I don't know if any of these places are around anymore but I sure hope so. The hobby shop run by a tropical fish fanatic. His fish room got too big or maybe he just got ambitious or too excited. Many years ago , well over 40 years , my Dad and I were running around and he said "we have to go in this bar and have a drink". Off we went and in we went because he wanted to show me an aquarium they had on the back bar. It was fairly big but there were Discus in it. This was back when they were rare and nobody in my little one dog town had them. So , we're sitting at the bar admiring this tank and remarking about it and an older guy about my Dads age , sitting at the bar next to us , pipes up and says " I set that up for them and take care of it". He then goes on to tell us everything about it and then invites us up to his shop to see more. Anyway , we drove over and Fred lived in an older house on a steep hill and the entrance to his shop was reached through the back alley. His shop was in the basement next to his garage. He had to go up a set of long stairs to get up to his house so the shop was really secluded like a cave. I remember the air inside being damp and humid but the smell was wonderful. There were dozens of aquariums shoe horned in everywhere and then . . . there it was ! The huge tank with the huge Discus in it. So cool. I went and told my friend and mentor , who had heard about it but never seen it , and we were frequent visitors. Fred didn't have a cash register and the prices weren't marked . You got out your wallet and he got his out and the deal took place. Fred passed away years ago and you never see places like his anymore. I sure would like to go in there one more time. Then there was Tom's Tropicals and one other but that's another memory.
