AcquariaItalia 2025, the very first trade show in Italy entirely dedicated to the world of aquariums, ended just two month ago. After an incredible effort to produce our full documentary on the event, we’re finally here with our editorial to tell you everything we saw—and to relive those unforgettable moments together.
Article translated also in: ITALIAN
Held on April 26–27, 2025, at Malpensa Fiere, the debut edition of AcquariaItalia was a bold and passionate project launched by Danilo Ronchi (DaniReef.com) and Daniel Baiocco (Esotika Pet Show). It drew approximately 6,000 visitors, marking a true success for an event solely dedicated to aquarists.
If you want to know how it went—and how we experienced it firsthand—just keep reading and watch the video.
An International Event
AcquariaItalia 2025 had a strong international flavor, thanks to the presence of guests such as Tony Vargas, Mr. Recif Captif, Reef NC, and some of the most influential Italian figures in freshwater aquatics, including Gloria Ciriello and Maurizio Vendramini. European companies, international associations, aquarium clubs—everything was in place to ensure maximum value.

For the first time in Italy, free guided tours were offered for both freshwater and marine aquariums, enthusiastically received by visitors and newcomers alike.
Official attendance figures confirm around 6,000 participants focused solely on the aquarium world. Saturday morning in particular saw the venue absolutely packed, making it difficult to even approach the booths. The crowd eased up slightly by 3 PM. Sunday, on the other hand, saw a steady stream of visitors throughout the day.
For the first time, exhibitors were grouped by category: marine aquariums to the right, freshwater to the left, with livestock in the foreground and equipment manufacturers behind them. Retailers occupied the outer areas. Coral offerings were stunning: over 4,000 pieces, from frags to full colonies. It had been years since we had seen anything like it. Notably, OceanLife’s new coral farm in Bologna was also presented.
Our AcquariaItalia 2025 Video
In our video—filmed and produced by the DaniReef team: Federico, Francesco, Lorenzo, Matteo, with intro and closing commentary by Danilo—you’ll find interviews, walkthroughs, and highlights from companies, shops, coral farms, and aquarium groups that participated in the event. It’s a long one, over two hours, but absolutely worth watching! The video is mainly in Italian, with some segments in English, but you can turn on English subtitles anytime.
Marine or Freshwater?
The show featured a wide array of both marine and freshwater offerings, with gear and tanks of every type. Many companies invested in the event, and we sincerely thank them:





























Aquarium clubs and hobbyist groups added excitement and energy to the fair. While no freshwater groups attended, we were thrilled to host ORTO (Ocean Reef Tank Owners) and Reef World, which we will cover in upcoming features.


Corals at the Fair
Many booths were dedicated to corals, and we truly saw some spectacular things. From frags to anemones, from LPS to SPS, and some new additions like OceanLife’s farm, as mentioned earlier, and Ralf Reef with a stunning display. There were more than 4,000 corals on show and for sale — exactly twice as many as at the last PetsFestival, just to give you an idea.
That said, the overall quality this year was outstanding. H2O Acquari brought some wonderful pieces, Franky’s Fragsdisplayed jaw-dropping Acropora, Recifathome delivered its usual astronomical quality, and Passione Acquario brought everything from frags to full colonies—even giving away two Scolymia for just €10 (watch the video!). Then there was Reefest, with its usual top-tier corals and great vibes. And last but not least, Davide from Geomarine, who by Sunday morning had nearly sold out his entire stock, as seen in our video.









In the coming days, we will flood you with photos and videos of the various booths, showcasing corals, fish, aquascaping, and new product launches.
What about you? What did you think of the show? Do you agree with our impressions? Every comment will receive a reply from us—and who knows, it might help shape the future of the event.
From my point of view, as always, I believe that anyone who didn’t come truly missed out. The show was full of people, professionals, and passionate aquarists. We even conducted a satisfaction survey and the results were incredible!


A whopping 95% of exhibitors have already confirmed their participation for next year. That, to us, spells complete success. Of course, there’s always room for improvement, but honestly, I believe this was one of the best aquarium events seen in Italy in many, many years.
Now, let’s talk about the best booth!
In our visitor poll, we asked attendees to vote for their favorite booth. And the winners are:



First place: Bea Bio Engineering Aquaculture
Second place: RecifAtHome
Third place: Agri Pet Garden
Congratulations to all three—and to every booth that took part. Thank you so much!
Now, let’s hear from our team…
Federico’s Point of View
AquariaItalia has come to an end, and I already can’t wait to attend the second edition. The event, organized by Danilo and Daniel, was a huge success. By focusing on a niche audience and on quality, it brought together around 6,000 aquarium enthusiasts who came to see and buy corals, talk to companies, or simply chat with fellow hobbyists.
We were thrilled with the results we achieved—well beyond even our most optimistic expectations. Especially on Saturday, by mid-morning, we had a massive flow of visitors, many of whom left happily with bags full of corals, equipment, and/or fish.

The free guided tours we organized were also very helpful for newcomers. These tours, through a “journey” across freshwater and marine aquariums, helped pique interest and dispel many doubts that beginners often have. Let’s always remember: aquariums are easy and affordable.
In conclusion, I’m enthusiastic because I finally saw the kind of fair I’ve always wanted to attend—and I’m happy it achieved such a remarkable outcome. After this great start, I’m sure next year’s edition will be even more successful.
Matteo’s Point of View
Finally, a trade show. Finally, an Italian fair entirely dedicated to our underwater world—freshwater and marine alike. AquariaItalia started as a big question mark: Would we succeed? Would people like it? Would they come? There were so many questions, and we got all the answers we hoped for. Saturday was absolutely packed with people crowding the stands—smiles, conversations, hugs, and joyful moments all around.
It was an incredibly friendly atmosphere that made the entire event enjoyable. AquariaItalia felt like a real breakthrough for me.
Too often, I’ve heard friends say, “It would never work in Italy,” or “We’re not in America.” And yet… the stands were constantly busy, companies were happy, and everyone expressed a strong desire to come back. Of course, we could have had more—more booths, more everything. We did our absolute best, but there were some well-known challenges along the way. Still, the commitment shown by Daniel and Danilo turned the dream into reality.

So my friends, I truly believe that AquariaItalia is not a final destination but a starting point. Help us make it a unique event. Help us bring Italian aquaristics to the level we know it deserves. A heartfelt thanks to all participants.
Lorenzo’s Point of View
My name is Lorenzo Spina, and I’ve been a member of the DaniReef staff since June 2018. I took part in the first edition of AquariaItalia, held at Malpensa Fiere on April 26 and 27, 2025.
What makes AquariaItalia so special is that it’s a trade fair entirely dedicated to aquariums. It’s the first of its kind ever held in Italy. The venue was organized with one side dedicated to freshwater and the other to saltwater aquariums. Danilo and I had been talking about a dedicated aquarium fair for years—I even remember a conversation we had about it during Petsfestival 2018.

Thanks to Daniel from Esotika Pet Show, this event became a reality—one that will go down in the history of Italian aquaristics.
What made me happiest was not only the high number of visitors, but especially the strong presence of families with children. They are the future of this wonderful hobby, and I truly saw myself in those kids, accompanied by their parents—just like I used to be when going to aquarium shops with my dad or uncle.
As for the stands, the ones that impressed me the most were New Exotica Discus Farm, which brought some absolutely stunning discus fish—I’d like to thank the owners for being so kind and welcoming—and Amtra, which showcased two beautifully aquascaped tanks from their product line. I hope to see even more of those at AquariaItalia 2026.
The Guided Tours
Let me begin by giving a round of applause to Danilo Ronchi, aka DaniReef, for the idea of organizing guided tours—this is a path we absolutely must continue to follow. I had the pleasure of leading the freshwater aquarium tour twice, and it was a wonderful experience to engage with new aquarists and give them a better idea of how to manage an aquarium. These tours are the real-life version of what we’ve been doing for years as moderators on forums, so as far as I’m concerned, I truly hope forums will make a strong comeback—they are an invaluable source of information.
Trade shows, after all, are always a great opportunity to meet in person the people we talk to online and to connect with new individuals—as happened to me with Maurizio Vendramini, aka Zio Pesce, a truly knowledgeable and very kind person I deeply respect. And I can’t forget to mention Tony Vargas, whom I hadn’t seen in years—a real force of nature. It’s always a pleasure to talk aquariums with him.
All that’s left now is to invite you to the next edition of AcquariaItalia.
Francesco’s Point of View
For me, having a trade fair in Italy entirely dedicated to aquaristics was a winning move. We’ve been missing an event designed specifically for those who live and love this hobby for a long time, and the results speak for themselves: a huge turnout of enthusiasts, high-level companies, and an incredibly engaging atmosphere.
I saw brands and influencers arrive from far and wide—like V-Corals from Israel, RecifAtHome from France, and, to my great surprise, Royal Exclusiv from Germany, a giant in the field that until now had only attended events in their home country or the U.S. Their presence here in Italy, to me, is a clear sign of the growing international significance of this show.

Another special moment was seeing Tony Vargas again—he hadn’t been back to Italy since 2017. He’s a global reference in our field, bringing high-level insights and great inspiration.
The vibe at the fair was exactly what you’d expect from a major international event: enthusiasm, a desire to buy, to exchange ideas, and to discover new things. I noticed a great deal of care from many exhibitors, who set up real “fair-style” booths—not just simple display tables. True passion was in the air, and that makes all the difference.
Among all the booths, the one that impressed me the most for innovation and creativity was Oceanlife’s. They created an acrylic aquarium shaped like their semicircular logo—very long, shallow, and low—more reminiscent of a frag tank than a traditional aquarium. The visual impact was stunning: full of puffy LPS corals and crystal-clear water. Elegance and creativity in service of technique.
I believe there’s still room for improvement, but the potential is enormous. We’ll work to bring even more breathtaking aquascapes to the next edition. I’ll be there—no doubt about it.
Our Insights and Interviews from AcquariaItalia 2025
As we mentioned earlier, we will be publishing many in-depth articles in the coming weeks, and you’ll find them all linked right here—so be sure to bookmark this page and check back often!
For now, here’s the direct link to the video section where we talk about each company.
- OceanLife Shines at AcquariaItalia 2025: Corals, Labs, and Vision (Brand)
- AcquariaItalia 2025: GNC with BluRay X and Interactive Totem (Brand)
- Bea Aquaculture Coral’s Garden and Zoa Lab: a success at AcquariaItalia (Brand and Corals) – NEW
- Amtra (Brand)
- V-Corals (Brand)
- Sicce (Brand)
- Teco (Brand)
- H2O Acquari (Shop)
- Elos (Brand)
- Franky’s Frags (Shop)
- Ralf Reef (Shop)
- Agri Pet Garden (Shop)
- Acquarissima 2000 (Shop)
- Tre C Acquari (Shop)
- Equo (Brand)
- ASF (Brand)
- Newa (Brand)
- NeonX (Brand)
- New Exotica Discus Farm (Shop Discus)
- ReefTek (Brand)
- Royal Exclusiv (Brand)
- Alex’s Zebra (Shop)
- Passione Acquario (Shop)
- GeoMarine (Shop)
- Recifathome (Shop)
- Reefest (Shop Coralli)
- Poseidon Orto (Brand)
- Reef World (Association)
- Aquarium Setup (Shop)
- Allevamento CBG (Shop)
- Chimera Tropicals (Shop)
- Koi Style (Shop)
- Lovely Pets Forlì (Shop)
- Smarzfish (Shop)
- TG Endler (Shop)
- VL Welse (Shop)
- Federico point of view
- Francesco point of view
- Matteo point of view
- Danilo point of view
See You at AcquariaItalia 2026
For comments, questions, or requests, feel free to write in the comment section below or on any of our social channels: Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, X e YouTube. And if you enjoyed the article, feel free to share it with others who share this passion with us.
References
- AcquariaItalia Official website
- AcquariaItalia Press Release