Founder
Seth Harris
UConn biology. 31 years at Granby Memorial. Fifty years of fish. He built the first shop as a house of tanks.
The Harris story
From a house of tanks to Route 44.
Biology, not scripts. A fish-keeper who taught high-school science, a herpetologist with field seasons in Costa Rica, Thailand, Australia, South Africa, and the Bahamas, and the person who will tell you which animal actually fits your setup.
1940s · West Hartford
Seth starts with fish
A breeding hobby out of the house, then a shop on New Britain Avenue while he studied biology at UConn. Military service and 31 years teaching at Granby Memorial closed the first shop.
1999 · Bloomfield
Reopened next to a bar
October 1999: four hundred square feet next to a bar, then 1,800 square feet next door as the collection grew. Six years of the modern shop.
Avon
Two village rooms
Old Avon Village downstairs for seven years, then street level a quarter-mile away for four. The collection outgrew both.
Now · Canton
364 Albany Turnpike
Parking, handicapped access, road frontage. Grey building attached to BreMar Rentals. The snake-handle door is the landmark.
We are your best source for freshwater and marine fish, corals and invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals. Birds can be ordered — we no longer keep them on the floor. The Canton shop has dedicated parking, handicapped access, and road frontage, and we have expanded supplies for reptiles, amphibians, fish, and ponds. We can do pond installations: build a pond on site, stock it with fish and plants, and help with questions and maintenance.
Many of the animals are captive-bred here or by local keepers we stand behind. We raise our own feeders for the collection and sell the surplus — frozen rodents, crickets, and roaches are why regulars drive out even when they are not adding a new animal.
Keepers
Ask for them by name.
Reptiles
Adam Harris
Hartwick biology. Two decades breeding. Field time in Costa Rica, Thailand, Australia, South Africa, and the Bahamas.
Husbandry
Ashlee Carlson
The person to ask whether an animal is actually a good fit for you. If your setup is not ready, she will sell you the setup first and hold the animal.
Remembering
Jim White
Jim worked the fish room for several years — African cichlids especially — and was an active member of the Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society. He passed unexpectedly. The shop still talks about his enthusiasm, and so do the people he helped.