Fish stores around D.C.

Probably moving to Alexandria soon.. Just wandering where I'll be dumping loads of money.
Dreading moving the tank...sigh.

 

I'm watching this thread cause i'm still looking for a store worth spending my cash at. there is one in Annandale thats ok for overpriced emergency equipment, but I was not really impressed by the people or displays.
The other one is on RT 236 between Alexandria and Annandale called Walleys. They are currently remodeling the display tanks and had minimal stock (fish and equipment) when I checked on their progress last month.
All the other local stores I used to go to have gone out of buisness due either to petsmart opening or loosing their leases because of 300% increases in SF cost at renewal time.

 

I'm sure I'm gonna miss my stores here in Dallas. I figured a city as big as D.C. must have a few premium coral stores.

 

I have heard of a few outside the beltway, but they are all an hour or more away due to traffic and distance

 

That's an understatement. I actually shipped fish from St. Louis rather than shopping in DC. There is a fairly nice one near Dulles airport. There's also some stores in Maryland. WAMAS Forums - Other Vendor Links

 

Fish World in Richmond, VA has outstanding Fish and Corals. They have several customers who drive down from NY and NJ.

 

im off tomorrow, think i'll check this one out since they are only aboout 4 miles away

aquatic

 

We're from Northern VA, just outside the beltway. When we got into the hobby we hit every store within a 50 mile radius and to be totally honest 9 out of 10 suck in thie area. Here's what we found:

Wallys - Dirty, unorganized and the tanks were neglected
Pristine Aquariums - Nice selection but very over priced and the employees pay no attention to anyone and are very rude
Vienna Aquarium & Pet - Disgusting place, very dark inside so you cant see much due to half of the tanks not being lit, lots of bugs everywhere. Good place for pond supply but not much else.
Marine Scene - Alot of rare and hard to find stuff, alot of things arent for sale though. Prices are marked up quite a bit on everything compared to other stores in the area. The livestock is very well taken care of but the staff isnt very nice and dont seem to concerned about making a sale they just stand around and talk amongst each other.
Fins n Feathers - One of the dirtiest places in the area and they have no selection at all despite claiming to be a big reef supplier. This place is nothing more then a puppy mill with by far the worst employees.

After days of searching we ended up in Centreville Aquariums. Not as large as some other stores but a decent selection and they will get whatever you want. The prices on coral and frags are the best in the area not to mention the staff is exceptional. They are always helpful and everyone who works there is intelligent. They have quite a bit of equipment and supplies and they sell alot of things that you cant find anywhere else in the area. New shipments every week with tons of variety and they are really good to customers. After finding this place we wont go anywhere else.

Just for kicks we have hit about every Petco in the area and to no surprise they all suck. The Leesburg VA Petco does stock some coral and pretty decent fish but the employees are typical of Petco, same with the Ashburn VA location. Probably the best Petco in the area as far as employees with knowledge and selection is down in Dale City somewhere.

All in all the selection of stores around the area is slim at best, we highly recommend Centreville Aquarium. No store in the area comes close in our opinion.

 

well i dont venture down to the city too much but there is one up above baltimore called exotic aquatics... its a little small and i think the owner is a little mean. I know him personally and he still doesnt give me discounts :/ Its in a strip mall but as for corals it has a few decent ones and they have a guy who only deals with fragging and caring for the frags there. they vodka dose their tanks so they are immaculate looking. They carry a good bit of sps and some gorgeous aussies then some lps... not too many zoas or SUPER easy stuff.

 

Thanks all I 'll have to check them out. Sure am gonna miss the Dallas stores. There's about 5 that are top notch.