The boxes arrive from exotic isles such as Fiji, the Maldives, Tahiti and Tonga, sometimes 2,500 in a week, brimming with sea life of varied shapes, sizes and species. For Chris Buerner, opening those boxes never gets old.

Of course, it's even more fun to do the collecting himself says the owner and president of Los Angeles-based Quality Marine. On a recent trip to Fiji, for instance, he collected Cirrhilabrus marjorie, a kind of wrasse that has never been in the aquarium trade, Buerner says.

“When something new, different and beautiful pops up, we become hobbyists all over again,” he says. “It's one of the most enjoyable parts of the business.”

The joys and opportunities are multiplying these days at Quality marine, a company founded 31 years ago by Phil Shane, who helped pioneer the industry that supports saltwater aquarium hobbyists.

Buerner began working with Shane on a side transship project called Ocean to Ocean in 1997 and took the helm of Quality Marine in 2000, when Shane retired. Buerner acquired the company in 2003.

Under Buerner's leadership Quality Marine has more than doubled its revenues as it has diversified its inventory. The company now markets foods as well as filters, water-quality monitors and other equipment. But it has also expanded the livestock offerings that remain its core business.

Corals and invertebrates which a few years ago represented about 30 percent of sales, now account for as much as 45 percent.

“Advances in filtration have made keeping aquaria much easier for hobbyists, who can be successful with species that previously were difficult to keep,” Buerner says. “We've also learned a lot about feed and health requirements, and that knowledge translates directly to healthier aquarium environments.”

That knowledge is also linked to low mortality rates and high levels of customer satisfaction-hallmarks of Quality Marine performance, longtime customers say.

“Healthwise, their fish do better than those of just about any other supplier,” says longtime customer Mark Weitz, owner of Mark's Tropical Fish and Pet Supplies in Studio City, California. “And they carry species other suppliers don't-species my customers are looking for.”

Weitz also appreciates Quality Marine's support of the Marine Aquarium council and its certification standards for those who collect and keep sea life, from reef to aquarium.
“The integrity of that chain, from the diver on up, is important for the long-term success of our industry,” Weitz says.

When Quality Marine was first launched in 1976, the hobby of keeping saltwater fish was in its infancy. The company, headquartered snug against the Pacific Coast and a stone's throw from Los Angeles International Airport, helped set many of the young industry's standards for responsible collecting and efficiency in shipping.

Back then, almost all the collecting was done in the Philippines. The holding tanks were made of plywood with glass fronts and simple under-gravel filters, with a few employees handling all the tasks.

Quality Marine now boasts a 40,000-square-foot facility with thousands of acrylic and fiberglass aquariums in sizes from 1 quart to 60 gallons. Filtration is centralized and water quality monitored by dozens of sensors and probes. A staff of 60, many of them experts in fish husbandry and nutrition, tends the stock, mixing up more than 20,000 gallons of synthetic sea water every week.

“One of the key elements of our success is our tenured staff,” Buerner says. “Some of our people have been here more than 20 years, which means we've been able to retain a lot of institutional knowledge.”

Some of that knowledge translates to improvements in equipment-everything from air pumps to sterilizers, protein skimmers to plumbing parts-as well as foods and additives. All of which Quality Marine markets to retailers and consumers.

But many of the advances are implemented closer to home, helping protect the health of livestock and adding efficiencies to the process by which fish are cared for, inventoried and shipped.

“We have a rigorous treating and feeding regimen, and our fish are held a minimum of 48 hours before being offered for sale,” Buerner says. “Plus, we sterilize our aquariums before we add new arrivals as an important element to our program of disease and cross-contamination control.”

The latest Quality Marine upgrade is technological and has been quickly embraced by its customer base. Retailers can now log onto the company's website and browse the latest inventory information, place orders and even pre-order stock not yet available for sale.

“The big thing is we can more accurately track true demand,” Buerner says. “If stores are ordering things we don't regularly stock, we can make changes to better meet their needs.”

The new system was launched last October, and already 60 percent of orders come in electronically. But that doesn't mean Quality Marine has cut back on its sales force, Buerner adds.

“We feel our sales staff is important to maintain our commitment,” he says. “We're trying to make our time with customers more focused and more valuable.”

Quality Marine customers include the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, as well as Sea World in San Diego and the Georgia Aquaria in Atlanta. But the list only hints at the company's reach.

“We get fish from the Red Sea, and we ship back to Israel,” Buerner says. “Bizarre but true.”

The company owner and his team members continue to look for ways to improve shipping, husbandry and acclimation techniques, Buerner says. He also expects the company's connections to aquaculture to grow.

But he says the heart of Quality Marine remains connected to the simple pleasures of fishkeeping.

“I came to this hobby in my early teens, and now my aquarium is the 200-gallon show tank we have built into the wall at our offices,” he says. “With a business, it's easy to get caught up in the issues of personnel, infrastructure, efficiency and everything else. Which is why it's nice to just step back and enjoy the wonders in that tank. It reminds you of why you got into this business in the first place.”