Found a LFS

[treesprite]

I had no idea this place was there, and have never once heard anyone mention it!

 

Showcase is in a little strip of tiny shops on a back street in the middle of Wheaton, and has been there about 42 (yes, forty two!) years.

 

The owner's daughter was there, not the owner though. She told me Jim who owns Tropical Fish World in Gaithersburg worked at this shop before he opened his own.

 

The tanks looked great. There isn't a whole lot of saltwater stuff, but the fish and corals that are there looked very nice and the tanks were clean. The owner's daughter (can't remember name) seemed knowledgeable.

 

The shop does not have an in-take QT system. I was told that when a fish is sick the tank it's in is taken off line for treatment. The shop gets it's livestock from the same suppliers as TFW, meaning the fish are typically of high quality when they arrive (I don't know about other people, but I have never gotten a sick fish from TFW over the apx 14 years I've gone there).

 

I wish I had had money when I was in there - there was a nice green bubble coral and a beautiful pearly jawfish that I'd have liked to take home! I do plan to go back to this shop in the future.

 

I provided some information about WAMAS and encouraged joining as a vendor member or sponsoring member, and noted that some LFSs give club members a 10% discount. Hopefully the woman will talk to her father the owner and convince him to make a presence here.

 

Almost forgot the address - I have to find the card she gave me, then will post it.

Edited September 27, 2009 by treesprite

[Mountaineer]

Glad to hear. That would not be far from home for me.

[jaesun]

The store used to be a lot larger. It's only half the size now. I got my 5.5 g and Maxi-jet 400 there for probably the cheapest prices in the area.

[Coral Hind]

The Showcase Tropical Fish Inc (Showcase Aquarium)

11250 Triangle Ln

Wheaton, MD 20902-4636

(301) 942-6464‎

[NAGA]

That store spawned off a number of new store owners over the years,

 

T. Lagoon

Tropical Fish World

Totally Fish

are just a few that I know of. The owners of these stores at one time worked at Showcase. Nobody mentions them as they really have never done much by way of saltwater. If your in that area your better off spending your time at T. Lagoon where Steve (owner) will take great care of you and give you great advice.

[Smoothtriqueter]

Agreed Steve at T. Lagoon will do right by you for sure. It is always good to hear of a successful LFS to try and get by and support. After all some of us WAMASrs have got ponds, and FW tanks as well!

[treesprite]

I didn't see anything any better about either, unless you are only thinking about the variety of saltwater specieis readily available in the store. What they had was very nice, and I'm sure they can order like any other shop. I was more impressed with this shop than I was the last time I went in Tropical Lagoon.