Local Operations

Segrest Farms maintains its home base in Gibsonton, Florida, just south of Tampa. These five acres contain our headquarters and a receiving, holding, conditioning, and shipping facility for freshwater and marine fish, reptiles and aquatic plants.

Our freshwater facility contains a climate controlled receiving and acclimating room. Here, the fish are placed in trays, their packing water is removed and they are acclimated to our water and temperature conditions. Then the fish are treated for parasites and bacteria before they are introduced into our systems.

We have 23 tropical freshwater systems that contain over 5,600 aquariums. Each system is equipped with a solids filter, chiller/heater, 2 fluidized beds, protein fractionator, ozone, and UV lights. Water circulates at 200 gpm.

Segrest Farms has 4 outdoor farms totaling 145 acres with 987 ponds. In addition, there are several hundred ornamental freshwater fish farms in Florida, and we buy from most of them. We also import ornamental freshwater fish from around the world.

Our goldfish and koi facility contains 4 systems between 2,000 and 5,000 gallons each. The systems are the same as freshwater, except the temperature is kept lower and the water flow is higher.

Our saltwater facility contains 4 fish systems, 1 invertebrate system, 2 coral systems, 1 live rock system and 1 brine shrimp system. Our receiving and acclimation systems are very similar to our freshwater systems as is our saltwater filtration system, except the temperature is a little warmer and the water flow much higher.

We have recently purchased land and constructed 3 greenhouses for the culture of coral and live rock. Segrest is, as always, a leader in the protection of Mother Nature, which feeds our families. Where all claim to be the protectors of Mother Nature, Segrest is one of the few who spend the time and money to accomplish this. Our goal is to have only cultured coral and cultured live rock within the next five years.

Our reptile facility contains 3 areas for the holding of our animals. One for animals that require higher temperatures, one for animals that require lower temperatures, and one outdoor area for animals that need direct sunlight. All of our reptiles are cared for and packed by a highly experienced staff.

Our aquatic plant department is in a climate-controlled room with air conditioning for humidity and temperature control. A 200 sq ft plant cooler holds our plants fresh and viable. Combined, our plant department crew has over 30 years experience working with aquatic plants.

Segrest Farms also has its very own laboratory with two full time lab technicians. They conduct tests on and treat our water to ensure quality and on our fish for parasites and diseases. Our lab also does diagnostic work and water tests for our suppliers.

We receive fish from around the country and around the world every day of the week. Our specially trained receiving teams work shifts as the fish come in between 6:00 AM and midnight.

Our packing teams begin at 6:00 AM Monday morning and operate continuously, day and night, until approximately 10:30 AM Friday morning. All packed shipments remain in a climate-controlled staging area until they are loaded on a truck and are off to our customers.

We have trucks departing for the airport several times a day, as well as our delivery trucks that leave at varying stages throughout the night and early morning. We also have several UPS trucks that pick up our fish, from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM, Monday through Friday.

Segrest Farms has provided all of this to ensure that you receive the highest quality fish directly to your store or nearest airport, anywhere! Freshwater fish, saltwater fish, reptiles, plants and live foods from anywhere in the world, to your pet shop, anywhere in the world!

Segrest Farms has over 40 successful years of experience in accomplishing our goals. For these reasons, Segrest Farms ships more ornamental animals to more pet shops over more years than any other company in the world. Our greatest source of pride is each of these numbers increases every year.