Nova fish stores?

You have basically have hit all that are worth going to in Virginia. Petland off 236 next to Chuck E. Cheese in Fairfax has a fair amount of fish as well. I live in Centreville and prefer Centreville aquarium as well. Dave the owner is very knowledgable and while he will try to sell you stuff, he can be relied on for honest advice and will not sell you something you do not need or is detrimental to the health of your fish. Anytime I have crossed checked his recommendations I have found him to be correct. If you buy something large his prices are negotiable if you shop around.

Wallys is hit or miss the owner and one other person, whose name i forget are quite good, everyone else is clueless.

I've found the people in Wally's to be friendly, but their fish selection is very limited, and not in the best condition.

Anandale Super Pets is almost the opposite. Their selection is much better (fish and supplies), but their staff is unhelpful to downright surly and rude.

Believe it or not, I'd just as soon go to PetSmart as either of those two for supplies. For fish, I'd probably go to Annandale Super Pets, unless they're way overpriced, in which case I'd order it from a breeder and have it shipped.

Yes, I have to generally agree with you regarding the staff at super petz, getting advice is like pulling teeth but they do have the best selection of fish and plants in the area and they do an excellent job maintaining their tanks and keeping their livestock healthy. I'm not sure what is going on, but Wally's used to have excellent fish stock many years ago, i agree its slipped.

There is a pretty good fish store in Gaithersburg, MD if you want to make the trek. Tropical Fish World

Agreed. Tropical Fish World is a nice place. The people are friendly, knowledgeable, helpful. They can help you try to locate things they don't have (thanks Jim!). If it wasn't a ways away from me, that'd be my pick for a LFS.

A few years ago, I used to go to a place in Aspen Hill, maybe called Totally Fish? I'm not positive about the name. They look like they've recently moved and are still building out their space, but they've gone downhill from what I remember.

today i actually when to a really cool place, it was called fox mill pets in herdon??? they a rather large variaty of snails, but they were like 6 bucks each!, i saw a sword tail that had black blobs ovr the body, almost like a cow! i had to get it, and now it looks amazingg in my tank, his names Hibachi! lol dont ask