelf Aquatics!!! Highly recommend this reef store! Outstanding online experience with them. Very people friendly and knowledgeable about any questions I had. Such a great selection, healthy corals, fish and inverts! Plus not to mention, their competitive prices. My order arrived successfully. Everything was packed methodically and professionally. Well done TSA!!! Keep up the amazing work. 😉