Looking for a Decent Store in NoVA?

brittant

brittant

Dog Person in the Water
I am currently going to a chain store, which has yielded fair results. However, I don't believe that their stock is tank-bred. Does anyone have a small business worthy of a shout-out in NoVA?
 
I've heard good things about Marine Scene in Herndon, and have been there once.. Seems like a really nice place but I got 3 chromises there and they all disappeared the next night. I called them and they seemed concerned and said they would talk to their supplier. Don't know what to say about that...

There's also this place in Alexandria called Pristine Aquariums. I haven't bought anything there but seemed like a nice little place...

Oh and most saltwater fish are not tank bred, no matter where you get them.
 
You didn't shop at Super Petz did you? :shock:

Yep...Marine Scene :D Rockin' store! They have the BEST fish! Every fish I have gotten have been SUPER Healthy and eat voraciously. I've gotten a foxface, lawnmower blenny, coral beauty, kole tang (we don't talk about the evil kole tang though), and a diamond watchman goby. All the fish did well from day 1.

The Marine Scene

If you are a WAMAS member, you get discounts, too.
 
Thanks! I'll have to see if I can check it out... It is a bit far from where I'm located, but it's worth a shot.

And I was looking for tank-bred fish, considering I'm sticking with super-easy fish - a Banggai Cardinal, maybe a Firefish, maybe a Ocellaris Clown... If not tank-bred, then at least a LFS with an ethical supplier. I'm going to ask my current store where their fish are from :) I've also had a few problems with the store, such as the inconsistencies between the various staff members.
 
Not Super Petz, no, but Petland. Their tanks are clean, and their stock is healthy, but their staff have given me mixed messages... And with their turnover seems rather frequent, as far as fish go, so that makes for a small observation window.

I'll try to get to Herndon, but as a student, I don't have access to a car much of the time. Still, I'll see if I can bribe a friend with $5-10 and the prospective of beautiful tanks :)

I also found a tiny but wonderful shop in Manassas... If only I could remember the name of it. Beautiful 3/$30-45 soft coral rocks :) Their hours are really limited though.
 
I like to run into all LFS that I happen to come across. Just so you know Super Petz is closed (thank goodness!). I love the Marine Scene everyone is very friendly! Livestock is somewhat limited though. Ive got another store written down out in my truck, I'll post that one in the morning for ya.
 
HAHAHA Aquatic Obsession on Liberia! I love those guys! I'm a regular ;) I live just 12 miles from them. I know the owner (greg) and one of the employees (Terry). I think Brian is still there. A few new guys. They closed shop for a while, downgraded, then reopened. They had since carried less fish...but they will always special order for you. The other fish I have that I did not get from Marine Scene I got from Aquatic.
 
I forgot about Pristine Aquariums. I was not impressed at all. The store was new but all the livestock was really beaten up. AAANNNDDD Algae all over the glass making it hard to see what was in each tank. It may have been an off day for them but EVERY tank looked like it had issues, FW and SW... maybe just a pet peeve of mine.
 
@wontonflip - Yes! I think I might have to drop by this week or one of the following weekends... They're not very far from me either. Honestly, they're probably the first place where I'll buy coral frags, if only because Greg put up with 30 minutes of somewhat rambling questions from my father. :)
And I've never been in a Super Petz, but then again, I've never heard good things about them.

@kevdogg - Where were they located, out of curiosity?

I can't wait for the upcoming Super Pet Expo in Chantilly... It's always a great place to scope out businesses!
 
Greg is awesome! When I first started a few years ago, they used to be called Cozy Clownfish just down the road on Mathis Ave. They shared their itty bitty shop w/ a microwave repair shop :shock: I was literally there for like 2 hours just getting advice/help from Greg and Terry and a couple of other employees who are no longer there. But they're super patient which is why I still patronize them. If you go and you talk to Terry, Brian, or Greg, tell them Gretchen says hi ;) I'm due back soon for more fishfood.


Sidenote: Keep in mind, I love them to bits, but don't forget they're still a business ;) They give great and pretty spot on advice, but might stillconvince you to buy more expensive stuff LOL But they're good peoples; it's just their job. Make sure you research!
 
Last edited:
kevdogg said:
I forgot about Pristine Aquariums. I was not impressed at all. The store was new but all the livestock was really beaten up. AAANNNDDD Algae all over the glass making it hard to see what was in each tank. It may have been an off day for them but EVERY tank looked like it had issues, FW and SW... maybe just a pet peeve of mine.
Click to expand...

Strange, I didn't really note all those sorta thing when I was there, but I don't remember the livestock being beat up nor did I see a lot of algae..

But... I did notice that at Marine Scene the two purple tangs there both had terrible fin rot.
 
Tried the new location of Vienna Aquarium and Pets today. They just moved to Leesburg. Still settling in and setting up but this new location has a lot of promise! I'm loving the PAR38 LED's above the livestock tanks. Tanks are still pretty empty but its at least 3x larger then their last location. I would give it a few more weeks then check them out.

Vienna Aquarium & Pets
 
Dang...that whole building is theirs? Where were they before? I'll check it out one of these days. I like Marine Scene, though, because they specialize in saltwater, so they can really concentrate on the livestock's quality. You pay more, but so far, the money's been worth it in healthy fish.
 
Yeah the whole building is theirs. It's setup nice inside. They were still working on setting up the DT's. They used to be in Vienna.
 

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