A Visit to a Small Town English Aquarium Shop, By TW

Visit to a Small Town English Aquarium Shop, East Grinstead

By Aquarticles Editor

Original to Aquarticles

View of the shop front from the street

For a few days in early 2008 I stayed with family in the south of England in East Sussex. As part of my commute to London for site seeing with my family, I passed through the small town of East Grinstead. During one such trip my eye spotted a small aquarium shop called The World of Fishes. What follows is mostly a photo-essay of my short visit to this shop.

Hours of operation

The World of Fishes aquarium store is located in the small English town of East Grinstead, about half hour south of London by train. I came across the store by chance during a visit to the UK in January 2008. I toured the store in a bit of a hurry, had a quick chat with the owner, and snapped a few photos.

I learned that the store has been open for over 10 years, but has been under the current ownership for the last three.

Entering the store from the front one finds a group of freshwater tropical tanks holding an
array of fish commonly seen in aquarium stores around the world.

Tanks with tropcial aquatic plants for sale

An overview of the layout at the front of the store

Some wee African cichlids for sale; all prices in pounds (aprox. 1 Pound = $1.50 US)

Some more prices of common fish (1 Pound = aprox. $1.50 US)

A couple clown loaches which had been brought in by a local customer for resale. Some things are the same all over.

Close up of the clown loaches

Kitchy skulls know no borders!

A nice African cichlid display tank

A view to the cashier counter

I thought this was kind of interesting - a draw for a tank as a grand prize.
Unfortunately the tank was not kept in top looking form.

A saltwater display tank

The saltwater section of the store

A nice lion fish for sale

Single species salt water tanks and corals

Another draw - this time for a salt water system

Rounding out the store sections is an outdoor coldwater or pond display at the very back of the store.

A pond holding outdoor aquatic plants

These prices compare well with prices found in North America (1 Pound = aprox. $1.50 US)

I can imagine that the little patio set-up at the back of the store is a
nice place for a cup of English tea on a sunny summer afternoon.

In conclusion, the World of Fishes struck me as a friendly neighborhood store which has a lot of potential. While I was there a steady stream of local hobbyists came and went and the staff mentioned that they do special orders for customers. I suppose if I lived permanently in the neighborhood, this is the kind of store I would drop in at regularly to see what is in. As it was, it provided a welcome diversion on a late winter's day in 2008.