MLazar

Khalid, I agree with everything that Rascal said and would like to add that it is really important to know how to acclimate fish and corals. We as buyers have a responsibility once we take a purchase home to ensure its survival and can't expect the store we purchased from to replace every loss. It isn't realistic, they wouldn't be able to stay in business. Know how long a fish has been at the store, know what to look for in a healthy/unhealthy fish or coral and please acclimate and quarantine correctly. (Do a search on Wamas for acclimating). Please understand I'm not implying you did anything wrong, just trying to assure you have success in the future. Johnny, kudos for helping Khalid out. Oh, and are my fish in??????

One of the stores we thought had great potential was Pristine Aquariums in Alexandria. We haven't been there in quite a while and it doesn't seem like they're posting too often on Wamas. Has anybody stopped by lately?

Welcome to Wamas! Where are you located?

I agree. Also, take a look at the Vendor Forum on the main page. You can get to each of their websites and see what they have to offer. Enjoy your DC visit. Maureen

Bryan, We haven't been to the Cozy Clownfish, will have to check that one out. Are they mostly fish, or corals as well? BRK is our number one place to go for fish and with Johnny's new location is going to even more awesome. We've gotten some nice frags there too, but the new store is setting up to be so sweet for corals too .......... We've enjoyed shopping for corals at Dr. Mac, Mr. Coral, Rik's (lol), many happy visits to Aquaco, and even successly at Roozens. We've gotten items from F&Fs, and Aquarium One too. We try to support all the vendors that support Wamas. The hunt is part of what makes this hobby so much fun I think. And of course we've aquired treasures from other Wamas members too. Jon thinks the tank is pretty full, but he manages to find room when I find something special.......... With gas prices down we can start planning road trips again! I like to hear about new places to check out so keep posting! Maureen

Maybe Rik can post to a general/open forum and if folks are interested they can PM him their bid and he can post the update on the main auction site....... (Acutally, I don't really know if BB folks can pm.......... so forgive me if I'm mistaken.) Maureen

Sam, Jon and I have some frags for you the next time we're in the same place at the same time as you! Maureen

Thanks guys, appreciate all insight. Will have to give some thought to traveling south once in a while. We tend to head north in a big loop and hit all our favorite stores and are usually pretty happy with the results of these "road trips". Bryan, you mentioned Maru's. We stopped there this past weekend while we were out and about. Hadn't been there in quite some time. I'll state in advance that they've never stocked heavily in the winter time, so we weren't surprised that there wasn't alot to look at, but I was disappointed. No frag tank. Not an empty tank.............tank was GONE. Some fish looked healthy, some did not. Haven't been there in months and didn't recognize new guy taking care of the tanks, but they were pretty clean and he was attentive. Corals, few ............. uninteresting. Its a shame because I remember the crowd that would gather when Dana was the owner. People would buy things as they were unpacking them, even though they weren't fully visable in the bags. His quality and pricing were good. That was a couple of years ago I guess. Not excited about new management, maybe he doesn't have knowledge of hobby to take risks with ordering corals........... Will probably check back in summer time to see if there are any changes. I'm forever the optimist. Thanks again, Maureen

We haven't, thanks for the tip! Don't actually get down that way as often as we'd like. Jon's gone to a couple of stores in Norfolk and VA Beach when work takes him that way, perhaps we'll have to plan a trip sometime. I think he's running a VA Beach 1/2 Marathon again this March, so we'll check a few stores then. Thanks again, Maureen

This cracked me up. I was confused until I focused in on the dates. You're right, he's come a long way baby! And he does have some great stuff in his tank. M

We've actually had some luck with Roozens over the years, but I'll admit it is hit or miss. Maureen

+1

Jon and I recently met a saltwater fish hobbyist who told us about the following store in Stafford: Pets Plus Inc 60 Susa Drive Suite 117 Stafford, VA 22554 540-659-6900 We took a drive over to check them out and were pleasantly surprised at the number of healthy saltwater fish in inventory. Prices were competitive. There were tanks for corals, but nothing exciting at the time we were there. They get new stock every 2 weeks and will special order. The sales guy who helped us was Quinton, he seemed pretty knowledgeable and was very helpful. The only downside to Quinton was that he had never heard of Wamas..........will have to get a flyer in there. For the tiny amount of square footage this pet store has dedicated to salt water, we were impressed. They are not on par with BRK, but it is nice to finally have something close by. Maureen

We've enjoyed schooling chromis' very much. Trying lyretail anthias this time. I hope you enjoy whatever ends up in your tank! Maureen

Jim, Looks good. Love the size of your tank. So glad things turned out well. Maureen

David, It is totally worth the trip. Would love to have a 2nd fish store to run into you at! PM John any fish you're looking for and he'll bring them in for you. Maureen

John, We enjoyed our visit to the new store last week very much, the new store is going to be amazing. Can't believe how much you've gotten done/set up in such a short time already. It is going to be awesome! Did you get our pm regarding our fish wish list?

THIS IS AWESOME! Good job.............. merry ho!

I feel I should apologize for laughing out loud (hope you didn't hear me in Bristow!) Is this like getting coal in your stocking................ haven't you been good?

This is so great, thanks for sharing!

Really nice! Love the stand and canopy, tank is looking great.

Sorry to hear. We just lost a gorgeous yellow tang, have no idea why. All other fish are fine...........

hmmm Perhaps if you do get it you'll want to Pay it Forward and give away your 300................ maybe I'll just get on the list of hopefuls to be first in line to take that "little" tank off your hands................. Seriously, if you really want it I hope it happens for you. Maureen

That was awesome! He looked ready to duel. Music very cool touch........... Maureen

This could be someone's dream come true..................or a total nightmare. I'm nervous because he has yet to post pictures.