All You Need to Know About Your Aquarium Hobby - Chiang Rai Times

Posted: 24 Jul 2020 04:54 PM PDT

Investing in an aquarium, whether large or small, takes a bit of dedication and responsibility that you may not be aware of. However, the addition to an aquarium in your home, and turning fish and tank care into a hobby, has a ton of benefits you might also not be aware of. If you have been considering getting into fish, or other aquatic animal keeping, this is the article you need to read in advance.

Benefits of an Aquarium

There actually are a ton of benefits of keeping an aquarium of some sort. Not only does it stimulate your brain as a learning process, and help influence responsibility in children, it also aids your mental and physical health.

The peaceful movement of your aquatic animals, gentle flow of water, and ambient lighting are all influential to your mental health. The presence of a tank is peaceful and can help reduce stress, which is a way to help influence less stress and provide a means for focus. It can be especially beneficial to children. Use one in conjunction with other stress-busting techniques for a more peaceful home (or office) atmosphere.

Aquatic Animals in a Fish Tank

Aquariums can hold a decently wide variety of aquatic animals. Turtles, frogs, shrimp, snails, fish, and various other critters are worth considering. But what you do have to keep in mind is what can co-habitat with what. Turtles will often eat anything placed in a fish tank with them, but may tolerate larger fish with no issue. The same goes for aquatic frogs, so mixing and matching those types of creatures might create undue stress in your set-up.

Fish also can be highly territorial or even aggressive and murderous towards other species. Don't assume you can go pick and choose from the best looking fish and dump them all in one tank. Instead, you have to learn which will cohabitate well together.

They all have their own maintenance needs as well. For example, turtles are pretty dirty so you'd need a proper canister filter for your turtle.

Salt vs Fresh Water Fish Aquarium

On that note, if you know you are more interested in fish than anything else, you might want to consider a fresh vs salt water option. Both have a beautiful array of fish you choose from, but salt aquariums also provide choices such as living coral, anemones, and very specific habitats for certain fish species. These tanks become almost like a living work of art.

That doesn't mean you can' have an incredibly detailed fresh water tank either. Just be sure to look at the pros and cons of each before making a decision.

One of the first things to consider is tank size. Many people think a smaller tank is easier to care for, but actually, the larger the tank, the easier it is to keep your water balanced. A 20 gallon tank is a great size as it is not too small that water balance is difficult, but not too large either then it becomes overwhelming or too expensive.

Fish Tank Weight

When considering what size tank you want, you also need to think about where you are going to place it, and what it will weigh. A gallon of water weighs approximately 8.3 lbs, and whatever the surface you place your tank of will need to be able to support this. A 20 gallon tank is close to 200 lbs, so you need to plan accordingly.

Cost Considerations

You most certainly need to take into account the cost of this all as well. You absolutely can stick to a budget when it comes to aquariums, but it is very easy to spend more than you planned once you start getting more and more involved with the body. Therefore, it's important when you first get started to research and plan what you want personally, and the overall initial costs. You can always create a wish list for future additions.

You also need to include ongoing costs, such as maintenance and feed. Depending on the water you choose, and have, treatments might be needed for fish survival. Plus, cleaning costs and various products for this to be effective. Some people even opt to have an aquarium cleaning service take care of things for them on a regular basis (yes, tank cleaning services exist).

Conclusion

Aquariums are a great way to start a new hobby, and influence better personal health. Adding a tank to your living spaces is definitely well worth the effort, but you do need to plan in advance, rather than just jump in without any thought. Tank space and weight, cost, aquatic species, and long term care and maintenance are all details to consider. Luckily, there is a wide range of budget friendly options which will help make this hobby take shape for anyone interested.

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