Swallowaquatics Reviews

Awful place to visit

Awful place to visit staff very very unhelpful that s if you can interact or find one customer service horrendous won t be returning the I couldn t care less attitude of staff is not for me which is a shame as we were prepared to spend quite a bit luckily we found an alternative and they couldn t have been more helpful

Avoid Go Elsewhere

Unfortunately there comes a time when you need to leave a negative review about a company and Swallow Aquatics certainly deserves this review It started when we went to buy a tank stand and accessories for a new Axolotl we were sold unneeded items like a HEATER and stone substrate which we assumed were needed at the time but we later found from reputable Axolotl breeders would have killed it When we got home and built the stand we found this was mis-sold and an entirely different and much thinner mdf based stand was provided for the same cost as the one shown in store when queried we were told it was the new design Approx 28 days passed and we had everything set up nicely albeit on the mis-sold mdf stand when the NEW tank we bought started leaking again we called and were told by a young guy who worked there to purchase another tank and bring the existing one back for a refund or similar We put another tank on credit card and took the first one back since then we have had nothing but trouble with Swallow Aquatics saying there is no leak and refusing to refund or assist us in rectifying the issue if the tank was NOT leaking then we wouldn t have gone to the expense of another tank risked our Axolotl and the tank cycle etc and bought a fully working tank back to the store why would anyone do that The manager Bob persisted in trying to shift the blame to condensation or us spilling water I can guarantee this was not the case and there was a clear leak I only wish now that I had taken pictures His final word on the matter was I just work here mate well yes you do but you are also the MANAGER and therefore the customer should always come first I am disgusted by the lack of knowledge of livestock sold lack of service and the attitude of staff in this store I have shopped with Swallow Aquatics for many years first at their Rayleigh store and then at this store in Mill Race Garden Centre however after this series of events and continued denial of any help I will NEVER be returning I would STRONGLY advise everyone reading this to avoid and try another aquatics store

I have purchased many fish from Swallow

I have purchased many fish from Swallow Aquatics Colchester however my recent experience was absolutely shocking I purchased 4x saltwater fish and the salinity of the water was 1 014 which is shockingly low The staff told me the salinity was kept at 1 020 for parasite control and so this is what I set my quarantine tank to I measured the water in the bag and it was at 1 014 not 1 020 When my fish died due to shock i was refused a replacement until I brought a water sample in When I brought the sample in I also brought my salinity meter and i demonstrated how low the salinity was in the tank my fish came from compared to all of the other tanks in the shop all other tank readings were as they described It is impossible to safely acclimate a fish at a salinity of 1 014 The Manager and staff refused to accept the salinity was wrong on that particular tank even though I demonstrated it with my expensive Hanna digital meter recently calibrated and compared the tank my fish came out of to all the other tanks in the shop Regardless of my demonstration I was still told I was wrong and that the fish could it died from anything I was also told that the salinity needs to be measured in the filtration system around the back in order to be accurate what My water was tested with no issues by the staff my fish died from salinity shock no doubt about it EXTREMELY defensive and rude manager IVE WORKED IN THIS SHOP FOR 25 YEARS blah blah and terrible treatment of a customer AVOID and don t trust the shops salinity advice They say they test reguarly and keep records but they somehow allowed one system to drop to 1 014 I was extremely concerned for the animals welfare The average marine fish keeper doesn t have a quarantine tank how on earth are they meant to acclimate a fish from 1 014 salinity to 1 024 I will never shop there again

Pet cruelty

This store is awful The pets are crammed in cages rabbits birds and their homes smell very bad One of the rabbits had been sectioned of from the others and it had absolutely no room to move I encourage you to boycott the shop and report the owners to the RSPCA

Swallow Aquatics Colchester Stay away

Swallow Aquatics Colchester Wish I d read Facebook reviews before going at weekend Steer clear 3 out of 8 fish dead in 4 days and no helpful solution offered Awful service by people who should not be involved in livestock salesI bought some 3 spotted gourami at the weekend and 8 swordtail for a community tank I asked staff about compatibility They said they d be fine There was also a sign in the row of tanks confirming this However I should have know the staff were not qualified to know this as the first person I spoke to could not answer questions I had about clown and tiger barbs as the tanks appeared mis-labellled She said she didn t know what species of fish was which so went and got a colleague Fair enough Only he didn t know either Nor could either of them tell me which were females or males Pretty obvious in most species but sometimes hard to distinguish females of different species but they could do neither I explained a number of tanks contained different species to what was labelled but they didn t seem bothered Supposedly the best aquatics shop staffed with experts Not on Saturday it wasn t So I called this morning Explaining the problem Was told they won t replace the dead swordtails but will refund the gourami if I take it back Pretty poor compared to other aquatic shopsAs I m at work all week and away at the weekend I said that wasn t possible I was effectively told that s my problem That the compatability is only a probability which I accept as you can always get a rogue fish and that the experience of the staff and the bad advice was not relevant I asked the guy on the phone if he could get the managerto call me He said he was the livestock manager and asst manager so missing my point said he was the person I should be talking to I will be taking this further

Diseased fish

My son took my granddaughter to swallow aquatics to buy two more goldfish to add to our tank Consequently one had to be returned when in the tank we noticed it was covered in white spots We had replacement since then they have all passed away apart from one who sadly appears to be on her last legs It would be appropriate if swallow took more care of their stock and took the time to check for any signs of illness and the welfare of all there animals Absolutely disgusting that these poor creatures have had to suffer Certainly will not be purchasing anything else

My daughter brought a hamster only had

My daughter brought a hamster only had it a month and it is dieing when we rung them there just said there only have a 3 day warranty and may be it has eaten something it should not have what do there think we are feeding it it only has hamster food won t be bying from them again

Won t be returning

We haven t been here for years and was impressed to see how their ranges had expanded in the aquatic section and plants There is the added bonus of enclosed areas outside with poultry terrapins and Pigs to make the visit more enjoyable for kids We stopped to have a look in the pet section and there was some beautiful birds in spacious cages and a brilliant assortment of reptiles and arachnids But my review is based on the appalling conditions that the small pets are kept in Most pet shops have hamsters and rats etc in enclosures too small for them so you expect that but the amount of flies in with them and on their food especially the pygmy hedgehogs that had about 30 flies walking round the bottom of their enclosure and if there is that many flies there is fly eggs and maggots and poorly pets The rabbits broke my heart They are in a tall enclosure about 1m square floor space with 1 or 2 rabbits in with 1 or 2 guinea pigs They re on a sawdust base bad for respiration rabbits eating the same food as guinea Pigs with a small shelf the rabbits can get on and that s it no veggies no hay no toys no hides just existing one in particular had the saddest wattery eyes sitting on a shelf with 2 guinea Pigs under it had terrible bald patches It s no wonder rabbits are the most mistreated animal if that s the way you tell people thats how to look after them I won t be returning theres no excuse when you have all that space outside that some runs and houses can fit in easily and I can t understand how you are still allowed to look after animals that way

I went to buy pond liner which came on

I went to buy pond liner which came on a roll 2m then cut to how many meter length you require on their website was told they don t do that anymore I said I only needed 2m x 1m was given that and told that s just a cheap one quite rudely I then went out to see the outside animals and was shocked at how small the enclosures were there was no grass the animals had eaten what there was of it plenty of stinging nettles The water in the pony enclosure was green with algae floating on it I saw a member of staff with a hose pipe and said the pony needed clean water The reply was nothing to do with me I haven t been here for sometime and its gone down hill badly out side certainly needs cleaning up the animals outside need better looking after and the staff all need training in manners I will definitely not be going back