“I have an aquarium full of fish and some Mexican walking fish.”

Orianthi, Musician

Pros and Cons of Fishkeeping & Aquariums

You think about getting an aquarium to keep fishes or water plants at home but are not entirely sure whether this is indeed a good idea or not? Great!

I show you all the pros and cons of aquariums in the following chapters so that you can better decide whether you want to get one or not.

Advantages of Aquariums

1. Aquariums can make your home look nicer
2. You may get some company through fishkeeping
3. Fishkeeping doesn’t require that much time as having other pets
4. Fishes and plants don’t annoy neighbors
5. Your aquarium will not wake you up in the middle of the night
6. You don’t have to go for a walk like with dogs
7. You can leave your aquarium alone for a few days
8. Having an aquarium allows you to become a fishkeeping expert
9. You can share your ideas on social media
10. You can get help in forums
11. Fishkeeping may allow you to start a side hustle
12. You don’t have to see the veterinarian

Aquariums can make your home look nicer

One advantage of aquariums is that they can make your home look much nicer.

If you get a fancy aquarium that also fits in your room, it will often be one of the visual highlights of your home and many people will admire you for it.

It can also be quite nice if you get an aquarium where you can turn on the lights in the dark.

This will give your home a special atmosphere and instead of watching TV or sitting in front of a computer screen, you and your kids may rather spend more time in front of the aquarium and watching the fishes and plants live their lives.

You may get some company through fishkeeping

Getting an aquarium can also make quite a lot of sense for you in case you are alone right now and don’t have company.

You might just have moved to another city and may also not have a partner yet.

In such a case, having an aquarium at home can be great for you since you will get some company from your fishes while you will still be rather independent to find new friends pretty soon since you will not have to care that much about your fishes and aquatic plants.

Hence, fishkeeping can be especially nice for people who live alone and need some company to stay mentally and emotionally healthy in the long run.

Fishkeeping doesn’t require that much time as having other pets

In general, fishkeeping is also pretty nice since you don’t need to spend as much time on your aquarium as you would have to spend on other pets.

For instance, if you get a cat or a dog, you will have to control them for diseases or ticks on a regular basis. They will also demand more attention from you.

While it can be nice to have some around you who cares about you, it can also be annoying, especially if you work from home and have to finish some important tasks under plenty of time pressure.

In such a case, keeping fishes instead of other pets can be great since they will not distract you from your work.

Fishes and plants don’t annoy neighbors

Another advantage of fishkeeping is that you will also not annoy your neighbors with it.

In fact, since your aquarium will be rather quiet and your fishes cannot bark or meow, your neighbors will often not even know that you keep fishes.

Hence, while you might get into trouble by keeping other noisier pets, fishes will be great in this regard since you can be sure that you will not annoy your neighbors and can therefore maintain a better relationship with them.

Your aquarium will not wake you up in the middle of the night

Having an aquarium at home can also be great in the sense that fishes and water plants will also not wake you up in the middle of the night.

If you forget to lock the door to your sleeping room, chances are that cats or dogs would enter your room pretty soon and that they will not let you sleep.

In contrast, your fishes will not really care whether you are awake or at sleep and will also not disturb your sleep in any way.

Consequently, people who keep fishes may also get more healthy sleep compared to people you have dogs or cats at home and this may lead to a higher overall quality of life for them since they will be less vulnerable to health issues of many sorts.

You don’t have to go for a walk like with dogs

Another upside of fishkeeping is that you will also don’t need to go for a walk with your fishes.

While a dog as a pet would require you to go outside for a walk every day, you can just stay inside your four walls if you keep fishes since they will simply do what they have to do inside the aquarium.

This can be pretty convenient, especially during times of bad weather like heavy rain or snow where it will not be tempting to go for a walk at all.

You will also be able to sleep longer by keeping fishes instead of dogs since you will not have to go for a walk and can use this time to get an extra hour of sleep a day, which will add up to significant amounts of healthy sleep that can give you additional energy for the day.

You can leave your aquarium alone for a few days

Another advantage of having an aquarium instead of keeping other pets is that you will also be able to leave your aquarium alone for a few days or even weeks.

In fact, for short vacations, you will not need a pet sitter at all. You can just install an automated feeding machine and you will be good to go.

In contrast, if you have a dog, you will have to go for a walk on a daily basis and if you can’t do so in person, you will have to find another person who takes care of this task.

Moreover, if you keep bigger animals, chances are that they will also break things if nobody is at home who could watch them.

Consequently, by keeping fishes instead of other pets, you will just be more flexible to go on vacation whenever you want and will also be more flexible regarding your overall schedule in general.

Having an aquarium allows you to become a fishkeeping expert

You will also be able to learn quite a lot from fishkeeping.

You may not know it yet, but fishes are quite fascinating animals and they will also behave in certain patterns that you will figure out sooner or later.

This is not only true for fishes, but also water plants can be quite interesting and will behave in ways that you might not expect them to do.

Hence, in the beginning, you will have to learn a lot about how to maintain your aquarium in a proper manner.

While this might sound like a lot of work, it can also be quite fascinating and you can also improve your overall knowledge in fishkeeping.

In turn, you will also be able to help out your family and friends later on if they also consider getting an aquarium since you have taken all the steps before and can also assist them to set up their aquarium in a proper manner.

You can share your ideas on social media

Another benefit of getting an aquarium is that you can also share your ideas and experiences on social media.

You will find many other people who are interested in fishkeeping on the social web and you can exchange tips and tricks with each other.

In the long run, you will also be able to find many new friends through those channels since you will have the same passion and will always have something to talk about.

In the long run, you can also become an important member of the fishkeeping community and can also acquire plenty of knowledge through those social channels.

You can get help in forums

Thanks to our modern technology, it will also be pretty easy to find help for several issues you might have to face when getting an aquarium.

In fact, there are many forums and blogs out there where you can discuss problems related to fishkeeping.

While you had to contact an expert and pay significant amounts of money for his or her advice, you can now just search the web and you will find solutions to almost every problem for free.

Hence, if you are willing to spend a little bit of time on research, chances are that you will get most problems related to fishkeeping under control yourself and that you don’t need to rely on the paid advice of third parties.

Fishkeeping may allow you to start a side hustle

Some people are even able to start a side hustle around fishkeeping.

In fact, if you know what you are doing and are also willing to put in the work, you can start a YouTube channel or a blog about having an aquarium at home.

You can talk about all sorts of issues you might have encountered in the past with your aquarium and how you have resolved those problems.

In turn, many other people can benefit from your advice and will be really grateful for the information you provide.

In the long run, your audience will grow substantially and you may also be able to monetize this audience through display ads or affiliate marketing.

If you are really good at digital marketing, chances are that you will even be able to make a full-time income sooner or later.

Hence, fishkeeping may even provide you with the chance to quit your day job sooner or later and this may just make you much happier in general, especially if you don’t like your current job at all and urgently want to make a change anyway.

You don’t have to see the veterinarian

Compared to other pets, fishes also don’t need that much care and you also don’t have to invest too much time to maintain your aquarium.

Sure, you will have to feed your fishes and do some cleaning once in a while, yet you will not have to bring your fishes to the veterinarian.

If you have other pets like dogs or cats, visits at a veterinary practice will be rather common since your pets will get sick or also just need vaccinations.

As you can see from the previous analysis, fishkeeping can have many advantages compared to keeping other pets. Yet, this is only one side of the medal.

Now it’s time to also talk about the issues that come along with having an aquarium at home.

Disadvantages of Fishkeeping

1. Significant costs of aquariums
2. High maintenance costs
3. Costs for fish feed
4. You will have to clean your aquarium
5. You have to replace broken parts
6. Some fishes may pass away quite soon
7. Fishes and plants don’t answer you in the way other pets do
8. Risk of accidents
9. You may flood your home
10. Can even lead to damage in other flats
11. You can’t cuddle your fishes
12. Fishes are not among the most popular pets
13. You may not be able to develop a mental connection to your pets
14. Many people lose interest in fishkeeping in the long run

Significant costs of aquariums

One problem with fishkeeping is that aquariums can be quite expensive.

If you want to get a fancy model that is also pretty big in size, chances are that you will have to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on it.

Sure, you can get much cheaper models. Yet, those cheaper ones often don’t look nice at all and will usually also be more vulnerable to break sooner or later.

Consequently, before you decide for fishkeeping as your new hobby, make sure that you are willing to invest some money and that you have this money right now in your bank account to avoid getting into debt.

High maintenance costs

You should also not underestimate the maintenance costs that come along with having an aquarium at home.

You will need a pump to keep the water circulating in a proper manner and this also means that you will have to spend significant amounts of money on electricity.

If you live in a region where power costs are quite high, this can add up to hundreds of dollars a year, especially if you have a big aquarium where lots of water has to be moved on a regular basis.

Costs for fish feed

You will also have to invest some money in fish feed. While this might not be that much, it can still add up, especially if you have a big aquarium with many hungry fishes in there.

Hence, you should not underestimate the costs that come along with having an aquarium at home in general and should also make sure that you are financially stable enough to provide for your fishes and plants in an optimal manner before you really get an aquarium.

You will have to clean your aquarium

Another downside of having an aquarium at home is that you will also have to clean it on a regular basis.

Sure, if you have a good pump and a decent setup, your aquarium devices will do most of the work for you.

Yet, you will still have to invest some time to make the walls of your aquarium look nice and clean and if you don’t care about cleaning your aquarium, it will just look pretty messy in the long run.

You have to replace broken parts

Nothing lasts forever and this will also be true for your aquarium.

In fact, your pump or other parts of your aquarium will no longer work sooner or later and this means that you will also have to replace those parts.

In turn, you will have to spend additional time and money on getting those spare parts and you will also have to install them in a proper manner.

Thus, don’t think that there will be no work related to having an aquarium at home.

There will always be something to do and you should be willing to invest some time into your fishkeeping project to make it a success.

Some fishes may pass away quite soon

If you don’t provide optimal living conditions for your fishes, chances are that they will pass away quite soon.

Chances are that you will make some mistakes as a beginner and will only realize your mistakes once it will be too late for some of your little friends.

Moreover, even if you do everything right, some fishes only have a rather short life expectancy and it will therefore be time to say goodbye to them pretty often.

Therefore, you should probably also keep other pets if you really want to have them around for an extended period of time.

Fishes and plants don’t answer you in the way other pets do

You should also be aware of the fact that keeping fishes is just completely different from keeping other pets like cats or dogs.

While a cat meows and a dog barks, your fishes will stay silent and will just not respond to you in the way other pets do.

This also means that you will not be able to teach your fishes tricks or other nice things since they will simply not listen to your commands.

Risk of accidents

Another disadvantage of getting an aquarium is that you might also suffer from accidents.

For instance, if you are not careful, you may fall over your aquarium and break your arm or your leg.

Moreover, you may also get injured while cleaning your aquarium if there are minor glass damages on it.

You may flood your home

If the aquarium glass breaks for some reason, you will also just flood your home and this will result in a big mess.

Especially if you have a big aquarium, loads of water will be on the floor and cleaning the mess will take many hours.

Moreover, excessive water on the floor can also seriously damage the substance and structure of the floor in general.

Can even lead to damage in other flats

If you live in a flat and have such a water damage, chances are that also your neighbor below you will suffer since water may run through your neighbor’s ceiling.

Hence, not only your own property may be at risk, but also the property of other neighbors may suffer due to your aquarium.

In turn, you may also be liable for damages to third parties and this can get really expensive.

You can’t cuddle your fishes

Another disadvantage of keeping fishes at home is that you will also just not be able to cuddle your fishes.

While you can cuddle many other animals, you will just not be able to do so with your little fish friends and there might just be something missing in the relationship between you and your pet.

Fishes are not among the most popular pets

You should also be aware of the fact that fishes are not the most popular pets.

Sure, it is not that uncommon to keep fishes.

Yet, other pets like cats and dogs are much more popular and you may just not be that popular if you keep fishes instead of other pets.

You may not be able to develop a mental connection to your pets

In general, it is also hard to develop an emotional connection with your fishes.

Since they will not respond to your commands and will also not talk to you in any way, chances are that you will not consider them as an important part of your life and that you will get other pets who can give you more feedback in the long run.

Many people lose interest in fishkeeping in the long run

Many people are also excited to get an aquarium in the beginning, yet they lose interest in it pretty soon.

Hence, before getting an aquarium for your home, make sure that you are really interested in fishkeeping and that you want to care for your fishes for a longer period of time.

Top 10 Aquarium Pros & Cons – Summary List

Aquarium Pros	Aquarium Cons
Aquariums can make your home nicer	Aquariums can be expensive
Fishkeeping gives you some company	Significant maintenance costs
You will learn a lot about fishes	You have to buy fish feed
You can get help on social media	Parts will break sooner or later
You can discuss your ideas in forums	Electricity costs can be significant
Fishkeeping can be a nice side hustle	Your fishes will not follow your commands
You can make serious money out of it	Fishes are just not that responsive
Fishes are quiet pets	You can’t cuddle your fishes
You will not annoy your neighbors	Fishkeeping may become boring
No need for going to the veterinarian	You may flood your home

Should You Buy An Aquarium?

Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of fishkeeping and having an aquarium in general, you have to make your final decision regarding whether you still want to get an aquarium to keep fishes or if you rather want to get other pets instead.

If you are not sure yet, also make sure to check out the pros and cons of owning a cat and the pros and cons of owning a dog.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquarium

https://www.fishkeepingworld.com/21-beginner-aquarium-mistakes/

https://masterpet.com/fish/setting-up-an-aquarium/top-10-fish-tank-tips/

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.