India’s first of its kind ‘Ocean World — The One Stop Aquarium Mart’ Launched in Hyderabad

''An undersea world of excitement!''

Hyderabad|India: You dream any Aquarium — Coffee Table Aquarium, Reception Table Aquarium, Garden Table Aquarium, Wall, Furniture, Floor, Photo Frame Aquarium, Aquariums as Wall Partitions, Ocean World has all of them and more. It has many uniquely designed to perfection Aquariums which we have not seen before. If this is not what you are looking for, then, go for a personalized Aquarium designed and mounted as per your taste.

Further you dream any kind of fish, in fact it has 4000 varieties of fishes - Butterfly fish, Fighter Fish, Angelfish, Red Parrot, Neon Tetra, Sword Tail, Gold Snail, Discus, Dragon Fish, Zebra Fish, Archer, Silver Arowana, Dalmation Molly and so on and so forth. Name any Aquarium Accessories such as Aquariums, Innovative, Scientific and Advanced Aquarium systems, Mechanical Aquarium Air Pumps, Artificial lighting as well as aeration, filtration, Aquatic Plants. Fish Net, Glass Thermometer, Fish Food, Medicine, Heater; Substrates such as River Sand, Gravel, Pebbles; Background Décor, Décor Ornaments Fishes it houses all of them.

If you are looking for automatic fish food feeder or need food to feed fish for ten days when you are away from home on holiday, Simple to high-tech gadgets, gizmos, decoration items are all now available for the first time all under one roof at Ocean World.

India’s first of its kind One Stop Aquarium Mart, “Ocean World” is now opened in Hyderabad city. Located in 5000 sq ft area at “Down Town Banjara”, Beside Ashoka Metropolitan Mall, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills, it is so far the biggest all under one roof Aquarium Shop in the country, declared Ms. Maya Shaji, Managing Director of Ocean World while addressing a press conference at its premises.

Until recently Aquarium shops used to be small, shabbily located in a corner of a street. You need to get in and out of many shops to shop for fish for your aquarium. And even after so much going around, you are not sure whether the fish would survive. City boasts of 100 such small aquarium shops. Most of these retail aquatic stores are operated with little or no formal training in aquatic science and business operations. Now things have changed. Now you can walk into a plush Aquarium store, claimed to be the best in the country. Aquariums are increasingly becoming style statements. Big aquariums a la one at GVK Mall have become most sought after. All over the world today, crores of rupees are spent on buying aquariums.

India’s largest and biggest all under one roof Aquarium Shop — Ocean World specializes in Fresh Water, Planted and Marine Aquariums and offers complete turn-key solutions. It also develops and manages aquariums of any size, design and idea. We don’t just sell, but, we also educate our customers, maintain and provide after sales service. We maintain all types of Aquarium Tanks. We have well trained sales and marketing consultants, tele-callers and after sales service staff, she added.

Be it a crazy, whacky idea, we have the solution. We will add that elegant touch to your interiors with Aquariums that can function almost anything like a Coffee Table, Photo Frame, Reception Table, Garden Table and many other unique ideas informed Mr. Santosh Unni, General Manager of the Ocean World. We focus to cater to the corporate, hotels, hobbyists and homes etc, Maya Shaji added.

Maya Shaji has fifteen years of experience and expertise of Aquariums. She lived and grew with Aquariums. She hails from God’s own country, Kerala. From her childhood she had been through aquarium keeping as a hobby and tested on several breeds of tropical aquarium fish and their life spans before turning this hobby into a profession.

Maya is supported in her venture by her husband and parents. She decided to take her noble hobby not just to the rich and famous but to all common households. I would like to see every household with an aquarium in this country, she said.

So logically she ventured into this. Her hobby now turned into a full time profession. Together with their family friend Santosh Unni, who also has more than two decades of experience by trial and errors, they are today the most sought after experts in Aquariums not just in city but, across the country.

An Aquarium at home or office does make a lot of difference. It is the best piece of nature, which you can take home. They take you close to nature. They create a positive energy flow. Children like them. They are great educational value to them. Aquariums have therapeutic value. It helps to soothe the soul. It has a great meditative value. Aquarium watchers admit and notice a notable decrease in Blood Pressure. An Aquarium is an amazing world. It has great Vaastu Shastra benefits, informed Santosh.

Adding to this, Maya Shaji informed that because of these benefits, aquariums are placed in many Customer Relationship Cabins, Cubicles and Chambers to soothe the anger of irate customers. Aquariums are beautiful, they are elegant, they are lively and they are inspiring.

Ocean World what was started off small from Dr. A.S. Rao Nagar, in 2010, now has grown big with unprecedented response from thousands of nature lovers. Now it is the largest multi brand single showroom for all tropical/ marine fish and accessories in the whole of India. From here, we look forward to slowly and steadily increase awareness and branch out to different locations worldwide, said Maya.

We stock a number of Indian and imported articles and items concerned with aquariums. We have wide variety of fishes and accessories. The fishes available with us range from Rs 30/- per pair to Rs 25,000/- per single fish added Santosh.

Ocean World can also arrange to make custom made aquariums as per the customer’s requirements. May it be to use an aquarium as a piece of furniture for a coffee table, use it as a floor, maintain it as an indoor waterfall, or to hang it as a picture frame on the wall… We will be able to provide it all, he added.

Unusually, Ocean World has attracted the attention of new type of customers - the kids of various schools. Several schools bring hundreds of students everyday as it has a variety of exhibits to give you the opportunity to explore some of the wonderful sea life.

Fish keeping is not new to Indians. Archeological evidence of fish-keeping dates back to the Sumerians (2500 BC) and the Babylonians (500 BC). Egyptians considered fish sacred, worshiping the Nile Perch among others. Romans also kept fish in tanks but perhaps not for as decorative purposes as the Chinese; keeping them fresh for the dinner table, added Maya Shaji.

The Chinese kept carp and started breeding them selectively during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279). Records show these fish were kept for purely decorative purposes; people were forbidden to eat them.

Ornamental goldfish made them way into Europe by 1691. According to Tullock, the 17th century diarist, Samuel Pepys, referred to seeing fish being kept in a bowl and referred to the set up as “exceedingly fine”.

While excited about the prospects of keeping fish indoors, fish enthusiasts did not understand how the water needed to be "cycled" in order for fish to stay alive for long in doors. In 1805, Robert Warrington is credited with studying the tank's requirement to be cycled to keep fish alive for longer.

Fish keeping in India for ornamental purposes or just a hobby started off during the 17th century itself but were more or less neglected and fell out soon after as it was a very cumbersome procedure. The hobby soon recovered during the British regime here as the sahibs were fantasized by the wet pets they had.

Some fish like the Arowana and Flower Horn also entered the books of Vaasthu Shastra in a very big way for their beneficial powers in healing any bad luck that may otherwise be affecting a home or business premises.

The Chinese however believed that the luckiest fish according to Feng Shui (Chinese Vaasthu) is the most common gold fish and also insisted that since the colour of all evil is black, one black goldfish is to be added along with 8 goldfish in any aquarium so to symbolize that the bad luck runs out when the black fish dies. Feng Shui also states that people must replace all dead fish immediately with fresh and live ones till the cycle of sudden deaths stop as this makes one believe that all the bad luck has finally disappeared.

Research shows that aquariums have an effect on people (a healthy mind, body and spirit). An aquarium will help you rest, relax, find tranquility and harmony, it will reduce your stress and improve your health. Incorporate an aquarium into your home's configuration and feel the benefits it has on you and your family. Watching aquariums has been medically proven to reduce stress and lower blood pressure, and our beautiful aquariums are no exception to these studies. After a long and tiring day, relaxing on your couch or in your bed means so much more when you're watching your happy fish swimming around.

In India we find lot of hobbyists, who are interested in maintaining aquarium. Aquaria (tropical and marine) are a big business in India. Though there is no published data available, according to industry guess work, nearly one crore homes keep aquariums in India. Increasing number of offices such as hospitals, clinics, schools, airports, restaurants, IT offices are keeping aquariums.

Keeping ornamental fishes in aquariums is not just a good hobby; it has become a growing business in India providing ample opportunities for self-employment. According to Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, the export earnings from ornamental fishes has gone up to about Rs 1.25 crore in 1997 from a meager Rs 15 lakh in 1990-91.Though current figures are not published, but, this is very small fraction of the big world trade. The world trade is said to be about Rs 7 billion. USA, Japan, UK and Germany import these fish from India. Out of the 800 varieties of freshwater ornamental fishes, 200 including 100 indigenous varieties were available in India and could be grown in captivity. Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai are the major breeding centers and export points.

In the United States, aquarium keeping is the second-most popular hobby after stamp collecting. It was estimated that over nine million U.S. households own an aquarium. The hobby has the strongest following in Germany. Nearly 36 million fishes are kept in Aquaria in Germany is itself is an indication how popular it is there. The hobby has the strongest following in Europe, Asia, and North America. In the United States, 40 percent of aquarists maintain two or more tanks.

In India, this hobby flourishes much in South India. A large chunk of people in India are interested and die hard fans of aquarium. A huge aquarium installed at GVK Mall at a cost of Rs 1 crore, draws hundreds of people every day especially children.

Ocean World today not only educates families and hobbyists alike on the art of fish keeping but also greets every walk-in probable customer with a pair of free goldfish and a flat 10% discount on any product they purchase, for the interest they have taken to come and have a look at our retail outlet.

For any enquiries on the above, public may also call the General Manager of the company, Mr. Santosh Unni on 9502 12 1234 anytime and avail themselves of his expertise as and when required. Ocean World is located at “Down Town Banjara”, Beside Ashoka Metropolitan Mall, Road No. 1, Banjara Hills as well as Next to Sony Center, Kapra Circle, Dr. A. S. Rao Nagar. Our landline number dedicated as public hotline is 040 - 4919 8899. The website www.oceanworldaquaria.com showcases most of the products available at Ocean World.

More 'Retail Outlets' of Hyderabad...