Tropic Waters Pet Center

Any time we make a stop in Eau Claire, we make sure to stop in and see what's new at Tropic Waters! They have a decent selection of pets, especially fish. The staff is very helpful, and they have some very knowledgeable employees who can answer many, if not all, your pet care questions. I haven't had a single fish I've purchased from this store pass away, and you can tell the staff genuinely cares about the well-being of the animals.

Yesterday I took home some cherry shrimp and plants. I'm checking in to say everything is happy in my aquarium and I am VERY happy/grateful for the help I got yesterday! I had a great time talking planted tanks and discussing plants and livestock options. This store is the best. There is so much selection; the aquatics section (plants, livestock, supplies) is AMAZING and so much fun to peruse. I love this place for its quality and we love to see a local business thrive. Again, thank you for your generous help yesterday and I'm so happy with my purchase!

Knowledgable staff and well cared for animals. They have an excellent variety of fish and reptiles and always willing to answer questions. I appreciate they ask their customers questions about tank set up, water quality and tank mates. They truly care about making sure the animals they sell are taken care of and healthy. With retail of animals, it is important to educate about the needs of the animals and whether they are a good fit for an owner's life style and resources. This isn't your typical big box store that is just interested in making a sale.

Folks, this is THE pet store. Pet owners of reptiles, birds, fish, gerbils, or any animal other than a cat or dog know it's tough to find a reliable source of both the actual animals and quality supplies- this store has it all, truly. It would take all day to go through the kinds of pets and products you can get here. Bird cages and feed, gerbil cages and feed, cat food and litter, dog food and toys- the best part for me is the extensive reptile and aquatic selection. There's a healthy selection of birds and mice, but there is an INCREDIBLE assortment of scalies- stingrays, turtles, aquatic frogs, snakes, lizards, and all manner of fish. Anything you could want for an aquarium, terrarium, paludarium, or reptile enclosure is well stocked and from small and/or reputable brands, including an impressive variety of actual tanks. This whole store is an adventure, and it has all the heart and ingenuity of a local pet store. I am not easy to please when it comes to pet stores because of how many shortcuts a business can take, but here the employees are delightful, the atmosphere is perfect, and the animals are all obviously happy where they are- that isn't something you can find in any large chain pet store. I loved every minute here, and for the first time for me, I was delighted to ask for a rewards membership the first visit. I can't wait to come back, and I encourage you to check it out if you own any kind of pet... And as a lovely bonus, they have a few resident animals that have been rescued over time!

I'm giving them 2 stars because I have a big issue with how they keep their birds, and more importantly the products they sell for birds. I see a lot of toys with what appears to be cotton or synthetic cotton rope, which can cause crop impaction because they cannot be ingested, and can get threaded around their feet and cut off blood circulation. Worse still, is that often the rope is frayed, which makes these things all the more likely. I also see a lot of bells, which can get a bird's feet stuck and potentially make them lose toes/bleed out. I see a lot of mirrors, which are known to cause aggression and hormonal behaviors in birds. They also sell cozy huts which can both cause hormonal issues and are made of lose/frayed fibers, which can again cause crop impaction issues if the birds chew on them. To be clear, they DO sell toys that are completely bird safe as far as I can tell. But when I visit the store, I see just as many toys that are either unsafe or are known to cause behavioral issues like I mentioned above. I have asked two separate employees on two separate occasions about this. Both times I have been told that it's because that's what their supplier provides them. I can buy many toys online for the same price, or cheaper, than the ones they sell, and that is with me not buying in bulk. There are other suppliers that would still allow them to turn a profit even if they kept their prices the same. I do not consider this to be an acceptable reason for selling toys that are known to cause harm, behavioral issues, or even kill birds. The reason I am not rating them as a one star is because they are certainly better than PetSmart/Petco, and the animals absolutely do appear to be treated much better (and sourced more ethically) at Tropic Waters than those places. I still visit now and again. But I do most of my shopping online now instead. I find it very difficult to support a business that, although they DO seem to care about animals overall, knowingly sells unsafe products and products that are likely to cause behavioral issues.