The fish business has been getting along swimmingly as fish have outpaced dogs and now account for 24 percent of the pet industry, compared to 11 percent for the canine segment.
And that represents a decline, according to an article in the current issue of Esquire, because apparently the fish are living longer and replacement is not what it used to be."Mortality rates are down," said Donna Eastman, editor of The Pet Dealer.
Doctors who put aquariums in their waiting rooms claim they lower blood pressure and Eastman says an aquarium "makes an impression," one reason business has been booming.
An aquarium also can make a dent in your budget. A reef aquarium the size and shape of a projection TV can cost thousands of dollars.
Aquariums have become elements of design because their technology has improved. Now it is easier than ever to keep fish.
You can shop for your own setup in one of the growing number of aquatic stores, or you can hire one of the increasing number of aquarium consultants who will install and maintain the whole thing for you.
It was the Germans who around 1985 sprang on the underwater world the "wet-dry trickle filter." The new filter systems make it easier to run aquariums, especially the saltwater type with the bright, tropic dazzlers.
Once the really gorgeous fish were available, decorators got interested. Fish began showing up in the offices of executives, doctors and lawyers.
One media reflection of the trend came in an early episode of "L.A. Law," when the audience saw cutthroat lawyer Douglas Brackman feeding his pet piranhas. Piranhas, however, are overrated in the aggressiveness department, according to Ray Hunziker, editor of Tropic Fish Hobbyist, the nation's leading aquarist magazine, located in Neptune, N.J.
While fierce and voracious in legend, the little flesheaters tend in fact to be delicate, skittish and by no means as sharp of mind as of tooth. When startled, they may rush about wildly and bash their heads against the aquarium glass.
Popular pet fish include the elephant nose, the discuses that hover like so many slices of tropical fruit, the slight, bright and flighty candy angel, Fiji devil, Cuban hog and the neon goby. Then there's the upscale kol, the large expensive Japanese fish.