Abstract:
Fishkeeping is a popular hobby worldwide. Owning a fish pet and caring for its
welfare is known as pet fish ownership. National and district-level information on
pet fish ownership is limited. The present study aimed to collect basic information
on owners’ perceptions of keeping pet fish and various preferences, potential
constraints and challenges in aquarium keeping and possible recommendations for
the identified constraints. A qualitative study was performed from September to
December 2016, by using structured questionnaires from randomly selected home
aquarium owners (n = 70). The findings reveal that those of the younger age
category 6 - 15 (27%) and 16 – 25 (27%) were involved in ornamental fish
guardianship. This study leads to the understanding that the surveyed respondents
prefer freshwater medium (100%), glass tanks (86%), artificial feed (72%) and
low-cost fancy fish such as Goldfish (17%), Guppy (15%), Dwarf Gourami (15%)
and Angel (14%) in the household aquarium. Fish owners who responded to the
survey reported that diseases, lack of proper knowledge in maintenance of
aquarium fish, especially monitoring the changes of water quality, proper feeding,
cleaning and cost for purchasing accessory equipment are the major challenges
faced in pet fish ownership. The recommended solutions are the provision of
proper awareness for fish owners through brochures, leaflets, videos and
newspapers, development of paid jobs related to fish tank maintenance and
promotion of animal welfare. Pet fish shops can educate buyers regarding
management and maintenance of aquarium in the home.
