Love the TVs. The built-in on the last photo looks decent. The rest look too gaudy for residential spaces. It seems like the kind of thing the owners would hire someone to clean and take care of, therefore rendering the fish as mere decorative items. Why not just visit the local aquarium?

I do kind of like the floating one in number two.

wow. thats amazing!

I suppose if I had the money to install one of these, I'd have the money to hire someone to clean it as well. But all I can think when I see these is what a hassle they'd be to maintain!

I think the little fish in the old iMac monitor is okay the rest are way too over the top and high maintenance.

that last room, with the monkey artwork, i strangely appealing to me.

#3 looks more like some corporate building or hotel than a home.

i don't want to live in the miami vice house(s)...

*Sigh a lot of pet store fish are caught using cyanide fishing, which means the coral reefs are sprayed with toxins. What's more fish did not evolve to live in glass displays. Aren't there any alternative fake fish displays we could use?

I'm not feeling the love here. Maybe it's that most of these tanks appear so unapproachable. Tropical fish as art, in my opinion, is a step away from having cats or a poodle because they matches the sofa. I prefer an intimate, hands-on relationship with my aquarium kids. Aquariums are so much more than eye candy; they are a learning experience.

Emmi above is right. Supplying the saltwater tropical fish trade is destroying the very reefs from which the fish are captured; most of which die in transport, which of course inflates their prices. Having said that, I do like aquariums, just make it freshwater. Freshwater fish are captive bred, so there is little raiding wild populations going on, plus you can fill your tank with aquatic plants, which are also domestically propagated. I keep thinking of getting an aquarium, but the stands are uniformly ugly.

whoa. i didn't know about the cyanide stuff. that's terrible! our hermit crabs died and i've been keeping their little tank around thinking maybe we'd get some fish. i generally like saltwater fish because they're so much more colorful. now, i don't think i can do it!

Denisegk, more and more people are learning about the ecological and ethical horrors of keeping exotics. Fish, crabs, marine animals do not belong in our living rooms. Sadly pet stores lie to consumers to sell the product. Good for you for listening to your intuition on this one.

"Sigh a lot of pet store fish are caught using cyanide fishing, which means the coral reefs are sprayed with toxins. What's more fish did not evolve to live in glass displays. Aren't there any alternative fake fish displays we could use?"
- Emmi

I agree with Emmi on this one for marine species. I don't trust large chain stores for fish at all. I do get my freshwater fish from small non-chain stores, and I stay away from marine species.
I have a turtle that I purchased from a licensed breeder who I had been in contact with for several weeks leading up to the purchase.

If you're thinking at all about starting a marine tank, I would get in contact with aquariums in your area to see where they get their fish. They'll be able to denote which are captive bred and which are wild caught (as well as how they are caught).

Please no more "animals as decor" posts, honestly it just comes across as ignorant and innapropriate, as several well-informed commenters have made clear. Stick with terrariums, I love those!

I'm sorry, but it looks rather tacky.
Reminds me of Mtv's Cribs or Sopranos

the first thing that came to mind when this post appeared was how un-PC it is. glad that others share my sentiment that keeping these kinds of tanks are unethical and irresponsible.

Disgusting.

In regard to the comments about cyinide, the pet store industry, and refraining from the use of pets as art, I must say that you all are assuming an awful lot on the part of these homeowners.

I am not a fish fancier but I'm sure there are many people who love their fish as much we love our dogs and cats. Investing in such sumptuous aquariums is no different than providing the best cat trees or elaborate dog houses.

Furthermore, it seems to me that many of these tanks were part of the design process for the home, rather than adding "fish as art" as an afterthought to match the decor.

Just as with all other pets, there are reputable fish breeders which, considering the effort and expense expended by these homeowners, were likely solicited to stock these aquariums. It's possible too that some of the fish may even be rescues from tawdry breding practices or poor ownership.

I personally love the idea of making pets an integral part of our homes. I find most of these aquariums beautiful and restful, and consider the fish who live within to be very lucky pets indeed.