I've only recently moved to Phoenix but have been actively scoured the metro area for shops to get back into the hobby. Here's what I've found.
Aquatouch -- nice,clean tanks but they really only cover two areas, Salt Water (very impressive) and plants with a few fish they consider very plant oriented. The staff was really friendly and helpful but aside from some of the plants I wanted they didn't have much to offer. If you need a special plant or some good info they are worth a visit.
The Ocean Floor -- Huge variety and some big show tanks but I found them to be pricy and the service was terrible. They had a lousy plant selection and after 30 minutes I made someone talk to me and they just grabbed the fish and threw them in a bag. When I got home I noticed one was missing an eye, another missing a fin so I took them back an hour later and they just started making jokes about how I must have bought these fish at a discounted rate. The show tanks were all that impressive either just big tanks with a 3ft pleco and some full grown bala sharks whoo hooo! Needless to say I have not been back.
Pets Inc. -- Almost as big as Ocean Floor. Lots of freshwater variety for fish with plenty of exotics and probably the best selection of plants i have seen yet but all of this comes at a premium, you will pay for this availability. I saw Celebes Rainbows here for $9.99/each and the exact same fish at another store for 4/$9.99 same size and color just as an example. The staff here was also pretty slow to talk. Another thing I noticed is they have many tanks filled with RO water so if you aren't using RO water that could get ugly when you bring your new friends home I think, the tanks are labeled though. They also carry some live foods which I don't see anyone else really doing. I looked for over a month before I found Java Moss here on the first visit.
Phoenix Tropicals --- A true "diamond in the rough" tucked away in an alley on 37th street this is my favorite so far. They carry only freshwater fish and plants. Staff is super friendly. They carry a number of exotics and a pretty extensive selection of cichlids. Some of the exotics can get pricy as expected but overall I see no sign of gouging like at Pets Inc. Thanks to the old guy at Petsmart that told me about this place, I have yet to find anything but a yellowpages entry for this place on the net.
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