Austin Aqua Farms • Taylor

Austin Aqua Farms • Taylor

Written by Beth Wade Friday, 11 July 2008

To some, the thought of caring for a coral aquarium seems like an expensive and time-consuming undertaking.

Matt Degutis wants people to know, however, that with the right understanding of how to care for an aquarium, it can be easy and enjoyable.

“To me [Austin Aqua Farms] is not even a business. I love coming to work every day [and] working with the corals and the fish,” Degutis said. “It is like a giant hobby. Sometimes I have to run down to the airport to pick stuff up, but that is about as bad as it gets.”

Degutis owns Austin Aqua Farms, which grows several different types of coral species. Once the coral has grown, he sells it to stores and individuals.

“We get the coral in from all over the world, but the South Pacific mostly,” he said. “We get it in, grow it out and sell it in fragments.”

While in high school, Degutis worked at a pet store in Austin that eventually closed. Degutis knew of an available facility in Taylor, and in April 2007, he opened his own business.

“At that point, I was going to college, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Degutis said. “My dad is just as interested in this stuff as I am. He has a dental practice that he has been doing for 25 years, but he loves it here, so he helps me out.”

Degutis runs the 2,800 sq. ft. facility full time, monitoring the tanks and processing orders. Because of the delicacy of the coral, there is a lot to oversee. Degutis must regulate the water chemistry, keep the water at the right temperature, make sure the water flowing into the tanks has been purified and maintain the right balance of salt in the water, he said.

“There are fish in the big tanks, but they are mostly pest control,” Degutis said. “They eat algae and bugs off the coral. The ones that are for sale are in the back tank. Trying to catch fish in the big tank is a pain, so I try to keep them separate from the corals and rocks.”

There are four large tanks in the facility that are used to store and grow the coral. Each tank has a variety of coral species, including small polyp stony, large polyp stony and anemones. Most of the coral is from Fiji, Australia and Indonesia.

“A lot of this is self-taught. There is a lot of stuff online. I read lots of books and there is a lot of experimenting,” Degutis said. “A reef tank was thought impossible to keep until the mid-to-late ’90s. In the late ’80s a lot of people wanted to do it, but didn’t have success and there weren’t a lot of suppliers. It wasn’t until the last 10 to15 years people started keeping all of the stuff thriving, growing and reproducing.”

As the business continues to grow, Degutis said he hopes to spend time traveling to see the coral in its natural environment.

Austin Aqua Farms, 1400 W. Second St., 309-4820