Beltway aquarium closing?

MontelBoom

MontelBoom

Members
A little heads up for those who didn't know. Beltway Plaza's aquarium store is closing and most of their stock is 50% off.
 
MontelBoom

MontelBoom

Members
Not sure why. I popped in after getting my phone fixed to see what they had left....Everything after that was a blur. The good deals discombobulated me. Good thing I was broke lol.
 
kevin911

kevin911

Members
He said it's a potential but not sure if it's a strategy to drive up sale. Gave the store a buzz, he said 20%-50% ..

Sent from my HTC One using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
MontelBoom

MontelBoom

Members
A large percent of their stock is gone and some tanks including a couple of the larger ones had been completely emptied. A lot of the stuff I saw was 50% off.
 
lkelly

lkelly

Members
There was a guy posting on one of the aquarium related FB groups who apparently works there. He said a bunch of the employees were leaving (fed up) and it was closing but may reopen with new ownership.

This is about as third hand and sketchy as a rumor could possibly be.
 
CichlidAddict

CichlidAddict

Members
That really sucks. I was there during the BFD and the store still carried many stock. Along with closing of several big stores in the Baltimore Washington region in the last few years, the only decent independent left is HOT and who knows how long it will last. The hobby has changed. You can no longer view or buy uncommon species in LFS.
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
Didn't they just move to the new location a couple of years ago?

Definitely a tough road for LFS these days...

I've never been to Beltway - my only interaction with the owner (via phone) was such a negative one that I never felt motivated to make the trek.

Matt
 
Owens

Owens

Members
dogofwar said:
Didn't they just move to the new location a couple of years ago?

Definitely a tough road for LFS these days...

I've never been to Beltway - my only interaction with the owner (via phone) was such a negative one that I never felt motivated to make the trek.

Matt
Click to expand...

The owner wasnt a nice guy for sure, but they were the only store that actually had rare fish for a decent price.

I personally really dislike HOT, one of the reasons being their outrageous prices, which will probably go up with even less competition.
 
A

Aqua410

Members
Owens said:
The owner wasnt a nice guy for sure, but they were the only store that actually had rare fish for a decent price.

I personally really dislike HOT, one of the reasons being their outrageous prices, which will probably go up with even less competition.
Click to expand...

I have found their prices on a lot of things to be pretty much in line with what you pay elsewhere as far as brick and mortar stores go. Sure some of their livestock is priced into the stratosphere but a lot of the prices seem reasonable. Hopefully the fact that it's usually busy in there indicates that their business is doing well because there's simply no where else to go in my area other then today's pet in Columbia which has been on a downhill slide for some time. On a side note they are redoing all their display tanks now but I don't have much hope that there will be a major improvement.
 
Becca

Becca

Members
I never thought HOT was that bad, price-wise. I visited Beltway once about 4 years ago and it wasn't worth the trip, plus the owner was rude. I got followed out of the (yes, women's) restroom by a couple of guys in the mall who ran off when they saw that my husband had joined me. I guess a pregnant lady all alone looked like an easy mark, but otherwise wasn't worth the trouble. Bad experience all around.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Howie

Howie

Members
I had a very positive experience at Beltway the one time I went there last year. The entire store set up is very much a hodge podge, but it was fun to explore amongst the open boxes scattered around and navigate between the obstacle course of huge sumps and tanks with monster size SAs and arowanas. While it doesn't have the cleanliness or order of Congressional or HOT (or the astronomical prices), it has a certain charm. The African tanks had some nice peacocks that were a decent size at more than fair prices. I was helped by Sam, who was great at netting me the exact fish i wanted and was very friendly, patient and accommodating, despite it being a very busy and chaotic Saturday afternoon at the store. They also offered a 10% CCA discount, so no complaints. I hope they can reopen soon, since it is one of the last LFS's to offer a decent enough variety of cichlids at affordable prices with great customer service.
 
Last edited:
Owens

Owens

Members
Becca said:
I never thought HOT was that bad, price-wise. I visited Beltway once about 4 years ago and it wasn't worth the trip, plus the owner was rude. I got followed out of the (yes, women's) restroom by a couple of guys in the mall who ran off when they saw that my husband had joined me. I guess a pregnant lady all alone looked like an easy mark, but otherwise wasn't worth the trouble. Bad experience all around.

Sent from my SCH-I435 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Click to expand...

Perhaps their cichlid prices are reasonable, I wouldnt know (surprisingly enough) I'm not a cichlid person, but every trip I have taken there has been nothing but rediculous.

They have a poor 2' Jardini that they would rather die in a 75g than sell at a reasonable price (they have it listed at $1k, my last Jardini that sized I purchased at $250).

They often mis-label fish, they had a Tanzaniae Tiger fish labeled as an African Goliath for $300 last time I was there.

I have seen the same low grade ZZ flowerhorn with a prolapsed anus there for months on end for over $100.

They once had a pair of 20" Ornate bichirs (that were donated) for sale for $400 I tried to negotiate down, even though they were sick with ick. They refused.

They also had a 9" Niger cat for sale for $200 last time I had visited. (Jeff Rapps sells these for $25).

These are just a few examples of ridiculously high prices I have personally encountered. Obviously the store caters to the more casual fish community.

With that said, they do have well prices feeders for my python, though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top