Business: Gingerbread Tropical Fish & Coral
Address: 4003 Plainfield-Naperville Road, Naperville
Phone/Facebook: 630-857-9404 and Gingerbread Tropical Fish & Coral on Facebook
Manager: Brody Listecki, 20, of Naperville
Years in business? Three
What does your business do? “We specialize in sales related to the aquarium hobby. Both freshwater and saltwater fish, coral, live plants, invertebrates and dry goods,” Listecki said.
How did you get into this business? “I’ve been in the hobby as long as I can remember. … The owner was in my woodshop class in Neuqua Valley High School. That’s how we met. The owner, Nick Barry, is only 21. He opened the store in 2018, right out of high school. … We were both in the hobby prior to the business.”
Do you have tanks at home? “Yes. My biggest tank is 120 gallons. Four feet by two feet by two feet. … I have 11 fish in it.”
What is special about tropical fish? “The color and the uniqueness. … To bring a piece of the ocean into your home is kind of super cool. It’s like an art piece in your home. … It’s very relaxing, calming, subtle movements. … It kind of takes your mind away from everything.”
What makes this store different? “Our store specializes in coral. You’re not going to find coral at Pet Smart or Petco. People travel long distances to come here.”
Where do you get the coral? “We have a farm that’s off-site where we have thousands of gallons of tanks where we grow it. … We do get coral imported from Indonesia and Australia. … We’re trying to be self-sustaining.”
Where do the fish come from? “From all over the world. A lot of ours we get out of the Indo-Pacific. Freshwater, we get a lot out of Bangkok. Clownfish, we get from a breeder.”
Which fish are popular now? “Clownfish are very popular because they’re your classic Nemo (from the ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Finding Dory’ movies). Blue tang is your Dory. They weren’t popular prior to the movies.”
Is it easy to get started? “You need a lot of patience. It’s a slow process. You can’t just fill (a tank) with water, throw everything in there and be done. It’s a gradual progression.”
“You start with the nitrogen cycle. That’s a two-week process. The nitrogen makes the water safe for fish. It’s just bacteria that colonizes in the tank. … Then you want to add coral to the tank. Coral needs stability. You’re looking at two to three months.”
How does someone create saltwater? “It’s based on salinity, how much salt you mix per gallon of water. … You want to be very precise. You want to make sure you introduce healthy water to maintain the fish and coral.”
And freshwater? “You use tap water but there are products that are de-chlorinators. They neutralize the chlorine and make the water safe for the fish.”
What’s your favorite fish? “One of my all-time favorites is a Yellowtail Tamarin Wrasse. The patterning is super unique. … They’re not easy to get, fairly rare, so getting one was really cool. … When you really get into it, it’s like dogs and cats. People have as much of a bond with their fish.”
Why are blue lights over some tanks? “Coral is very fluorescent and the blue helps show that color.”
What’s the best part of doing business in Naperville? “We’re in a pretty good location, we border Bolingbrook, Plainfield. Naperville is a very kid-friendly, family-friendly area, so people raising kids here can get introduced to the hobby locally.”
Is there a busy time of year? “Winter because people are inside more, looking at their tanks, paying more attention to them.”
How has the virus impacted your business? “We were considered essential because we are pet supplies. We stayed open. People were grateful for that. It extended the busy season because they were forced indoors. We sold a lot of tanks. There was a glass shortage, so we couldn’t get tanks for a long time.”
What do you most enjoy? “It’s a passion of mine. Being around it all day and helping people get into it, sharing the love and joy of the hobby, it’s great.”
What misconceptions do people have? “That they can come in, walk out with a full setup, and have a tank ready to go the same day.”
Any plans? “Expand this space as much as possible. Potentially, down the line, open another store.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “If you’re going to start a business, go into something you have a passion for. Don’t go into it with the intent of getting rich. Do something you care about. The money will come.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
