Focusing on healthy water

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Ulrich Glaser sr. established the ornamental fish wholesale company Aquarium Glaser 25 years ago. Since 1995 it has been run by Ursula Glaser-Dreyer, the daughter of the founder. The company’s aquarium facility, holding around a million litres of water, is home to approx. 1 000 species. Amtra Aquaristik was set up in 1986 and has been managed to date by Ulrich Glaser jr. “Based on our daily work in the fish wholesale trade, we developed a water care agent that was to be made accessible to private aquarists too,” says Ulrich Glaser, looking back on the origins of his firm. Its first product, “amtra clean”, came onto the market in this way. It consists of natural micro organisms that support the self-cleaning capacity of water, eliminate ammonia and nitrite, neutralise food residues, break down mulm and sludge biologically and thereby extend the filter service life. “The product has its origins in the American water supply and distribution system. It was first used for aquariums here in-house and was tested exhaustively before being introduced into the market,” Ulrich Glaser continues.
Organic trend The tasks and problems associated with caring for ornamental fish at Aquarium Glaser have always been linked to the development of products for Amtra Aquaristik. “In the large tank facility, the fish are kept virtually in normal day-to-day conditions,” says specialist vet Dr. Markus Biffar, who monitors fish breeding from a medical perspective. It is from this work that “pro nature”, for example, has also emerged: this natural extract has the effect of reducing germs, stimulating the immune system and eliminating parasites that cause disease. The use of medicines can be dispensed with, therefore. “The pet supplies trade was initially sceptical about the new products,” recounts Ulrich Glaser. “But the international trend towards organic products and homeopathy accommodates our products, and I view this trend as a genuine opportunity for fish-keeping to increase its market share again and cut the number of ‘fairweather’ aquarists, because water care has become simpler and more reliable.” At Amtra Aquaristik this trend is registered as a growing export quota, with deliveries destined primarily for wholesale partners in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and Spain. Customers in the UK and eastern Europe as well as China and Taiwan have recently been added to this list. “Fish-keeping is our core expertise and is being…