zootopia petz, harrisburg

address: 7420 derry st., harrisburg pa 17111
website: www.zootopiapetz.com
phone: (717) 558-7387
hours: m-f: 1200-1930, sat: 1000-1700, sun: 1200-1700.

selection, 6/10:
this is more of a reptile store, which i'm fine with. their cichlid and predatory selection is decent, with a fair bit of uncommon things. however their website said "tankbusters" and their adult fish selection consisted of two ~8" pacus and a ~10" oscar. must been flimsy tanks. they had some north american gamefish, and it was there and then that i decided to start up a coldwater tank for them.

health, 5/10:
i bought 3 shiner minnows, a black crappie and a crayfish for my snappy new coldwater tank (keep in mind that it was cycled water). one of the shiners was dead before i got home, about 2 hours later. the other 2 were dead about 3 hours after going in the tank. so i have no shiners now. in all fairness, i think that the shiners were designed to be feeders. but the crappie and crayfish are good, though i suppose it's too soon to tell for sure.

staff, 4/10:
i was accosted at the door before the rain had even seeped into my hat. then when i actually needed help, the guy (who i gathered was the owner) whom i asked seemed upset that i was detracting from the conversation he was having with someone else. after a few minutes when i decided what i wanted i asked the original guy who jumped me at the door, as he was playing with his cell phone. he was helpful to an extent then. i asked if he could please double-bag the crayfish, as they have sharp claws and i had a long ride. he said he would, but about halfway home i realized i had a single-bagged leaking crayfish.

prices, 5/10:
some reasonable, but some ludicrous. like really ludicrous. $50 for a 2" black piranha. $15 for 1.5" red bellies. $35 for 1.5" electric dempseys. they had a redtail catfish i really wanted, but not for $40. my crappie was only $5, and some of their common stuff seemed reasonable.

overall, 20/40:
i did enjoy seeing some of their selection, but their prices are a little prohbitive. wasn't worth the trip on its own, but i'd likely stop in again next time i'm in the area.