Ocean Aquarium

What Ocean Aquarium does

Ocean Aquarium is a sole-proprietorship retail aquarium store operating from a single storefront at 120 Cedar Street, San Francisco. The business is owned and operated by Justin, who also serves as the sole contact point and curator. It sells tropical and exotic freshwater fish (tetras, cichlids, angelfish, discus, plecos, killifish, gouramis, puffers), freshwater shrimp (Sulawesi, Tiger, Cherry, Amano, Blue, Orange), live aquatic plants, and ornamental goldfish. Its core differentiator is access to rare and wild-caught specimens sourced from global regions including the Amazon (Brazil, Peru, Colombia), Asia, West Africa, Cameroon, and Burma.

The business operates as a traditional brick-and-mortar retail establishment with no e-commerce, online ordering, delivery, or wholesale distribution. Customer communication is conducted through a Blogspot blog (oceanaquarium.blogspot.com) used to post new arrivals and inventory updates, alongside a Flickr photo album. The blog archive dates back to 2008 and the most recent post is from December 2020. No social media presence beyond Flickr is in evidence, and the store relies on walk-in foot traffic from the San Francisco Bay Area.

The revenue model is straightforward in-store retail sales to hobbyists; pricing is set in-store and not publicly disclosed. Ocean Aquarium is privately held with no external investment, parent company, or institutional backing. It is classified as a small business with 8 employees and serves a single customer segment (aquarium hobbyists) seeking specialty and rare freshwater species not readily available at chain pet retailers.

Name

Ocean Aquarium

Legal name

Ocean Aquarium

Website

https://oceanaquarium.blogspot.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ocean Aquarium is a sole-proprietorship retail aquarium store in San Francisco, operated by Justin, selling rare and exotic freshwater fish, shrimp, aquatic plants, and ornamental goldfish to local hobbyists from a single storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pet Retail (Aquarium Specialty)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Aquarium & Fish Supplies Retail (CRALAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ornamental & Aquarium Fish Farming (AFAEAAAJ)

Keywords

• Freshwater aquarium fish
• Live aquarium plants
• Freshwater shrimp retail
• Ornamental goldfish and koi
• Specialty aquatic livestock

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Ocean Aquarium is a small physical retail store that sells live freshwater tropical fish, freshwater shrimp, aquarium plants, and ornamental goldfish and koi to walk-in hobbyist customers. The store is distinguished by its sourcing of rare, wild-caught, and exotic species from global regions including the Amazon basin, Asia, West Africa, and Cameroon, with regular shipments of new arrivals.

Product overview

Ocean Aquarium is a physical retail aquarium store located in San Francisco, operating as a specialty tropical fish and aquarium supplies retailer. The business offers a curated selection of exotic freshwater fish (tetras, cichlids, angelfish, discus, plecos, and rare species), freshwater shrimp, live aquarium plants, and ornamental goldfish. The store sources fish from multiple global regions including Amazon, Asia, West Africa, and Cameroon. Products are primarily sold through the physical retail location, with new arrivals documented on the company's blog. The business is owned and operated by Justin, who can be reached at (415) 771-3206.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tropical Fish Wide variety of freshwater tropical fish including tetras (cardinal, rainbow emperor, green neon, rummy nose, black diamond neon), cichlids (German ram, electric blue ram, apistogramma, discus, heckel, cupid), angelfish (altum, Peru altum, red check gold blushing), plecos (gold nugget, spotted rubberlipped), corydoras (eques, multiradiatus, concolor, green laser, orange laser, sixray), rasboras (lamb chop, strawberry, mosquito, chilli red, phoenix, blue axelrodi), killifish (clown, filament), gouramis, puffers, bettas, and rare species sourced from Amazon, Asia, West Africa, and Cameroon. Sold to home aquarium hobbyists.
• Freshwater Shrimp Diverse selection of specialty freshwater shrimp including tiger shrimp, cherry shrimp, bumblebee shrimp, amano shrimp, Sulawesi shrimp, yellow fire shrimp, blue shrimp, and orange shrimp. Sold to home aquarium hobbyists seeking rare and specialty invertebrates.
• Aquarium Plants Live freshwater aquatic plants across multiple genera including Aponogeton, Anubias, Bacopa, Cabomba, Cryptocoryne, Vallisneria, Rotala, and Ludwigia. Sold to home aquarium hobbyists for planted tank setups.
• Goldfish and Koi Ornamental goldfish varieties including Ryukin fantail, Oranda, and related cold-water species, sold to home aquarium and pond hobbyists.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Petco: Major national pet retailer with live fish departments and online ordering. Competes with Ocean Aquarium on basic tropicals and supplies, but does not credibly cover the rare-species niche that defines Ocean Aquarium's positioning.
• PetSmart: Largest North American specialty pet retailer with broad live-fish assortments including the LiveAquaria banner. Overlaps with Ocean Aquarium's tropical fish and plant categories but does not specialize in rare or wild-caught species.

Direct peers

• Aqua Huna: Specialty freshwater fish and plant retailer carrying rare species from the Amazon and Asia. Directly comparable product mix and rare-species sourcing story to Ocean Aquarium.
• Aquarium Co-Op: Specialty freshwater fish, shrimp, and plant retailer with strong hobbyist-community and YouTube presence. Comparable on product mix (rare fish, specialty shrimp, live plants) and hobbyist customer targeting, with a far more developed online brand.
• Imperial Tropicals: Wholesale and retail supplier of freshwater tropical fish, including rare and wild-caught species from the Amazon and West Africa. Closely comparable sourcing footprint and rare-species positioning to Ocean Aquarium.
• Flip Aquatics: Specialty retailer of freshwater shrimp, snails, and live aquarium plants with nationwide shipping. Comparable to Ocean Aquarium's shrimp and plant categories, targeting the same advanced hobbyist segment.
• Aqua Imports: Online specialty freshwater aquarium fish retailer focused on rare and unusual species with nationwide shipping. Directly comparable in product positioning (rare tropicals) and customer base (experienced hobbyists).
• Wet Spot Tropical Fish: Online specialty freshwater fish retailer known for rare and wild-caught tropical fish, shrimp, and plants. Directly comparable to Ocean Aquarium in product mix and hobbyist target customer, with a national shipping footprint that Ocean Aquarium currently lacks.
• LiveAquaria: Major online specialty freshwater and marine fish retailer (now part of PetSmart) selling rare tropicals, plants, and invertebrates nationwide. Direct peer in the rare-fish hobbyist segment, with a vastly larger digital and logistics footprint.
• That Fish Place / That Pet Place: Long-standing specialty aquarium and pet retailer combining a large retail showroom with online ordering. Closely comparable on rare-fish stocking, hobbyist customer base, and brick-and-mortar plus shipping model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ocean-aquarium

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ocean Aquarium