I have shopped here a couple times over the past years and always have had a good experience. They quarantine their fish so you have a healthy specimen that comes with you. I’ve purchase typically “shy” fish from them but you can tell the fish are healthy right away because the swim up to the glass asking for food. I brought home a new fish about a week ago; he is doing great and eating like a pig. Ollie always gives great advice and insight. They are doing appointments only right now which I appreciate in such a small space. The deposit you pay goes towards your purchase which in the reefing word you know you’re typically going to spend more than that deposit anyway.

100th review!! Dave, Chad and Ollie are fantastic. I have had nothing but great experiences here and I would recommend them to anyone. They QT their fish so that is just another reason to trust them. I may be moving to Richmond, but I will definitely take trips up solely to buy from them.

Amazing store and great customer service. All of there corals are fairly priced, with great coloration and the staff is knowledgeable and attentive. They take there fish QT process very seriously and all the inverts I have purchased were first rate. Highly recommend!

Knowledgeable staff. Nice selection of corals. Call and ask about policies before showing up; we were not expecting to pay a deposit to look at their selection.

The store is currently only allowing visits by appointment only, (fine whatever), then Im told there is a 30$ non refundable appointment fee to just walk into the store to look. (LOL) when I drove to the store I noticed a No Concealed Carry sign, which in Virginia does not carry the weight of the law with it however, was all I needed to know. I took my 2600$ elsewhere and am happy with my results.

Very Knowledgeable I had a Mandarin that was not eating they was quick to recommend a pellet food and explained how to feed it. Went home and the Mandarin starting eating the food right away and is doing much better. I also had a few reefing questions and they was very helpful answering all my questions. I really like the fact they quarantine and treat their fish before they sell them (worth every penny not having to do that myself). I will be stocking my new 180 build with fish from here.

Very, very knowledgeable! The staff is A++++! Went for micro algae left with more information that never knew about! If I could give 10 stars I would! I’m going to pass the word about this place, it’s AMAZING

Everyone here is so knowledgeable and friendly! I love that they will go out of their way to make sure youre purchasing whats right for your tank without pressuring you to get what you dont need.

Went there to get some fresh water plants. Even though they are focused on salt water tanks, staff was super nice and knowledgeable on fresh water aquariums. Prices were also more affordable compared to the other places and chains. Definitely would suggest to anyone in the hobby.

Oh, what a nice variety of clean and healthy fish and corals. Staff was helpful. Prices are more of the high end but very understandably considering everything is clean and taken care of. Very good condition. There is no other place to buy The fish they have in stock around here. I think Ollie- or ellio (spelling*) was the person that helped us put everything together. Our first time here and not our last. Thank you! Very happy we found this place.

I thought the fish were pretty high. Until they told me they quarantined all fish prior to placing them in sales tanks. Thats a huge load off the buyer and well worth the extra cash.

Very solid store. The quarantine tanks are kind of an amazing thing to see (although I was slightly upset that one of the fish I was super excited to find wasn’t available to actually purchase that day. I live pretty far away, so it’s not really a thing to put something on hold). However, that said, the selection is awesome and since they will order whatever you need AND quarantine it for you, that can’t be beat. If you live nearby that is.All that said, I did get a fish there and it made it home safe. Acclimated and went in the tank and I haven’t seen it since then. It’s been a week, so if it pops back out ever, I’ll certainly up this to 5 stars.Edit: fish is alive. Saw it come out of a rock for about .5 seconds. Upping this to 5 stars.

Good inventory (marine/reef/freshwater/planted tank), clean store, friendly staff and beautiful display tanks.

Awesome tropical fish store. No idea it was back behind the shopping center. Very knowledgeable staff.

Ollie is very informative and knowledgeable about saltwater aquariums and everything in them. I was very impressed my first time checking this place out and will return. They offer a nice variety of clean and healthy fish and corals. I bought a beautiful bubble tip anemone paired with a cinnamon clown and they are doing well. Thanks!

The value of an aquarium shop that actually delivers the 500+ lb aquarium to your house can not be understated.

Great staff, very knowledgeable and very customer friendly. Clean store and like how they quarantine their stock prior to selling and if they dont have it in stock they will order it. They assisted in all if my questions and concerns. Will be returning here for future purchases and assistance specifically when I prepare to build my saltwater tank.

Staff was HONEST and helpful. Prices are slightly high because of higher quality and the fish are in extremely good health and coral selection is healthy. There is no other place to buy Marine fish and corals than here!

I absolutely LOVE this place. Every time I go in there, Im always helped by the staff there and am always given amazing advice which has always been the best interest for saving me money and getting me what I need in order to have an awesome setup. The fish selection can be hit or miss, but you can order through them to get what youre looking for. They have an awesome selection of frags and have whatever you could possibly need on hand. Yes, everything is rather pricey but after losing $150+ in fish in 24hrs from another place, this place is well worth it. Whats even cooler to me is that they willingly allowed me to test their waters to demonstrate how certain kits and devices worked. Also, the staff are really fun to have random conversations with while being checked out!

Nice place, lots of options. Friendly staff.

Great little fish store hidden behind a strip mall. The fish and staff here are both friendly and interesting. Came in for some inverts, but wanted to get so much more.

Great place! Tanks are kept spotless and the QT process fish go thru is amazing. Stop by and chat with any of the team members and you will learn something.

The staff at this store are beyond helpful. They treated every person who entered the store like they were their number one customer. The staff seem very knowledgeable and are willing to look up something if they arent certain about it. This store front is very small but kept very clean. The small size of the store may disappoint hobbyist. The few display tanks are quiet beautiful . Filled with things like seahorses, jelly fish, various shrimps and fish. If you are in the area with a little free time just have a look around. Even if you dont own a fish tank its a nice way to spend 5 or 10 minutes. Plus its wont cost you anything to browse around and learn a few things.

We have bought a 60 gallon take from this store and two LED lights. This was the only store that went out of their way to find the tank that we were looking for.The store manager Alex Krupp was extremely helpful and knowledgeable throughout the entire buying process.One of the best customer service that I have every experienced.

Has plenty of corals and both fresh and salt water fish to choose from. A little hard to find but worth the trip.

One of the nicest places to buy Fish, Corals and Aquarium Supplies. Everything I have purchased has thrived in my tanks. Staff is friendly and helpful. Highly recommend!

Wide selection and knowledgeable staff makes us a great place to shop for all your saltwater needs

Good costumer service mixed with amazing display tank by far on of the best fish stores Ive seen for sure

This is the only place that I will buy fish from.they have a great quarantine process and I have bought at least 20 fish from them and have never had an issue.

The first time I walked in to this LFS of knew that I would be shopping there from then on. Ive been to three other fish stores in the area and this is by far the best. It is a little out of my way but the longer drive is well worth it!

I wanted to take a moment and write about my experience with Reef eScape. Phil and his whole team are simply amazing. I recently purchased a new aquarium from a large local pet store. First off, that was a mistake. Wish I would have visited these guys first. That said, they were incredible at helping me get on the right track and fixing mistakes the less than knowledgeable pet store sales people made and set me on course for having an amazing tank and experience. Every time I visit these guys for supplies, coral fish, they spend time with me, educating, explaining, helping ensure I make the right choices for my setup. I am so pleased with their professionalism, passion for the hobby, and amazing customer service. They truly care about what they do and will ensure you are successful whether you are new or experienced. These guys are amazing!

Please treat yourself to this small Valhalla of aquatic pleasures and supplies. Reef eScape has about 60% saltwater and 40% freshwater supplies for those that are interested. They have great tank displays that give you the inspiration to go home and aquascape. They have plant cultures, variety of aquascaping stones and woods. Lots of quality supplies on the wall and quarantine tanks in the back with fish for sale. They even carry some nice Fluval lights for those that are doing freshwater rimless tanks. O will patronize again when in the area. Thank you eScape for a great LFS experience. Please support local.

Very competitive prices on a lot of their freshwater supplies, often significantly cheaper than petsmart or Petco and on par with Amazon prices (which are usually the cheapest). They had a few more niche items for freshwater, I found a liquid API gH and KH test kit which I have never seen in store anywhere.

Gorgeous store. They have lots of really beautiful aquascaped aquariums. They specialize in saltwater tanks, but they do have several hard to find freshwater fish and invertebrates

Livestock Price are a bit higher due to higher standards. I feel when I buy livestock here its in the best possible shape it can be and am confident I wont have an issue.

Wonderful experience

Not sure where these good reviews come from for this store. Im new to the area and have been in twice and have walked out agitated both times. The two employees who control the fish and coral sales are creepy and rubbed me the wrong way, seem as though they are know it alls and above me.Selection is poor for corals and the corals from a named breeder are small and overpriced. Fish selection was bountiful both times, so obviously no one seems to be buying their fish.Brought in some Frogspawn coral of my own as I was told to bring corals in for trade on first visit. Yet I was shoved away and told the store was not taking corals for trade after I drove 30 minutes to get there. Was informed I needed to call ahead of time to bring in corals, what a joke. What kind of reef store doesnt accept corals as trade when they have the room for them?Do yourself a favor and go to Artfully Acrylic or Blue Ribbon Koi for a good selection and better pricing on all things reef.

Great little hidden gem. Ive lived in the area for 8 years and never knew it was here. knowledgeable staff, wont bs you by selling you something that wont work in your tank and will try to help you find animals and equipment that will work for you. selection is a little small, definitely more of a saltwater place than freshwater, but they got the goby & coral I asked for in under a month, and at a pretty reasonable price considering they medicate and quarantine all their fish. definitely worth a visit just to see their display tanks, just make sure you get their unusual retail hours right

Awesome a small time reefers dream, very helpful staff

Great selection and great service

Awesome reef store with a ton of great fish and corals. I really wish I had found it sooner! Holly really helped me with a special request, thanks again.

Nice place and polite salemen and salewomen.Affordable prices, but need to offer bargains to customers

Great staff, their name tags on the shirt sleeve and I think its awsome... but about the store, its fair pices, great selection, and knowledgeable employees make this my favorite aquatic store in the area. Even though it is a 20min drive for me and there is a pet store 5min away I still chose to commute to Reef eScape

Incredible knowledge, very helpful

Called to confirm they had product in stock. They confirmed they did, arrive 15 min later only to find out dont have in stock computer inventory must be wrong, thanks for wasting my time.....

Worst customer service with attitudes that Ive ever seen at a reef store. And I have been to many, many of them throughout Va and Md. Selection of fish is super limited and pretty much have to order what you want and wait. Attitudes all over in there! Ive had several of them roll their eyes at me and Ive over heard them talking about me like they do not care at all. There are much better places. Plus they are VERY expensive particularly with their corals. Go somewhere else. You will be glad you did.***Update*** Since leaving this review I called to ask a question and because they know me and my voice and calling before, the 1 girl that works there (who has always had the worst attitude of them all) told me to never come to the store again. Wow. All the money I spent there and I leave a very honest and true review and thats how you get treated? Rather than ask what they can do better to improve their business, customer service,and ask what did they did wrong to earn themselves the review I wrote, how to right the situation? Like I said, the worst. Go to Centreville Aquarium or if you can get there go to Quantum Reefs in Springfield. I know 1 of the guys from Quantum Reefs from a previous reef store Petland, and hes very knowledgeable. Also, their prices at Quantum Reefs are UNBEATABLE. Youll save a lot of money there. Only reason I ever went here in the first place is because it was super convenient and close to my job. Wish I never spent a dime there.

One of the owner there, she was very rude to me and make me feel uncomfortable for just being there.I dont feel welcome there.I will never come back EVER again! Attitudes all over in there!BOO DAT PLACE!!

Too pricey.

Very helpful and friendly .We live 3 hrs away and will make the drive every time I need anything for my saltwater tank ....Thanks again

Very knowledgeable and friendly staff.

Great fish shop with amazing customer service. Very awesome corals and fun to visit.

As another poster commented below, I have no idea where the positive comments are coming from either -- My first experience with this lfs was poor.While they had a decent level of selection of equipment, the variety of livestock for both fish and corals was poor. Additionally, the fish that I purchased were significantly overpriced for market value (e.g. nearly 100% markup for fish).The thing which bothered me the most after driving 30 minutes to get there was the fact that the short haired female that worked there was completely insulting. She was unprofessional and rude to both myself and my wife who did nothing but browse patiently and silently in the front of the store while I nearly had to argue with their associate in the back over livestock purchases.I rarely ever write a negative post about retailers but this particular employee was pompous, condescending and rude; she also started being rude to another employee as we were leaving and was very nasty to my wife.Not only was this location over priced, the service was significantly worse than poor, literally offensive and insulting.I will not be back and I would advise other aquarists to explore alternate lfs retailers. Ill be going to the previous posters suggested locations below going forward.Kindest Regards,MTN

One of the few saltwater focused stores left

More than livestock, equipment, & service... expert advisory that builds a sincere partnership.

Great service, nice corals, good advise.

Great store with good prices

Great store good staff

Snake pit.

Cool stuff

Olivia is the best!

Its there