May 1, 2025 (press release) –
To the surprise of many in the pet industry, the COVID years brought an enormous surge in demand for aquarium fish, plants, corals and all associated products from glass tanks to advanced dosing systems and electronic controllers. Despite new supply chain issues rearing their heads seemingly every week, many retailers and manufacturers specializing in aquatics saw previously unheard-of sales figures and welcomed the boom that various stay at home orders inadvertently created, as home-based hobbies experienced an influx of new consumers.
Today, the market for aquatic livestock has hardly gone bust, but it has tapered off into its own version of “the new normal”. We have seen some trends cool or stop short, while others continue at a steady pace, and even a few surprises more recently as the market settles into its new form.
Looking at the overall market for aquatic livestock – and associated hard goods – some macro trends are clear. Freshwater is still growing at a decent rate in almost all categories. Marine, especially live coral, has slowed significantly from the peak years 2020-2021, and consumers in this segment seem much more price sensitive than in the past.
Value items like inexpensive frags and inverts continue to do well, but the market for pricey high end LPS corals or rare showpiece fish has seen something of a correction. Not to say there isn’t demand for these items, but that segment is competing over fewer consumers who are willing and able to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars on a single coral or fish.
In freshwater, where most retailers continue to report growth, a few separate trends that were already starting to shape the market before COVID have now become huge sales drivers for savvy retailers. I am admittedly biased in my focus on freshwater here – I oversee freshwater buying and fish care for wholesaler Carolina Aquatics – but the numbers don’t lie, and I use our sales data and customer feedback somewhat obsessively in deciding how to allocate tank space and what fish to bring in. Over the last few years, the overwhelming answer to that question has been “tiny ones”.
Yes, nano fish continue to dominate in freshwater, and successful independent retailers should be dedicating more and more space to these high margin, high volume species. The fact that most weeks Chili Rasbora, Galaxy Rasbora and various dwarf shrimp make up my top sellers by sales dollars (despite all these items being really, really cheap per unit) should drive that point home. And these fish do not necessarily have to be cheap to appeal to the nano and aquascaping crowd. More expensive and exotic nano fish should not be overlooked, from the variety of higher-end pencilfish (Coral Red, Cenepa Red, Espei) to the oddballs like black tiger badis or hummingbird tetras.
Similarly, by just having an assortment of the most common Neocaridina dwarf shrimp in stock you may be missing out on higher dollar sales of more unique and impressive inverts like high grade crystal shrimp or intricately patterned Galaxy, Boa or Pino varieties of Caridina. And shrimp are not the only invertebrate that is selling in huge volume right now – snails of all kinds continue to surprise me with their popularity. From workhorse species like the more common Nerites to specimens in demand for color and unique behavior like Rabbit Snails and Red Racer Nerites, this easily overlooked category shows few signs of slowing down.
In some segments of the industry, we’re seeing the trend of everything old becoming new again, specifically within the category of livebearers. With an almost endless array of color and fin combinations available from commercial and hobby farms, fancy guppies appear to be seeing a huge spike in popularity, even for higher-end exotic strains that retail for well over $15 or $20 per pair. Endlers livebearers are also having something of a renaissance, with many impressively marked new strains entering the market in recent years. I have recently allocated a good block of our holding tank space to expanded livebearer offerings – specifically new guppy varieties and endlers – tanks that used to house barbs and Central American cichlids for the most part.
What this means, aside from a great opportunity for retailers to stand out from the chain stores and cater to a dedicated customer base more than willing to spend to get the tiny fish or inverts they’re after, is that the overall makeup of your fish assortment may need to change. The staples of yesterday, based on an average aquarium size of 20 to 30 gallons or more, no longer move in the volume they once did. Gouramis, larger barbs, Mbuna and Central American Cichlids have all had a noticeable downturn in demand in the past few years while micro species – even at price points I still think are crazy at times – move in huge numbers.
On that note the shift in consumer preference is a great reason to refresh any fish room displays and/or the overall look and tank footprint of your aquatics section. I often see nano fish that should sell in big numbers relegated to a few smaller tanks scattered around a fish department, too easy to overlook. Equally easy to overlook is 12 or 15 micro rasboras or dwarf tetras in any size tank. Make sure you’re presenting customers with a visually impressive display with these miniature fish by keeping your sale tanks packed. The conventional wisdom used to be the so-called “neon tetra rule” that a tank packed with 50 or 100 neon tetras will always sell quickly, but the last half dozen stragglers in a tank will get completely ignored and often go unsold. I think some of the old school fish room sales strategies and knowledge like that have been forgotten in some corners of the industry, which can lead to missed sales opportunities for retailers. After all, fish are ultimately a 100 percent visual seller. If you can “wow” your customers with a few colorful, packed, and active display or sales tanks of schooling nano fish you will have no trouble making that sale.
Another trend I see continuing to drive sales and buying behavior on the freshwater side of things is a resurgence of interest in high end fancy goldfish – although the recent escalation of tariffs placed on China imports may severely impact this segment. Thanks in no small part to the influence of social media posts showcasing top-tier goldfish breeds that would be rare to see in stores within the U.S., consumers are seeing (and seeking out) choice specimens of Ranchus, Ryukins and Orandas and willing to pay the high price points these selected grade fish command.
Aquatic plants have seen a steady increase in sales since even before the pandemic, but it does appear that in recent years this segment has exploded in overall popularity and by all accounts seemed poised to continue this track. This was my major takeaway from all the retail stores and aquatics industry colleagues I talked to during Global Pet Expo. With that popularity comes a different subset of livestock that will sell along with it, specifically plant-safe algae control fish and inverts, planted tank-loving centerpiece fish like dwarf cichlids, and pest snail control like smaller loaches.
Of course, given recent shake ups in the global market due to the new and ever-changing tariff regimes, it remains to be seen what the impact will be on these growth areas and trends in the aquatic market. There are plenty of bright spots in the industry as well as reasons for optimism for retailers and distributors who are watching the trends and optimizing their selection accordingly. Live fish has never been an easy segment for retailers, with high overheads, potential for loss and price competition from chain stores. But the new post-COVID market is full of opportunity, with consumers eager for novelty, willing to pay more for the fish they’re after, and well connected to trends in the hobby via social media.
Michael Tuccinardi is a freshwater fish specialist with a background in fish health management and import/export logistics. He has spent the last 20 years working with fish at every level from retail, wholesale, aquaculture, export, and wild collecting. Tuccinardi oversees freshwater sourcing, logistics and fish care at Carolina Aquatics.
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