Aquarium Resources in Dubai & other Emirates

I haven't explored all the  places mentioned here. Nor do I intend to evaluate  individual shops. Generally speaking, aquarium shops in Dubai  and nearby places can provide you with a variety of tanks and fish. But  when it comes to  plants and aquascaping material, you may face difficulties. Staff in most of the shops cannot identify plant species, do not have much in stock except some pond weed and fanworts and  a few bog wood. You might  better forget CO2 supplied tanks and  plant carpeted substrate.

For a beginner, I would strongly propose a  visit to as many shops as you can for a week or so before buying anything so that you can compare options, availability, cost, hygiene and plan  and budget a tank.  Otherwise, odds are that you may wind up with a tank you did not envision.

Shops   I know of, that supplies aquarium products are listed below:

1. Pet Zone has three branches- Next to Al Mazaya Center on Sheikh Zayed Road, Opposite to Lulu Hypermarket in Barsha and opposite to Hilton in Marina Walk.

2. Pet Corner in  Green Community- interchange #7 , Sheikh Zayed Road (after Media and Internet City, before  JAFZA) - I havent been to this place yet.

3. Top Pin  and  some nearby Chinese  shops in I-Zone, Dragon Mart at International City, Hatta- Al Ain Highway- mostly equipment and tank at budget prices though you can buy fish also.

4. Creatures Oasis Satwa.  Google dug it out. I havent   been there.

5. World of Fishes Karama . There is also another shop next to Sunrise Supermarket in Karama

6. Shops at Animal Market,  Near Sharjah fish market, Rolla Road, Sharjah. There are dozens of shops in this area.

7. Nature Beauty,  Al Qusais Sheikh Colony, behind new metro station.  The florist in Lulu Hypermarket Qusais also  stocks  some fish tank and limited supply of fish and equipment.

8.  There is one in Bin Soughat Center, Airport Road, Rashidiya.

I will  edit the post and add to the list  when I discover a new place.

Few shopping tips:

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  Most of the places keep fish in reasonably good condition, but  some places also keep birds mammals and reptiles in tiny cages, sometimes even with no place to move around.
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  Make up your mind on what you are looking for, in terms of species,  size, health, color, brands, whatever you can think of. Sales  personnel are employed to sell, period. They will try to make you buy what they have,  which may not be what you want.
• 
  
  If you are buying live plants, snail treat  them and wash them in a weak potassium permanganate solution before planting them in your tank. Snails and snail eggs  come free with most of the plant purchases from almost anywhere. Once they get into your tank you may have a real tough time  eliminating  them and snail killers are too harsh on fish, biological traps  may not work effectively and you may wind up buying loaches  that were originally not planned to be part of the community.
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  Most of the shops does not have any standard price list- try bargaining  and ask for  quantity discounts- you may save substantially.
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  Ask for home delivery if you are buying tanks- chances are that you may get it free of cost.
• 
  
  Do not buy  fish  unless you know them, their feeding habits, water condition requirement, social behaviour,  adult size.   Buy fish that  appear healthy,  showing their natural swimming and schooling behaviour and  kept in hygienic tanks.
• 
  
  Look for branded equipment and products. You may not have many options, but you can easily find Sera and  Tetra products in almost every store.
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  Most of the sales personnel except in  one or two stores  do not speak much English or Arabic. If you can take a Hindi/ Urdu speaking friend along, you  should be able to communicate better.
• 
  
  None of the shops I visited so far has a return/ guarantee system.  Inspect thoroughly before  you buy anything.

Keeping an Aquarium in Dubai

I wouldn't  say there are  any   big challenges. Each place has its own peculiarities.  If you relocated newly, you may want to know what peculiar aspects you should be aware of before setting  up a fish tank.

• PH & hardness- tap water tends to be higher in PH and on the harder side. I  usually get a PH level of 7.75 . If you are not comfortable with altering PH levels and hardness,  selecting fish that are tolerant to these conditions is advisable.    Some fish like discus need soft and acidic water. Others like  Bala Sharks are very sensitive to PH changes.  
• Space constraints- majority of people in Dubai live in apartments.  Keeping  stock of hoses, pipes,  stand by/ breeding/  quarantine tanks and drums for  storing tap water  for  temperature adjustment and dechlorination   may be difficult.
• Air conditioning- most of the homes will have a  air conditioners running around the clock and you will find aquarium  lights on almost always for tropical tanks. Acrylic tanks  seem to be a prudent choice  for tropical fish and  glass tanks for cold water fish  since glass   conducts heat easily.
• Chlorine- I haven't tested chlorine and chloramine  of tap water yet. But  aquarium supply companies have issued enough caveats. For small tanks, water  drawn straight from a home water purifier may resolve chlorine, chemical and hardness problem at one go. You may need to add dechlorination chemicals every time you change water.
• Hot water- from May till  October, tap water will be extremely hot and adding this  direct to tank can  be fatal. Storing water in a container may prove hard and tedious.   If you keep the home water heater permanently off, you should be able to get   cold water  from the hot water tap! Also,  restrict water changes to 10-15% of tank capacity at more frequency  instead of standard 1/3 change during summer.
• Resources- aquarium supply stores seem to be  fewer and smaller in Dubai, compared to other cities.   Finding fish  may not pose a problem, but search for  plants, quality equipment and  natural decoration  can be challenging . A separate post is intended  on this topic.
• Vacations- Trend here is that the whole family usually go on vacation, sometimes up to a month. If this is your case, you need to have a solid vacation plan.   How to keep your fish safe and fed while you are not around is a challenge indeed.
• Expert help- I  do not know any vet in Dubai who  treats sick fish. Aquarium store personnel may not be experts in this either. You need to know at least the basics of fish health and illnesses.