Not long ago Lin Ching-lung (林慶隆) was selling monitors for a local computer manufacturer when he decided his life was too monochromatic. He'd been despairing for some time about what direction to take when he decided to take the plunge and pursue as a profession the hobby he'd enjoyed all his life.
Lin opened his East Sea Aquarium Design about a year ago and the shop has transformed the look of west Taipei's Ningxia night market. Now a street known for its succulent seafood offers passersby a different perspective on their dinner. And Lin, for his part, is reeling in clients.
"I was always stressed as a salesman," he said. "But this doesn't seem like selling at all. I come here, open shop and maintain my tanks just as I would do at home for relaxation. The tanks sell themselves."
Part of the reason, Lin believes, is his predilection for coral and living plants in his aquarium design and the fact that an increasing number of aquarists are themselves adding more plants and coral to their tanks.
"My dad had a big fish tank in the living room," Lin said. "But it was just that, a big tank with a single arowana in it. He said it brought him good luck.
"That used to be the only kind of tank you'd see in Taiwan, big tanks with goldfish or a fish its owner thought would bring luck. Now people are discovering that plants and coral make a beautiful aquarium, there are a lot more people taking up the hobby. I hear in Denmark that it's even common to have fish tanks that don't have any fish!"
Indeed, Lin says more of his clients come to him with questions about keeping coral than they do with questions about keeping fish, citing the fact that there is a lack of this type of information in either books, or on the Web -- especially in Chinese.
He's not complaining about the questions, though. He said his best customers are those interested in filling their home aquarium with coral, partly because coral sells at a higher price than most fish -- usually NT$1,000 or more for most species -- and because they're often repeat customers "It's not easy to maintain," Lin said.
"They'll come and buy a few coral, then take them home and watch them slowly die. Then they come back and buy more. ... My business card has my cell number on it and I get calls all the time from people asking me to make a house call. But I can't make that many house calls."
Lin says the majority of his customers that are interested in coral are men. Women, he said, are more interested in fish.
"They walk by and see the clown fish and say, `So cute! It's Nemo!'" he said, referring to the star of the eponymous Pixar film. "I hear that a hundred times every night. Now I keep a large tank stocked with clown fish. I'll bet they all get named Nemo."
Across town on Minquan East Road they're also doing a brisk trade in clown fish. But the average walk-in customer has usually walked in several times before. With nearly a dozen shops dedicated to all things under water, this is where Taipei's aquarists go exploring during their after-work hours.
"We get a lot of people off the streets" said one shop owner named Huang, "But I'd say a third of the people I see come in are repeat customers. They're passionate about their hobby. That number is growing though, there are more people starting aquariums these days."
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