Store of the Month – October 2026

Aquarium and Reptile Depot

8201 Auburn Blvd
Citrus Heights, CA 95610

Phone: (916) 722-3474
https://aquarium-depot.com

Store Hours:

Aquarium and Reptile Depot immediately stood out to me during my first round of store visits. The store features a number of beautiful display tanks, an extensive selection of aquarium and reptile products, and a variety of live animals that reflect the team’s attention to detail and commitment to ensuring customers take home healthy, quality animals. The owners are also very hands-on with the day-to-day operations of the store. Their involvement is evident throughout the sales floor, where you can see their attention to detail, passion for the business, and desire to continually improve the customer experience.

1. Best and most difficult animals to work with in the store?
The best animals to work with are probably the ones that are interactive and have distinct personalities, especially many of our reptiles. Animals like tortoises, lizards, and certain snakes can become familiar with their keepers and are really rewarding to care for. We also enjoy working with our freshwater and saltwater fish because there’s always something new to learn, and it’s rewarding to see them thriving in a well-maintained aquarium.

The most difficult animals to work with are generally the more sensitive saltwater species and corals. They can require very specific water parameters, temperatures, diets, and acclimation procedures, and even small changes in their environment can affect their health. Some of the more specialized reptiles can also be challenging because of their particular temperature, humidity, lighting, and dietary requirements.

That challenge is actually one of the things we enjoy about this business. With the variety of animals we work with at Aquarium & Reptile Depot, we’re constantly learning and improving our husbandry.

2. Did you have any pets as a child? What kind? What was your favorite?
Yes! Growing up, I had fish, reptiles, and dogs. It’s difficult to pick just one favorite because each was completely different. Fish and reptiles were especially fascinating to me because there was always something new to learn about their behavior, habitats, and care. That early interest definitely helped shape what I do today.

3. Pets outside of work currently?
Being around animals all day at Aquarium & Reptile Depot means animals are a pretty big part of our lives both inside and outside of work. At home, we currently have dogs, a reef aquarium, a planted aquarium, and a koi pond. Even after spending all day around animals at the store, I still enjoy having my own at home.

4. What made you get into reptiles? Do you have a favorite species?
What originally drew me to reptiles was how unique they are. There’s such an incredible variety—from snakes and lizards to tortoises, turtles, frogs, and other exotics—and every species has its own behavior, personality, and husbandry requirements. The more I learned about them, the more interested I became. Picking a favorite is difficult because we work with so many incredible species, but chameleons would probably be at the top of my list.

5. What made you want to open this store?
The goal was to create the type of store that we would want to visit ourselves—a place where people could find a huge selection of freshwater fish, saltwater fish, corals, reptiles, plants, supplies, feeders, and other specialty animals all under one roof.

But we also wanted Aquarium & Reptile Depot to be more than a place where people simply come in and buy something. We wanted customers to be able to ask questions, learn about the animals, discover species they’ve never seen before, and get the information and supplies they need to properly care for them.

6. Plans for the future of the store?
We want to continue growing Aquarium & Reptile Depot while improving the experience for our customers and, most importantly, the animals in our care. That means continuing to expand our selection, bringing in interesting and unusual species, improving our displays and habitats, and continuing to educate customers about responsible animal care.

We’d also like to continue building our relationship with the local community and make the store a destination for people who genuinely love aquariums, reptiles, and exotic animals.

7. Does your store provide any services or have unusual customs—school tours, live feedings, etc.?
One of the unusual things about Aquarium & Reptile Depot is simply the experience of walking through the store. Because we carry such a diverse selection, customers can see everything from freshwater and saltwater fish to corals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, plants, and other exotic species.

8. Any trends you see on the rise?
One trend we’re seeing is that customers are becoming much more interested in creating naturalistic environments rather than simply keeping an animal in a basic enclosure or
aquarium.

In the aquarium hobby, there’s a lot of interest in planted freshwater tanks, aquascaping, unique fish, corals, and creating complete ecosystems. With reptiles, we’re seeing more interest in bioactive and naturalistic enclosures and better husbandry overall. Customers are also doing more research and asking more detailed questions, which is a positive direction for the hobby.

9. Interests outside of work?
Running a business like Aquarium & Reptile Depot takes up a lot of time, so animals and the store are naturally a huge part of life. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my family.