Hidden Gems: Meet Roger Ma of Hakkai and Pet Zone Tropical Fish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Roger Ma.

Hi Roger, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We started off our first two tropical fish stores (Pet Zone Tropical Fish in Convoy District & Mid-City) back in 2007 and 2016 and after seeing success with aquascaping we decided it was time to dedicate a gallery/studio exclusively to the aquascape hobby. Aquascaping is still in its infancy stage here in the states and has grown tremendously due to stay-at-home orders this past year and a half.

We got inspired after traveling to numerous aquascape galleries in Europe and Asia and saw there was a need to grow this hobby and get more people to see it as a form of art. This is what jump started our idea and after weeks of scouting potential neighborhoods, we decided to open up Hakkai – Aquascape Design Gallery in the Arts District of Liberty Station in Point Loma.

Not only is there synergy and a strong community amongst other crafts and arts in the neighborhood but we get to showcase the beauty of aquascaping to a broader crowd as the area gets a lot of visitors (both local and from out-of-town) on a weekly basis.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It took us weeks to find a place that would allow us to set up aquariums and be accepted as a tenant as many commercial spaces didn’t like the fact that there would be a large volume of water within their property (water leaks do happen with aquariums here and there). Besides that, searching for a new space wasn’t too hard as there were many vacant spots due to the pandemic forcing a lot of people to close up their prior shops.

We had a great welcoming by the Liberty Station community and became friends with many of the fellow neighbors and artists in the area super fast. But in terms of struggles, since aquascaping and aquariums, in general, take some dedication, it was initially a bit hard to gain new interest in the hobby but as Hakkai is a place for education and growing the aquascape hobby itself, we’ve gained traction over time and have gotten a lot of visitors from all over SoCal coming in and support us and to also set up their very first tank as we’ve shown them that it isn’t as difficult as they may have initially thought it would be.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Hakkai is San Diego’s very first aquatic art gallery dedicated to the craft of aquascaping.

Our team of aquascapers had a yearning that many other places around the world had; a full-fledged gallery/studio devoted to aquascapes. After visiting galleries during our travels around Asia and Europe, the team was inspired and envisioned opening up the very first aquascaping art studio and gallery here in San Diego.

Our love and passion for recreating a piece of Nature as a form of art in an aquarium setting continued to grow. Our dream is to inspire other aspiring aquascapers through the showcasing of our creativity and imagination in our aquascape gallery.

Art often falls into our daily conversations and act as an extension of who we are and though challenging, the craft of aquascaping an aquarium is rewarding.

Pet Zone Tropical Fish is San Diego’s very first full-scale aquascaping store bringing a Nature Aquarium approach when it comes to the aquatics hobby.

Our store is freshwater-focused and one of the few local fish stores in the US to carry a wide variety of rare and hard-to-find fish such as monster fish, oddballs, Arowanas, Discus, Plecos, freshwater shrimp and one of the largest selections of freshwater aquatic plants for your aquascape planted tank needs.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Follow your passion and always remember WHY you are doing what you do when it comes to your business or career. Not everyday is happy and smooth-sailing. Difficulties will arise and you’re always going to have a bumpy road but knowing your “why” will keep you moving and hustling!

The journey is always fulfilling and set your expectations that troubles will arise inevitably but that is what makes the pathway of trying to achieve your goal(s) and the “why” so much more worthwhile as you will grow and gain experience on this path.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
• Websites:
  Hakkai: www.hakkai.com
  Pet Zone Tropical Fish: www.petzonesd.com
• Instagram: @hakkaisd & @petzone
• Facebook: @hakkaisd & @petzonesd
• Twitter: @hakkaisd & @petzonesandiego
• Youtube: youtube.com/petzone
• Yelp:
  Hakkai: www.yelp.com/biz/hakkai-aquascape-design-gallery-san-diego
  Pet Zone Tropical Fish: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pet-zone-tropical-fish-san-diego-2

Image Credits
Filbert Banh