D.C.'s only home
for nano fish, shrimp
& aquascaping.
Aquascaping is the art of arranging aquatic plants, stone, and driftwood inside a tank to create a living underwater landscape: part garden, part painting.
“I try to express in the aquarium the scenery of nature that deeply moves me.”
Takashi Amano · creator of the Nature Aquarium · 1954–2015
Every animal in the building has been carefully acclimated, observed, and fed in our system. We'd rather lose a sale than send a fish home to die.
A shop built to
stay in.
White floors, custom-built wood racks, and walls that actually got some thought. CEF doesn't look like most fish stores, and it's not meant to.
The Chill Zone has a blue sofa, which is not something you'll find in the chain stores. Good for adults who want to browse without being rushed. Great for kids who need somewhere to sit while the grown-ups pick out their pleco.
Everything
in the building.
A wide selection of aquatic animals, plants, and hardgoods. Come in and see what's here.
Community & Nano Fish
The freshwater staples alongside the tiny rarities. Neons, rasboras, and danios next to ember tetras and celestial pearl danios, quarantined before they hit the floor.
Aquatic Plants
50+ live species: from carpeting Monte Carlo to background val. Trimmed and restocked each week.
Shrimp & Invertebrates
From bright gold Neocaridina and snow white Amanos, to micro crabs and rabbit snails.
Bettas
Crowntails, halfmoons, and plakats, each in their own display tank. We don't sell cups.
Rare Catfishes & Cichlids
L-numbers and CW-numbers, alongside Apistogramma and Geophagus. The tanks you stop at every visit to see what's new.
UNS Aquaria & Equipment
Rimless tanks from 5 to 120 gallons. Filters, lights, stands, Controsoil, and Controbase. The same gear we spec for every custom build.
Built here,
ready to take home.
Every scape on the floor was put together in this building. Hardscape set by hand, planted, then left to run until the water is stable. By the time one carries a price tag it has been cycling for weeks. What you carry out is a finished, living piece of art, waiting on nothing but its new inhabitants.
01Set by hand
02Aquascaped by expert staff
03Ready to go home
Buy a betta
without the guilt.
Not a cup in sight. Every male here has his own filtered UNS tank, planted and changed weekly, and that tank is temporary housing. It holds him until somebody takes him home.
- The tanks
No cups. Not one.
Every male gets his own filtered UNS tank, planted, with a water change every week. Nothing here is sitting in a jar of still water waiting to be noticed.
- The color
The whole range, not one shelf's worth.
Crowntails, halfmoons and plakats, male and female. Marbles, solids, koi patterns, and scales that throw a different color depending on where you're standing.
- The wild types
Bettas you can keep in pairs.
Unlike domestic hybrids, many wild types like B. mahachaiensis hold together peacefully: a pair, or a small group, in one planted tank.
How we keep
water moving.
From a 5-gallon shrimp bowl to a 120-gallon planted display. We handle scapes, weekly maintenance, water testing and special plant sourcing. We still answer the phone ourselves.
After closing, the shop reopens.
A few evenings a year the register goes quiet, the chairs come out, and the floor belongs to whoever has something worth showing. Some nights that's us. Some nights it's a club, or a hobbyist who's known worldwide for what they can do.
Talks & demos
One subject, worked through properly, by someone who keeps the tank they're describing. Cycling, water chemistry, CO2, plant selection, whatever the room turns up asking about.
Hands-on workshops
Small groups around a bare tank. Hardscape, substrate, planting, and the trimming nobody warns you about. You leave having done it rather than having watched it.
In the room with the hobby.
We're a small shop, but we show up. Donations, auction prizes, speakers, and classroom kits. The DC and Maryland fish community is the reason this shop exists, so we try to make it stronger when we can.
- ASCMAquarist Society of Central Maryland
- GWAPAGreater Washington Aquatic Plant Association
- CCACapital Cichlid Association
- PVASPotomac Valley Aquarium Society
- MAHMaryland Aquarium Hobbyists
A truly local
fish store.
The neighborhood magazine put Murray on its September cover and gave the shop the story inside: a father and son hobby that turned into a storefront, the Chill Zone sofa nobody gets rushed off of, the clubs and classrooms we donate to, and the two dogs who greet you at the door.
We are the fish store for Cathedral Heights, the Palisades, and everyone who drives in from farther out. Being written up by the people who live here is the version of that we are proudest of.
Read the cover story
Take the shop home.
Made in small batches, sold from the front counter, never online. If you see one in the wild, the wearer probably has opinions about RO water.
- 1Mesh HatNavy or white with breathable mesh and the shop's iconic peacock bass.
- 2The TeeA soft sky-blue tee to show everyone you get your fishes from people who care.
- 3StickersSized for a water-bottle, a laptop, or the corner of a 75-gallon.
Drop by
the shop.
Bring a water sample, a picture of your tank, or just a Saturday afternoon. Street parking on Idaho and New Mexico. A short walk from Tenleytown or the Glover Park bus lines.
| Mon | 12 – 7 pm |
|---|---|
| Tue | Closed |
| Wed | Closed |
| Thu | 12 – 7 pm |
| Fri | 12 – 7 pm |
| Sat | 11 am – 7 pm |
| Sun | 11 am – 7 pm |