Aquarium Center?

Aqua410

Members
Does anyone know if that place is still there? I remember years ago it was a pretty good store but I haven't been in almost a decade. I looked it up but reviews I found seemed outdated and sounds like it went downhill at some point.
 

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I think it finally closed several years ago.

Back in the day, this was the mecca of fish stores in the area. My brother and I would beg my parents to take the drive to Baltimore to go. Maybe once a year, they would take us.
 

Aqua410

Members
Sad to see them go but last time I went the place was pretty dirty both the store and the tanks. I guess HOT is the only real brick and mortar store left in our area? I was in HOT last week and about every tank was stocked with a pretty interesting variety of fish over all.
 

Forester

Members
There is Tropical Lagoon, but they have never been very good.

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Becca

Members
There is Tropical Lagoon, but they have never been very good.

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I have to disagree. I've never had problems with their stock, but they just don't carry much in the way of dry goods.

Also, Batfish Aquatics does have a brick & mortar location, it's just only open to the public during events or by appointment and isn't a traditional store.

There's also Congressional Aquarium in Rockville (I'm not a fan of their stock, health-wise) and Aquatic Creations on 355 north of Clarksburg (I think the area is called Hyattstown).

Aquarium Center was a sad story of a once glorious business run into the ground by a greedy owner, then sold to two poor guys right before the recession hit. Try as they might, they couldn't get it back on its feet.
 

Forester

Members
I haven't had many if any problems. But I just have never really seen many interesting fish. And then there's the tortoise.

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Becca

Members
The tortoise is pretty neat.

They have loads of interesting fish if you like oddball SE Asian fish... but so does Batfish. Before I discovered Batfish I was a frequent visitor to TL because it was my only chance of finding things like Badis and Chocolate Gouramis.
 

Forester

Members
I feel so bad for the tortouse. He belongs in a zoo, not the back of a shop.

I guess I just don't find anything rare of type of fish, L-numbers etc. They do have good Malaysian driftwood though. Most of mine is from there.

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Becca

Members
Yes, their selection of wood and rocks (and prices) are good.

The tortoise is only in the shop in the winter. During the spring and summer he lives outdoors. I don't feel too bad for him because he has an owner who cares about him, makes sure he gets lots of sunshine seasonally, and had gone to the effort to keep him going long enough to get that big.
 
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