1. Do your aquarium supplies and products have color and depth?
2. Are there a variety of lighting and electronic options available for your customers?
3. Do you offer a large enough array of fish?
4. Are you providing a wide selection of filters and tank cleaning options, including books and advice to ensure fish remain healthy and aquariums stay beautiful?

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Offer a large selection of fish pet supplies for the novice fish owner

Novice fish buyers vary from young children and their parents to college students and small apartment dwellers who want something from the natural world in their home. Think of simple, inexpensive items that easily add some color or visual interest. These items are perfect for end caps and can entice the customer into buying one or two more 'splurge,' or expensive items.

I recommend: For corals, plants, and sea art, Fishy Business sells a variety of aquarium supplies at discounted prices. BigAlsOnline works from a distribution center of over 90,000 sq. ft. and literally carries it all, although you may not get much more of a discount than your customers would by going online, since they also have fish stores throughout Canada. JEHMCO.com, the "Fish Room Supply House", will work directly with you as a retailer of fish supplies and aquarium supplies and will even provide private labeling and retail sized packages for resale.

Include a variety of intermediate fish supplies

Slightly more experienced fish supply customers that perhaps are creating an aquarium for a restaurant or a large one for their home, are often willing to spend more on aquaculture tanks and supplies. Establishing good relationships with aquarium fish wholesalers and aquarium fish distributors will allow you to negotiate discounts. I suggest phoning them directly, during business hours, and asking if you can work with the same person each and every time. Since there are many aquarium fish distributors to choose from, see who will give you the best service, warranty, and price.

I recommend: Customaquatic.com offers many different brands of aquarium store products from air pumps and filters to lights. They have a complete selection for businesses that want a variety of fish pet and fish tank supplies. If you're looking for all glass aquariums, Aqueon has a full line of products available and will even include your store in its searchable online store directory. Aquatic Warehouse offers a variety of technologies for healthy, vibrant, freshwater aquariums, which they claim can actually tempt those who've switched to saltwater to return to their freshwater roots.

Provide specialized fish aquarium supplies for the highly experienced or expert fish enthusiast

Now is the time to think outside the box and examine the needs of others in your community. For example, there is always someone who is an expert and wants to do more than simply add fish or pieces of interest to an existing aquarium.

I recommend: If you're considering working with reef aquariums and marine fish distributors, Sunlight Supply offers a variety of lighting options. Aquatic Lighting Systems, a division of Aquaria, Inc. also offers a variety of unique lighting solutions. For a variety of live rock and corals, try Livestockusa.org. An Italian manufacturer of aquarium and pond equipment and supplies, Prodac International offers a diverse website of information for pet and fish business owners. For the fish aquarium enthusiast who truly has it all, San Diego Plastics, Inc specializes in manufacturing large, custom, aquarium tanks; however, they start at a minimum size of 240 gallons.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Offering a variety of fish and fish tank supplies, in addition to being knowledgeable about each one, will enable you to compete with larger stores.
• •  Weekly e-mails to customers can be an inexpensive way to advertise your upcoming sales and new products.