According to Animal Medicines Australia, fish ownership is on the rise with 11% of Australian households keeping pet fish. That’s a combined total of 11.3 million fish. Wow!

But what’s the reason for this rise in the popularity of pet fish? PETstock Aquatic Specialist Kyri Pantelidis puts it down to Aussies’ renewed interest in low-maintenance pets. He says Siamese fighting fish and goldfish and both popular choices for pet fish.

“Fish make fantastic pets as they are relatively easy pets to keep and are increasingly popular choices for would-be pet owners looking for companionship. They also come in so many shapes, sizes and colours. Some have beautiful colours like African Cichlids and Discus’, and others have great personalities like Oscars.

“Fish make a striking feature for any home and are a great first pet, particularly for kids learning about pet care,” he says.

How to keep your fish healthy

Sure, you might consider a pet fish as ‘easy’ but you still need to do your research before making that all-important pet purchase.

For example, it’s important to recognise the importance of keeping your fish in water with a consistent temperature. This means keeping the tank away from doors, windows, heaters and air conditioning. Here are a few more tips to keep your pet fish happy and healthy.

  • Don’t overfeed your fish. Feed them smaller amounts more often. Anything left over after 5-10 minutes should be scooped out with a net.
  • Maintain your filter so it’s running efficiently.
  • Don’t overcrowd your tank. The more fish you have the more waste they’ll create, which alters water conditions. It also affects oxygen levels in the water.
  • Test your water weekly as a minimum. Know what is going on and be proactive to keep a healthy environment for your fish, rather than reactive when you see something visibly wrong.
  • Most importantly, be consistent. Have a routine that works for you. If it is fortnightly cleaning, be consistent.

goldfish in bowl with cat

Clue up on how to maintain your fish tank

Maintaining the fish tank is an important part of keeping pet fish. However, this job needs to be done with care and involves a few different steps.

Kyri says an ordinary sponge can be used to physically clean the tank, which might mean removing an algae or growth off the glass or ornaments. He adds, “The other important thing to do is to remove some of the water in the tank or aquarium and replacing it with fresh tap water. This can be done by using a gravel cleaner, which gets deep into the gravel and removes any excess waste but also removes water at the same time. If you don’t need to do a gravel clean, you can also remove water with a cup and bucket.”

Here are a few other things to consider when doing this job:

  • Fish do not need to be removed while you are doing this. You just need to carefully work around the fish. Removing fish can cause them more stress.
  • You only ever want to remove 25-30% of the water at any time unless there is a major issue.
  • You want to take care not to expose filters or heaters through the process, this can cause serious damage to them. If needed it is best to turn them off prior to starting.
  • When adding water back into your tank, do so slowly. This is more critical for tropical fish but still relevant for cold. Fish can stress at a change of temperature of as little as 1-2oC. Slowly add the water back in, allowing the heater to slowly bring the temperature back up to its desired setting.

Kyri adds, “Don’t forget to add some water conditioner to your water. Tap water contains chlorine and other chemicals that make it safe for us to drink, however is very harmful to our fishy friends. Water conditioner detoxifies these chemicals to make it safe. Untreated water can also affect the beneficial bacteria in the tank environment.”

Fun fish facts

If you’re considering getting a fish as a pet, here are a few interesting facts for you.

  • Those who keep pet fish are more likely than others to be living in NSW (13% of households vs. 11% nationally), living in a suburban area (13%), or Gen X – i.e. aged 40-54 years (15%)
  • The majority of pet fish are kept in tanks indoors (69%)
  • For the first time, fish owners were asked about the types of fish they kept, with fishbowl /cold water tank breeds the most popular (46%) – followed by tropical freshwater breeds (34%), pond fish (26%), and marine species (6%)
  • On average, pet owners have been keeping fish for over five years, with longer-term owners balanced out by the 16% of households who have only had fish for less than a year
  • Across Australia, 22% of households have kept pet fish at some point, including 27% of those that don’t currently have any pets.

 

Considering getting a low-maintenance pet? Other pets that are growing in popularity include reptiles and chickens. However, ALWAYS do your research before going out and buying or adopting a new pet.

 

Main image by Ahmed Hasan on Unsplash, image in body text by Hannah Reding on Unsplash