Are Fish Good For Mental Health?

Have you ever been at a friend’s house or in a fancy office and found yourself enthralled by the activity in a beautifully lit fish tank? Before you know it, you’ve been there for ten minutes in a world of your own and are smiling!

Welcome then to the wonderful world of fish. We know they are good to eat but no we also know that they are good to watch. According to recent research at a British University, watching fish can lead to lower blood pressure and subsequently lower stress levels. This, in turn, has a very positive effect on your mental health and will make you feel happier.

Now, this may come as some surprise to you but the research is conclusive. So much so that there is now a turn for watching fish and it’s called Aquarium Therapy. 

So why are fish so intriguing to us? Could it be because it is once thought that we too came from the oceans so they spark a latent familiarity and peace? Well, we don’t know for sure but what we do know is these things:

1. Fish have different personalities and feature so once you have a fish tank and start to watch your fish on a regular basis, you will notice their little habits. My fish Big Ears (he doesn’t have any at all. Yeah, corny I know, but the name just stuck) has a habit of hiding behind a rock until his nemesis Noddy swims by. He then pops out of hiding and chases the poor little guy off in a fright. You will soon notice your own fishes little quirks.
2. The colors of the fish are mesmerizing. They come in every shade you can imagine and some can be incredibly beautiful in their luminosity. Just seeing them swim around makes us feel we are snorkeling in the Red Sea even if it is actually the middle of winter.
3. Caring for fish is also part of wellbeing. Even though they aren’t communicating with us in the way a cat or dog might, you will see their excitement at feeding time or their pleasure swimming around in a clean tank. This, in turn, gives us purpose and, let’s face it, they are much easier to care for than our furry friends!
4. Watching the plants in an aquarium also makes us feel good. They add to the beauty of the tank but their motion is also hypnotic helping us forget our troubles and bring back our smiles of contentment.

So, if those reasons aren’t enough to make you run to your nearest pet shop instead of the pharmacy for a tonic, I don’t know what are. This is the 2020 must-have therapy to practice. It’s much cheaper than a shrink and healthier for you than a beer.

Creating your own underground world is also a lot of fun. Tanks come in all sorts of shapes and sizes so decide what size suits your home and go for it! For a look at a range of amazing 40-gallon breeder tanks and how you can stock them, visit https://www.fishkeepingworld.com/best-40-gallon-breeder-tanks/ 

Say hello to a new de-stressed you!