ABOUT US
Run by a father-daughter duo who share a passion for beautiful saltwater fish, NYAquatic strives to be the nation’s premier supplier of home-delivered high end salt water fish for aquariums. Started in 2007 by a stay-at-home father of four young children who loved their trips to the aquarium, Michael sought to bring the joy of those visits to his home. Quickly recognizing the need for a convenient and budget friendly way for hobbyists to stock their home aquariums, NYAquatic was born.
OUR STORY (written by Leah, the daughter of the duo)
Michael’s interest in the hobby started in college, when he fell in love with his college roommate’s fish tank. Moving through life, including getting married and buying a home, Michael went through many different tank arrangements and was often trading and selling his fish to fit his current needs. Upon the birth of his fourth child, Michael left his job in the food industry and became the primary care giver for his young children. As his family grew, expenses grew too and he could no longer just be a stay-at-home dad. He wasn't sure what to do. Then one day, while meeting someone to sell a fish, he had his lightbulb moment—he would open an online fish store. (His family were entrepreneurs at heart—with his father leaving a job as a physicist at IBM to create an at home water filer and ultimately building a successful bakery business). Michael always felt there was a gap in the industry and no convenient, budget-friendly way to buy fish online. What could be better than taking his passion and turning it into a business! He began researching day and night, spending every free second reading any aquarium book available. After months of researching, learning and networking, he decided to import his first shipment of fish and launch what would eventually be NYAquatic.
The beginning was not easy: he worked 18 hour days, did everything himself and had his share of getting scammed by suppliers. He was dedicated to founding the premier online fish store and despite the many bumps in the road, Michael was never discouraged and used each struggle as an opportunity to grow. As months went on, things began picking up. He moved from his basement to a full warehouse. He brought his children in to decorate the space and let them draw fish on the walls. His youngest, Leah, loved coming to work with him and slowly became a fish fanatic too. NYAquatic continued to grow and Michael went from importing a few boxes of fish a month to a few boxes of fish a week. Things were going well until Leah fell ill and Michael needed to focus almost all his energy on her medical care. In between hospital and doctor visits, they would stop at the office and he would try to pack and ship out as many orders as he could. Leah loved coming to work with him, she would help pack orders and feed the fish. Thankfully after a year of treatment his daughter returned to school and he was back focused full time on the business. His youngest would still help out after school until she became very ill again. He was once again pulled away from working on the business and instead focused on his daughter. Many hard weeks went by, and his daughter stabilized. He went back to work but still had to take her for her daily treatments. On the way home his daughter would plead to go to the office with him. Almost every day his daughter would accompany him to the shop and they worked as a great team.
WHERE WE ARE NOW (written by Michael, the father of the duo)
It was a dream come true to have my daughter join NYAquatic. Leah has helped transform the business, building NYAquatic’s social media presence, introducing live sales and helping us maintain an unbeatable level of customer service. NYAquatic is now one of the top online fish retailers with one of the widest selections of fish and the lowest prices. The journey has been long and full of challenges, but now that my daughter is by my side, the trip is a blast.
Come and join the NYAquatic family, we won’t disappoint!