I always have a great experience shopping for fish and aquarium supplies here. The manager (Jorja, I believe) is nothing short of exemplary in both knowledge and customer service skills. I've never had a bad experience in store when she's been on shift. She catches fish so fast, it's crazy 😁 her efforts deserve recognition and commendation. 🐠🐟🐡🐙
Mindi Spenner
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November 27, 2025
We have two WIGGLY and pretty neurotic border collies. The female gets SUPER cranky if you touch her fur the wrong way. I always worry about sending them to a groomer- and it’s hard to find anyone who tolerates them. We opted to shave their back legs at animates today to clean them up. Katie did the work and Elise assisted. What a refreshing experience. Loki is afraid of everything so they helped him right at the gate (instead of in with the noise), and they didn’t even need the muzzle we brought for Pippa (she is super nippy when excited/anxious) absolutely brilliant work, kindness, and empathy for the dogs. Will definitely go back. Really so impressed with the groomer’s patience and the way they talked to the dogs. Thank you- it was just a shave, but the care and sweetness to our dogs gave me confidence in groomers again. We bathed them at the self bath after. Happy dogs on their way home.
Ash Shikari
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April 20, 2026
Every member of staff I have interacted with at Animates Papanui have been super friendly and kind but I would like to give a special shout out to one of their groomers, Sonya. Sonya is the most lovely person who greets both me and my dog with such warmth. She takes care of every need my dog has and will always update me on how the groom went etc. She does such an amazing job and I can’t say enough how wonderful she is and how I trust her completely with my baby :).
Petrina Harwood
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January 06, 2026
Mostly I'm on a mission just to get my weekly worth of blood worm, but someone is always there to up-sell help or have a pleasant chat if I ever need anything else.
Jane Cameron
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February 03, 2026
There is a lot of stock to choose from however it is considerably more expensive on many items than other pet shops. Suggest you get them to either price match or check prices elsewhere before purchasing.
Our Address
469 Papanui Road, Papanui, Christchurch 8053, New Zealand
I always have a great experience shopping for fish and aquarium supplies here. The manager (Jorja, I believe) is nothing short of exemplary in both knowledge and customer service skills. I've never had a bad experience in store when she's been on shift. She catches fish so fast, it's crazy 😁 her efforts deserve recognition and commendation. 🐠🐟🐡🐙
We have two WIGGLY and pretty neurotic border collies. The female gets SUPER cranky if you touch her fur the wrong way. I always worry about sending them to a groomer- and it’s hard to find anyone who tolerates them. We opted to shave their back legs at animates today to clean them up. Katie did the work and Elise assisted. What a refreshing experience. Loki is afraid of everything so they helped him right at the gate (instead of in with the noise), and they didn’t even need the muzzle we brought for Pippa (she is super nippy when excited/anxious) absolutely brilliant work, kindness, and empathy for the dogs. Will definitely go back. Really so impressed with the groomer’s patience and the way they talked to the dogs. Thank you- it was just a shave, but the care and sweetness to our dogs gave me confidence in groomers again. We bathed them at the self bath after. Happy dogs on their way home.
Every member of staff I have interacted with at Animates Papanui have been super friendly and kind but I would like to give a special shout out to one of their groomers, Sonya. Sonya is the most lovely person who greets both me and my dog with such warmth. She takes care of every need my dog has and will always update me on how the groom went etc. She does such an amazing job and I can’t say enough how wonderful she is and how I trust her completely with my baby :).
Mostly I'm on a mission just to get my weekly worth of blood worm, but someone is always there to up-sell help or have a pleasant chat if I ever need anything else.
There is a lot of stock to choose from however it is considerably more expensive on many items than other pet shops. Suggest you get them to either price match or check prices elsewhere before purchasing.