A new business in downtown Washington offers a variety of fish, aquariums and other aquatics merchandise in hopes of promoting enthusiasm and education about fishkeeping.

Finatics Aquariums, Fish and More, owned by Lee and Katie Godwin, is the newest storefront in the downtown area. Katie Godwin, a Washington High School alumnus, has lived in Beaufort County her whole life. She and her husband, through a love of fishkeeping and related subject matter, acquired tanks over the years and began selling fish, Katie Godwin said.

“It’s always kind of been a love of ours,” Katie Godwin said. “Through traveling and talking with people and coming across other fish, we acquired different tanks. Having so many tanks at home, people started coming and buying from our tanks, and we were just bound and determined to do something we love. And what better thing to do than fish?”

As the only business in Beaufort County that specializes in fish and aquatics sales, the store offers saltwater, freshwater and pond fish, as well as aquariums to match each, Katie Godwin said. The goal behind having the store open and keeping varieties of fish, crayfish, crabs and other aquatic creatures is to educate the public and promote interest in aquatics. Each tank in the store contains information about each species of fish.

Godwin said Finatics carries everything from pond goldfish to bottom feeders like algae eaters, crayfish and snails to bigger cichlids and fish that grow to be five to six feet in length that are more aggressive than aquarium fish. The store also carries everything one would need to fully stock a new aquarium for a new fish purchase like pebbles for the bottom, artificial underwater vegetation and other underwater structures one would find in an aquarium.

There is also a pair of Red-eared slider turtles, located in a pond in the store, thanks to a donation by Washington Harbor District Alliance Director Beth Byrd, Godwin said. Byrd found the turtles when they were quarter-sized, raised them up and donated them to the store.

“This is our attempt to get people involved in what we love,” Katie Godwin said. “Our main goal is information. We have a Facebook page that we keep, trying to inform customers and dispel myths. We’re just trying to show (customers) that it’s not that difficult. It can be fun. The more knowledge you have, the more fun it is.”

The Godwins have remodeled the store to accommodate shelving made from pallets donated by Hackney. The shelving lines the walls of the storefront, containing rows upon rows of five, 10 and even 20-gallon tanks. They also have plans to include a bait shack in the back of the store, which leads to the Washington waterfront. The shack will include ice and bait, as well as sunscreen and other similar items for boaters coming off the Pamlico to shop on the waterfront, Godwin said.

“You can catch them or buy them, but either way we want to be apart of it,” Godwin said.

Finatics Aquariums, Fish and More is located at 215 W Main St. in downtown Washington. It is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.