Explanation:

The joy of setting up and properly maintaining a freshwater aquarium is one that is experienced by an increasing number of people every year. A new aquarium owner might be lulled into thinking that a small aquarium is inexpensive, low maintenance, and requires very LITTLE time. While you can certainly try to operate an aquarium under these assumptions, it probably will not be successful, your fish will not thrive and may die, and you will not enjoy it nearly as much as you would if you did it correctly.

While you may be tempted to purchase a $99.00 starter KIT that includes 'everything you need,' you should be aware that there are many more expenses involved as well as a serious time commitment on your part.

Fish Welfare: What to Consider

Because fish can not verbalize their needs and we are not able to 'touch' them, as well as the FACT that many people consider fish as lower life forms, their welfare is often neglected. The old adage "if a fish dies we'll just get a new one" has no business in the language of the modern fish keeper. Study after study has shown that these creatures possess advanced nervous systems and feel pain and suffering just as much as their mammalian counterparts.

If potential aquarium owners are not willing to acknowledge this and are not committed to the fish's well being first and foremost, then they are not ready to keep fish. An aquarium should not be viewed as a decoration but as a living, biological environment that provides a healthy, safe refuge for the fish that live there. A well maintained, healthy aquarium becomes an object of beauty. A poorly maintained aquarium is an eyesore and the cause of death for the unlucky fish inhabitants.

Aquarium Costs

The cost of running an aquarium is important because if an aquarium owner is not willing to invest the necessary money and time in doing it right, then the fish will suffer and die as a result.

The following cost chart takes into account only the basic cost of a small to medium sized freshwater tank. Salt-water tanks are for experts only and costs for freshwater tanks are a fraction of a salt-water setup. The cost of your time is not taken into consideration here. Setting up and maintaining a tank is a hobby and a joy. If you LOOK at tank maintenance as an unpleasant chore, then you will not SPEND enough time maintaining it and therefore have an unhealthy tank, and should consider a different hobby.

The price listed is for a 29-gallon tank, which is a great starter size. Tanks smaller than 12 gallons are not suitable for most freshwater set-ups and should be reserved for hospital or quarantine tanks. If you enjoy your aquarium, you will soon find yourself 'needing' a larger tank and the cost will go up accordingly.