Why an Aquarium?

Home freshwater aquarium & more!

Nearly everyone has seen an aquarium in their lifetime. At a friend’s house, a restaurant, a party, a local business looking to stand out… many people love to keep aquariums, and you can find them nearly everywhere.

The word ‘aquarium’ actually comes from the Latin words ‘Aqua’ meaning water (Shocked? Yeah, neither are we) and ‘rium’ meaning place or building. Basically, it’s a water building!

The History of the Aquarium

The modern form of aquariums developed in the 1850′s, but modern things have a way of echoing historical pieces. Even the Sumerians had a way of keeping their fish – they had ponds to keep wild fish in until they were made into dinner.

Goldfish and Koi fish were being bred as far back as 2,000 years ago in China, and during the Song dynasty goldfish were kept in ceramic bowls. The history this is detailed, and long!

Even in ancient Egyptian art, we can see a type of aquarium – fish were kept in rectangular temple pools, something unique and interesting and what most people don’t think of when they imagine an aquarium in history.

Keeping fish as a hobby really picked up after the First World War (Middle to late 1800′s). While you could see aquariums at museums and more, modern lighting and filtration let people care for fish in their home.

As fish keeping began to take even more root in modern culture, companies rushed to come up with unique and interesting things to put into tanks, as well as searching for more efficient ways to keep fish healthy, and their water clean.

This is the main reason that we have so many options for us when it comes to aquariums. You can choose from thousands of different things to really make your set up unique, interesting, and yes, even fun.

Big Ol’ Aquarium

One of the most impressive aquariums isn’t in the US, but in Japan – the Osaka aquarium holds 5,400 cubic meters of volume, and it actually contains over 580 species!

Ever wonder if there’s actually a benefit to having an aquarium?

There are actually studies that are going as far back as the 80′s that have shown that keeping an aquarium can not only keep you more relaxed, but improve your health.

For example, seniors who were provided with an aquarium – with fish, of course – had a surprising drop in blood pressure. Just watching fish can help calm hyperactive children, and no, that’s not just it.

Dental patients who watched fish in the office need less pain medication then patients who just sat in a waiting room, and it’s shown that fish in a tank, verses a nicely decorated tank, make a bigger difference.

Surprised? Many people aren’t. Hey, just consider this – many doctor’s offices, waiting rooms, dental clinics, and even children’s hospital wings have an aquarium filled with colorful fish.

Studies have been done that also show that Alzheimer’s patients react extremely well to an aquarium being in the dining area. They eat more, need less supplements, and even are less aggressive.

Even watching a tape of fish can be relaxing. Amazing, huh?

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a big aquarium or a little aquarium – you can still reap the benefits of having the fish in your house, and they’re wonderful pets to boot.