During a visit to an outlandish pet shop, Tom Foot gets closer than he’d like to a Mexican tarantula

ANYONE still searching for Nemo should try Hampstead village. A range of tropical fish and other peculiar creatures resembling the colourful cast of Disney’s underwater flick are on sale at Digital Liquid – a pet shop for the adventurous.
Pet lovers can turn their tame goldfish bowls into Amazonian lakes and Asian swamps with a selection of tropical, marine and coldwater fish, non-venomous snakes, “turbo” snails, deep-sea turtles, luminous frogs and formidable tarantulas.
Ben Dawson, 27, who grew up in
Belsize Park, opened two pet shops in Islington called Digital Liquid and Cally Pets, both on Caledonian Road. But when a spot in Hampstead became available he decided to branch out into something new.
He said: “Those stores catered for the more usual types of pet: goldfish, rabbits, hamsters – that sort of thing. But with this shop we thought we could be a bit more adventurous with what we sold. We have one of the largest fish tanks in London. It’s always a bit of a worry starting something new but business has been booming. He who dares wins.” While Ben deals with the business side, manager George Dove, 23, is the animal expert. Having nurtured a love of flora and fauna since he was five, George has an extensive knowledge spanning the Latin names and their social behaviour.
“Some fish get on alright with each other, but some are really quite anti-social,” he says. “With the African Cichlids, if we left just three of them in the tank they’d gang up on each other. You would come back and have a look in the morning and there would only be one left. But when there are lots of them together no one gets bullied.”
And although many of the animals look like they could kill you with ease, George confirmed that all the animals are non-venomous and available to anyone willing to give them proper care.
“I like to do a bit of interrogation first – just to make sure. But generally, anyone can take home these animals. None of the reptiles or arachnids are venomous – if they were we would need a dangerous wild animals licence.”
The glowing, Poison Dart Frogs are bred in captivity and live inside their aquariums, which are called rainforest set-ups. After five generations in captivity, they have lost their venom.
They mainly feed on fruit flies.
George said: “Some people worry about having a load of flies in the house. So we sell a special variety – with no wings.”
For fish specialist Steve Southwell, who makes sure the conditions are right for almost all the animals, it all started with a trip to the fair.
“It probably all started when I won a goldfish at the fair,” he says. “Since then it’s become an obsession – It’s great to have your hobby as your work. I steer clear of the spiders though.”
After a little persuasion, George brought out the tarantula. He said: “It probably won’t bite because it thinks I’m a piece of wood or something. But it sometimes shoots hairs in your eyes, which can be very uncomfortable for half an hour or so.”

• Digital Liquid is on Heath Street, Hampstead, 020 7435 4448.