About Elan
I’ve been in the aquarium hobby since early childhood, and have kept everything from high tech nature style freshwater tanks to saltwater reef tanks. My first job as a teenager was working for one of our amazing local fish stores. I went to college in Hawaii to study marine biology, but ended up getting recruited by my organic chemistry professor to work as a research chemist. After working in the chemistry field for a few years, I joined my family electrical contractor business to learn how electricity works as well as how small businesses operate (deeply involved in the pond/aquarium hobby for fun the whole time).
I finally embarked on the path to start my own business in 2021. Looking back, my job history has been the perfect series of stepping stones to starting a pond and aquarium business!
Even on vacation, you can find me near a pond. Here are some pics of me at (and in) the Amazon River near Nauta, Peru in 2025.
About Samantha
I’ve been fish-adjacent for so long that Elan says I should stop calling myself that. Born and raised in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, I met Elan when I moved back to Hawaii after going to the University of Minnesota as a pre-pharmacy major. My first inkling of Elan’s passion for fish was when we lived together in Kaneohe and my grandfather gave Elan some guppies from his old-bathtub-turned-pond. “1 small tank” turned into a breeding project that took over the dining table. Before I knew it, I was doing most of the hobby “chores” like plant grooming and water changes.
After moving to the Bay, I worked for a textile company during the day and did the paperwork for Elan’s Ponds and Aquariums at night, occasionally cleaning ponds on holidays and weekends with Elan. In 2024, the business grew so much that it was time for me to join all-in.
