Who we are

My name is Nico and I have had a fascination with nature for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Germany before moving to California to marry my wife, Lauren. My grandpa owned a few small ponds, and that is where my obsession with fishing, plants and anything nature related began. My parents still love to remind me that no matter where we went, I always needed a dipnet and I never came home from a walk without finding a prized stick. This hasn’t stopped. Nowadays I have my adult version of that childhood net, my own “Jonah’s Dip Net”, and I now collect driftwood so others can enjoy it in their tanks.

Aquariums were a huge part of my childhood, but I had to pause the hobby during my college years. Once I settled down in California, I quickly convinced my wife that we “needed” a 100G stock pond to grow our kitchen herbs hydroponically, which quickly turned into more fish, more plants, more ponds and more aquariums.

While hiking in California, I could never get over the sheer amount of beautiful Manzanita wood this state has to offer. Just like when I was a kid, I kept bringing home sticks, except now they were wonderful pieces of driftwood from the mountains. With not nearly enough space to use all this wood myself, I wanted to share these treasures, which was the spark that started Nico’s Nature.

After moving to a bigger place, we now have a dedicated rack of aquariums, plus a variety of tanks, paludariums and everything in between scattered across the jungle that is our home. Outside, you will find ponds, plants and more piles of driftwood than I would like to admit.

We collect unique pieces of Manzanita in the mountains of Northern California and pressure-wash each one so its natural texture can shine in your aquarium. We also breed Neocaridina shrimp, as well as the occasional nano and community fish. To round out our selection, we grow a wide selection of aquatic and terrestrial plants, which you can explore the full selection on our page called Nico’s Fish Room.

I feel incredibly fortunate to be part of the Sacramento Aquarium Society, one of the most active aquarium clubs in the country. I also help organize our annual FIN DIG event. Being part of this community has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I can only recommend our meetings to anyone in the area!

Nico’s Nature is more than a hobby for me. It is a way to connect with other nature lovers, share the joy of experiencing nature in its many facets, and build a community of like-minded people. I hope you enjoy my website, feel free to contact me with any questions.