Aquavista Enterprise Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., and national veterinary distributor Webster Veterinary Supply have begun marketing Aquavista’s wall and desktop aquariums to veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. The aquariums are also marketed to dental and medical offices by Webster’s parent, Patterson Co. In addition to online sales and these channels, Aquavista is also looking to market to other business channels, including retailers (both pet specialty and others) and restaurant equipment suppliers, according to Scott Yen at Aquavista. Yen attended January’s North American Veterinary Conference to help Webster market the aquariums. The aquariums fit in Webster’s broader practice décor offerings, which include waiting room furniture, magazine racks and non-living wall art. In addition to waiting rooms, some practices are placing the aquariums in examination and consulting rooms, especially rooms used for bereavement counseling, according to a Webster representative. Aquariums’ ability to soothe are highly valued in stressful veterinary practices and some have suggested that aquariums can help cats recover more quickly by keeping them alert. Webster reps report that some clinics with existing aquariums are swapping the full-size models for the wall aquariums to save on maintenance costs. Existing clinic staff can maintain the wall aquariums on their own, while practices often retained aquarium maintenance services for full-size models, according to Webster. Caption: At January’s North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Fla., Webster sales personnel show an interested veterinarian how frames can be changed on the Altavista wall aquariums to match various decors.
