AceShowbiz - Rapper Ice-T's visitors are always shocked to find a giant aquarium in his living room, because they expect people hanging "off meat hooks".

The original gangsta rapper, real name Tracy Lauren Marrow, is a longtime fish fan but he's taken his love of ocean creatures to the next step and now boasts a gigantic "living coral" tank at home.

"I've had aquariums my whole life," he told "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in a virtual chat with his pride and joy behind him. "Back in the day, people know I had a shark tank. This is a living coral tank right in the middle of my living room, so it's the focal point."

"I've been doing so much... Zooming and stuff like that (during the COVID pandemic), and I said, 'Well this is a cool (Zoom) background - better than just sitting up against a wall."

And the "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" star, who is famous for his X-rated rap songs like "Cop Killer", insists guests at his house are always surprised by the "tranquil" atmosphere he has created.

"The funny thing is people... knowing my music, knowing my work of being so hardcore and aggressive, they expect to come to my house and I've got people hanging off meat hooks," he laughs.

"Then they come to my house and they're like, 'Wow, so much water, so tranquil'. I've always tried to have a spa-like environment... You spend money and go on vacations to have that tranquility so I try to make it in my house - when the dogs aren't barking and (daughter) Chanel's not going crazy."