Noah’s Pet Ark

Great place, a weekly go-​to for me. Graham, the owner, is extremely knowledgeable about products and the animals they are for. The store is well-​organized and also crammed full — I can do my errands zip zip in order walking through the two narrow aisles: cat food, bird seed & millet, bloodworms for the newt, then to the counter for live crickets to feed the frogs. THIS IS THE ONLY PLACE IN TOWN TO BUY LIVE INSECTS. Thank you, Graham!

Healthy, active animals. Fantastic selection of quality products. The owner is a fountain of critter/​aquatic ecosystem knowledge. I went in there hell-​bent on setting up a cherry shrimp system THAT day. He practically wouldn’t even sell me a tank until I had gone home and done more research. Respect (he was 100% right). I feel like this place caters to serious hobbyists. I like that.

Don’t think so. Bought fish for the first from this guy and within a week they die and in another week all my fish (and plants!).
Went in to talk to the guy and he tested my water and said it needs to be cleaner! LOL. My fish tank had been thriving with live plants and tons of fish for years (with active breeding). Total bullshit.
And now I have to question whether this guy is certified to be selling fish? The old days of testing the water so you don’t have to reimburse your CUSTOMERS are gone.
Its about customer retention and the way to do that is with trust.
And to do that you have to update your knowledge and business know-​how. Put a sign on the door that says I am a degree’d professional, something catchy like «welcome to the best ichthyologist this side of Vancouver!»
The times are changing and why I’m starting to just go to the «big» shops. I always try to support the little guy, but I’m impressed with how the big shops make sure the people they hire are at least minimally educated.
My entire tank and years of work is gone. Won’t be back. Good luck.

This is a bit dated review, however, procrastinated on writing this for some time. I am sure that things are different now, therefore, advise reading the most recent reviews for a bit more accuracy. The people who work here are awesome and the have a wide variety of items at fair cost. I bought a Degus over 10 years ago, however, noticed at the shop that it was a bit stressed and in compromising conditions given the natural habitat and natural social conditions of this rodent. I didn’t know this until later but noticed when I brought it home that it was stressed. The Degus’ stress continued and he was anxious, overly wild and biting people. I dealt with it ’cause I learned some calming techniques and bought a book at Chapters. He was so anxious and stressed that my mom called me while I was at work ’cause she found him dead in his cage breathing heavily. I took it to the vet in Champlain Heights that confirmed that the Degus due to stress gave himself a heart attack. I went back to the shop this week since I was in passing and noticed that certain animals were in cramped conditions which are giving them stressed. I think that at the time since this was a new exotic animal there was a lack of education in regards to this pet. I suggest that if you’re going to offer live animals beyond fish that a little research needs to be done.

Very poor costumer service, understaffed, and the shop is very messy.

I dunno what great service everyone is talking about, because every time I go here the guy isn’t particularly nice to me at all. Ain’t no «service with a smile», friendly happy joy type deal.
I mainly go here because it’s convenient to where I live, and they have a good selection of live and canned insects that my darling hedgy requires.
It is basically impossible to find whatever you’re looking for unless you ask, as the store is just so jumbled. And service is very slow, but I’ve never seen any more than one person working at any given time so it’s to be expected.
Also, I went the other day and contrary to their 10am open sign, they were closed (it was like 10.20am) so I dunno.

Best pet store I’ve found in Vancouver. Graham and his staff are super knowledgeable and yet also ethically and ecologically responsible (based on what I’ve seen). What most people don’t realize is that many exotic pets (especially marine fishes, amphibians, reptiles) often still come from the wild, which is a huge cause of species endangerment in the native places these things come from. I go to this store for meal worms mostly, but I’ve noticed that all of their exotics for sale have statements about being bred in captivity. Good job! Choose with your wallets fellow Vancouverites!

great store and lots of selection of items that BIG UGLY CORPORATIONS dont have.

Very helpful staff. I went several years ago with my friend. We’d called a TON of pet stores trying to find a specific kind of maggot or mill-​worm for her gecko. They had some and they were really affordable too.

Noah’s is fantastic!!! I’ve been going to Noah’s since I was a kid (back then it was about birds), now I go there regarding my fish and aquariums– amazing service, super helpful, the only place I go to. I love Noah’s! Can’t say enough good things about this place! Go and find out for yourself why everybody loves Noah’s :D

The guy is super busy and the store is super cramped… in a positive kind of way. Which could also be written like this: The guy is really nice, hence the big clientele, and the the store has many, many products.

Great store, despite it being cramped; this just gives it character.
The Guy knows tons about the intricacies of aquarium setup and plants. This is the only store I’ve gone to that has given good advice. A plus is free water testing.

Soooooo… if you have a very, very, very picky pet that demands insects…
There are a lot of great pet stores, but none like Noah’s Pet Ark. Sure, the place is small, but there is parking in the back and the staff is friendly. If you can’t find what your small pet or fish needs anywhere else, here is the place to go. They even have live and canned insects from snails, crickets, grasshoppers, mealworms, silworms etc.

i just tried out this store today as it was the only place i could find that wasn’t out in the burbs that sold java moss … i got a great pile of it and it was cheap … the guy seemed very knowledgeable and very helpful with my many questions … the store was small and kinda disorganized but whatever i asked for he was able to bring me right to it … water testing for free is nice too … when i told him i was setting up a tank for shrimp he mentioned copper testing but did not try to sell me the kit but offered to test my water for me … he is also the ONLY place i have found that will sell live worms for my puffers !!! this place is a keeper and i will be back for the worms very soon … nice guy and nice little shop …

I like this place. It’s kind of small and scattered but these guys, out of several stores we’d been to, offered up some real advice about keeping our little fishies happy. They even do free water testing if you bring in a sample.