Taking care of fish is a beautiful hobby. Watching your fish moving in their aquarium can give you piece and relaxation. In fact, you may find yourself more attracted to watching your fish than doing the other things you are used to like watching television after your work. Having an aquarium can definitely add beauty to your home, especially if you keep different kinds of beautiful colored fish.
However, people now talk about the environmental problems caused by the commercial aquarium industry. You definitely do not want to be a part of the damaging process of fish harvesting that may be followed in this industry. For example, tropical fish are sometimes captured using cyanide, which kills almost 50% of the fish exposed to this material. Furthermore, using cyanide causes considerable damage to the coral reefs which are considered homes of these beautiful fish.
For this reason, you want to take pleasure from this soothing and delightful pastime in ways which do not cause damage to nature's delicate ecological balance. How do you ensure that your home tank is ecologically friendly? We have some suggestions so that you can populate a lovely aquarium and still not hurt either the environment or the amazing creatures which swim in it.
1) The fish you buy for your aquarium should be ones that have been bred in captivity, not caught in the wild. You can rest assured knowing that no damage to the fish's natural habitat was caused when your fish was brought to you. Many resources available on the Internet can help you find fish that are bred in captivity.
2) If the aquarium you own is a saltwater aquarium, contact your local aquarium hobbyists club. You can gain a lot of information from them about breeding tropical fish and plants in captivity. You can also find out information about sources for captive-bred fish.
3) You might think about buying a freshwater instead of a marine aquarium. It is easier to care for a freshwater aquarium, and over 90% of freshwater aquarium fish are bred in captivity. Freshwater fish can be just as beautiful as exotic marine fish.
4) Prior to buying fish, it would be smart to find out where the fish came from. The pet store selling fish should be willing to provide this information. If not, you may want to consider buying fish from another pet shop or a specialty aquarium seller.
For a highly rewarding hobby, many people decide to buy an aquarium and keep fish. If cared for correctly, your fish will give you hours of pure delight and contentment. Another plus is that watching fish is good for both relaxation and reducing stress. Your stress level can be lowered even further by choosing to populate your tank with environmentally friendly fish.
In the creation of an eco-friendly, or "green" aquarium, you can have the peace of mind of knowing that your hobby will not have caused any harm to endangered fish or coral reefs; enjoying them is the whole point of this hobby. Best of luck and have fun with your aquarium!
