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Menagerie

42K views 190 replies 95 participants last post by  LaceyRen 
#1 ·
WEB SITE : http://themenagerie.ca/
549 Parliament St. Toronto, Ontario M4X 1P7 (416) 921 4966

What do you guys think of this store?
 
#61 ·
parking

park at the esso station , it is north of the menagarie about a 1/2 block or less park pretend uare putting air in tires and go fish shopping .
 
#63 ·
It was my first time at Menagerie in a long time and I must say, I really like their setup. Unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking (as their stock on corals were low), but their customer service was refreshing. The staff were extremely helpful and hopefully I'll be able to visit them again in the near future
 
#65 ·
excellent customer service and amazing stock. I really like the store's layout and the variety of products and the general tips and info that get exchanged between staff and customer.

I'd like to see more display tanks, but the to-buy selection is vast and varied.

In terms of experience, price, selection, and knowledge I would say this is my favourite aquarium/pet shop ever. Second would be Riverfront in Calgary (before the move) and they are a huge specialty shop.
 
#66 ·
FINALLY after 2 years got around to visiting Menagerie today. Besides some obnoxious girls pestering the birds who weren't the store's fault I liked the place. The fish section is pretty much what you'd expect from a mixed pet store size-wise although I had thought it was larger. The fish selection definitely included some less common species but more impressive was when a staff member actually recommended I not buy some fish. I had already figured something was up so I asked how long the fish had been in the tank since it was a species that I'd like to buy and the guy said he would suggest not buying them due to a new introduction in the tank having an adverse affect on them. Not something they do at Big Al's (ie. the dying oscar lying on his side that was, "stressed and resting but fine."

The other fish I wanted were under quarantine but I will be back for the interesting selection.
 
#68 · (Edited)
MOST of the time everything's not marked. 90% of the stuff I've bought there over the years has been "What's that Harold?" stuff that hasn't been marked. I recently bought a pleco that I'm picking up friday which was not marked.

Menagerie's aqua section is small, but it is excellent for:

Rare freshwater small fish, namely catfish and dwarf cichlids, as well as frequent rare livebearers and cyprinids
Unusual invertebrates and unusual amphibians and reptiles ie reeve's turtle, sirens, rabbit snails, marbled crawfish, giant prawn
Plants
Dry goods, including less common dry goods, like cyclops, rare additives, shrimp foods, etc
Marine fish (the coral selection is cool but limited)
Staff that actually have a massive knowledge base. Especially Harold, who is a walking encyclopedia.
Good ethics like always putting not for sale on tanks if there is a parasite etc.
They also tend to sell fish that don't exceed 8" or so because most people don't actually have any way of housing a full grown ID shark.
 
#67 ·
I agree
I went there after hearing all the good press and I was kind of shocked at the smallness of the fish section. That being said you only need one or two tanks with something you want to be worth the visit to a store. I live way to far away to ever go on a semi regular or even a annual pilgrimage.

But if they had something that i thought I just had to have I would have to make sure there would be some there before I grabbed my car keys.

Cool store has some interesting fish and I would be happy to have it if I lived down town. :D
 
#71 ·
Great store! I got some Celestial Pearl Danios there a couple weeks ago. :) Staff were friendly, knowledgeable and helpful! I actually found their prices are cheaper than Big Al's... The CPDs are 3.99 there, and 4.99 and Big Al's, and their frozen food is cheaper as well.
 
#72 ·
Cleanliness: 9/10
- I saw no dead fish while I was there
- Tanks were clean
- Employee doing a water change on a plant tank while I was there (tank was barely dirty, it was one of those that I'd pass off as 'I'll clean it in a week')
Staff: 8/10
- Staff is knowledgeable but will not approach you and ask if you need help
Dry Goods (Price and selection): 8/10
- Small selection
- Has generally all the big brands
- Indian almond leaves
- Prices seem fair
Fish Care: 9/10
- All the fish seemed healthy, but as I don't know the proper care of some of the fish they had and I can't really tell for some,
- Some bettas and guppies had what seemed to be rectal prolapse
- Bought a guppy there, this guppy was almost show quality but had rectal prolapse (which I think I sort of cured), behaviour was normal however.
 
#74 ·
They always seem to have 'something different'. When I was in University, I scooped a Werneri's Chameleon (Who I named Gill; he lived for many years, and looked like a mini triceratops!). Never seen nor heard of anyone else having them ever since then...come to think of it, Gill was sold to me as a Jacksons lol...turned out not to be about 9 months later when he stopped growing at 6"-7"! but i digress...

Same with fish; cool stuff I've never seen.
 
#75 ·
Store was dissapointing today. The plants all looked really bad, and saw a handful of dead fish and shrimp.

Some great looking fish, and axolotl's were cool to see, but if this was my first time being to the store I would really think poorly of them.
 
#77 ·
Sorry for your disappointing visit. You are absolutely right about the plant tanks. They are embarrassingly horrendous at the moment. Between our huge shipment that was deplaned in Singapore, being crazy busy with the European shipment and me being away for more than a few days they look horrible. We are in the midst of re-aligning all of the plants in a more logical placement in the tanks and the present stock is from the last shipment almost a month ago. It's definitely not the norm.

Dead fish and shrimps is unacceptable... thanks for pointing it out. Don't be afraid to point it out to the fish staff either.

Hopefully your next visit will be better. If your looking for plants, check our website weekly for what's coming in we tend to have stuff other stores are afraid to import let alone know what they are.
 
#79 ·
Okay they're having a bad day... but STILL ... it's one of the GREAT pet stores in Toronto, and certainly one of my top favorite Aquarium stops.

Plants that I have bought from here have lived, whereas plants from many other shops just melted in my tanks. And when I have asked about something working in my tanks, whether a plant or a fish, the staff have always been super good.

It's been too long. gotta head over. Maybe I'll give them a week to get sorted though. :)

W
 
#80 ·
Their plants were looking a bit weak a week ago, but I know they have been working hard to improve other areas of the store and to set up two new tanks for plants.
Summer is a slow season, so they're just getting things ready for the busy winter season.

I heard a couple huge orders are supposed to arrive.
 
#81 ·
One of the better plant selections I've come across and markups are reasonable. They also post a list on their website that gets updated now and then, but inventory #'s aren't always correct. That list does help to plan your planted tank by researching in advance, though.

Pretty clean. Narrow space to move around in. Service is knowledgeable.
 
#87 ·
Overall good experience, staff was friendly, and very helpful! Not sure if it was the owner but I he got me the last heatpack.... I really needed one, nice guy! I would be going there again :)
 
G
#89 ·
Call the store. It's not a problem to replace the fish but you will have to bring a water sample. The SAE's having being doing great in that tank with 0 losses so for a replacement a water test will have to be made. If the water is fine then it should be no problem replacing. Chilling of water on the way home is always a danger this time of year. SAE's are sensitive to sudden temperature drops.

Calling the store as soon as something happens is always best. Calling or coming into the store saying a fish died a few weeks later (has happened) isn't going to work. If you call the store and say you can't make it in for a week or so then don't worry. We just need to know soon after it happens.

call me at the store tomorrow.
 
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