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The Cost of Owning Freshwater Fish: What It Takes to Run a Healthy Aquarium

The Cost of Owning Freshwater Fish: What It Takes to Run a Healthy Aquarium

Updated On November 1st, 2024

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Reviewed By Petco's Animal Care, Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

The Cost of Owning Freshwater Fish: What It Takes to Run a Healthy Aquarium 

 

 

The joy of setting up and properly maintaining a freshwater aquarium is one that is experienced by an increasing number of people every year. A new aquarium owner might be lulled into thinking that a small aquarium is inexpensive, low maintenance, and requires very little time. While you can certainly try to operate an aquarium under these assumptions, it probably will not be successful, your aquatic life will not thrive and may perish, and you will not enjoy it nearly as much as you would if you did it correctly. 

While you may be tempted to purchase a $99.00 starter kit that includes 'most everything you need,' you should be aware that there are several more expenses involved as well as a time commitment on your part. 

Aquatic Life Welfare: What to Consider 

Because aquatic life cannot verbalize their needs and we are not able to 'touch' them, as well as the fact that many people consider aquatic life as lower life forms, their welfare is often neglected. The old adage "if a fish dies we'll just get a new one" has no business in the language of the modern aquarium keeper. Study after study has shown that these creatures possess advanced nervous systems and feel pain and suffering just as much as their mammalian counterparts. 

If potential aquarium owners are not willing to acknowledge this and are not committed to the fish's well-being first and foremost, then they are not ready to keep aquatic life. An aquarium should not be viewed as a decoration but as a living, biological environment that provides a healthy, safe refuge for the aquatic life that lives there. A well maintained, healthy aquarium becomes an object of beauty. A poorly maintained aquarium is an eyesore and the cause of death for the unlucky inhabitants. 

Aquarium Costs 

The cost of running an aquarium is important because if an aquarium owner is not willing to invest the necessary money and time in doing it right, then the aquatic life will suffer and perish as a result. 

The following cost chart considers only the basic cost of a small to medium sized freshwater aquarium. Marine aquariums are for experts only and costs for freshwater tanks are a fraction of a marine aquarium setup. The cost of your time is not taken into consideration here. Setting up and maintaining an aquarium is a hobby and a joy. If you look at aquarium maintenance as an unpleasant chore, then you will not spend enough time maintaining it and therefore have an unhealthy aquarium, and should consider a different hobby. 

The prices listed are for an average 29-gallon aquarium setup, which is a great starter size.  If you enjoy your aquarium, you will soon find yourself 'needing' a larger tank and the cost will go up accordingly. 

Item 

Cost 

Tank 

$90.00 

Stand 

$90.00 

Aquatic life 

$70.00+ 

Light/Hood 

$80.00 

Gravel 

$32.00 

Food 

$10.00+ 

Plants (plastic/real) 

$35.00 

Heater 

$25.00 

Filter 

$4.00 

Filter Cartridges (1 year) 

$44.00 

Water conditioner 

$8.00 

Water Test Kit 

$11.00 

Net 

$5.00 

Thermometer 

$4.00 

Medication 

$15.00 

Driftwood/Rock 

$45.00 

Algae Scraper 

$10.00 

Siphon 

$22.00 

Total: 

$641.00 

 

This price assumes that your fish and plants stay healthy. If you need to treat and replace them, realize that your cost could go higher. 

Even a small, tarter aquarium is a big investment, and the aquatic life only represents a small part of the initial cost. However, if you do not spend the time and inital investment to purchase quality equipment, your aquatic life may do poorly and perish. 

Aquariums are often purchased as a hobby or novelty for children. But as you can see, the cost and expertise are way beyond a child's capability or interest and the tank must be primarily funded and maintained by an interested adult. Children love and can benefit from a well-maintained aquarium and often enjoy participating in the care of the fish but should never be solely responsible for the maintenance and care of these delicate creatures. 

Planning Your Aquarium 

Once you are aware of the cost and time commitment needed to properly care for an aquarium you can begin researching the inhabitants of your future tank. Design your tank with the aquatic life you plan to keep in mind. Providing lots of plants, hiding places, and the correct water chemistry is the foundation of a healthy aquarium. Start slowly and let your tank 'age' for a couple of weeks before you add your first fish. Choose the right kind of aquatic life that works well together and read everything you can get your hands on. Never accept the death of a fish as normal and strive for the healthiest, most well-maintained aquarium possible. Then sit back and enjoy the real beauty these happy, healthy living creatures can provide. 

 

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