fintique.home.texas.netFintique

We will be closed Easter Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Reduced hour on Wednesday and beyond. We are doing front door service only. Credit, not debit , and cash sales only. Call 210-737-2896, regular AT&T line may be messed up. If busy call back in a few minutes These are the correct hours. Other web pages may be wrong ! These hours are as of now. May change down the road. Our overseas supplier is shut down so stock may change daily and this may not be updated. THESE LINKS TAKE YOU TO OTHER PAGES IN OUR SITE- Click here to view weekly updated livestock info Click Here to see our live plant update and prices Facts that are nice to know about our fish and our industry We have Been here in San Antonio since ( 1970 ). And in this building from 1973 Please use the OUR web site for correct hours or call us at 210-735-2829 to acquire driving directions Click here for IDEAS ABOUT AQUARIUM SETUPS and some fish info. Customers comming in looking for ornaments tell use how surprised they are. in particular customers that have never been here before. They say our price and selection of ornaments are the best they seen, even after looking on the web. CHECK US OUT AND COMPARE. we physically cannot carry aquariums over 75 gallons. so we generally do not stock them. compare and have stores bid or go on the internet/Craigs'' list. you should get a really great Deal on larger aquariums. We encourage our customers to do price researching. Compare the price of everything including shipping, before you buy though. BE CAREFUL OF THE 25-75% OFF BAIT. IF THEY CAN HONESTLY OFFER THIS DISCOUNT, JUST THINK OF HOW HIGH THE ORIGINAL PRICE WAS TO OFFER THIS. ALWAYS COMPARE PRICES AFTER THIS SO CALLED GREAT DISCOUNT. I HOPE PEOPLE ARE SMARTER THAN THAT, TO TAKE THE BAIT. We do not price match , We let them match our prices ! has been serving tropical fish hobbyist since 1973 at 701 West Ave San Antonio Texas. During this period we have seen many fads come and go, but we have remained steadfast in our goal. To provide you with the best and widest selection, outstanding quality, and unequaled prices on tropical fish and supplies. To ensure this we believe in... " KISS " KEEP IT SIMPLE = SUCCESS this should allow you to absolutely enjoy your aquarium. Yes, we could sell you items you don't need to make high dollar sales like most, but why! First try to understand your aquarium. At we believe that understanding your aquarium will guarantee you a successful and happy aquarium. Spending allot of money on non-needed or 'high-tech' items probably will not help you succeed. Verify all information you get from the web. Many post may have been made by others living in areas which do not match San Antonio's water chemistry. Over many years in business we have found following to be extremely true. "Spending large amounts of money on your freshwater OR saltwater set-up will not relate to how any aquarium will perform" . It will allow you to brag though. Understand your aquarium and think like a fish . Do fish get intense lighting 10-12 hours per day ? (i.e.. think, sunrise-sunset, not mid-day all the time). Would you like to swim in a sewer ? ( not doing regular partial water changes ) ? There is no such thing as a miracle, or no-water change - filtering system , unless that is your buying the cities sewage plant as your filter. Just toping up an aquarium when water evaporates only concentrates bad items in the aquarium. Swimming in to much or too little water flow ? These and other factors will affect the health of your fish. Another benefit is we say Should or Might for advice we give. This is because for "mandatory" advise someone gives you, I can give an example of someone else doing it another way and being just as successful. Why buy expensive not needed items just because a salesperson told you; "you must have it for your fish to live and prosper" . In our retail area we have used undergravel filters for over 44 years. For over 34 years plus, in our holding area we have used only two sponge filters per 29-45 gallon aquarium and have kept fish extremely well and for long periods. Try to understand HOW your aquarium works. Most aquariums do better without fancy and costly items. Most high tech items cost more than old tech and generally contain more pieces that can break. Lately, finding replacement items for them can be very difficult if at all. Try to understand the biological cycle instead of loosing your hard earned cash to a good salesperson or on-line recommendation. Try to understand how chemicals affect your test kits and biological cycle. Some are really good at what they are "intended" to do but other expensive chemicals just push the cycle down the road and you cannot trust your test kits because of the chemicals used. So you feel something is wrong with your tank and get talked into other "not needed" chemicals. We have undergravel filters in all but 2 of our saltwater tanks and all but 5 of our freshwater aquariums form 1973 on years with no problems. Our aquariums are not interconnected with each other . Disease cannot spread from one aquarium to another, as they do, if they are on a same filter/supply line. Just about all other stores have stopped carrying or recommending undergravel filters because they do not create repeat sales for filter pads and media. Most aquariums do better with undergravel filters. Just remember though, their is no bad filter system, all have advantages and disadvantages. sells all types of filters. We carry over 10 types of water conditioners and hundreds of other chemicals and supplies Yes, we do sell some of the high-tech items and chemicals, Plus some of the must have fad items. We do not ship livestock. From what customers have told us, (even from Austin, Houston, Dallas and other cities) we have the best selection, quality, and price of livestock. We also have been told we have some of the best selection and price of aquarium ornaments. FRESHWATER AQUARIUM SETUPS 10 gallon complete setups with gravel and adding fish later should not cost over $ 75 dollars. Can be less or more expensive depending on fish and ornaments. Before manufactures started pushing hang on the back external filters years ago, the undergravel filter was the best and only filter an aquarium needed. Today as in the past, no filter is bad and with the increase in the cost of the undergravel filters, the external filter makes allot of sense. Manufactures are now selling "BOX KITS" that contain most items required to have an aquarium at a great price. So if you need or want to start up an aquarium going with a BOX KIT sometimes makes allot of sense. Since 1975 we have followed the following and have been very successful.. 1. Do not get in a hurry. Buy a basic set-up and add items later if need or just desired. 2. MAKE SURE YOU GET A WATER CONDITIONER THAT REMOVES CHLORINE . 3. Add fish in stages and not in large numbers at once. WHY ? Tap water does not have GOOD bacteria for breaking down fish waste/ammonia. Nothing happens in the aquarium until a living item, SUCH AS FISH are added to produce waste . By adding chemicals like Prime and others, may cause the bacteria cycle to be pushed down the road, so to speak. They remove not only chlorine but the ammonia which bacteria need to feed on to age the tank properly. Keep this in mind when using. They are excellent at what they are intended to do. ADDING BACTERIA MAY HELP IN reducing Ammonia, and also help reduce ammonia naturally. BUT WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF FISH TO PRODUCE AMMONIA FOR THE BACTERIA TO EAT, THE BACTERIA MAY DIE OFF AND COULD POLLUTE THE WATER. So adding fish in small numbers and in stages will build up this bacteria gradually. 4. Big fish eat small fish. Aggressive fish will generally kill non-aggressive fish. Some fish do not like new aquariums. WE DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT RECOMMEND USING GHOST SHRIMP OR FEEDER GOLDFISH TO START CYCLES . Some fish require certain foods. HOWEVER some of these rules can be broken, b...