congressional aquarium

I just visited this place, as a treat to myself. It's the closest LFS-  a 40 minute drive for me just over the boarder in Maryland. I'd heard about it from a girl who came to buy plants from me once. It was definitely worth the visit. Tons of selection in equipment and dry goods, a good dozen tanks of freshwater plants (organized by light intensity requirements) and six aisles of fishes- mostly freshwater.

I saw so many fish there that I've always been intrigued by, but until now never viewed in person. Panda garra, weather loach, florida flagfish, chocolate gourami, keyhole cichlid, ropefish, amazon spotted leaf fish. Some I had never even heard of before- electric blue paradise fish, rainbow wolf fish, dragon eel- that was a cool one! I'd thought before that I like the look of checker barbs, but they really weren't that nice in person. Odessa barbs on the other hand, the mature ones are very striking. Gold barbs a beautiful gleam, and the glowlight tetras so pretty. I saw pygmy cories- the actual corydoras pygmaeus that I'd been looking for before- and they are adorable. I saw celestial pearl danios and the blue-striped emerald dwarf rasbora. I had never seen a tank full of female bettas before. Those fish were certainly nipping and chasing each other more than the angelfishes- three different tanks of those, my favorites, which I will go back for some day. There were lots of huge tanks with the big fishes- goldfish, clown loaches, oscars- usually seen as babies but here fullsize. Some gorgeous display tanks and small planted tanks green living jewels. Lots of pretty bettas but none of the type I liked and when I asked the guy said they rarely get plakats.

I could have stayed much longer but I found fish I wanted to bring home- banded kuhli loaches. I got two and they are acclimating in my thirty-eight right now. I think perhaps they are different species variety than my remaining striped kuhli, Albert. One is more orange in base color and his bands are wider and go all the way around the body- at least it looks like it. I think I've now got pangio oblonga, pangio pangia, pangio seimicincta and pangio kuhli. I'm already calling the bold-striped orange one Tiger.