Store

Even before I noticed New Guinean penis sheaths hanging from the ceiling of The Fish Store, I got the sense that aquarium-keeping was more engaging than my memories of it. Entering the dimly lit space banked by glowing tanks sent a shiver down my spine.

In dozens of freshwater and saltwater habitats swam creatures I thought could only be captured by Jacques Cousteau types wielding special deep-water cameras. Crimson starfish, candy-cane-striped shrimp, bug-eyed puffers, Surinam toads that look like patches of skin resting on the gravel floor and a pea-green Moray eel that will grow to be 8 feet long -- "for a special buyer," explained my guide, Thom Lien, who has worked at the store for 15 years and refers to himself as "Thom the Ichthyogenius." (The last four digits of his telephone number spell FISH. He calls folks who obsessively collect fish "people with fishues.")

Passionate and experienced, Lien is precisely the sort of person you'll be likely to meet at small, independent fish-only shops like The Fish Store. In addition to selection and expertise, folks like Lien are why you go.