In this article, I am sharing you the most exciting practice of keeping aquarium fishes as a pet. Although pets come in different forms, shapes, sizes, though there are different types of pets, in this article and as a hobbyist, I am going to share my personal experience in keeping aquarium fishes. The practice of keeping and raising fishes dates back to age-old in the history where ancient Romans, Egyptians were known to gift a live colored fish as a compliment.

Fishes, unlike other pets like dogs/cats/birds, are calm and are confined to one constant place - the aquarium tank. They are definitely low-maintenance when compared to other pets, though at times it depends on the set-up you are maintaining and fish type. They are not noisy and can bring a new, lively, fresh look to your room with a clean, cozy aquarium tank. The fish come in different sizes, colors, shapes, prices, aggressive, non-aggressive types As a hobbyist, I have maintained most of the varieties currently available in our Indian market from betta fish to aggressive cichlids. Maintaining a fish tank is fun. They give us some kind of pleasure when we feed them. Their vibrant colors and fast movements in a clear glass tank can easily grab your attention and at times one may easily get lost simply by just watching them playing around in the tank.

According to one research, it has been proved that the aquarium fish can relieve some stress of humans, who have some interests in pets. It has a positive impact on the community. Nowadays we can notice some well-maintained fish tanks in hotels, malls, theaters, parks and other places of interests. It is true that they bring out some beauty to the location. Got your aquarium? Maintain proper lightning, oxygen supply, filter and see what you have done to your place. Beautiful, isn't it? Some enthusiasts like me, don't hesitate to put some plants along with the fish, to give an extra boost to the tank. Adding fresh, live green plants is not only good for our eyes but also they balance the ecosystem close to nature. The plants utilize carbon dioxide and other wastes from the fishes and convert it into oxygen which maintains fish health. Apart from that they also act as a hiding place for small fishes and even their babies.

One should be aware of some commonly occurring diseases in aquarium fish as the water here is stagnant and risk of opportunistic bacteria is high. One should recycle the old water with fresh water every 3-4 months depending on the tank size and number of fishes. This process not only minimizes a certain amount of diseases in fishes but also keeps the glass tank clean and clear from developing algae and other harmful substances.

I currently maintain a 6-foot big tank with a built-in filter, lights, oxygen pump I have aggressive fish community Midas, arrow cichlid, buttikoferi, red and white devils, firemouths, green terrors, pacu's, tinfoils, angelfish and very aggressive jaguar cichlids. I spend at least 10-15 minutes/day feeding them, enjoy watching them and do frequent close monitoring of my tank. Apart from regular ready-made food like pellets, flakes, I also feed them live worms, pieces of boiled egg and boiled rice. In the event, you are busy with your work, and even if you miss to feed them for 1-2 days, they still manage to survive. In fact, they can live up to 5-6 days without food at times given other conditions of the tank are maintained properly Their lifespan is in between 8-15 years in well-maintained conditions and can grow anywhere between 18-25 cms in length, depending on the type of fish 

These days, there are a lot of pet food manufacturing companies popping up in the market and sound knowledge of diet habits is essential for a hobbyist. Also, there is a slow rise in the ornamental fish industry and there is a good increasing demand in the locals to buy and maintain aquarium fishes. The price of the fish varies from anywhere between 5 rupees to as high as 70-80,000 Inr. One such expensive fish is  Arowana, being marketed as Vaastu fish according to Chinese mythology. Ghars, buttikoferi, midas, flowerhorns, oscars, discus, parrot fish are some of the expensive ornamental fishes There is slow potential growth in this industry for small-scale employment.