Richmond, Va

[TammyLiz]

I'm going to be in Richmond this Saturday and wondered if anyone on here knows of a good fish store there? There must be one, and I might have time to stop in somewhere.

I'm mainly interested in loaches, barbs, rasboras, and danios. And plants.

 

[Meds081603]

How far from Richmond are you willing to travel? There are 2 great shops in baltimore and one in rockville (both maryland) that would not be too far and if you have the time, well worth the drive.

 

[Rubix]

im from richmond, i may be up there monday actually, and of course i always go by my old store when im in town. specifically im from the southside of the city in the midlothian area. just a few miles from my house a few years ago used to be 3-4 stores, now theres one: the PetClub. used to get my fish from there growing up and i still would if i lived there. aside from that the only place i know of offhand is petsmart. theres also a great saltwater place, but im into freshwater so i dont go there often. petclub occaisionally has loaches, when i was up there in november they had a few yoyo's. theyve got your common danios and barbs, unfortunately when i was up there in april they had the glo danios . its a small time quality petstore, i think its worth stopping by, but then again im biased from living ~2 miles away going there for 10+ years

what part of richmond are you going to be in?

 

[TammyLiz]

Rubix, I looked up The Pet Club in Richmond and I got two results, one "The Pet Club" on North Parham Rd. and one "Pet Club" on Huguenot Rd. I assume you're talking about the latter because Parham Rd. I believe is on the north side. At least, the Parham Rd. I know about.

I was planning on being closer to the North side of town but it looks like we might not be going. Let me know which store it is you like though, and I will probably end up going one of these days.

Meds, I definitely couldn't have gone that far from Richmond. In fact, those places are in the opposite direction of where I live. I know how traffic can be in the DC area and around the beltway and I'm sure to go to those three stores from Richmond would be an all day affair, not just stopping in while doing something else! I bet it would top 6 or 7 hours of driving altogether, depending on how well you could work the driving around rush hour. But tomorrow is a holiday weekend...everything will be crawling.

But go ahead and tell me which stores you like! If they're really that great maybe I could make a day of it sometime. The likelyhood is a little low because I have two young children but you never know--maybe. Every once in a while I end up in Baltimore because airline tickets there tend to be a little cheaper than at Dulles or National.

 

[Darkehorse]

I'm from Richmond. I was always fascinated by Azalea aquariums as a child as I used to ride my bike to it and look at all the wonderful fish. Of course, I have no first hand knowledge recently with the store, but I would love to check it out the next time I'm home. I was surprised it was still open as most businesses (from when I was a kid) in the area have long since closed.

http/www.azaleaaquariums.com/

You can also check this link for other LFSes in the area.

http/maps.google.com/maps?ie=utf-8&o...esults&cd=1

-Darke

 

[cleekdaFish]

u guyz live next to me i think we should have an aquarium hobbyst cookout , I live in maryland!

 

[madmom]

LOL Im on the other side of the state in Bedford County. The stores here only carry the basics gups, platty danio etc. We're planning a weeklong vacation to Virginia Beach next month and I've already made a list of shops there to visit. I think I'll make a little detour and check out these places. Thanks people. Didn't think there was anyone from Va. here.

 

[TammyLiz]

As far as fish stores in Virginia other than those in Richmond, I can add my two cents. There is one in Manassas called Cordis Pet Supplies that I have been very very impressed with it. Thats where I got my java fern windelovs, and they sometimes have great finds as far as unusual fish. Also I've seen nice bettas there. I can't be very specific on this one because I don't get there often but have not been dissappointed yet.

Another place I am familiar with is Maru Pets in Spotsylvania. Sometimes they are clean and have exciting great finds, other times I have gone in there and it is run down and disgusting. You never know. They almost always have a lot of cichlids, this week they have excellent rainbowfish, yoyo loaches, gold dojos, bumblebee gobies, a lot of decent looking live rock and a lot of nice corals to name a few things. When fish get sick they do not quarantine and medicate, just remove them when they die. Sometimes they medicate the whole system. I've seen dyed and tatooed fish here a lot. Overall a pretty mediocre place but a great wildcard for unusual finds. Sometimes.

There is a place in Warrenton called Warrenton Pet Shop which I love. I've seen them quarantine and medicate. Things are consistently clean, and a good half of the time I go there is a girl with her hands in a tank cleaning up. Saltwater and fresh. Some of the more unusual things I've found here are botia striata, habrosus cories, and danio kyathit. They also had an electric eel for a while. Their reptiles and amphibians would rival a small zoo.

hth someone.

 

[kribensis12]

im from richmond, i may be up there monday actually, and of course i always go by my old store when im in town. specifically im from the southside of the city in the midlothian area. just a few miles from my house a few years ago used to be 3-4 stores, now theres one: the PetClub. used to get my fish from there growing up and i still would if i lived there. aside from that the only place i know of offhand is petsmart. theres also a great saltwater place, but im into freshwater so i dont go there often. petclub occaisionally has loaches, when i was up there in november they had a few yoyo's. theyve got your common danios and barbs, unfortunately when i was up there in april they had the glo danios . its a small time quality petstore, i think its worth stopping by, but then again im biased from living ~2 miles away going there for 10+ years

what part of richmond are you going to be in?

What is wrong with glo-danio's? They are genetically enigeneered, not dyed so there is no harm to the fish whatsoever.

 

[Rubix]

yes i was speaking of the petclub at hugenot village, i live a mile or two from there (well my parents do). the one on parham is under the same ownership, they have two locations. the owners live in my parents neighborhood i think, great people, great passion for pets/animals. ive never been to the parham store but i expect its the same quality as the hugenot store.
ive been debating if i should head up to richmond or not, im so tired right now and if i go its within the next hour or so... the fact that i want to go to the lfs up there and also want to jump in the james river and some nearby creeks and find some good rocks/maybe wood for my new aquarium is about to convince me to make the drive B)
edit: well i ended up not coming up, too burnt out from work and didnt feel like makin the drive. perhaps in another week or two ill be up there.