By Stefan Yablonski
Darrick Venton quit his job at Walmart to follow his passion. He and his wife, Amy, are the new owners of Aquatic Haven on South First Street in Fulton. They sell fish, tanks, food and more. Stuff like tiny clamps to secure hoses in tanks; things people might not think about needing.
Q: Why did you decide to open Aquatic Haven?
A: I have always done fish, always. It has been my hobby for years. This originally was a fish store. The previous owner, he just found another business that he liked more and kind of wanted to get out of this.
Q: How has business been?
A: We moved in at the very end of December (2024) and opened in January. Business has been good. During the summer it tends to slow down a little bit; people are out doing barbeques and stuff like that. The winter is really good.
Q: Did you work prior to this?
A: I worked at Walmart for 14 years in the produce section. I used to come in here and see the previous owner a lot because I have quite a few tanks at my house. I was looking for a new career path at the time and he mentioned that he was thinking about getting out and doing something else. My wife knows I’m passionate about fish. So we said we are going to make it work. It’s going to take some time, but we are going to make it work.
Q: How many fish do you have?
A: Thousands (laughs). They’re in like 120 tanks. We have a wide variety. Some are a bit more aggressive. Freshwater and saltwater fish; we have 14 salt water tanks.
Q: Do you name the fish?
A: We don’t name the fish here; people who buy them do. At my house I do.
Q: You have ‘rescue’ fish?
A: Yes. Some people brought in fish. They can’t take care of them anymore for some reason. We take them and try to find them new homes, too.
Q: How do you take care of all of them?
A: We open at noon. We come in every day at 10 a.m., two hours early to feed and take care of everything.
Q: Do you have any special fish?
A: We have genetically engineered fish that glow under black light. They were created using a gene in jellyfish; they cloned it. They’re very popular, kids love them.
Q: What tips would you give someone starting out?
A: You have to have good filtration and a heater. Most of these fish are tropical, they like 76 or 80 degrees. Other than that it’s not much different than taking care of a gold fish.
