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The Benefits of Keeping
an Aquarium
A sparkling aquarium teaming with tropical fish is certainly an engaging and beautiful sight-but what other benefits can one reap by keeping an aquarium?
Aquarium keeping may not be as easy as it appears, or as some may tell you, but is all the hassle really worth it? Most definitely. Aside from the obvious enjoyment one gets from watching the goings-on in the tank between the fishes, and all the incredible colors they can exhibit, aquariums have actually been shown to reduce anxiety, stress, and even blood pressure. Physician's offices have long employed this to their benefit by having aquariums in their patient lobbies. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Coop was a chief proponent in medical circles for spreading the word about the benefits of aquarium viewing at home and in the office.
In many households, the aquarium becomes a family project with everyone working together to maintain it.
An aquarium is a wonderful tool to introduce children to the world of fishes in a fun and interesting way. Younger children can perform simple tasks (with supervision of course) like learning how to read the thermometer to check temperature and how to feed the fish. Older kids can perform more complicated tasks like testing the water parameters (pH, ammonia, etc.,) and perform routine maintenance like water changes, cleaning algae from the glass, and changing filter pads. They also get a lot of enjoyment in selecting their own fish, which gives them a vested interest in the health of the aquarium. Children are incredibly observant and will likely notice things that adults miss. You may be going along thinking all is well in the aquarium, only to have your child tug at your shirt when you get in the door and inform you that some of the fish have sugar on them. You check on the tank to see the start of an Ick outbreak because you forgot to remove what was left of the vacation feeder from the previous 3-day weekend and the water has become fouled. Instances like this can also illustrate to children how important a healthy ecology is to the animals in it. Many schools use aquariums featuring native fishes to show children the animals that inhabit local waterways and initiate interest in conservation issues. While an adult may only find interest in a rare angelfish from the reefs of the Indo Pacific, a child will find fascination and intrigue in a simple desktop aquarium with a small school of zebra danios or a fantail goldfish.
Another unheralded benefit of aquarium keeping is learning about the fish you keep and their natural environments, and then doing your best to reproduce them.
Learning about aquariums is a never-ending process, but with a world of information at your fingertips, it’s easy to find solutions to even the most perplexing of problems. Over time one acquires the confidence and skills to move on to the more challenging realms of aquarium keeping. With knowledge and the successful application of it, the nervous owner of a new tropical aquarium can acquire the skills to successfully manage a complex planted aquarium the next year. Technology may change, but the one deficit that plagues the new comer and can turn a new and excited enthusiast into a frustrated former hobbyist that banishes the tank to the next garage sale isn’t a lack of gadgets or equipment, but knowledge. Having it and continuing to acquire it can turn part-time guppy breeders into serious coral propagators. Few things are as rewarding as learning and seeing what you can accomplish when you apply it.