POULSBO — If your preschoolers have schooled you into literally finding Nemo or his buddy, Gil, but the idea of going to Seattle or Tacoma gives you motion sickness, then Mario Pugh has all the answers.

Or most of them, at least.

Pugh, owner of Ocean Reef Aquatics in downtown Poulsbo, guarantees he can help you find exactly what you want.

“If we don’t have it, we can probably get it, because we believe in putting our customers first,” Pugh said of his saltwater fish selection. “If we haven’t done it before, we probably know someone who has.”

With a lifelong interest in tropical marine life, Pugh has travelled the globe encountering a wide array of fish and other sea creatures in their natural habitats while serving in the Navy.

He is currently stationed at Subase Bangor as an electronics technician.

“One of my goals is to show people the fish and other creatures in the natural environments, which are full of color and life,” he said.

Instead of having fish swimming around in a lifeless tank, Pugh encourages his customers to consider using live rock and other natural structures to enhance the beauty of the tank.

“You can do a lot with live rock and it fits together like a puzzle, so you can change the design or pretty much do whatever you want with it,” he said.

In addition to making the tank more eye-catching, live rock also helps reduce maintenance costs and makes the tank healthier for the creatures inside it, Pugh said.

“It gives them a place to hide and the live rock also filters out some of the waste,” he explained.

While live rock is the least expensive way to beautify the setting, Pugh said live plants are also an option depending on the size of the tank.

“I’ve got this one here that I’ve made just by piecing things together to see how they fit,” he said, pointing to the 350-gallon centerpiece in his store.

The tank includes everything from a menagerie of fish to crabs to clams and even sea plants that paint a clear picture of life under the sea.

“It all depends on how much you want to spend and how much you want out of your tank,” he said.

While he offers standard-sized tanks in everything from rectangles to pentagons, Pugh said he can design a tank to fit almost any space for customers wanting to step beyond the run-of-the-mill tank.

“If you give me an idea as to what you’re looking for, we can probably come up with something to meet your needs,” he said.

For customers who want to enjoy the beauty of having a tropical paradise, but don’t have time or are unsure about doing the maintenance themselves, Pugh offers those specialized services as well.

“I can come to your home and do it or we can do it here and I’ll be more than glad to help you out,” he said.