A hobby undergoing a transformation  

Download: A hobby undergoing a transformation (PDF file)Fish are a source of great fascination for many people. Pet supplies retailers who know how to present attractive display tanks needn't lament a lack of customers, as Pascal Klein, proprietor of Aqua Garden Center in the Belgian town of Neupré, can confirm. In his eye-catching store, a 40 000 l show tank adorns the entrance area. It contains a host of impressively large, exotic inhabitants, such as Gouramis and various types of rays. At weekends in particular, says the passionate aquarist, visitors crowd around the tank to look at the fascinating creatures inside.This is not an isolated case. While many dealers with only a small selection of aquarium fish wonder why customers fail to materialise, their professional colleagues offering a wide variety of pets that are well presented in the retail area are enjoying substantial growth in sales, even in financially difficult times.Trend towards marine aquariumsIn many countries, freshwater aquariums account for the majority of sales. In countries such as the USA or the UK, however, marine aquariums are attracting increasing interest. Hard corals above all are extremely popular. The growing interest in marine aquariums has prompted the leading manufacturing companies such as Tetra, for example, to devote greater attention to this segment in their range.So-called nano aquariums are also an interesting phenomenon that has given great impetus to fish-keeping and should throw up a few surprises in the next few years. These aquariums have succeeded in making aquatics interesting to a new circle of customers - and the hobby is sorely in need of new adherents. Fish-keeping by no means enjoys the same level of popularity everywhere as it does in Asia, where aquariums are part of the way of life.To increase the number of aquarium enthusiasts further, leading manufacturers are opting increasingly to make the hobby as simple as possible. They know that today's aquarists spend less time on caring for their aquarium and the fun they derive from it is soon diminished if too many problems crop up in their little water world. As well as this, many new hobbyists now attach greater importance to the visual appeal of an aquarium than to the functional inner workings of the tank. In most cases they are not capable of solving any problems that arise, because their knowledge of the technical processes in the aquarium is limited. Efficient equipment that is easy to operate is all…