Luxe Aquariums & Grail Fish With Fluid Dynamics International

Far less common than choosing dogs and cats as pets, or perhaps even birds, a high-end aquarium can make a beautiful and fascinating addition to a home. Whether it’s a freshwater planted environment, or a saltwater system complete with live coral and anemones, fish tanks offer something really special for those willing to do the work, or hire the right people. Either way, it’s a hobby that requires real dedication via elbow grease or outsourcing. With 25 years of professional experience, including 15 as CEO and founder of Deer Park-based Fluid Dynamics International, Jared Goldenberg has numerous luxury clients on the East End. And, he explains, working at his level in this business demands a wide knowledge base if one wants to avoid disaster. [caption id="attachment_137660999" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 300 gallon custom reef aquarium with floating canopy, by Fluid Dynamics International[/caption] “I hate coming off sounding highfalutin, but one of the things that always kind of annoys me about this industry is there are no certifications,” Goldenberg says. “And I don’t know why, because there definitely should be — especially when you think about the fact that we’re combining water and electricity in people’s homes and businesses.” Fluid Dynamics truly does it all, from a self-sustaining tropical fish bowl with unique plantings that cleans itself, to a massive 20,000-gallon shark tank and everything in between. The installs are amazingly creative and involve complicated construction, scientific calibration, plumbing, electrical work, interior design aesthetics, and smart planning — not to mention networking to source rare, wildly expensive fish that clients want. [caption id="attachment_137661001" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 20,000 gallon shark system (Fluid Dynamics International)[/caption] “If you’re going to operate at a high level in this industry, you have to know construction, you have to know some of the code. You have to be able to talk to contractors and builders and stuff, especially if you’re doing large, pre-construction work, electrical, plumbing, all that,” Goldenberg says. “We don’t cut corners. I’d rather say no to a job if it’s not going to be right. Because, obviously, we’re dealing with animals and we’re dealing with people. We’re also dealing with people’s homes and properties, so we have to take all that into consideration,” he adds. “We’ve never done any damage or injured anything. We’ll go out of our way to make sure things are done properly. It’s the whole under-promise, over-deliver kind of thing.” [caption id="attachment_137660998" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Pseudanthias squamipinnis aquarium by Fluid Dynamics International[/caption] Though he can pretty much do anything physics and budget will allow, Goldenberg says he gets most excited by unusual and special projects. “We can get clever with the designs, but there are certain things that you just can’t do, or responsibly do. We’re not going to cut corners or just do things that the client wants because the client wants it.” However, Fluid Dynamics is planning on opening a new showroom, location to be decided, where Goldenberg can really explore the limits of what’s possible. “I want to open the new showroom and expand with that — as far as showing off some of the crazier things that you might not always see, or ever see anywhere.” [caption id="attachment_137661003" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Custom 300 gallon freshwater aquarium in the Hamptons (Fluid Dynamics International)[/caption] At the same time, he’s also getting some rare fish that are considered “Holy Grails” for hobbyists. Among them, Goldenberg managed to bring Golden Cuban Basslets (Gramma dejongi), a 3-inch yellow and purple species, to Long Island. “We are the only company in the U.S. that actually imported them, and we had to get with my client’s legal team and OFAC — Office of Foreign Asset Control — and the Treasury Department,” he shares. “We had to get on conference calls with them to legalize the basslet from Cuba that we sourced through a friend of mine in Japan to bring them into the U.S.” The basslets were originally selling for up to $7,000 each, Goldenberg says, though they now sell for closer to $650. [caption id="attachment_137661002" align="aligncenter" width="700"] 300 gallon freshwater aquarium in the Hamptons (Fluid Dynamics International)[/caption] Basslets aren’t the only “grail” fish. “They apply that name to a lot of different fish, but years ago we got in — I mean, this didn’t have to get legalized or anything — but there was a deep water Genicanthus personatus angel from Hawaii. They were breeding them out there, and we got about eight of them. We were going to try to breed them here in New York. I think the first purchase was about $20,000 each, and we got eight of them.” Beyond rare and expensive fish, Goldenberg says he’s mainly focused on what will thrive, be happy in captivity and actually be interesting to watch. He notes that unhappy fish will do very little and be quite sad and boring. And while a collection of beautiful jellyfish might be mind-blowing during a short visit to a smartly lit aquarium exhibit, having them in your home could be quite repetitive, as they just pulse all day and night and move with the water’s flow. [caption id="attachment_137661004" align="aligncenter" width="535"] High end aquariums can require advanced plumbing systems (Fluid Dynamics International)[/caption] Meanwhile, octopuses are generally too smart to remain happy in most tanks, and they will get out unless a very specific, secure design is implemented. “I’ll get certain octopuses, but other species I just won’t get because they’re never going to do well in captivity. And for such an intelligent animal — I see them at the wholesalers sometimes, and I just don’t like doing it,” Goldenberg explains. “We try to replicate more natural environments because that’s where you’re going to get the most natural behavior out of things. Some of the animals have personalities. It’s not something that most people really think about, but if you spend time with them enough, you’ll see, there are definitely individuals,” he continues, adding, “They recognize you 100%. I can tell you flat out they recognize food packages. They know who feeds them. They know all that stuff.” [caption id="attachment_137660997" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Aquarium by Fluid Dynamics International[/caption] Goldenberg stresses the fact that fish are living things. “It’s a responsibility. They’re not just cut flowers,” he says. “I think if you’re going to take something from the ocean and put them someplace, we need to take care of them.” To learn more and explore aquarium installs, dream projects, fish and other aquatic species, both saltwater and freshwater, and available upkeep and maintenance plans, including remote monitoring, and much more, visit Fluid Dynamics International online at fluiddynamicsinternational.com. [caption id="attachment_137661416" align="aligncenter" width="700"] Aquarium by Fluid Dynamics International[/caption]