The Underwater Gardener is Key West’s only dedicated saltwater aquarium store — a working coral shop where you can see hundreds of aquacultured corals alive, in water, under reef lighting. Whether you’re a local reefer, driving down the Overseas Highway, or visiting Key West on vacation, the showroom is worth the stop. And yes — if you fall in love with a coral on vacation, we’ll pack it and ship it to your door overnight so it’s waiting when you get home.
Bring the Kids. Meet the Reef.
You do not need to own an aquarium to enjoy walking in. Some of our favorite visitors are families who came in off US 1 with no intention of buying anything and left with a kid who would not stop talking about the clownfish. The lights are on, the corals are open, and nobody is going to rush you.
We are a working coral farm, not an aquarium exhibit. There is no ticket booth and no gift shop at the end. What there is: hundreds of living corals under reef lighting, reef fish and invertebrates collected here in the Keys, and someone behind the counter who is happy to explain what a pistol shrimp does. It takes twenty minutes, it costs nothing, and it is one of the few stops down here that is entirely indoors when the weather turns.
We are five minutes from Duval Street and ten from the airport, so it fits between everything else you have planned.
Where to Find Us
We’re in the Overseas Market Plaza at 2816 N Roosevelt Blvd, Suite 1, Key West, FL 33040 — directly next to Five Guys on US 1, about five minutes from Duval Street and ten minutes from Key West International Airport. Parking is available right at the plaza.
Shop Hours
Mon & Fri: 10:30am – 6:30pm
Sat: 11am – 6pm
Sun: 11am – 5pm
Tue – Thu: Closed to the Public — Fish Collecting & Aquarium Maintenance
Visiting on a closed day? Tuesday through Thursday we’re out collecting fish and running aquarium maintenance, so the shop is not open to the public — plan the visit for Monday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. If you need aquarium service, a custom aquarium installation or a consultation, call (305) 850-9949 or email jamie@theunderwatergardener.com and we’ll get you on the schedule.
What You’ll See in the Shop
- Display reef tanks — fully established reef aquariums showing coral the way it’s meant to be seen
- Frag tanks stocked with Florida-aquacultured SPS, LPS, soft corals, and zoanthids (Florida Aquaculture Certificate #AQ0254072)
- Local Florida Keys species — Ricordea florida, Rock Flower Anemones, gorgonians, and native fish and inverts collected under our Saltwater Products License with Marine Life endorsements
- Marine fish, inverts, live rock, live sand, and R/O water
- Water testing — salinity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, calcium, alkalinity and magnesium. Bring in a sample and we’ll run it with you and talk through what the numbers actually mean for your tank. Paid bench service — ask us for current pricing.
- Premium equipment — authorized Red Sea dealer, plus Waterbox, Reef Casa, Hydros, and more
Visiting Key West? Take the Reef Home
A huge share of our visitors are tourists who never expected to buy coral on vacation. Here’s how it works: pick out your coral in person, and we’ll hold it, pack it professionally, and ship it UPS Overnight to your home with our live arrival guarantee. You enjoy the rest of your trip — your coral beats you home. We also run monthly reef-keeping classes and can arrange private reef collection charters with a licensed captain for serious hobbyists.
Questions before you come by? Contact us — or just show up. We love talking coral.