How Keeping Fish Can Help You Relieve Stress
If you’ve ever visited an aquarium or zoo, you’ve likely seen first hand how calming and tranquil fish can be.
But did you know that having an aquarium at home can also have stress-reducing benefits?
Aquarium therapy is the practice of using aquariums to provide therapeutic benefits. Keeping fish as pets can be part of this practice, but it goes beyond simply having an aquarium in your home. With this blog post, we hope to introduce you to aquarium therapy and answer some frequently asked questions about keeping fish as pets.
What is Aquarium Therapy?
Aquarium therapy is the practice of using aquariums to improve one’s wellness. Aquarium therapy can come in many forms. For example, some people keep fish or create an aquascape aquarium at home as a form of relaxation therapy.
Benefits of Fish Keeping
Stress reduction
Keeping fish can be part of an aquarium therapy routine, watching fish can help to lower a persons blood pressure and heart rate. It accomplishes this by lowering cortisol levels, which happens when you’re engaged in an activity that requires attention but isn’t overly challenging.
Promotes relaxation
With the growing amount of time we now spend connected to technology, whether it be spending time on a computer, smartphone or keeping up to date with social media, it’s even more important to spend time away from a screen. Since aquariums are usually visually appealing, be it watching the fish or hearing the sound of water bubbling they can be used to create a calming environment, which can help reduce stress and improve your mood. Taking yourself away from the day-to-day stresses and spending time on your aquarium allows you to reconnect with nature, promoting relaxation and reducing stress.
Social connection
Aquarium keeping can also be a social activity. You can meet people who share your interests and discuss everything from fish care to the latest aquarium equipment.
Lifelong hobby
Aquarium keeping can be a lifelong hobby. There are many ways to keep fish, which can be done in many different ways. For example, you can choose between freshwater and saltwater fish, growing live plants, create an aquascape, and use artificial or natural decorations. Your hobby can grow as you learn more about it.
How to Start an Aquarium for Therapy
The first step in starting an aquarium is researching what type of fish you want. Because every fish has different care requirements, it’s essential to do some research first to ensure you have what it takes to care for those fish properly and provide them the correct environment.
At Porton Garden Aquatic & Pets we can help and advise you on the aquarium, equipment and fish best suited for you.
Once you have decided on what fish you’d like to keep the next step is to ensure you are able to provide the correct environment for them.
You should determine what type of aquarium will be best for the fish. There are many things to consider, such as the size of the tank, water quality, filtration, and decorations. Once you have the aquarium, you’ll need to set it up and allow the aquarium and filter time to mature. This can be a fun and educational process in itself.
Once your aquarium is sufficiently set up and the water quality is good, it’s time introduce your fish. Again, it’s crucial to pick fish that get along with each other and won’t get too large for your aquarium because you don’t want to overstock it.
Tips for a Stress-Free Aquarium
Choose fish that are peaceful.
You’ll want to ensure that your fish are calm and peaceful because too many aggressive fish can lead to issues that can stress out your fish. Community fish are good for an aquarium therapy tank.
Take your time when setting up the aquarium.
You don’t want to rush when setting up the aquarium. Instead, take your time to do it right, so your fish have the best living conditions possible.
Research your aquarium equipment
You don’t want to use substandard aquarium equipment, nor do you want to go overboard. So, research everything from filters to test kits to ensure you have what you need. Again at Porton Garden Aquatic & Pets we can help you through the decisions involved in aquarium equipment.
Stay patient
Keeping fish isn’t always easy, and it can sometimes be challenging. So don’t get discouraged if you have trouble. Seek advice, and guidance from our team of experts and we will put you on the right track.
Stay on top of water testing.
One of the most important parts of owning fish is maintaining good water quality. Poor water quality can cause stress in your fish and make them sick. Testing your water and doing regular water changes will help ensure that your water quality is good.
