Fishy Tales - Tales from an Aquarium

Lets start with a bit of history

• Fish keeping began with the Sumerians more than 4,500 years ago - Those guys sure knew what they were doing.

• The first display aquarium opened in 1853 at Regent’s Park in London.

The Medical Angle

• There is extensive medical evidence indicating that aquariums are a highly effective means of alleviating stress even in difficult situations such as dental surgery - those Sumerians must have had some really bad teeth.

• Research and experimental evidence indicates fish aquariums lower blood pressure in both hypertensive and normal subjects.

• Unlike other relaxation techniques, attending to a fish tank is a spontaneously initiated activity. The brain is programmed to attend to water and the movement of fish, therefore no training or practice is necessary to experience stress reduction.

More reasons for students to keep fish
However, it looks like the fishes are pretty particular about their owners.

• Students who are fish owners score the highest on both math and verbal SATs, with a combined score 200 points higher than non-pet owners.

• High schoolers who keep fish or other pets have an average GPA of 3.5, versus non-pet owners at 3.2

Fish Keepers are a growing breed

• Freshwater fish owners maintain an average of 13 fish and nearly one-in-eight U.S. households keep fish as pets. In fact, aquarium fish are the most popular pet in America, with nearly 12 million households owning more than 158,600,000 fish.

• First time freshwater fish owners spend an average of $27.00 on fish when starting up their new aquariums. How much did you spend? [Via]

Related reads:
4 Undeniable Reasons To Have A Fish Tank

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