Bubble Aquatics & Exotics

05/14/2026

🐹 “Teddy Bear,” “Fancy,” or Syrian Hamster — What’s the Difference?

We get this question all the time, so let’s clear it up 👇

“Teddy Bear” hamsters are simply long-haired Syrian hamsters.
“Fancy hamster” is often a general label used when the exact type or color variation isn’t specified.

Same species — same care — just different appearances 💛

Now for the REALLY important part:

🚫 Hamsters do NOT belong in tiny cages.

Unfortunately, a lot of hamster care information sold in stores or shown online is outdated. Hamsters may be small animals, but they require much more space and enrichment than many people realize.

For Syrian hamsters, we recommend:
✔️ A minimum 40-gallon (36"x18"x16") enclosure or larger
✔️ Deep bedding (6–10+ inches) for burrowing
✔️ A properly sized solid-surface exercise wheel
✔️ Multiple hides, tunnels, and enrichment opportunities
✔️ Plenty of clutter and space to explore

✨ Why does this matter?

In the wild, hamsters travel long distances every night and spend much of their time digging complex burrow systems. Their enclosure should allow them to express those natural behaviors safely.

Small, bare cages can lead to:

Stress behaviors
Excessive bar chewing
Pacing
Boredom and frustration

🌱 We LOVE helping customers create:
• Naturalistic setups
• Enclosures that encourage digging and foraging
• Larger, enriched habitats that go beyond the bare minimum

💡 Important note:
Syrian hamsters are solitary animals and should not be housed together long-term in a home environment.

While temporary cohabitation may sometimes occur in controlled retail or breeder settings with constant monitoring, extra resources, and space management, this is not recommended for pet homes.

Our goal is always to help set both the animal and the owner up for long-term success 🐾

If you have questions about enclosure sizing, enrichment, bedding depth, nutrition, or setting up a hamster habitat, we’re always happy to help guide you in the right direction 💙

05/14/2026

Current inventory update!

05/14/2026

Hello Everyone!! 🐠

We’re excited to finally start a highly requested educational series to help both new and experienced hobbyists learn more about animal care, common misconceptions, and how to help your pets truly thrive 💙

We wanted to kick things off with one of the MOST important topics in fishkeeping:

💧 The Nitrogen Cycle — Why Your Tank Isn’t “Ready” Yet

One of the most common misconceptions we hear is:

“My tank has been running, so it’s cycled.”

Unfortunately, running water does not equal a cycled tank.

A properly cycled aquarium means you’ve established beneficial bacteria that safely process waste and help create a stable environment for your fish.

Here’s the basic process:

🐟 Fish waste → Ammonia (toxic)
🦠 Ammonia gets broken down into Nitrite (also toxic)
🌱 Nitrite gets broken down into Nitrate (manageable in low amounts)

This entire process takes time.

⏳ A proper cycle can take anywhere from 6–12+ weeks when starting a brand-new system.

Using pre-seeded media can absolutely help speed things up, but beneficial bacteria colonies still need time to establish, grow, and stabilize.

🚫 Common mistakes we see:
• Adding fish too soon
• Not testing water parameters
• Assuming “clear water = safe water”

💡 Important things to know:
✔️ Test your water — don’t guess
✔️ Beneficial bacteria primarily live in your filter media and on surfaces throughout the tank
✔️ Replacing all filter media at once can crash your cycle
✔️ Live plants can help support stability and manage nitrates
✔️ Small amounts of nitrates are normal in a healthy aquarium

A healthy nitrogen cycle is the foundation of every successful aquarium.

Healthy tank = healthy fish 🐠

If you have questions about setting up, cycling, stocking, or maintaining your aquarium, we’re always happy to help guide you in the right direction and help set both you and your fish up for success 💙

Here is a wonderful video from Aquarium Co-Op to help!

🌱 Visit https://aquariumcoop.com/ to buy aquarium plants, lights, fish food, and more from Aquarium Co-Op🐟 Buy fish at https://geni.us/LiveFish from our pr...

05/14/2026

📢 Store Update 📢

Bubble Aquatics & Exotics will be CLOSED on Sunday, May 24th, for an inventory pick-up and store operations day.

We will have a sign posted on the door as a reminder, and our hours will be updated to reflect the change in hours for this date.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding as we work behind the scenes to continue bringing in new and exciting inventory for the shop! 🐍🐠🦎🐇

We will reopen during our next regular business hours. Thank you all for your continued support! 💜

04/03/2026

02/20/2026

✨ Axolotls In Stock Today & Tomorrow! ✨

Axolotls are available in-store today (2/20/26) and tomorrow! If you’ve been waiting for them to come back in, now’s your chance 👀

As a reminder, our new store hours are:
🕐 Wednesday – Saturday: 1:00pm – 7:30pm
🕐 Sunday: 1:00pm – 6:00pm

As always, please ask a team member for assistance if you’d like to view one up close as they will be behind the counter for their safety.
We’re happy to help! 💙

Thank you for your continued support — we’ll see you soon! 🐠🐍🐰

02/12/2026

📣 Store Hours Update 📣

Hello everyone! Some of you may remember seeing the signs posted around the store or hearing us mention upcoming changes in person — and now the time is here!

After reviewing store activity over the past few years, we’ve adjusted our hours to better reflect when we’re busiest. Our animals have always received consistent, hands-on daily care, and this change simply allows us to work even more efficiently behind the scenes while continuing to give you focused, quality customer service during peak hours.

🕐 New Store Hours:
Wednesday – Saturday: 1:00pm – 7:30pm
Sunday: 1:00pm – 6:00pm

We truly appreciate your understanding and continued support. Thank you for being part of our Bubble family! 💙🐠🐍🐰

02/07/2026

✨ Axolotls in Store Today & Sunday! ✨

We currently have the following axolotls available:

• 1 Wild Type
• 1 Melanoid
• 1 White Albino
• 1 GFP Lucy

🕛 Store Hours:

Wednesday – Saturday: 12pm – 8pm
Sunday: 12pm – 6pm

Axolotls will be available in-store only during business hours on these select days.

They will return Friday & Saturday of next week.

⚠️ Important Axolotl Notice:

For their safety, axolotls will be kept behind the counter. Unfortunately, we’ve had customers attempt to reach into the tanks, which can be harmful to them. Because of this, axolotls will only be in-store once or twice a week until secure lids and locks are installed on the aquariums.

👉 Please ask a staff member for assistance with axolotls.

Thank you for helping us keep our animals safe and stress-free! 💙

02/01/2026

📢 Weather Closure Update

Sadly, we will be closed again today due to the snow. We are working to get the parking lot cleared, along with the front and side parking spaces, so we can safely welcome everyone back.

But not to fear — our fuzzy and scaled friends are nice and warm and will be ready to greet you all again on Wednesday when we reopen (as long as the weather is in our favor) 🙏

We are also hoping to receive our fish order this week, as long as the road conditions allow it!

Thank you for your patience and support — stay safe and warm! ❄️💙
— Bubble Aquatics & Exotics

01/25/2026

❄️ Hours Update ❄️
For the safety of our customers and employees, Bubble Aquatics & Exotics will be closed Sunday, 1/25/26 due to snow and ice conditions.
Thank you for your understanding—please stay safe and warm! 🐠🦎❄️