Something Fishy, Something Exotic

When walking into an establishment where fish are swimming, tarantulas and bearded dragons are crawling or a ball python is slithering it’s obvious someone has entered the BackLife Aquatics Pet Store.

Scott Nelson, owner of BackLife Aquatics, partnered with his father Greg Nelson.

Nelson and his father originally started as a home business before they opened their store.

“We started our business at my dad’s house and my house was a big fish room down in the basement,” Nelson said. “My dad did his little room in the back of his trailer and we were breeding and selling fish on eBay.”

Nelson said eBay cost too much to do their business online, so they decided to move to Rawlins and open their pet store.

“We realized quickly eBay was taking a lot of money from us,” Nelson said. “Within a month, they received $1,000 from us. So we decided we could have used the money a little bit better and we found our little store here. We are not using any business loans and doing this all on our own.”

Nelson said it was his dad who got him interested in raising fish. Their passion for fish ended up becoming a dream of owning their own business. Nelson said it is something he has grown up with.

“My dad has had fish for as long as I can remember, Nelson said. “I was about eight years old when my dad had a big tank full of Oscars and they were big, ” Nelson said. “Ever since then I got into the hobby. I did not get my first tank until I turned 18 years old. I was living with my wife at that time and we got into it and purchased a 40 gallon breeder tank that had Goldfish, Mollys, and Platys,

After getting his first breeder tank, Nelson knew he wanted to make it his goal to get a tank of OscarsNelson, however, said he learned an important lesson about owning Oscars.

“I was not informed that when you put Oscars together and if it is not a big enough tank, they will fight until they kill each other,” Nelson said. “So I started over again and this time I have a 125 gallon tank that has more Oscars that are 11 inches long.”

Nelson said it is important for his customers and fish owners to know that Oscars are required in much larger tanks. It is a lesson Nelson carries with him, especially selling them to people.

Nelson encourages anyone who has interest in owning fish to ask questions. He said some people do not realize how much responsibility comes with it because it’s not about just feeding fish and putting them in a tank. Everyone must know what tank to use and what to feed them.

“There is a lot of knowledge that comes with fish,” Nelson said. “One thing we like to do is teach people that stuff. I would rather someone come into the pet store and see something they like and realize it is something you can’t do and leave happy knowing they couldn’t do it compared to someone coming into our store buying something and finding out the hard way.”

Nelson said there isn’t any shame in not having any knowledge of owning fish. He said it is important to come to his shop and ask questions because there is no such thing as a bad question when it comes to fish ownership. All questions of any kind are welcomed.

“What me and my dad strive for is to help people understand when you buy one Oscar do not use a tank that is smaller than a 55,” Nelson said. “If you have two Oscars you must have at least a 75 gallon tank.

Other than fish, Nelson will also carry different types of reptiles such as Ball Pythons, Bearded Dragons and iguanas. Other animals you can find at Nelson’s store are Tarantulas, Guinea Pigs and Hamsters. He also sells birds but they must be ordered due to the noise they make.

BackLife Aquatics pet store is expecting to have their grand opening on July 20 BackLife Aquatics can be reached at 307-328-5116.