DISCOVER OUR ECOSYSTEMS.

You live in California—but how well do you really know its diverse ecosystems?

Welcome to CA Coastal Aquariums

We are a small facility in San Francisco, California, and we don’t operate like a typical public animal exhibit. Instead, we care for native amphibians, reptiles, and other local fauna with the goal of studying them up close and documenting rare species firsthand. Our focus is on learning more about native wildlife, monitoring the spread of invasive species, and studying undescribed species unknown to science.

Some of our AWESOME habitats!

Find out where exactly our animals call home.

Lizard Habitats

Our 3 lizard habitats includes live native plants, built to mimic the coastal scrub and chaparral of California as well as an anole habitat.

Welcome

I am Ryth, a 16 year old kid who enjoys being in nature and learning about the flora and fauna of California. I have always been intrigued by nature, especially organisms that are fairly rare or undescribed (a species or group not yet known or formally valid in taxonomic literature).

This Is How I Started

My Passion for nature emerged when I was still in preschool

4 years old

I would spend a lot of time flipping over logs and rocks in search of small invertebrates.

7 years old

I started a "Frog Club" in 2nd grade for people who were also curious about these amphibians. No one joined, but I was still happy that I got to share my passion with others

10-14 years old

I began exploring to the tidepools more often during the pandemic. I was particularly in search of decapods such as brachyurans and anomurans. I learned how to identify common species and understood how important each particular zone of the tidepools were.

14 y/o - present

I began identifying crabs globally and observing organisms with the iNaturalist app. I started to veer off from crustacean ID into reptile and amphibians. Even as herps began to fascinate me, I identified crabs daily and still remained one of the top identifier of them.

Present

The more I discovered the rare and protected species around me, the more I realized how crucial it is to study them - their habitats, and the human factors that impact them the most. With new non-native species being introduced to San Francisco at an alarming rate - around one every 12 to 24 weeks - the need to protect our native wildlife has never been more urgent.

Our films

You may not know this, but I like to edit and produce films! I've been making films since 2023 I have a huge passion for making videos and using filmmaking to educate people about nature.

Equipment:

Nikon COOLPIX P1100

DJI Mini 3 (Drone x2)

DJI Action 4 (Underwater Camera)

Apple iPhone 16 (close ups)

Video->>

Road To Hana, Maui. Captured with the drone during 2024 trip.

Watch my films!