Florida has a lock on tropical fish

If you've ever bought a tropical fish, it likely came from around these parts. About half of the aquarium fish sold at U.S. stores are produced domestically, and of those, about 95 percent come from Florida. There are a few goldfish farms scattered through Alabama and the Carolinas, which mostly make up the other 5 percent, said David Boozer, executive director of the Florida Tropical Fish Farm Association in Winter Haven.

Back in the '40s, when fish farming was just taking off, the farms were concentrated around Miami. Now, Boozer estimates that 80 percent of his 125 member farms are within 50 miles of downtown Tampa. The farmers were lured to Hillsborough and Polk counties by the relative abundance and cheapness of land, the high water table, and the soft dirt that makes it easy to dig ponds.

It's a tight-knit industry, and an unglamorous one, but its impact is far-reaching. More than 15,000 boxes of live fish are flown out of Tampa International Airport every week, according to the Florida Aquarium.

For years, tropical fish were the biggest export by economic impact from TIA, an airport spokeswoman said. Now, they're a close second to high-end manufacturing equipment, like medical and electronic components.

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