The first Maidenhead Aquatics store in Scotland has opened in Coatbridge, near Glasgow.
The new store is located just off the A8 to the east of Glasgow, not in a garden centre but in the popular Mackinnon Mills department store which provides free parking, a children's play area and not one but two Costa Coffees!
Maidenhead Aquatics partner Colin Christian told us: "At 4,500 square feet and with over 200 aquariums and 10 ponds it boasts the widest selection of fish and associated products in Scotland, in a bright airy building."
The new store stocks marines, with a ULNS Zeovit coral tray installed (first of its kind in Scotland) with coral frags as well as high quality and more expensive SPS and LPS corals from a variety of suppliers.
There's also a large freshwater section stocking many South American species, perfectly suited to the area's soft water, as well as species not always so well represented in Scotland, such as Rift Valley Cichlids.
Colin told us: "One of our main advantages over other Scottish stores is that we are the only retailer getting the majority of our stock direct through Heathrow Airport. Although this is a real logistical challenge for us, and an expensive one at that, it allows us to offer the widest variety of livestock only made possible by using one of the busiest airports in the world and not a smaller regional one with limited connections, or wholesalers where the additional cost is passed onto the consumer along with a limited selection.
"As part of the respected Maidenhead Aquatics group, we try to introduce as many new brands and ranges to the market as possible including many not seen in Scotland before. We are proud to have a wide selection of our exclusive Solid Oak aquariums and we also carry a wide range of JBL products from Germany who are well respected for their quality and innovativeness. Also stocked are the Kent Marine range of supplements and equipment, Hydor, Arcadia, TMC and New Era among many others.
"We are also the only store in Scotland to offer interest free credit on large purchases be that live rock, aquariums or pond equipment."