A system for displaying aquatic animals in a retail environment includes a base having a plurality of shelves, and a plurality of removable containment elements disposed on the shelves, each of the containment elements including a bottom, a top, and side walls extending between the top and the bottom to enclose a volume of water. At least one of the side walls defines a flat side viewing panel for viewing an aquatic animal inside of the containment element. Each of the containment elements is a rectangular-shaped that is sized to contain a salable number of aquatic animals.
