About Elyza & Hand Picked Aquatics

From my fishroom to your tank

Hi, 

I am Elyza, the one-woman show behind Hand Picked Aquatics.

I got my first fish tank about 20 years ago and it quickly became four, then more. I have always been fascinated by nature and biodiversity, all the little parts that make an ecosystem work. Growing up around family members who kept fish only made that worse (or better, depending on who you ask).

How Hand Picked Aquatics started

For years I was the person friends and family came to for fish, shrimp, and plant cuttings. I would sell bits and pieces locally, a bag of cherry shrimp here, some floating plants there. By 2020, it made sense to set up a website so I could manage orders and reach more people. What started as a hobby that got out of hand became Hand Picked Aquatics.

The fish room

My fish room is a converted garage. I negotiated with the family to let me take it over after my live food cultures in the laundry room became... unpopular with the rest of the household. Today I have 155 aquariums in there, plus plant propagation areas and outdoor breeding setups for my medaka (the winters get too cold in where I am in QLD for most species outdoors, but medaka handle it well).

Everything is home-bred

This is what makes Hand Picked Aquatics different from most online fish stores. Every single fish and shrimp I sell is bred by me, right here in QLD. Nothing is imported. Nothing comes from a farm or a wholesaler.

Why does that matter? Because most fish you buy online have been through a stressful journey, bred on a farm overseas, shipped to a wholesaler, sent to a distributor, quarantined if imported into Australia, then finally shipped to you. By the time they arrive, they have been through a lot.

My fish haven't. They are born and raised in comfortable aquariums with live plants, rocks, and driftwood. They are well-fed, healthy, and stress-free. When they arrive at your door, the only trip they've taken is from my fish room to yours.

Some of my plants are propagated here at HPA too, while others are sourced from trusted Australian suppliers.

Why small fish?

I focus on nano fish, oddball species, and shrimp. I love the challenge of breeding something unusual and learning each species' unique personality. By keeping smaller fish, I can maintain more variety in my 155 tanks, and it means they are more accessible for you too. You don't need a massive aquarium to enjoy these species, and they are easier to ship safely.

The hobby behind the business

I should mention, I also work a full-time day job. Hand Picked Aquatics truly is a hobby business, run around work, family life, and a lot of early mornings and late nights in the fish room. I have someone who helps with maintenance a few hours a week, but everything else, breeding, packing, shipping, customer support, this website: is me.

That is where "from my hobby to yours" comes from. It is not a marketing line. It is just what this is.

Sustainability

I run a large solar panel system with battery storage on our house, and I have set up automations to maximise energy efficiency across the fish room. When you are running 155 aquariums worth of heat, filters, and lights, power use matters. I am always looking for ways to do better.

I only ship livestock to the East Coast of Australia (QLD, NSW, VIC, ACT, and SA) due to biosecurity laws in the quarantine states. For non-livestock items, I can ship Australia-wide.

Get in touch

Have a question about your tank? Want advice on what species would work for your setup? Just email me at elyza@handpickedaquatics.com or reply to any of my emails, I genuinely enjoy talking shop.

You can also get a behind-the-scenes look at the fish room on Instagram @handpickedaquatics, or check out this 2023 tour of my setup hosted by Nick from Keeping Fish Simple.

From my hobby to yours, Elyza.