Welcome to N. Ireland

Packaged in food-grade poly bags within specially designed Styrofoam boxes the fish arrive in the province by Air Freight, a journey which may have taken anything up to 24 hours.  From the Airport they are taken without delay to our own quarantine facility where they are introduced into freshly prepared tanks and allowed a further 24 hours in subdued lighting to recover from their ordeal.

Over the next few weeks they are slowly acclimatised to local water and food, monitored for health and treated for any minor ailments which they may have developed. Only when they are fully settled and feeding well, are they transferred to the shop and offered for sale.

The length of time which the fish spend at the quarantine facility varies greatly, not only between species, but even between different consignments of the same species. 

Many spend only  the minimum period of 2 weeks before moving to the shop, others may remain for months, or even years, before they are deemed suitable for the rigours of the shop and their eventual new homes.

There are even some which may never see the shop at all, they are simply to big. Most pond keepers are familiar with the more common species of Sturgeon such as the Black Siberian and the Starlet, but have they ever encountered a half grown Diamondback, or even an Atlantic?

Capable of reaching lengths over 4 metres and living over 100 years, these monsters must remain in our 60,000L holding pond until a suitable owner with the right facilities comes along to offer them a new home.