Aquarium Co-Op in Edmonds

Just wanted to put the first post up, so I can add pictures etc.

9661 Firdale Avenue
Edmonds Wa 98020
(206)-533-2281
www.aquariumcoop.com

WaFishBox members can enter WAFISHBOX as a discount code to receive 5% off at the online store. Does not stack with other discounts.

The Everett Herald article on Aquarium Co-Op

The Edmonds Beacon article on Aquarium Co-Op

You can also leave reviews here:

http://www.aquariumcoop.com/reviews/

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4 (For the money you're paying, you're getting quality over quantity, which is great!)
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Here are some pictures of the store, really great!!! Cory, I can't explain just how excited I am about your store opening up! Lars On and I had a wonderful time!

Cory, your store is something you should take pride in. What a wonderful store!



Me, doing the Asian thing...because I'm....Asian. Hahahaha



Lars On, entranced by all the beautiful fishies. Look at em... they're so colory!


Lars On, and Aquarium Co-Op, transferring an Angel fish that Lars On bought, up in Everett. It was stored in a ziploc bag, and now he looks happy!

Keep it up, Cory! Your store is magnificent, I can't wait until it's officially open!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5+

Not bad for a LFS just 2 days open.

*Found a plant I had looked for a couple months then forgot about, then found here huge and healthy.
* Owner took the time to answer my tech questions in detail.

Great place , I'll definitely will be going back!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4 (see a lot of great prices for very awesome qualities fishes)
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5 (Got me very interested in DISCUSS! GREAT INFO!)

It was great meeting Cory! He is a very friendly guy and very knows his stuff! I will definitely come back once Im done with my African tank to start a discus planted tank!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Amazing shop Cory! Great meeting you and seeing the place, ill definatly be back for more guppies and hopefully more fish for my 80!

A bit surprised by a new store owner...

I contacted them to ask for a quote on a new 155 gallon aquarium. I received a reply from Cory stating that he would get back to me ASAP with a quote after he got in touch with the dealer.

It has been 1 week since this reply, and no return email or PM. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I followed up with him 2 x this week and still no reply... I am sorry to say, but this is not the way to earn business... Especially for a new store...

Already purchased the tank from another dealer.

jeffmit wrote:A bit surprised by a new store owner...

I contacted them to ask for a quote on a new 155 gallon aquarium. I received a reply from Cory stating that he would get back to me ASAP with a quote after he got in touch with the dealer.

It has been 1 week since this reply, and no return email or PM. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I followed up with him 2 x this week and still no reply... I am sorry to say, but this is not the way to earn business... Especially for a new store...

Already purchased the tank from another dealer.

I'm glad you were able to get a hold of a tank suitable for your needs. The problem here was that the wholesalers just brought in Deep Sea Aquatics and had not priced them yet. I only just recently got the price list as of Thursday. Unfortunately they didn't bring in the 2 aquariums you had requested and I was looking at what options were available.

In the end I'm glad you were able to find a tank that fits your needs. I apologize for not keeping better communication with you. It has been difficult for me to keep in contact with everyone while building the store.

Overall Experience 5 ( I learn something new everytime I visit)
Cost 5 (pratically everything is wholesale priced)
Quality of Fish 5 ( As good as it gets at a LFS )
Variety 5 ( was a 4 when he first opened for obvious reasons)
Service 5 ( He has an employee to help out since his store is busy)

SO far the only LFS that dones't make me feel stupid because I didn't know something about fish.

Hey Cory, Get some more brime shrimp, my fish are starving.

Overall Experience 5 ..love coming in to chat ^_^
Cost 4/5 great prices on lots of amazing fish..healthy!! worth every penny!!
Quality of Fish 5, everything is happy and healthy, Cory is good at telling you the truth about fish!
Variety 4 ( what he has done with the tanks he has is AMAZING)
Service 5+


keep up the good work..the 40 ish min drive from Skagit is worth it every time even if we don't buy anything witch is rare.


Keep up the good work!!!

(p.s.....I have strawberry betta fry ^_^)

Overall Experience: 4.5
Cost: 4.5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety:4
Service: 5

Came in today with BillHN. Love this store! Prices are dirt cheap. Fish are healthy and very well taken care of. Plants are very high quality. Cory and Justin are really friendly. I picked up some black neons, heterandria formosas, manzanita wood, couple heaters and sponge filters (gotta stock up when prices are that low!)

Awesome store Cory!

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 5

Plants were pearling!
He show-cased the LED's that he had running on a 40B with HC and Dwarf Hairgrass, and a bunch of other plants, and THE GROWTH was Awesome! Pricing on LED's are as low as possible, he really gives good deals to hobbyists!

+1

Lamental Jester wrote:Overall Experience: 4.5
Cost: 4.5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety:4
Service: 5

Came in today with BillHN. Love this store! Prices are dirt cheap. Fish are healthy and very well taken care of. Plants are very high quality. Cory and Justin are really friendly. I picked up some black neons, heterandria formosas, manzanita wood, couple heaters and sponge filters (gotta stock up when prices are that low!)

Awesome store Cory!

Lamental Jester wrote:Overall Experience: 4.5
Cost: 4.5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety:4
Service: 5

Came in today with BillHN. Love this store! Prices are dirt cheap. Fish are healthy and very well taken care of. Plants are very high quality. Cory and Justin are really friendly. I picked up some black neons, heterandria formosas, manzanita wood, couple heaters and sponge filters (gotta stock up when prices are that low!)

Awesome store Cory!

BillHN wrote:Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 5

Plants were pearling!
He show-cased the LED's that he had running on a 40B with HC and Dwarf Hairgrass, and a bunch of other plants, and THE GROWTH was Awesome! Pricing on LED's are as low as possible, he really gives good deals to hobbyists!

+1

Lamental Jester wrote:Overall Experience: 4.5
Cost: 4.5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety:4
Service: 5

Came in today with BillHN. Love this store! Prices are dirt cheap. Fish are healthy and very well taken care of. Plants are very high quality. Cory and Justin are really friendly. I picked up some black neons, heterandria formosas, manzanita wood, couple heaters and sponge filters (gotta stock up when prices are that low!)

Awesome store Cory!

This is Justin from Co-Op, it was great meeting you guys and everyone else I've met that I don't know the name of on here as I don't get to spend much time on the forums anymore. Thank you everyone that has had kind words to say about the shop, we're still getting things dialed in as far as the plants go and we're learning as we go for what to carry. If there is ever a specific plant(s) you're looking for please let me know or leave a note with Cory for me and I will try my best to hunt it down for you. I have quite the collection at home as well!

Thank you all again for the kind words and looking forward to meeting more of you and seeing the ones I've already met as well!

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 4 - I'm sure as the store continues to grow and evolve so will this list of species
Service: 6

So I took advantage of the long weekend to make the drive up to Edmonds to visit the new store. I love the cleanliness of the store and the attention to detail. The racks were nicely stained, with crown molding no less. The piping and electrical wires were well organized and barely visible.

Cory's done a great job with the store. It's well thought out so that one person can run the store easily. 10% automatic water changes, central pump, and a very low voltage draw that costs him next to nothing on the electricity bill.

The fish variety is decent, definitely more catered to the smaller variety with a couple of larger display tanks that can house more of the monsters folks love on this forum.

The plant varieties were decent as well, I would have probably walked out of there with the inclinata had I not already ordered 145 new stems last week. =)

I'd be interested to see him develop the shrimp racks, which will give me another reason to stop by.

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 4
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 5

Finally got to visit Cory's store. Beautiful setup...even a small sitting area up front for relaxing and watching the display tank. Hank was awesome to watch in action. The store has a very serene feel to it. Cory was great ... very helpful and informative regarding options and choices. Great selection of those harder to find items and locally made fish supplies. Beautiful wood/branches and Seiryu stone too. Lots of beautiful fish and plants to chose from. Well worth the trip to visit. We will definately return when we can.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4 (only gave a 4 because he doesn't sell big rare fish, or cichlids like i like, but i know that doesn't make $$ )
Service 5

I forgot to rate Cory's shop after my last visit so this is a double rating..
His shop is really nice and great being it's like 10 minutes away from my house. I've grabbed a Big Ornate, WC Red Hump geo's, and some freebees on the last trip and all are doing good and look great.. I've know Cory for year and he's a very knowledgable guy, and knows his stuff. He's more than willing to answer any questions you have, and in great detail. Both times i've been in there he's been schooling someone..lol  Great job Cory, keep up the good work !! I'll def be back to check out his store again..

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

I love this place. I was going to give a 4 on price, because you can get things cheaper at places like Liems, but that's not really relevant... for the quality, these prices can't be beat. Also great prices on food, equipment and plants. My favorite plant I've bought there is the val, I think he might have some specific strain of it that stays really short and sends out runners like crazy. He always has new stuff, like the longfin albino bristlenose I got today for a steal. Also keeps getting more and more shrimp, which I know are hot.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5


Made our 2nd visit to Cory's shop yesterday.  His store makes me feel like I am in a living room instead of a fish store.  The tanks are beautiful and full of lovely, colorful fish.  I saw some stunning blue tailed tetras that I really wanted (alas no tank right now to fit them into).  Lots of great wood (snagged some) and plants where HUGE (also snagged).  Love this store.  So wish there was one like it over her on the East side.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Finally made a trek up North this past Saturday to see Cory.

Very nice store Cory, you definitely have the correct game plan for success.

Cory has amazing tanks and the fish are very healthy. Love Hank, he and his tank are amazing. My only complaint would be that he doesnt carry the Cichlids which is what I am into. But I completely understand why. But he did say that he will order them in if ever I ever wanted any. Very nice store.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Made our first trip yesterday.  Was very impressed with the good selection of healthy fish and plants.  Definitely felt like a shop run by and for people who are passionate about the hobby.  Love the giant puffer.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

What can I say? I need to find a way to have my paycheck deposit straight into this place. Would save us all a lot of trouble. I'm a huge fan of the betta display and the great selection of healthy fish and plants.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5


Absolutely thrilled i FINALLY made the trip out there. Well worth it just to see cory, Great guy to talk fish with. make sure you bring extra cash. May have even swayed my mother into getting a fish tank (she couldnt get over how pretty the bettas were) personally i found his hardscape materials very nice.

Because this part of the forum is meant for rating stores, let's keep side conversations in a different topic, or talk via PM. This allows other people to see the ratings of other users, without having to dig through conversations inbetween. Thanks!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4 (For the money you're paying, you're getting quality over quantity, which is great!)
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Here are some pictures of the store, really great!!! Cory, I can't explain just how excited I am about your store opening up! Smile Lars On and I had a wonderful time!

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 4
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 5

I am glad I finally made it up there! I was working up there about 5 mins away and stopped in. Picked up some Dwarf Sagittaria on sale for a great price. Thanks guys!

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 5
Quality of Fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 5

My wife came up with me and she is a non fish person but she loved the fact the place was clean, organized and did not smell. Cory is very friendly, knowledgeable and keeps up a beautiful store. Very highly recommended!

Edit 10/29/13: Wanted to add that the betta at the store had to be some of the best I had ever seen. Not cheap but also not the junk you find at the big box pet stores. I was very impressed.... It made me want to start up another (betta) tank.

Overall Experience 4.5
Cost 4
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Went here today for the first time. Clean and organize. Fish and plants are healthy looking. Cory very informative and friendly guy.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

The Co-Op was great. My wife and I were lucky enough to have the opportunity to see what all the hubbub was about. Great variety with fair prices. All the critters looked healthy and happy. Those finnex fixtures are pretty cool, much brighter than I expected. A few other customers while we were there and Cory was able to keep up with all of us.

Overall Experience: 5
Cost: 5
Quality of fish: 5
Variety: 5
Service: 9

My girlfriend and I went in Saturday, as a sort of last ditch effort to find a place that really clicked with us. Having both had fair amount of experience with fish, but no experience with a planted tank before, Cory was absolutely amazing in explaining things out, and in general, just calming us down from over-thinking things.

The store is amazingly bright, clean, and well laid out. Cory is incredibly friendly, and after visiting pretty much every fish store in the greater Seattle area over the last two weeks, was the first person that explained things without trying to sound like a genius or talking down to us. As soon as he heard we had done our research and weren't stumbling into things, he jumped right to what we needed to know in terms of cycling and plant selection, rather than give us the whole song and dance we experienced at other locations.

On top of that, this is the one place that seems to have the Finnex Ray2 in stock, which was an absolute miracle. We had gone in circles over the last two weeks, having three different online retailers cancel our order for being out of stock of the 48" fixtures after the point of sale.

As for the fish themselves, we ended up buying some Rummy Nose Tetra to start our tank cycling, and Cory warned us that they would lose their coloration when stressed, but would regain it in a few days. Turns out it was closer to a few hours, and by that night their bright coloration had returned, and were quite active in their new home.

As an IT professional who works, lives, and dies on the internet, I don't think I can offer higher praise than the following:

Aquarium Coop made me glad I went to a brick and mortar store.

Met Cory and the Aquarium co-op for the first time today. It is hidden behind another building in the Firdale Village so I missed it last month for the plant exchange. It is a very nice place with some interesting species.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Hello, kinda boring afternoon so me and my Fience went over to Aquarium Co-Op. I have been to several hundred fish stores over the years. Cory place is a well thought out design with well lit tanks. The fish and plants all seemed to be in very healthy and of a high quality in both color and shape. Have to say I was a bit put off when I first struck up a conversation with Cory, but after a few moments that past and he was quite a joy to talk too. My fience really enjoyed his large puffer and Cory was kind enough to feed him for her . I will make it a point to try and get out there at least once a month from now on!!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4 ( quality cost money)
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Hey, before we went to aquarium co-op I was losing interest in fish keeping and had battle after battle with trying to keep fish alive. I always felt jealous about how nice the fish in pet stores looked and their aquariums in general. After going to aquarium co-op I changed the way I take care of my fish. Now I have an aquarium I am proud of and think most (except for aquarium co-op) fish stores look a lot worse than my original opinion of them.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Can't beat it, few months in & is my fav LFS. They have EVERYTHING needed for this hobby in quality form. If they don't got it they will do their best to get it. Can't beat the over all cost of quality in the fish. I get %10 off for being a GSAS member, and credits for plants I trim. The owners are a wealth of knowledge and don't mind discussing tech.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5

How many times do I get to rate this store...I love it.  Having visited many of the fish stores in the area now I can truly say that Aquarium Co-Op is one of a kind.  It is always clean, bright, welcoming, informative, and just plain fun to cruise around.  New tanks added since my last visit...so now even more selection.  No big cichlids but the store does a great job of offering variety even without these.  $1 a fish bargain tank with some wonderful fish in it. Beautiful plants as always.

And Hank gave me a kiss and told me how happy he was to see me (I just love him   )

Overall experience 4
Cost 4
Quality & selection 5
Variety 4
Service 5

This store just gets better with age!
My only minuses are;
It's a bit hot and too quiet in this smaller retail space.
Needs a sound system, and better air circulation for a comfortable shopping experience.
Will come again though!

I bet you the tanks there doesn't have any heater.. that is one way to save on electricity... heaters consumes to much wattage..

Yes thats true, but some air circulation would help to get the stagnat air moving and keep the heat from being trapped in one place. I know several fish keepers who heat the room rather than heat every tank.

Let's not get this topic off track with discussions. These topics were meant for just leaving reviews. Any side comments should be done in private messages, this helps keep the reviews with as little clutter for newer members to read easily without having to look through the other comments.

This applies to all store reviews btw, just want to make that clear.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5

Out standing brick and mortar shop. The best I have been in in some time. Could spend days talking all things aquarium with Cory and staff.

Overall experience 5
Cost 5
Quality & selection 5
Variety 5
Service 5

Staff is very knowledgeable, stock is top notch, community outreach is great, and if Cory doesn't have something you want he'll try his damnedest to get it for you!

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 4 (5 for the size of the shop!!)
Service 5

Where to begin, what an AWESOME fish store. This place is so clean, every tank is clean, the floor is clean, amazing. The staff has been really nice, and the fish health is perfect. I have no doubt the fish from here are going to stay happy and healthy unless I do something wrong. I live in Des Moines and it's well worth the drive to come up, plus Hank(Store Fish) is awesome. The variety is a little low, but that's due to the size of the shop, it's a 5 for the space he has, but overall that's the only place i'd drop points, hopefully business continues to go well and they get a bigger shop, because it would be well deserved!

P.S. i'll be seeing you soon for a rimless tank, as soon as my wife lets me

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 5
Service 5

One of the better if not best shops around here. While small, the layout is simple and easy to navigate but still allows for a nice selection and viewing. I see myself doing lots of future business with Cory and staff of Co-Op. Speaking of which. I should be dropping by this weekend.   

Overall Experience 5
Cost 4
Quality of Fish 5
Variety 3
Service 5

I think everyone here knows the store by now. Amazing for what it is. Wish they had more cichlids and general non live fish products. Great staff and unique ideas. Wish some of the other stores would take notice.

Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality 5
Variety 4
Service 5

Best place I've seen for nano tanks hands down. Being a cichlid guy, seeing more midsize and larger cichlids would be nice, but it's understandable given the space (Variety per square foot would be rated at a 10) and I have no doubt that Cory would order something in if I really wanted it. I love the quiet feel of the place, nothing but bubbles is very smoothing.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've created a discount for Wafishbox members for ordering online. Use Code WAFISHBOX to get 5% off your order. You can ship it or do in store pickup. Does not stack with other discounts. Enjoy

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:Just wanted to let everyone know that I've created a discount for Wafishbox members for ordering online. Use Code WAFISHBOX to get 5% off your order. You can ship it or do in store pickup. Does not stack with other discounts. Enjoy

Just stopped in to do a review on Aquarium CoOp on-line store . Wish I would have remembered to used the WashingtonFishBox discount . Or remembered to use my GSAS membership discount.....

Anyway,

AquariumCoop on-line store


Overall Experience 5
Cost 5
Quality of Fish - n/a
Variety 5
Service 5

My 1st hard good purchase on-line. It was quick , easy, with an informative website. $6 shipping for hard goods impressed me. If it was one of those $15-$20 shipping deals I wouldn't have made my hard good purchase. Good job putting this together Cory I was definitely impressed.