Fish Tank vs Aquarium – which term is correct?

So, what do you have in your house containing water and fish? Is the correct term or definition for it a “fish tank” or an “aquarium”?

To jump start the discussion I found some useful information on Englishforums.com. I have provided the link in case you want to check it out, but I’ll paraphrase the pertinent bits below if you just want to continue chilling here.

Bit One…

Definitions of “aquarium”:
1. container for fish: a water-filled transparent container, often box-shaped, in which fish and other water animals and plants are kept
2. aquatic zoo: a building in which fish and other water animals are kept and shown to the public

Defintion of “fish tank”:
noun: a tank or pool or bowl filled with water for keeping live fish and underwater animals

Pretty much the same by definition for either one when you look at it that way.

Bit Two…

In many situations “fish tank” and “aquarium” could be used interchangeably — I might ask my daughter if she had cleaned the aquarium lately, or I might say the fish tank. But “aquarium” has a more expensive, decorative implication — “fish tank” is more basic. The phrase “My, what a beautiful _______________” would more likely be completed with “aquarium” rather than “fish tank.”

For example, a Chinese restaurant has a beautiful aquarium in the front of the restaurant for people to look at while waiting for a table. Near the kitchen, they have a tank of live lobsters waiting to become someone’s dinner. I don’t know if restaurants ever keep live fish to turn into dinner, but if they did, they would probably call the place they keep them a fish tank, not an aquarium.

Bit Three…

Think of the difference that comes to mind between a church and a cathedral.

Bit Four…

Typically, a fish tank is something smaller, say, 5 to 10 gallon capacity. If you say “I have an aquarium in my house”, the impression is often of something larger and elaborately decorated with a large selection of expensive, and often exotic tropical species with seascape in aqua color lighting.

No one likely calls the Monterey Aquarium a fish tank. However someone may call their 10 gallon fish tank an aquarium.

My conclusion? I say “my” since I don’t believe there is a set-in-stone grammatical law for all aspects of this question and what follows from here are strictly my own thoughts on the matter.

• In the case of a large public aquatic zoo, it’s definitely “aquarium” all the way.
• Below that, if it doesn’t take up an entire room, then strictly by definition I think you could stand firm grammatically either way.
• Scaling down to fish kept in the home environment, though, my personal opinion is that a small, inexpensive setup easily obtained and maintained and with a small amount of fish is a “fish tank”. To me, anything from a bowl up to the 15 to 20 gallon containers that you can easily cart out of the store under one arm is a “fish tank”.
• There’s a gray area going from the 20 to 30 gallon size that to me tips the scale into the category of “aquarium” based on the intricacy and aesthetic qualities of the environments that are created. A 20 gallon glass rectangle filled with water, a smattering of pebbles, and some gold fish is a “fish tank”. A 20 gallon glass rectangle filled with water, a landscaped bed of pebbles, decorations, plants, and a variety of aquatic life chosen with some sense of marine balance or to mimic a natural marine environment is an “aquarium”.
• Larger size containers from 55 to 75 gallons are typically going to be called “aquariums” based on the sheer presence of the aquatic environment. Hobbyists at this level, taking on the cost and maintenance of a larger environment are more likely going to go the extra distance for a representation of a true marine environment or a more carefully selected ecosystem of fish and other aquatic life not easily just thrown together or maintained.
• However, if someone does, for example, have a 75 gallon environment filled with feeder fish or one or two haphazard decorations and a couple fish, then personally I’d revert back to calling it a “fish tank” and not an “aquarium”.

Personally, I have a 55 gallon aquarium. Hypocritically speaking, though, I’ll probably still call it a fish tank when I’m talking to my 7-year-old daughter or in casual conversation with someone that I don’t really want to spend a half hour regurgitating what you’ve just read here. 😉

Any other fish tank / aquarium owners out there? Disgruntled fish tank / aquarium retailers trying to optimize your fish tank / aquarium web pages for the search engines? 😉

Sound off in the comments!