In-store shopping
Yes
Sailfin Pet Shop in Champaign
Categories
Location on the map
Champaign, Champaign County, Illinois, US
Service options
Delivery
No
Accessibility
Wheelchair-accessible car park
Yes
Wheelchair-accessible entrance
Yes
Planning
Quick visit
Yes
Payments
NFC mobile payments
Yes
Phone: +1 217-352-1121
Site: http://www.sailfin.com/
Site: http://www.sailfin.com/
Opening hours
- Monday:9AM–7PM
- Tuesday:9AM–7PM
- Wednesday:9AM–7PM
- Thursday:9AM–7PM
- Friday:9AM–7PM
- Saturday:9AM–6PM
- Sunday:11AM–5PM
Comments (199)
Fish and tanks that go on forever. 4 stars only because it took a while to get help. I went on a Saturday but i had 4 different employees pass me, one twice, without stopping to see if i needed anything. I had been in front of the same fish tank for 10 mins. Very nice place though.
Super helpful. When I asked an associate about certain fish filters, she said shes new but would find someone with that knowledge. Big points.Got the answer, purchased exactly what I was looking for. Thank you Sailfin!
Really neat place. Staff could answer all questions and were very helpful. Good priced fish and other small pets.
Very helpful staff. The store has a great selection. I bought a bird for my mother. Everything I needed was there.
Great place for fresh, salt fish, mammals, reptile, arachnid and birds! Supplies and ideas galore! Have been a customer for at least 20 years.
Great place with great employees. No matter who you talk to... everyone has great knowledge of any species they have. They can special order any fish
All staff are very friendly and helpful. They gave me very detailed instructions on taking care of the pets.
Its a amazing place and very helpful finding what you need and what you want and how best to set up a tank.
Went and bought a baby female guinea pig. Got her home and out of travel box and she seized up and passed away. Unhappy to find out in those situations they can only do store credit. Also they are trying to pass off guinea pig kits with the cage and the animal and everything included in the cage that they are selling is way too small
This pet store is great! i bought a bunch of accessories and a new enclosure for my hamster. they had a much larger selection and variety than the local pet smart i visited on the same day. their prices are great, and their staff was super attentive and helpful. an employee even helped me carry my new enclosure to my car
I have a lot of exotic pets. Best place for taking care of their needs.I got my chinchilla here too would recommend.
John the owner was very rude to me. i tried to get a fish and he laughed at me and treated me like i had no idea what i was doing, when i was trying to get what i knew i wanted. and told me i wasn’t getting a fish. very unprofessional and i will never be back there and wouldn’t recommend to anyone. very cool fish very poor management!
Good for fish. Staff are knowledgeable and helpful.I got a hamster from them about a year ago, and hes very healthy. Unfortunately, I hadnt done my research, and they allowed me to buy a tiny plastic cage for a Syrian hamster who could barely fit inside.Overall though, a great shopping experience, and a great opportunity to shop local instead of at chain stores which clearly treat their animals (especially fish) very poorly.
Fantastic pet store. Only four stars given only because they have a limited supply of some items. But they are tons better in the fish quality and related items.
Great place! We got our Black Bear Hamster there, as well as all the food and toys etc. All the animals, reptiles, snakes, fish, birds, rats, (even aquatic plants) were taken good care of, and the staff teach you everything to make sure you can give them a nice life. My bf also got a betta fish there, whos happy with his moss ball.
This is the best pet store ive ever been to, and im from Georgia. The staff is very knowledgeable and all the animals are happy and healthy. Customer service is off the charts, Frankie is amazing and knows her stuff. If your looking for a new place that isnt a chain pet store Sailfin is a one stop shop with great sales! Warning ⚠️ YOU WILL SPEND AN ENTIRE PAY CHECK HERE. DO IT. .. recently went here, unfortunately they lost alot of great staff. The customer service has definitely taken a hit. 25 minutes waiting on crickets...
Can always find what I need and the staff is super knowledgable.
My daughter and I had a great experience here, knowledgeable, helpful, and friendly staff
Customer service is terrible. Waited over 45 minutes to be helped in the fish room while customers who waited alot less time were helped before I was. Walked out after waiting that long.
As usual, excellent service, expert advice from knowledgeable owner and quality pets, supplies and foods. My family and I have come to Sailfin for so many years and we will continue supporting this neat Pet Store!.
My experience in the Sailfin Pet Shop was pretty mixed, both satisfied and disappointed. I’m a fish keeping beginner, I was very excited when I got my first two guppies from the shop. The professional staffs were very helpful. Although they were very busy and occupied by customers most of the time, they were patient and could give useful suggestions once they paid attention on me. I trusted them and bought the products they recommended, like water plants, gravels, sand, thermometer, all basic setups. The prices were a little higher than Amazon, but fair. However, my user experience totally changed after my water heater went wrong. When I bought the heater, they told me it’s a perfect heater for a 5 gallon tank and the temperature would stay the same once it got 82F. But the highest temperature I had was 86F, I bet it would keep rising if I didn’t disconnect it. One of my guppies died one day after. When I went back to the shop and tried to return the heater and figure out why my guppy died, the staff there refused the return and told me the product couldn’t be returned once it’s used. They either didn’t give me any useful suggestions and just kept selling me other products. I felt very disappointed and upset about their services and felt sad about my passed guppy and my first unsuccessful fish petting experience.
This place has been my go-to for all things aquarium for over a decade. I greatly enjoy the staff and I know that they care about the well being of the animals they sell. Free Water test, knowledgeable team members, and the management has always been great with helping me answer my unique questions (there are many....) Thanks for everything you guys/girls do for the Aquarists in our community.
We purchased a parakeet and she is the sweetest little girl. They were so helpful in suggesting food and methods to help the transition less stressful for her. Just a wonderful place.
Ive had a nice experience here up until my last visit, & because of it, I will not return again due to my concern of how reptiles there are treated. I went in to browse leopard geckos. I got to the reptile section & saw that there were maybe 8 young leopard geckos in total. Only 1 or 2 of them had their tail...which can be common due to stress or aggressive tank behavior, & Im not basing my conclusion on just that necessarily... The most disturbing part was that they were STILL all housed together in two separate cages! Not okay!!
Employees are very nice and sweet, also very helpful in recommending in necessities for the pets, Bought two hermit crabs and were kept in great and well conditions. They also have all types that I would greatly recommend looking in for.
Very knowledgeable and friendly staff
Best exotic pet shop in a 100 miles and one of the nicest Ive ever seen. Ive been patronising this establishment for nearly 30 years. They were the ones who introduced me to the hobby as young boy. They are intent on selling fish that work in aquariums. Other stores will sell things that look cool but will just die shortly in captivity because thier needs cant be met in a home aquarium. Ive never had to treat any fish Ive gotten here for diseases, parasites or ick. The staff are very knowledgeable and really care about whether you have the capability to sustain the fish you want to buy. The tanks are always immaculately clean and they have fish countless fish for sail that the workers at PetSmart have never even heard.
Amazing animal/pet store. Good selection of starter animals for those who want to get their first pet as well as more advanced creatures for those with experience. Theres a large fish variety from baby (I forgot the specific name) sharks to koi fish and even axolotl! (Theyre adorable) They offer birds, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. If youre looking for a good pet the staff is great help if you need guidance in any way. Thank you for reading and make sure to stop by! (P.S. Im not sponsored in any way, I just really like the place)
OMG!!! I love this place. The employees are awesome and knows there stuff...They also have a great price on a tank set ups and critters!!! We even got 5his guy y we was there....
I really like coming to SF for supplies for my rabbit and fish and always like to take a look at the creatures they have there! They have my favorite brands in stock at prices that I find very fair. The staff is always knowledgeable and willing to help. One of the employees helped me set up my fish tank in the store since it was my first time buying one like it. She was so nice to go out of her way to help with that, i wish I remembered her name! The only thing I could complain about is that sometimes if you catch the owner at a bad time, he can seem a little condescending and impatient. I know he’s a usually nice guy though! Overall, it’s a great store and it’s always my first choice over competitors and I like to support small, family owned businesses!
Knowledgeable & helpful staff. Gave me expert advice for proper set up & proper fish for my miniature tank. Negated misinformation I had read online. So glad I came here for true information. Highly recommend for anyone with small animals, reptiles, birds, or fish, of course.
I came to this pet shop hoping for a good helping hand to help me get my 75 fish tank going … It takes us 5 weeks to get perfect ph.. yet when we put in our fish they all died yet we were lucky to have baby fish …. Before our fish a snail came into our tank that was not invited .. we told them about the snail and they didn’t care at all and said “watch out there will be more of them!” I was so mad of how rude they were.. the manger gave me false information about fish.. also 2 week later after the Bady fish we found parasites and roundworms and leeches in our tank you know what they said well they said “I don’t know what to do” I left the shop in rage . So after 3 weeks up planning I got every thing out my self.
Knowledgeable staff. However, very busy and the wait is usually quite lengthy. They need a better system for getting help or to have more staff. They carry everything youll need for your aquarium, birds and small pets.
Great variety for pet owners
Stopped in for plant weekend and was greeted kindly. Assistance was awesome!Edited: Had to remove a couple stars because turns out the plants we purchased were loaded with snail eggs, and now we have a snail infestation. Im counting 30+ snails.
Terrible service,you need to wait your assistant about 20 minutes. I bought a shrimps for 10$ for pice and they dead for the next day. When I come back and explain my situation, shop owner said,that was my fault. From another shops, the same type of shrimps live in my aquarium during 2 years with no problems.Low quality fishes and shrimps. Prices double for aquarium equipments. You can check yourself.
Been going here since I was a kid - great local pet shop! They have an incredible variety of fish and reptiles/amphibians. The staff are all extremely knowledgeable.
I have had really good luck here with pets and toys. My hamster was really friendly, and loved being with me. My parakeet is also very friendly, and loves to play. They have great toy and food selections, and seem to be a big hit with my parakeet (and with my hamster). They have pretty good customer service, but we did have an instance where an employee was a bit bossy.We were asking about getting a second parakeet, and when we inquired about it, he asked if I was happy with my bird, and he was happy with me. I responded “yes” to both questions, and he said “Then let’s keep it that way, shall we?”I didn’t appreciate the way he said it. I would have been happy if he told me a little bit about the pros and cons of getting a second parakeet.Other than that, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Sailfin, and would definitely recommend it. Great toys, pets, food, and pretty good customer service. Employees usually give lots of information about the pets, and it is a great place to go for first-time pet owners. That being said, it is also great for experienced pet-owners. Thank you Sailfin!
Went for advice on my new tortoise and all they did was try to sell me a bunch of things that I didn’t need. I’ve done a lot of research on my own before going in and the lady that helped me ( I think her name was Cassie) told me I should buy all these supplies that aren’t good for the type of tortoise I have (a sulcata) and when I informed her of my extensive research she accused me of arguing with her. I bought the reptile substrate she kept insisting that I buy and it is already molding not even a week later and my tortoise almost choked on it. I would recommend if you must buy from them you should know their employees don’t actually know what they are talking about when it come to the animals... only salespeople!!!
This place is the real deal.... recently bought my first tarantula there... staff are awesome, very helpful and friendly... good selection of animals, feeders, and accessories! 😀
The store is really big though it doesnt look like it from the outside. The selection is amazing! Rarely do you find places that sell dart frogs, or even red eye tree frogs! The staff was very helpful and nice. Thanks to brittini for making my first trip to this pet store easy
Always been a great place for pets and supplies. Me and my family have shopped here for our birds for over 20 years. John and his staff are helpful and know what theyre talking about.Only my hyacinth I gotta find food and stuff elsewhere for other then here.
I bought a baby boa a couple weekend ago.... Shes a real sweet snake but unfortunately has mites.... Not something that Ive ever dealt with before.....
Have been customer here since last year. Getting really disappointed about the customer service and product quality there. Live plants we bought there have annoying snails that reproduce rapidly in our fish tanks. Obviously they did a poor job maintaining their live plants. Most time I visit there I have to wait for more than 15min if I need to look for the staff to help get a fish. The staff were nice but not so knowledgeable. If you have question, google it might help more. I don’t think I will ever pay visit to this store any more.
Friendly and helpful as always! Did yall know they have tank-ready water for sale by the gallon? They do!!
Their prices are absolutely awesome! I found a cup of 50 mealworms for 3 bucks and some change! Plus, I purchased a new tank for my leopard gecko for less than 200. Which I find a deal compared to Petsmart prices. I definitely recommend buying products and pets from here!
John and his staff always go above and beyond for me. I have been going to Salefin for the last couple years for all my fish, turtle, and more needs. Thank you to the wonderful staff for making it the best pet shop around!
I come here for the amazing prices! I buy in bulk so prices are even better. Specifically bunny products: 50lbs bag, 9lbs of hay and 2 big bags of bedding. Dont be afraid of the scary looking building the people inside are super nice and helpful!
My daughter wanted fish, and we went here. Helpful staff tested her water for free and recommended a few starter fish and feed. So far so good.. going back shortly to add to the collection now that the first two have acclimated. Many, many kinds of fish available.
Great variety of products, the fish they have are beautiful and well mantained
Nice, friendly staff. Theyre so helpful. You have to wear masks in the store, which I appreciate. They have snakes, birds, fish, rats, hamsters, ferrets, and more! They have tanks, food, and many accessories for whatever pet you may have. Its worth stopping in for sure!
I’m not sure the name of the employee but she had purplish hair and a blue face mask. Also owns 13 animals. Anyhow, she helped me for almost an hour today and made sure I had everything I needed for my new saltwater tank, even helped carry the tank to my vehicle. Can’t thank her enough, wonderful customer service. Definitely worth the 40 minute drive to sailfin!
Always a delightful experience! They have great products and their staff is very knowledgeable. Even if you just want to look at some fish, this is a great place to go!
Very knowledgeable staff...always a great experience here!
Great place we found our new bird 🐦 there very helpful and very useful information
Went there a few days ago to prepare for a new beta fish. Got excellent guidance and tips from the staff there. Genuinely nice people who are animal-lovers clearly. They had all kinds of products and equipment that would satisfy majority of your pet needs. Highly recommend going here, even just to check it out if your not buying anything.
I have been a customer of the shop for over 20 years. I have purchased a wide variety of pets and supplies from them and I’ve never been disappointed. The owner is generous and supportive of programs in the community and local schools. The staff is knowledgeable and focused on the best care of the animals above all else. When it comes to a locally owned pet store, Sailfin is best I have ever encountered!
Love this pet store. Primarily specializes in fish both salt and freshwater. They also sell small reptiles, birds, and small mammals. They are very friendly at this store, always asking if you need help with anything. My wife and i purchased snails here and they taught us anything we needed to know.
Fantastic store, wonderful employees, and well cared for pets. Would highly recommend for anyone in the area looking for a pet store with a wide range of animals and animal care products.
Great pet shop! Has like everything for pets except cats and dogs. Salt and freshwater Fish, reptiles, tanks, terrariums, all with great selections.
I loved this place! All the animals and the overall store. They also have good products for animals. I got my ferret there around 3 months ago and shes doing awesome. I would like them to add toys suitable for ferrets and a little more info about them but over all i love sailfin. Im even thinking about going and buying another ferret :) (even though i get major anxiety about them being hurt and everything.)
One of the only pet stores around with some unique animals. Sometimes a long wait to get help.
Great selection of fish and items for pets
Amazing selection of fish, small mammals, and reptiles! Always have what I need, and at a relatively cheap price. I have never had a bad experience with anything they sell. The staff is also friendly, and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this store for any pet lovers out there!!
What a great selection!! The owner was Soo helpful on our purchase! We could not find any corn morphs in our area and drove hr and half to check out what they had and ended up with two beautiful corns!
Great selection of exotics. Horrible service.
Cassie and Britini are the best!! They are so knowledgeable and helpful with our 55 gallon community tank. I have no knowledge about fish tanks, but ours is thriving thanks to these awesome ladies! Best pet store ever, highly recommend!!
Awesome place to bring the kids and pick out a new pet! Has just about everything! Just dont rely too heavily on the staffs knowledge, especially of the more exotic animals. They basically told my friend how to kill a bearded dragon instead of proper care instructions.
Always a great help with finding the correct product for your pet. Usually very knowledgeable staff and if one doesnt know, theyll find you one that does. My gecko I got from here has been healthy and happy, both because they took great care, and they helped me to take care of them.
Staff is always very helpful. They dont rush when answering questions, instead take the time to explain their answers until you get it. Fish are healthy when you purchase them. They are always busy, especially weekends. You may have to wait a little bit on the weekends for assistance, but that just tells you, that many seek their services because they are so good at what they do. I highly recommend their store for you pet needs.
Love seeing what kinds of critters they have
Best pet shop in town. They have great customer service. Have been going there for over 30 years
Been coming here for years, have literally spent thousands. Past few times I’ve been in, cannot get service. Thought it may have been a fluke, NOPE... Workers walk past without asking if you’ve been helped, front checkout is a ghost town. Workers have attitude when asked for help. No sense of urgency to help customers and then get onto the next. Congratulations, life long customer... GONE! Never again
Prices always beat the big chains. Support the real pet shops first, like Sailfin. Saltwater fish, fresh water fish, pet rats, reptiles, hedgehogs, short tailed Opossums ( better small pet than a hamster, just keep them warm and humid, they live 4 to 6 yrs). They usually get biology students from the UofI that are passionate about animals, and they clean cages non stop. I would love to see them bring back parrots, they used to be the top place to buy a parrot... period. His reptile room is nice, quality animals being offered. Always check Sailfin out.
Always available if you need help and super knowledgeable. Friendly and the prices are the best I have seen. I wish this was my local pet store.
If I could give 0 stars and a report to get the animals rehomed I would. For starters their fish are way over priced. Was looking at a fish it had a big mass on its eye, looked blind, and couldn’t really move. They wanted $100+ for that fish. Now let’s get into the birds. The cages are way too small for those birds. Improper caging. The rodents are next to the reptiles which is also improper. The rodents are crammed into super small containers like the ferrets there’s two in a cage that’s meant for one guinea pig. There’s no bedding except cardboard. The reptiles oh my god. Walked in the very first gecko you see is completely lifeless(dead). There’s no heat for them.(improper). They are all over priced. They are all crammed in super small cages. The workers knew absolutely nothing correct about any of their animals. Over all my experience there on 1/27/19 at 4:30pm. Was the worse pet store I’ve ever been to and I will never go back there. Also the smell of piss from the rodents made me sick. Super nasty, not clean, so much Animal abuse and everything about that store is wrong.
It was a cute shop with a variety of pets. I truly appreciate that they enforce masks regardless of vaccination status.
First time there and unfortunately I was not super impressed. Very cool to see all the different types of fish; salt and freshwater.The store was super busy, one man running errands for people and one person at the register. Very frustrating to say the least. But thankfully the man that did end up helping us was very useful and polite.
Amazing store, has just about anything you could need for a salt or fresh water aquarium. The employees are very knowledgeable and very very friendly. This is my newly favorite fish store. I travel an hour and a half to do all my business here now.
This building is kinda funky and super hard to get out of depending on traffic- but! They have a great selection and pretty much every thing you could need for almost every kind of pet. Very clean, super friendly staff, competitive prices. Will be back for sure!
I went in to buy my first tarantula and was very pleased to find that they had a better selection than I had hoped for. The staff were all very knowledgeable when answering questions about the species, enclosures, and requirements of the tarantula. They were even willing to bend the rules slightly to let me handle the tarantulas since I have plenty of experience with them. Overall an excellent experience.
Very disappointed in my recent and last purchase here. We spent a good 20 minutes walking through the store just to find someone to help us and when we would see someone the would quickly walk away and not make eye contact. The person who finally helped us was nice and seemed at the time to know a great deal about the fish we were shopping for. We bought 5 glo fish, three snails, a fresh water eel, and the food tablets with our total being around $97. Day one after getting the tank set up and fish accommodated we noticed two of the three snails had not moved. Turns out they were both dead. Day 3 and 4 of the glo fish had died. We are now on day 5 and only have 1 snail and the eel left. When we asked about what food to feed them the employee gave us sinking pellets and daid all of them would be able to eat them but when we fed them they were too big for the glo fish to eat so we had to go to another store and find something else. We are now left with practicality no fish but the eel and snail. Those two are definitely NOT worth the almost $100 we spent here. We will not be back.
Great selection, knowledgeable staff. They can also do special orders. You do have to wait a bit for help sometimes, but that is the nature of a small business; customers come in waves, so you will sometimes have more customers than staff can keep up with.
Always friendly and knowledgeable. Great place to get small pets and fish.
Friendly staff, easy to become a regular here. Got my.canary from here as well, 10/10 pet store, definitely the best in the cu area.
Very helpful. Thankful for the water test.
Wide selection of animals and marine life are offered. A variety of items are available for each species they sell. However, they dont have very much knowledge of the animals they sell. Frequently mixing up breeds of their small animals, improper care of those animals, no hay for the small mammals who require it to live. They literally can not keep employees, every time Im in there I see a different face, leading me to believe they really DONT have the knowledge required to care for and place these animals in proper homes.I purchased both my guinea pigs and my rabbit there. Both my guineas have had health problems, one of the brothers passed away (even under the care of an experienced exotics vet) just a year after bringing him home, leading me to believe they receive their animals from inexperienced backyard breeders. They sold me a cage that was insanely too small for my rabbit informing me it would be perfect for him throughout his life. He grew out of the cage within a couple months. They do not spay/neuter their animals so irresponsible people can purchase them and breed more sickly animals.I HIGHLY recommend looking elsewhere for your next family member. The Humane Society of Champaign County always has a surplus of small mammals, scaled friends, and feathered companions available for adoption.Maybe Sailfin is good to their fish? I dont know.
This review is just regarding their customer service, the animals and selection in the store is great. I came in to purchase a second heat lamp for my hedgehog because the temperatures are dropping. I intended to get an exact double of the one I have, which has worked well for him for several months. Both the owner and the sales clerk tried three times to talk me out of my purchase and into other products without even asking what type of environment my hedgehog has (a large glass terrarium on an attached stand). They were condescending and turned what should have been a quick transaction into a 20 minute hassle.
All animals seem really tamed and friendly, very sweet, i bought a rat not to long ago and got so much help and advice and she is doing great and is so sweet never bites and all around is the best!
I got some nice dry rock for my aquarium at this store. The biggest downside for me was the pricing. 3 dollars per pound for dry rocks was a bit steep compared to an online retailer who sells it much cheaper with free shipping.Saltwater intertibrate prices and selection are lacking, as was employee knowledge of common aquarium parts.
Going to Sailfin always makes me happy. I bought my first fish tank (a year ago) from them. I have gotten a lot of constructive advice from the staff members at Sailfin on how maintain my fish tank, what kind of fishes to get and what kind of plants are good from my fishes. I like my first tank so much that I got a second one from Sailfin recently and I cant wait to explore what kind of fishes/sea life I can have in my fish tank.
They were very nice there
Great place for fish and other animals. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. The tanks are well maintained. A treasure for Champaign over the decades.
When I went to the store I already knew I wanted a rabbit. I had prepared for getting a rabbit, did some research and then went to the store. They only had dwarf rabbits available, which was fine by me. They have a small room you can go to if you want to see an animal outside of the display enclosure. An employee put one of their rabbits in my arms while I was sitting down in the room. I talked to him and asked some questions. He told me that the rabbit I was holding was a female and that she had been spayed. He was very nice and seemed knowledgeable. I named her Murphy and got her suitable cage that served as her personal space but otherwise she roamed free around my apartment. I was there for about three months for school before moving back to Virginia.I had her for about 6 months before taking her to the vet. I was informed that she was actually a he and he was not fixed. I also learned that he is not actually a dwarf rabbit. According to the vet, hes most likely part Californian and if he has any dwarf rabbit in him its likely insignificant and cant possibly be any more than half.I love my rabbit. Hes now neutered and still living the good life. Though all the employees seem knowledgeable and are as nice as can be, you cant take that at face value, especially when it comes to their small animals.
This is a wonderful place if you like scaly pets! I have all kinds of lizards and snakes they even have rabbits turtles as well as there is forms of rodents like guinea pigs and rats. The service is wonderful and the staff is amazing and theyre extremely helpful and always has a smile on their faces.
Theyve got a very wide variety of pets, with a major emphasis on exotic and nonexotic fish. Clean cages, plenty of food for the animals, and lots of activity in the animals which Im very thankful to see! Wonderful place, I definitely recommend checking them out!
Love the place cant get anyone to help. So we left and went to pet smart to get fish. Wanted to buy some but no help.
Excellent pet store! They have everything, wide variety of salt and fresh water fish, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and bords! Excellent service, super friendly and verry professional staff that are knowledgeable and always able to answer any question.
John the owner is one of the hardest working man I have ever met and runs an outstanding pet store and he knows his stuff. 100% I would recommend Sailfin Pet Shop!
They sell reptiles, birds, fish and rodents. They also sell feeder rodents, both live and frozen. They have a good selection.We have purchased 2 snakes from them. A ball python, and a motley butter corn snake. Both snakes have been excellent eaters with either live or frozen.The employees handle the snakes, so that means they are already comfortable with being handled. Their snakes are priced in line with what you would expect.
Sorry but everything in here should be in its true environment, unfortunately customers dont question where these creatures have come from. For example are they captive breed or have you kidnapped them from there homes in the wild? And why does a snake spend its early years in a container not really big enough to move in?
Best and almost only live pet sales in town. Great sales staff, very knowledgeable about the products in the store.
I dont know where to being with this place. There is so much to say about this little shop. Overall, Sailfin Pet Shop is the best place to go to if you have a pet or are interested in a healthy pet.Sailfin contains feeder animals from fish, to bugs, to mice and rats! You can find everything IN the store, and if you cant find it in the store, the staff members will help order it for you! That includes products and animals!The staff is excellent. They approach you and ask you if you need help with anything. Sure, it may get annoying to have four different people ask you that question, but you can tell that this shop aims to please. There are so many products in this shop and surprisingly it is CHEAPER than the large chain stores. Dont let other people fool you; take a look yourself if you are skeptical! I love watching the small mammals approach me in their cages. The fish and small animals are so active. The birds will chirp and sing throughout the store!What people dont know about Sailfin is that there is a care staff in the back. Everyday the animals cages are cleaned with fresh bedding, new food and water, and the animals are looked over. They get played with daily. This definitely separates it from other pet stores.I absolutely love Sailfin. This shop is everything a customer can ask for. It is cheap, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable, but most importantly the animals are healthy!
I love coming here for my fish and snake needs!! I absolutely reccomend them to everyone! I visit them about every other week. I’ve gotten all my tanks, my two betas, and my ball python from here! All happy and healthy!
Review concerns their aquatics section only:Good store with decent service but their focus is clearly on saltwater. If you do freshwater tanks and just need the glassware or aquascaping stuff, or a new filter in an emergency, they do have a wide selection that you wont pay too hard out the nose for.
As of 10/24/2019 do not buy filtered water from here. Its been about a week and they cannot get their Filtration system working properly. I feel like I wasted 3 trips there.10/18/2019 First time they filled up my gallon jugs with filtered water. When I arrived at home, the water tested 160 ppm TDS. Basically the same as our tap water. I called them to inform them about it. They told me it should be fixed by the next day.10/19/2019 I called ahead of time to make sure their filters were changed in the filtration system. They said yes, the owner changed them out the night before, I said cool Ill be there soon. Refilled 4 gallons they owed and another 4 gallons. They gave me the extra 4 for my troubles. I told them thanks. I get home and test the water again with my TDS meter. It reads 140s. I called them again to let them know that its still messed up. They informed me that they will call me when its resolved.Fast forward to 10/24/2019. No word from them. My family and I decide to stop by, surely it should be resolved by now. Guess what? Still not resolved. Sorely disappointed. They had a whole shelf filled with filtered water thats probably still tap water. Its all for sale.Come on now. Shouldnt they have pulled all this out? How many customers who dont own TDS meters bought these filtered water on the premise that it was recommended to them by the employees.I feel that they honestly just dont care. This place isnt the same anymore.
Sailfin has an incredible selection of pets and pet supplies. The staff are typically friendly and knowledgeable and care deeply about the animals. Sometimes the wait to get an employee is a bit long but the quality and selection makes up for that. This is the go to place for pets and pet supplies.
This one of the best fish stores in central Illinois. They have awesome selection of fish and the clerks are very knowledgeable. They care about the animals they sell and arent afraid to advise you not to get fish if theyre not compatible with the fish you already have.
1/8/2019 - called at 7 PM, a male picked up and said can you hold for just one second. I said sure. Had me on hold for 15 minutes so I thought they might have forgotten about me, so I hung up and called again to find a disconnected ring tone. I tried calling over 5 times the next 25 minutes. Im guessing they were closing and the guy didnt want to deal with a phone call. Great way to run a business.
Pet store but not all pets allowed. usually general rules of pet stores are you can bring your pet as long as it’s leashed or held. I brought my snake in and i didn’t even take four steps through the door till i got yelled at. I was created by kids excited faces wanting to see my snake and parents interested in him too, but the man working cash told me to “put it away” i go to pet stores with my snakes all the time. this is the FIRST to not let me carry my sweet snake around. I go to other pet stores and people love seeing and petting my snake and the kids love when he “kisses them”. a dog is more likely to bite than my snake, and if you’ve ever been bitten by a ball python you know it hurts far less than a dog bite or cat scratch. After i was told to put “it” away i asked why i couldn’t bring him in, i was then told to put him in a bag. i went out to my car to grab a small cat crate i had in my trunk and i had to carry my 3lb snake in a 12lb carrier just to look around at a store i’ve never been to before. at first glance they are pretty expensive. they keep too many birds in too small of cages as well as their other reptiles and their ferrets! ferrets need BIG cages. there was four in a small guinea pig cage. They give out wrong information about how you should house animals. Very disappointed in their rude staff, and very upset with their animal husbandry.
This Place is the worst! Dont waste your time or money! Go somewhere else! Customer service sucks also do to management! I dont understand how people could work for the owner!
I love having a great local fish store. Their weekly sales are always amazing and worth checking out. The employees are kind and helpful. Would highly recommend shopping here!
Staff never addressed me during the 15 minutes I walked around looking for fish and at least 50% of the freshwater tanks had at least 1 or more DEAD FISH in them at After 3 pm , so its safe to say that the alternative lifestyle Employees could not be bothered with appearances.Not impressed with all the inaccurate labeling of species in each tank either.Decent amount of variety and inventory too bad Im not a below average looking attention seeking through appearance approval needing subhuman smh
Best pet store around! I havent met anyone more knowledgeable about a variety of pets than the owner John. The staff is also very well educated as well. You may have to wait a little bit on the busy days, but it is always worth it.
Great staff, Great Product, Great location.There really isnt much to say negative about this place! all around a great place, The product, and knowledge base is there.ONLY cons I could possibly come up with would be, they are extremely busy sometimes, and its hard to keep up with customer flow. HAVE PATIENCE, they will get to every customer, and treat every customer with the same quality and standards as the last!The layout is a little awkward at the location, however its an awesome location with great parking!5 STARS - all around,cant wait to adopt a bird this week from sailfin!!IM EXCITED!
Super helpful and knowledgeable. Especially awesome that they test aquarium water and will do other tests to help out at no charge. A great place!
Excellent pet shop! The pets are well cared for and healthy, theres a very wide variety of animals, and the staff are very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful. I have purchased a hamster and a fish from this shop and would definitely recommend it.
Easily the coolest pet store I have ever seen, offering not just a massive number of marine life of every imaginable variety but also a wide array of mammals, birds, and reptiles and all of the cages, equipment, and food needed to provide them a proper home. More important than the selection is Sailfins attentive and knowledgeable staff who are always willing to take the time to help give your pet a happy home.Even if you arent in the pet market, Sailfin is still a must see.
This store is the only place I can get frozen rats for my ball python. The rats are fine. The staff is usually helpful. However, the way in which they treat the other animals in this store is unacceptable.Multiple times I have seen them putting two or more ball pythons in an enclosure together, both juvenile and adult, and every single hide for their reptiles are facing the glass (meaning that they dont really provide any sense of security for the animal). This is EXTREMELY stressful for the animals and dangerous if one of the co-habbed animals gets sick (which they are more likely to get ill when not given proper husbandry like this).When I asked someone working at the store why they had two BPs in one enclosure, they said that they were brought in together.Ball pythons are not dogs. They do not form friendly bonds. They should have never been together in the first place and that is no excuse.The ball pythons are stressed. They are on paper bedding with no temperature gages or humidity gages visible. There is no way they can have enough space to regulate their temperature (their tanks are approx. 10-20 gallon for two ADULT ball pythons!)This is unacceptable. Please change this treatment for the animals. If you dont have the room to properly house these animals, either dont accept them or buy more tanks. Hell, even a rack system would be better. Please fix this. It is not okay.
This is how all pet shops should be. They have all kinds of fish (salt & fresh) and take great care of their animals, unlike brand name pet stores, like Pet Smart. This place is where I get my fish and also where I bought my 29-gallon aquarium for cheap.
The male employees there are really arrogant and thinks everything they think they know is absolutely right. They always try to sell you tons unnecessary supplies, so make sure to do your research before stepping in.on the other hand, the girls there are very friendly and helpful, other wise this will be a one star review. go girls!
I absolutly love this funky place. The entrance is odd but the staff is so knowledgeable. The anamials on sale are clearly cared for with love. I also appreciate the selection of water plants available.
OMG!!!! THIS PLACE IS AMAZING, the selection of marine life is abundant. Customer service is good, but it can take a while before someone gets with you, as they are a very busy place.
Way over priced, staff is rather rude and not helpful all they do mostly is gossip about off job issues, birds are way over priced an poorly kept, they lost me as a customer forever I do not reccomend them at all.
Sailfin is amazing I love going in and just looking around at the different fish and animals and accessories. But if u need a fish or animal the employees are great they are noligable and very cool people so if there is something you need for your fish tank or you are just getting started sailfin is the place you want to go
Been going to Sailfin for many years great service great selection will continue to go here
Ive had aquariums ever since I was in the 5th grade... and Im 63 years old and I also have birds and dogs. This is one of the best pet stores Ive ever visited. Excellent selection of fish and other fine pets; they are in great health and are well taken care of. Very impressive! This place is a refreshing difference from the PetSmart and PetCo stores; its the old-fashioned LFS type of place. This store reflects many years of experience and real care. Superb!
I cant recommend this store enough! I dont live in Champaign anymore, but I purchased my now 12 year old cockatiel Buckbeak :) from Sailfin Pets in 2005. He has been, and continues to be, a great pet for many years. He has maintained excellent health and has tolerated a lot of moving over the years. The instructions for care were thorough in preparing me for bird ownership, and the owner and his wife really cared quite a lot about the birds they sold. Like I say, I cant recommend this store enough. Sailfin gets 5 stars.
Frags are covered in green hair algea or bryposis. Live rock covered in apastia and manjos. Dead or dying corals in the tanks. Some dead freshwater fish in the tanks. Observations made on 2/19 and 2/28Prices are high compared to similar stores in central ilmonths ago I would have written a completely different review. service has gone downhill. I went into the store with the intentions of buying an invertebrate or Coral for my saltwater aquarium. The fact that I walked out of the store empty-handed is the fault of the employees. I stood around for 20 minutes without getting any help. Had too walk to the front and ask somebody for assistance. The associate that tried to help me was unknowledgeable about saltwater and got an attitude when I acquired about new stock still in the box. I walked out while conversing my distain with a friend going past three other associates. None of them had any intention of changing my mind, even after I said I wont ever be back.
Theres such a large variety of pets and supplies! Got my first snake here, the staff was wonderful in fully answering any and all questions in an extremely friendly manner.
Good variety of fishes. More expensive than pet smart.
Prices are slightly high and the place is rather small. Every time I go there, I always see workers walking around but I almost never get asked if I need help. But if you manage to flag a worker down they are very helpful and happy to assist you.
Great family owned pet shop. The staff is very knowledgeable
Friendly and knowledgeable. Answered my concerns about my gecko and recommended where I can take it to see a vet.
Great selection ,clean and well organized with decent prices.It was a little difficult to find someone to help me.
It is a nice place but the fish I bought there 3 days later they all Died
I love coming in. They have a great selection of pets, especially fish, and they are quick to answer any questions. Ive bought both pets and supplies from them. The pet toys are really affordable and I love their selection of pet foods.
I was surprised to see how little attendants were considering the size of the crowd. But it still the only place in Chambana I trust to get my fish
Simply the best! Sailfin is your one stop for both aquarium and exotic-animal shopping in central Illinois. They have been a wonderful resource for me over the years, whether for my own animals or those I work with in my research. I have purchased many healthy, happy animals from Sailfin over the years, including tree frogs, crested geckos, tarantulas, fish, and very shortly, a snake. The staff takes their cues from the owner, John Cwaygel, who is not only invested in the well-being of his animals but also the satisfaction of his customers. John is extremely knowledgeable and patient; whether youre a dedicated hobbyist or a one-time customer, youre treated as part of the Sailfin family. Im particularly indebted to the Sailfin staff for giving the very best of care to my late Whites tree frog, Spanky (see my profile picture), during his elder years whenever I was out of town. Truly the model of a community, customer-oriented business!
I love this pet shop I really think all their animals look good and the staff all seems very knowledgable and takes the proper steps to make sure animals are safe and cared for.
Really cool pet shop! Worth the visit to just to see all of the fish and birds they have here. I was able to find everything I needed for my canary here.
I have always went here for my pet needs. My mom worked here and I grew up around John. They are great people and care about the well being of your pets
Best place for small animal care Ive even r been to. Extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff. I wont get my geckos crickets anywhere else!
Knows there stuff, John always helps and cares. Been going since 1986 and now our Kids go and learn, talk and get supplies. Kerp up good work!
Takes terrible care of its pets and sells them with supplies known to be dangerous and risk causing harm or even death. Especially the reptiles.E.g. Baby bearded dragon kit contains a heat rock likely to cause burns, overheating, and death due to the lack of sensory nerves on a bearded dragons underside. They are meant to be housed with a basking light and ceramic heat emitter in the night if needed. Bearded dragons absorb heat by flattening their body to absorb sunlight and cannot sense belly heat well enough to tell when its burning them.When addressed with staff, was dismissed on insistence that bearded dragons are nocturnal, and absorb heat in this manner - a fact extremely well known as utterly false. Bearded dragons are diurnal - and in fact need darkness to be able to sleep.The baby bearded dragons also display extreme amounts of obvious stress markings and are under 6 inches - well agreed to be too small to be sold due to their delicacy under this size. The leopard geckos are also housed in unfit conditions (no lighting, needing a day cycle to get proper rest and not become depressed and inactive or stop eating. Utter lack of actual hides.) as another of many examples.Please dont buy from here unless absolutely necessary. Even chain stores like PetSmart in the area treat the majority of their animals better.
🚨UPDATE THEY STILL HAVE HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND ITS REALLY SICKENING HOW THEY OPERATE IN THIS PLACE 😤 MY PET WILL PROBABLY DIE DEPENDING ON THEM 😤Ignores customers very frequently as if they are invisible....no customer greetings. Weird vibes
Great selection of freshwater fish, amazing customer service and a local business what is there not to love.
Awesome experience, staff was very knowledgable & truly cared for each animal. Answered every question & were all great to deal with!
Very helpful and knowledgeable. Good inventory in a wide variety, at a fair price!
Sailfin gives you the peace of mind and expertise needed when learning how to care for a new exotic species! Theyre the best!
The best fish store in the area by a large margin as long as you have 30 + minutes to wait to be helped. I have left without buying anything the last 2 times visiting.
Great place wonderful selection of fish and other animals.. everyone there was super helpful and knew what they were talking about
Fun shop with lots of animals. Somewhat puppy mill like atmosphere, but friendly staff and lots of pet supplies. Lots of birds, rodents, lizards, and fish.
Quality salt water fish and friendly knowledgeable staff. I have been doing business with Sailfin Pet Shop for years and will continue in the future.
Great place to get all my ferret needs at a good price. Petco is more and 95% always out and only carry about 5 items.
Great fish store.. Staff will spend the time to help you any way they can, even if they are busy.
One of the best.Owner and staff very helpful and friendly.They know what there talking about.Great selection of saltwater and freshwater fish.Its my go to place.
Knowledgeable staff. Have an assortment of pets. Fish(fresh and saltwater), reptiles, birds, insects, and small mammals. Good prices and nice to support a local business.
Sailfin is the place to go if youre getting a pet, as far as I can tell. Extremely nice and helpful. Recommend highly
Hands down the most clean well kept pet store I ever seen I highly recommend
It is often difficult to get a hold of an employee to answer your question, help you find something, or even just ring up your purchase. They have a ton of fish stuff and good selection for rodents.
Great staff! Aqua plants and fish are hands down the healthiest there are. They even rescue fish.
I have purchased many fish here and now go here often for crickets. Prices are sometime higher than other places but the quality is great so it evens out.
Super helpful and knowledgeable staff. Much better than Petco or any of the big box pet stores, especially for pets who arent cats/dogs.
They are always knowledgeable and have some harder to get fish. Better than the typical box store pet store
This place is one of the better saltwater supply stores in central illinois. Worth the drive in moat cases, they keep in a pretty good sw livestock most of the time too.
The owner is a great guy and knows allot of stuff. Has a great sense of humor. Best selection from a small business Ive ever seen.
Sailfin is the best, been goin there since I was a little kid
The employees at Sailfin were so knowledgeable about how to care for the lizards we bought. They have lots of instructions and handouts and had all the supplies we needed.
Great sales lady today. She knew the fish and the store perfectly. Excellent variety of fresh and saltwater
Always nice people, sometimes busy but, its worth the wait. They were able to take my 9 inch Pleco and give it a new home.
Great atmosphere, really helpful and knowledgeable employees! I love being able to have questions and they are always able to give great advice! Definitely would recommend to everyone!
Many options on fish, reptiles, small mammals, and a few birds. The staff is knowledgeable and helpful. I will definitely be going again.
The staff here is friendly and SO knowledgeable and willing to share that knowledge with their customers to ensure that the pets are going to receive proper care when they go home.
Knowledgeable, helpful staff always guide me in the right direction. Quality products and good selection. This is a gem of a store.
Awesome place. Great selection and knowledgeable staff
Friendly, professional, knowledgeable staff. Well stocked and good variety of products. Highly recommended,
Great pet shop! The staff was all very friendly and Bri helped me find everything I needed.
Love this place. Been going there for years now and couldnt be happier with the level of care and knowledge the workers have and if the person you ask doesnt have an answer they ask other workers and answer honestly.
John and and staff are always very helpful and knowledgeable. John will tell you like it is and wont sugar coat stuff.
Has everything. Trantulas, coral, sw fish, inverts , fw and reptiles. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Truly a great experience
Friendly knowledgeable staff. Excellent friendly staff.
Prices are kinda high but animals seem well cared for.
Fun spot with needs for exotic pets and fish, lots of fish. I went for rabbit supplies and their selection of items kept me awhile.
Great place very helpful and friendly
Rude employees. Have $10 price on fish then tell you its $30 that they just havent changed the tag.
The absolute best pet supplies in central Illinois. Ive been going there since 1972!
Very helpful friendly staff came in said the different things we wanted and they helped us find our perfect new friend
The staff really know their stuff. I will only buy my fish from them now.
Total reviews rating 4.6
199 Reviews for Sailfin Pet Shop 2023:
Review №1
2022-03-11I love this pet store. Staff are always helpful and knowledgeable about the animals they sell. They really do care about the welfare of their animals.They sell most of your basic pet items, plus foods like, worms, blended bird foods, mice, and crickets.The selection of aquariums and cages is pretty nice for a smaller store.The animal selection is also wide. Ive seen parakeets and finches, chameleons, guinea pigs rabbits bearded dragons rats various kinds of spiders, and of course their aquatic section is very nice.Overall i would highly recommend this store.
Review №2
2021-07-24Great store including many cool critters you can’t find anywhere else. Animals are healthy and well cared for. Buying fish anywhere else in the area is pretty silly since they’re not more expensive at Sailfin and are way less likely to have problems. It’s kind of a small store, but the tank decor they have in general is very nice (not tacky like a lot of places). And it’s hard to find sand at other pet shops. They also sell bulk rocks by the pound that are very nice, as is their driftwood. It’s worth it to get a healthier animal and a good looking natural setup!Our axolotl and most of his tank stuff is from Sailfin (pictures included)
Review №3
2022-04-05Great place to find fish that arent so common. Not a bad drive from Peoria. Picked these little guys up there. A kuili loach and a purple spotted goby.
Review №4
2022-03-22I really liked this pet store. All the staff were friendly and willing to be of assistance. Plenty of things for reptiles and amphibians. They had a small selection of live non aquatic animals that looked well cared for. The fish tanks were clean as well. Everything was reasonably priced.
Review №5
2022-05-30Love this place, there’s so many different things in there to look at and purchase! I love just going in there to look at all the fishes and animals too! All the workers are VERY informed on the products/fishes in the store which is a huge help to customers.
Review №6
2020-11-08My favorite pet store. Very knowledgeable helpful staff. Always plenty of beautiful animals. Have purchased fish, frogs and guinea pigs here over the years and all were healthy. Decent prices. Truly unique store. Keep it up!!
Review №7
2022-06-26I Love My Pet Store & everyone that works there. Everyone helps me ever time I go in the store.Its Nice to be greeted with kindness & smiles 😃
Review №8
2022-06-01Sales rep was new and asked a lot of the right kinds of questions to make sure the fish I purchased was right for my setup. Appreciated someone taking the time.
Review №9
2022-05-23They are helpful, efficient, knowledgeable, and friendly. They have great selections on pets and supplies as well as great variety.
Review №10
2022-01-26This is a great store, been going here for many years, always impressed by their selection of fresh and saltwater fish. Staff has always been friendly and polite. Definitely worth a stop if only to look at the gorgeous fish.