About
Deep Blue Aquarium in North Hollywood is a coral-centric shop that has earned a devoted following among Southern California reefers for one simple reason: sheer volume of frags. Customers consistently describe the store as packed wall-to-wall with coral selections — zoas, ricordeas, clove polyps, Xenia, blastomussa, and plenty of rare varieties in stunning colors. Multiple reviewers call it the best coral selection per square foot they've encountered, and the store's darkened interior blocks out sunlight so the tanks and their inhabitants glow under proper lighting.
Owned and operated by Hong and Nu, Deep Blue has a mom-and-pop feel that regulars appreciate. Hong is frequently praised for his deep knowledge of marine and reef keeping, taking time to educate customers on how to successfully maintain saltwater systems. The store also runs a breeding operation, with designer clownfish drawing particular attention alongside tanks full of sea anemones.
I. water at competitive prices — a lifesaver for valley aquarists needing an after-hours water change, as Deep Blue stays open until 8 PM. A few caveats worth noting: weekends can get busy, so expect a wait.
Pricing can feel inconsistent — not everything is labeled, and in-store prices sometimes differ from what's listed on their website. Some customers have reported pest issues on purchased frags (flatworms, algae, duster worms), so dipping and quarantining new corals before adding them to your display tank is wise. Staff knowledge can also vary depending on who's working.
That said, for sheer coral selection in the San Fernando Valley, Deep Blue Aquarium is hard to beat. The store rewards patience — come with time to browse, because choosing among the densely packed frag tanks is genuinely difficult. If you're building or restocking a reef tank in the greater Los Angeles area, it's worth the drive.
What they offer
Livestock, services, water
- Livestock & products
- Services
- Fish BreedingConsultation
- Specializes in
Highlights
What makes them special
- Massive coral frag selection with rare and colorful varieties
- Designer clownfish from in-house breeding program
- R.O./D.I. water available at competitive prices
- Open until 8 PM — later than most valley fish stores
- Knowledgeable owner Hong provides honest reef-keeping advice
From keepers
Customer reviews
“Amazing LFS for corals. Has some of the best selections I’ve seen you can really spend all day here and still see something new. The lady working the store is incredibly nice, one of the best LFS I’ve been to.”
— Haadis Rahman5.0a day ago“Tanks need cleaning and so does the store, badly! Lady that is there most of the time isn't very helpful. Looked at me weird when I asked about a Blastomussa, like she did have a clue what that was. Pricing is weird $25 on the website for certain frags but the lady demands $35 for that same frag in store then pushes for 5 frags for $150 which isn't even a good deal at $30 a frag for 5 equals $150. Also not great compared to others like Vivid or UC or Aqua SD. They need to reconsider their pricing structure its terrible.”
— Sidewinder2.05 days ago“🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 so nice gave me tears”
— Amir5.04 weeks ago“Best selection of corals I’ve seen in awhile and super friendly lady”
— DayTrip Podcast5.0a month ago“Cool store with a ton of corals...but the lady working couldn't really answer any of my question about the corals - she couldn't identify the different species, couldn't find specific ones even when I showed her pictures from their own website, and she couldn't even tell me how large certain corals would get at full size. I ended up buying three $35 frags (a Zoa, a Ricordea Florida, and a Clove Polyp) ALL of them were covered in algae. The zoa and mushroom had flat worms. and the zoa and clove polyp were infested with duster worms (never seen so many duster worms attached to frags). I had to spend another $50 and hours of my time cleaning the new corals before I could add them to my tank - and even still, I'm concerned about possibly introducing something bad into my tank because of these corals. The Zoa and the mushroom seem to be doing ok, but the Clove Polyp had the most algae growth on it and required cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and a brush...its still closed up after two days in my tank so I'm just hoping it makes it... I wish I could rate this store higher, because they have a big selection of corals....but I just cant trust the quality of their livestock after seeing how many pests were on the frags I purchased.”
— Collin Rodriguez3.02 months ago“Staff, selection, EXCELLENT!”
— Cory5.07 months ago“Really good selection of corals. Very good breeding business!”
— Kiel Hunt4.09 months ago“Amazing place for frags, fish or water for your tank!”
— Jesse M5.0a year ago“My favorite place”
— Nicolas B. Ramos5.0Edited a year ago“They have tons of corals but the prices are higher than average. $25 for a Xenia frag is too much.”
— Richard Peterson3.02 years ago
Reference
Frequently asked questions
Note — Store information and services may change. Always call (818) 934-9716 to confirm current availability, hours, and services before visiting Deep Blue Aquarium.