Local Fish Stores (reviews/info)

[skeety]

Well...I wanted to start a thread where people can chime in with some of the LFS's in their area. Good ones. Bad ones. What makes them good or bad. Just a general Local Fish Store review column.

Think this will be very usefull to any new-comers to the area who might want to know where to go (and more importantly, where NOT to go):

For those in the West MD, N. Va, DC, or other surrounding area's, please feel free to use this thread to share info on any LFS you love/hate:

[skeety]

Thought I'd chime in with a review or two. If anyone else has been to these LFS's, please feel free to agree/disagree or share other info.

Some LFS's I've been to, and my thoughts on them:
Click on the name for info (address/stock/etc)

Congressional Aquarium: Located in Rockville, MD.

Overall...a really good quality LFS. For Fish Only or FOWLR tanks, probably one of the best LFS's you'll find in Montgomery county. Prices are a little higher than you'll find on-line...but it's worth it to insure that your access to livestock is quick and local.

Their tanks are in pretty good shape, their staff is pretty knowledgable, unless you get some of the newer people who are still learning. However, most of the time, the newer people are working the freshwater area, so this rarely ever happens.

They have a very big selection of SW fish/inverts for their size, and also are willing to special order anything you need that they don't have. If you shop there enough, sometimes they give you a frequent buyer discount. Just overall one of the best LFS's I've found in Montgomery County.

My only problem with them? Their coral selection is lacking at best. While they do have some, it's really one 30 gallon tank with a few descent frags, and then two 10gln tanks full of mushrooms and the like. I do know for a fact that some of the employee's are seriously pushing on management to expand their niche to include corals. And now that the store is moving to a much larger location, I do believe this will happen.

note: Don't go on Sunday late afternoon's. If you're gonna go, go earlier in the weekend (Fri, Sat). This place has a LOT of business (that they keep up with), but by late Sunday, all the good stuff is gone!

[skeety]

Another review:

The Pet Loft: Located in Mt Airy, MD (right off of I-70).

Well...I really thought this place had potential. But it turned out disappointing in the end. When me and the wife-to-be stumbled accross this place, they had only 6 saltwater tanks set up (all 30+ gallons, mind you) with fish/inverts/corals for sale. They had informed us that they were just started to carry SW critters, and had hired an expert to come in and help them start up. The tanks looked supurb.

They had also hired him to set up a GORGEOUS 90gln display tank fully stocked with all kinds of soft/LPS corals and quite a wide array of reef-safe fish and inverts. Just stunning to look at.

There was a good sized section of the store that was under construction and we were told that they would eventually be setting up 30-40 tanks in that area just for SW.

Well, we were pretty happy, as this store was very close to us, and they really appeared to be heading in the right direction. But I'm not sure what happened, as that was 6 months ago, and they haven't really done anything since.

Their selection of fish is pretty standard. Clowns, damsels, yellow tangs, etc. However, one plus is, if you're into wrasses, they seemed to have the biggest selection I've seen locally for them. Other than that...they don't really have much. And it seems that one tank is always down due to algae overgrowth, ick outbreak, or a power-head malfuntion or something.

Overall, I'd say this store is a little sub-par. It's not horrible, but it's not the best either. Prices are average (except on live rock. Their prices are pretty high for that). The staff is not much better that the staff at Petco, when it comes to SW fish. They don't really seem to know a whole lot, and are a bit young.

However, they do, from time to time, have a pretty good selection of inverts/corals...so in that regard, it's worth checking out.

[skeety]

My final LFS review. Then I'll leave the rest up to you guys:

That Pet Place / That Fish Place: Lancaster, PA

This place is pure heaven.

Picture "Sam's Club" meets your favorite LFS.

This place is HUGE...it's literally a warehouse!

Phenomenal prices (I think), and about the widest selection you'll ever find.

Now, why am I listing a place in Lancaster PA in the LFS section of a western MD club's forum? Well...one simple answer: It's WORTH the drive!!

I drove just a bit over 2 hours from Rockville area, and when I got there, I'd decided I would have driven 8 hours for this place.

Huge selection, Great prices, gorgeous display tanks, pretty decent service...heck they even have a big petting tank where the kids can pet some rays and crabs and stuff.

You know those big test kits you bought, but ran out of ONE bottle? They have 'em. Single bottles for like a buck. I mean..the test that take 7 drops of bottle #1, then 3 drops of bottle #2, etc. They have EACH individual bottle. Bottle #1, Bottle #2...for all the test. It's amazing! (hehehe...at least to me).

I definitely recommend this place. No matter where you live. It's worth the road trip. Just seriously make sure you take either your biggest Tax return, or someone who's very good at telling you "NO!", cause you will spend some serious money out there. (but you'll walk away smiling).

Defintiely check it out, if you can.

Well..that's it for my reviews...anyone else?

[tims]

looks great so mike! great job!!

[Bags]

Aquarium Center
3689-A Offutt Road
Randallstown, MD 21133

http://www.aquariumcenter.com/

Absolutely worth the drive. Best aquarium store I have ever been to by far.

[skeety]

Thanks Tony! And WELCOME TO TRT!!!


Keep 'em comin' guys!

[reefBoyDc]

Tropical Lagooon Aquarium
9439 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD
301-585-6562

My favorite place less than 20 minutes away from DC. Nice selection of corals and fish. Depending on the day, you can get really nice corals at a decent price. Some coras are overpriced for some weird reason. Others are under-priced. If you know a little something, you can get some great deals. Some days, though, there's not a whole lot there.

Knowledgeable staff. Same guys have been there for as long as I can remember. They also have a good FW selection, and some reptiles and amphibians.

Beware of the tank next to the door. It's got a flatworm infestation. The tanks in the back are fine.

Easy parking. Usually open at 12pm, close at 8pm. Sundays at 4pm... call ahead, I'm not so sure.

[reefBoyDc]

The Reef Tank
5609E Sandy Lewis Drive
Fairfax, VA 22032
703-978-1700
http://reefstore.com

A little far out into VA, but worth the drive. High quality corals. Good selection on some days (call ahead to know when they're getting a shipment, they get picked over very fast). Knowledgeable staff, though a bit pompous. Easy parking. Decent prices and they often have frags for cheap.

[reefBoyDc]

The Marine Scene
293 Sunset Park Drive
Herndon, VA 20170
703-689-2815
http://marinescene.com

A little far out in VA. Excelent quality and good selection of corals. Few fish. High prices, especially on dry goods. Worth a look if you're around there.

[reefBoyDc]

Petco
Various Locations

Obviously not a specialty store, but from time to time you can get a nice selection of SW fish and a few inverts, including feather dusters, banded coral shrimp and a few crabs. Prices are usually lower than specialty aquarium stores. I got my Royal Grama and my BCS there.

[VWD]

the reviews are a good thing to do.

[pballafreak]

this is just kinda a followup of skeety's post about the pet loft
i went up there this weekend, they got rid of all those individual tanks and got a a bunch of tanks like the rest of this fish were in, and a big like 150 gallon salt mixer storer thing, they all have water and and sand, no fish or live rock yet, but its looking great

[Loverotties]

I agree with That Pet Place! I live 3 hrs away and do a trip a couple times a yr and stck up! I wish they'd open one in NJ tho!(but my wife wouldn't want that!)

[skeety]

Originally Posted by newbienanoer

this is just kinda a followup of skeety's post about the pet loft
i went up there this weekend, they got rid of all those individual tanks and got a a bunch of tanks like the rest of this fish were in, and a big like 150 gallon salt mixer storer thing, they all have water and and sand, no fish or live rock yet, but its looking great

sweet...they're finally setting up the SW tanks the way they said they would? Might have to stop in and check it out! Been a year, almost!! hahaha

thanks for the update!!!