Why Pet Zone
San Diego has no shortage of fish stores. Most of them carry both saltwater and freshwater, split their tanks down the middle, and treat the freshwater side as the quiet part of the store. Pet Zone is the other thing — a freshwater-only local fish store with two locations in San Diego. Mid-City has been here since 2007. The Convoy District location opened in 2016.
We're family-owned. We ship nationwide with a Live Arrival Guarantee. And we specialize in the fish and plants that the chain stores don't carry: monster fish, rare plecos, flowerhorns, and a full aquascaping operation with Ultum Nature Systems tanks on the floor.
Two Locations, Two Specialties
Most fish stores try to be everything to everybody. We split our expertise across two stores so each one can go deep instead of wide.
Mid-City (4266 University Ave) — opened 2007 — Monster Fish & Koi Headquarters. This is where you'll find flowerhorns, arowanas, large-growing predators, and some of the best koi in San Diego County. If it gets big and eats aggressively, it's probably swimming in a tank on University Ave right now. Get directions.
Kearny Mesa / Convoy (4160 Convoy St) — opened 2016 — Aquascaping & Rare Species Center. The only full-scale Nature Aquarium-focused aquascape store in San Diego. Bucephalandra, rare mosses, hardscape, shrimp, nano species, and UNS rimless tanks on display. We host aquascaping events with Tom Barr. Get directions.
What Makes Us Different
Freshwater Only — We're Not Distracted
Every square foot of both stores, every dollar of inventory, every staff hour goes into freshwater. That means deeper species knowledge, better selection, and staff who actually know the difference between an L046 Zebra Pleco and an L018 Gold Nugget.
Family-Owned Since 2007
Mid-City opened in 2007. Convoy followed in 2016. Not a pop-up, not a side project. The same family that opened the doors is still running it. When you call 866-MY-FISHY, you get a real person — not a call center.
Nationwide Shipping with Live Arrival Guarantee
We ship to all 48 contiguous states with FedEx Priority Overnight. Every fish we ship was swimming in one of our tanks days before it was in a box. Heat packs in winter, cold packs in summer. If a fish arrives dead, we make it right — store credit toward your next order. Read the full shipping policy.
UNS Official Retailer
We're an official Ultum Nature Systems retailer. You can walk into our Convoy location and see the rimless tanks, hold the aquascaping tools, and talk to someone who's actually used them. No guessing, no shipping roulette on glass.
Explore Our Specialty Pages
Each of these goes deeper into what we carry and why we carry it.
- AFD Alternative — Aquarium Fish Depot shut down. We're the alternative for freshwater hobbyists in San Diego.
- Aquascaping San Diego — Hardscape, substrates, plants, CO2 systems, and the full Nature Aquarium setup.
- Monster Fish San Diego — Arowanas, flowerhorns, peacock bass, bichirs, and other predators you won't find at Petco.
- Ultum Nature Systems Retailer — Rimless glass tanks, UNS substrates, tools, and the full UNS lineup.
- Rare Plecos San Diego — L-number species, Zebra Plecos, Gold Nuggets, Royals, and exotic catfish.
- Flowerhorn San Diego — SRD ZZ, Kamfa, specialty strains, individually listed with photos.
- Freshwater Fish Store San Diego — The only freshwater-only LFS in San Diego. Full livestock list and what we carry.
- Shipping & Live Arrival Guarantee — How we pack, when we ship, and what happens if something goes wrong.
Visit Us
Mid-City: 4266 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92105 — (619) 283-1812
Convoy: 4160 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111 — (858) 987-0309
Toll-free: 1-866-MY-FISHY (1-866-693-4749)
Email: help@petzonesd.com
Or get directions and hours for both locations.