From Shirlie Sharpe,
Your Guide to Freshwater Aquariums.
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The Beginning
The Aquatic Christmas Tree has its roots in 1998 when I received several 'fishy' ornaments as gifts. I so enjoyed them that I decided to find more so I could make the next years tree exclusively aquatic. My search took me to department stores and specialty shops, with sufficient success to create my first Aquatic Christmas Tree in 1999.

The tree was so popular with that I decided to put pictures of the tree on my site. It was a big hit with readers, which prompted me to step up my ornament search. I began surfing the internet, and was delighted to find many unique aquatic ornaments, as well as fishy lights.

2000
When Christmas 2000 rolled around, the tree was absolutely resplendent with aquatic themed ornaments and lights. Because the online 1999 tree was so popular, I decided to include close up photos of each ornament. This proved to be a bigger job than I bargained for, but well worth it, based on the positive responses from readers.

2001
During 2001 ornaments continued to flow in from readers, friends and family. Meanwhile my own searches were fruitful. Often I found fishy ornaments in the most unlikely places, such as the checkout at a gas station, or the miscellaneous section of a hardware store. Soon my ornament storage box filled, and another was added.

By the time Christmas rolled around that year, I discovered my tree was too small to accommodate all the ornaments. There were nearly 120 unique aquatic ornaments, and many came in sets, bringing the grand total to well over 150. I purchased a nine and a half foot tree, thinking surely it would last out the decade.

2004
Amazingly, it took a mere three years to fill the new tree. Knowing there was a limit to the size of tree I could fit into my home (and I was rapidly approaching it), I took another avenue. This year I created the first of what I suspect will be many, Aquatic Christmas Tree Juniors. The 2004 junior tree is dedicated to smaller ornaments, as well as what I affectionately call personality ornaments.

Should Aquatic Christmas Tree Junior become outgrown in a year or two, I'll create another specialty tree. Perhaps by the time I retire, I'll have an entire forest of Aquatic Christmas Trees in my house!

Where To Get Ornaments
Often readers ask me where they can get ornaments. First I want to say that I do not sell ornaments! Nor do I keep a completely comprehensive list of where they were purchased. If I know where they came from, I include the information with the online picture of the ornament, so check there first. One of the best resources to find ornaments is to search on ebay, or other online auctions, for 'fish ornament'. You'll be surprised by how many there are for sale (year round).

Thanks again to those who have been kind enough to send me ornaments. I especially appreciated the ornament a co-workers mother made for my birthday this year. That type of ornament is worth its weight in gold.

You can view the trees and ornaments here: Aquatic Christmas Tree