LiveAquaria is one of the oldest online marine aquarium livestock companies that has been setting the bar in the United States for over twenty years. Five years ago LiveAquaria was acquired by PetCo as part of the Drs. Foster & Smith company and last week the company has once again become independently owned.
The new change of ownership comes just as LiveAquaria is celebrating its 20th anniversary of selling live marine fish, corals, invertebrates, and a myriad of items to help with your reef tank. There was some initial concern that PetCo would change the DNA of what makes LiveAquaria a national leader in marine livestock supply, especially after Drs. Foster & Smith itself was shut down earlier last year.
Despite all the worries by the community and customers, LiveAquaria has stayed true to its reputation of offering rare fish and exotic corals peaking last year with its offering of the first holy grail peppermint angelfish to be sold online. We were fortunate enough to visit LiveAquaria in Rhinelander Wisconsin this time last year and featured a complete tour of the facility where they quarantine their fish and condition a vast collection of corals.
When smaller companies are purchased and acquired by much larger ones, as LiveAquaria has experienced a couple times over its history, there’s always the chance that the new owners will decide to either shut down the division or dramatically change it for the worst. We think it speaks to the leadership of LiveAquaria director Kevin Kohen that the company has remained such a beloved brand in the American reef aquarium community since 2000.
Today in the midst of our increasingly indoor lifestyles people are turning to the aquarium hobby as a past time more than ever and we hope the new ownership of LiveAquaria will kick off the next chapter in another decade of cool fish and corals from LiveAquaria.
