(Published Sept. 2006)
Good-bye Goldfish Bowls
Desktop aquariums evolve into sleek and high-tech fish homes
By Scott and Ann Springer

Goldfish bowls are more likely these days to hold raffle tickets in them than to hold fish.

Outdated goldfish bowls have been replaced by sleek, acrylic designs or high-end, molded glass bowls with high-tech filtration and lighting systems which are home to both freshwater and saltwater fish.

These updated desktop aquarium systems make it easy for novices to have success in the hobby or for more expert hobbyists to tote their tanks with them to the office.

"They've advanced from the old goldfish bowl and now they've got a filter and a light to look better and to increase water quality," says Ira Lippman, the co-owner of Eggy Woods Pet Emporium in Burbank, Calif.

All the Rage

"A desktop is more stylish now," says Geoff Chou, the owner of Azoo, a Los Angeles-based distributor. "It's an individual expression of who you are."

In the past four of five years since desktops have been revamped, sales have shown tremendous growth.

"We sell more desktops than traditional tanks in units because they're less expensive and have a wider audience," Lippman says.

College students use them to adorn their dorm rooms, children want their own Nemo to gaze at in their rooms, and employees line their cubicles with desktop aquariums to add style to their workplaces.

"They're selling well because they're a stress reducer," says Christopher Genduso, the owner of the Bridgeport, Conn. retail shop Park City Aquarium & Pet Supply. "Even in a cubicle you can escape into a private sanctuary—into a world you've created and maintain—for a few minutes everyday."

Sales have surged so much for Lippman that he now sells few traditional small-sized tanks.

"Desktops have taken away that 10-gallon starter aquarium market," Lippman says. "They address the same beginning hobbyist with a dresser-top aquarium."

But desktops aren't taking over the aquarium hobby yet. Thirty- to 75-gallon tanks still rank first on the list for hobbyists in Lippman's shop.

But desktop aquariums do fill a niche market.

Many of Genduso's customers who purchase desktop tanks are first-time tank buyers or hobbyists who have large tanks in their home and want to take their hobby to work with them.

"Desktops are an extension of the home hobby," Genduso says. "It's an opportunity to relieve stress by getting a little release from the pressures of the day."

Lippman sells many desktops to medical offices to adorn waiting rooms. "It gives a soothing atmosphere to calm people down," he says.

Desktop tanks range in size from a half-gallon up to 16 gallons.

"These tanks started out very small," Chou says. "Tanks are getting bigger and bigger, but they can't be too big or they won't fit on the desktop."

In Japan and some European countries, the smallest sized tanks bring in huge sales. "They tend to have small living quarters," says Rand Kollman, the vice president of sales and marketing for TOM Aquarium and Pet Products, a manufacturer in Gardena, Calif.

Fish Selection and Maintenance
To retain new hobbyists, it's essential that you set these customers up with a tank that will be easy for them to keep their new pets alive.

"It doesn't benefit the industry if the beginner gets into the hobby and the equipment can't sustain aquatic life and they're not successful with the tank," Kollman says.

Small tanks can sometimes be more difficult to care for. "Larger tanks tend to be more forgiving," Kollman says.

Big tanks often must be cleaned and cared for by to hire a professional, Chou adds.

"Technology has caught up and now it's a bit easier to maintain a desktop," Genduso says.

Many manufacturers make multiple-stage filtration a snap with removable pre-filter sponges that are either rinsed or replaced, says Curdis Holloway, the sales manager for independent retail stores for the Cerritos, Calif.-based Casco Group, Inc.

"This makes maintenance simple so people will be successful when they're starting out with a new aquarium," Holloway says.

Fish selection is greater now that the filtration systems are part of the tank. "You could put a lot of different types of fish in the tanks," Holloway says. "The majority of our sales are freshwater tanks, but you can use saltwater fish, too."

Betas have replaced goldfish as the fish of choice for a small tank because they produce less waste, keeping the water cleaner for a longer period of time. "Betas are easy to care for and don't require much room," Chou says.

Sixty-percent of the customers who buy betas from Genduso are putting them in a desktop aquarium.

While betas are wildly popular, goldfish are still used in tanks as well as small tropicals.

Just like in any other tank, but especially in a small tank, "the key is really not to overcrowd or overfeed," Lippman says.

Customers in Genduso's shop are able to maintain more delicate fish such as seahorses and coral in their desktops because of the enhanced filtration and technology.

Sales and Display
Desktops should always be displayed with fish and decorations so customers can see them in use. "If not, it's just like a piece of glass that costs a lot of money," Chou says. "The fish with the lighting, decorations, and the gravel bring out the value."

Holloway has seen this advice to be true first-hand.

"The stores that put them on display are the ones that are moving quite a bit of product," Holloway says. "People walk in and see it and they want to buy it."

Once a customer has been wooed by the good looks of the tank, have your store staff educate them about how easy it is to use.

Casco Group, the makers of Biorb, market their product as a fishbowl with a filter. They do this to inform customers that the technology changes just make them easier to use than the old school goldfish bowl, Holloway says.

"People come in and ask, ‘How hard is that to maintain?" Lippman says. "And it's our job to convey the message that's it's really easy to maintain that at home."