Aquariums Can Enrich A Summer Hideaway

It’s an idea that has not been floated long enough to determine whether it will sink or swim, but the pop-up aquarium is among the newest types of Hamptons summer rentals.

Filled with fish come summer, the tank—if one chooses to keep it—sits high and dry the rest of the year. Until the next refill.

Noel Rose, the owner of Anchor Aquarium Service, Inc., a Brooklyn company that installs aquariums and terrariums throughout the Tri-State area, has rented tanks for parties and other events before, including shark tanks for the hip-hop crowd. This past summer, however, he started offering three rental tanks—designed for short-term use, but with showcase appeal—to private homes. One was on the East End, in Southampton.

A lionfish, eel, puffer fish and several large tangs were among the saltwater swimmers in the 175-gallon bowfront tank. Mr. Rose said he installed the tank in the Southampton home’s living room last May, it was ready for life by the end of the month and brimmed with piscine creatures until it was drained in August. The renter, whom he declined to identify, plans to purchase the tank, he said.

“It allows someone who doesn’t think it’s possible to have a fish tank because they’re only there for the summer to have one,” Mr. Rose said, adding that bringing a splash of the sea indoors via a tank meshes well with the maritime motifs already popular in many East End homes, where water is always a stone’s throw away.

An aquarium is an ideal way to bring in life and relaxation, he said. And his nascent idea of leasing them to summer renters is one he plans to wade deeper into.

And thanks to aragonite sand, a mineral substrate that allows for quick cy-

cling of a tank, Mr. Rose said he can put a tank together on the fly. Cycling refers to the amount of time it takes to prepare a tank as a suitable habitat for life.

“You’re reproducing nature,” said Ralph Ammirati, the owner of Aquarium Network, a high-end custom aquarium business in Bellmore, of the traditional manner. “A biological system needs to be built, which takes many, many weeks.”

Reef tanks would not work well as temporary tanks because of their natural timetable, but artificial corals can still be submerged into the personal miniature sea. And lionfish and puffers, for example, are species that can acclimate well to a quickly set-up tank and star as “show” fish for the aquarium express, said Mr. Rose. Lionfish can also go a few days without eating, “just like a lion,” said Mr. Ammirati.

“Aquariums are an example of the extreme and ultimate end of the advent of agriculture. The cultivation and domestication of plants and animals went beyond necessity and became a practice of pure pleasure. There is an innate sense of wanting to control nature in all of us that manifests itself in our desire to collect and categorize other organisms,” said Mr. Rose, who listed jellyfish, seahorses, octopuses and anglerfish as among the most unusual animals he’s placed into tanks.

The aquatic décor offers another bonus, Mr. Rose pointed out. “Fish tanks have always been used in places to ease tensions,” he noted, citing their prevalence in doctors’ and lawyers’ offices, “but if you’re on vacation already, it makes it even better.”

Soothing, albeit pricey.

Mr. Rose was initially hesitant to provide costs for his service, in part, he said, because of sticker shock, but also because he has not figured it all out yet and price tags vary widely, depending on the size of the tank, the species in it, and amount of upkeep, among other factors.

“The numbers can get kind of high,” he said, “but, of course, it’s the Hamptons.”

He did estimate that tank installation could be anywhere from $1,500 to $4,500. Service for a 150-gallon tank and supplies might range from $250 to $350—every two weeks. And there are nearly as many prices for fish as there are species in the sea. A yellow tang, for example, might be netted for $50, whereas the more exotic black tang might cost $300, according to Mr. Ammirati. He said he often asks for customers’ budgets before he’ll select the fish.

Aquariums, by their nature, require plenty of upkeep. And saltwater tanks need more work than freshwater ones. Tanks with jellyfish require more than most others.

Henry Hildreth, who keeps a 155-gallon marine bowfront tank of tangs and clownfish in addition to a 20- to 30-gallon freshwater tank in his North Sea home, said he and his wife Colleen used to do the maintenance of their saltwater tank, until it turned into a “battle” and there would be “salt water all over the place.”

Mr. Hildreth said he had fish tanks when he was young, and the saltwater one now gracing his living room has been a fixture for nearly 15 years. But he said he didn’t know of a lot of other local people with tanks.

Some might say interest in the tanks is floundering.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people are calling the aquarium industry a dying art,” said Erika Hegyesi, the owner of Pet Hampton & Aquarium in Wainscott, a retail operation selling mostly modest-sized tanks, citing competition from virtual pets and aquarium screensavers. Ms. Hegyesi speaks almost nostalgically of the days when there was a fish in every tank, or, rather, a tank in every home. The current aquarium maintenance workers, she said, started out by cleaning fish tanks at their local pet shops after school. “I think kids today have other hobbies,” she said.

Ms. Hegyesi said she is trying to revive local interest in aquariums. As part of her effort, she is raffling off a 90-gallon rectangular tank with a stand, hood, filter, gravel, net, heater and credit toward fish, for a value of $1,500, and a 10-gallon setup of a bright red metal stand and red tank and hood, with a filter, gravel, heater and fish credit, worth about $200. The drawing will be December 19.

Mr, Rose, who also developed and tends to the 80-gallon saltwater bar-top fish tank at Muse Restaurant & Aquatic Lounge in Water Mill—which brims with starfish, feather duster anenomes, clownfish and numerous types of gobi—said the seasonality of the East End economy and the hassle of traveling out here for maintenance means most aquarium specialists are based in more western locations on Long Island or in New York City.

Mr. Ammirati said he no longer has clients on the East End. He said he does not see the aquariums on the decline, but noted that the economic tailspin of the past few years has had ripple effects in the aquarium industry.

One of his more recent local projects was a 280-gallon saltwater aquarium with an artificial reef that he installed in a beachfront summer home in Amagansett. Installation cost about $16,000, he said, and that did not include the cabinetry. The acrylic tank was placed prominently as a see-though room divider and served as the star attraction upon first entering the house. A glimpse into the watery world would allow a viewer to gaze straight through it to the waterfront outside.

The tank’s denizens included the personable porcupine puffer, a native of the Indo-Pacific, which Mr. Ammirati noted can be as friendly as a dog and will follow people back and forth. It was also home to the blonde naso tang, or orangespine unicornfish, salfin and hippo tangs, green bird wrasse, majestic angelfish, a cowfish and a red striped squirrelfish.

That tank was drained in 2008, Mr. Ammirati said.

“The East End is a strange mix,” remarked Ms. Hegyesi. “A lot of local people don’t have the money to be elaborate, and the ones who have the huge tanks don’t come into the stores themselves. They use the aquarium as a trophy, a showcase and they have other people take care of it.”

So although the East End might be surrounded by more fish in the sea than up-island and city locales, it might have fewer in tanks. However, for those who do choose to keep tanks, there are tips to keep everyone as happy as a clam.

One is not to overload a tank with food and fish. “It’s a hobby, not a race,” said Ms. Hegyesi.

When fish are brought home from the aquarium, they should be floated in their bag and the water in the bag should be mixed with that in the tank so as not to stress the animals.

Overfeeding is also a recipe for disaster because too much food can poison the fish, as are any rapid changes, such as drastic temperature or pH fluctuations. A central location is ideal so that it can be enjoyed by everyone, and it should be kept away from windows and heating and air conditioning units.

“There’s a certain understanding that you gain from having a fish,” said Ms. Hegyesi. “There’s a lot to learn, a lot to see. It’s good for blood pressure and the heart. It’s like meditation.”