Guide to the Best Gifts for Aquarium Lovers (No Matter Your Every Budget)

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A complete guide on choosing the best gifts that’ll make aquarium lovers smile and are suitable for every budget, from simple <$20 keepsakes to grand $100+ hi-tech products. 

Why Aquarium Gifts Appeal to All Budgets 

Niche gift-shopping is often challenging for non-hobbyists, but that’s why this complete aquarium lover gift guide exists. No matter the occasion, whether it’s a birthday, the holidays, or an anniversary, you can choose the best gifts for aquarium lovers by looking through the options in this list. 

Our curated aqua-lovers gift guide is versatile, featuring simple keepsakes like decor and apparel, as well as extravagant hi-tech gear to say “I care about your interests.” The best part about these versatile fish hobby presents is the wide range of budgets. 

Yes. There’s something for everyone, so it doesn’t matter if you only have $5. You can still choose meaningful aquarium-themed gifts worth the same sentimental value as expensive aquarium accessories. 

Enough talking, let’s get straight into the list so that you can see for yourself. 

Under $20: Fun & Functional 

We’ll start with small, creative aquarium gifts under $20 for casual hobbyists. Here, you can turn everyday items into aquarium-themed gifts that serve both fun and function. 

Don’t think too hard. Consider basic, affordable tank accessories that incorporate aquarium themes into everyday home accessories, such as keychains, fridge magnets, tablecloths, throw pillows, dishware, and welcome mats. 

These cheap aquarium gifts are often keepsakes rather than operational items, but that doesn’t mean a serious or intermediate fishkeeper won’t appreciate them, too. $20 or less can also get you fish food samplers that every aquarist would appreciate.

With less than $20, especially during sales and promo season, you can also get some aquarium essentials, like replacement filter cartridges, submersible heaters, siphons, and a full-spectrum LED light. 

You’ll find these under 20 items online at stores like Amazon and Etsy, at aquarium gift stores, in supermarkets with aquarium aisles, and in niche shops.

Under $50: Useful Essentials 

Are you still on a budget with extra change? Then, buy useful essential aquarium gifts under $50 for your person. With a $20-$50 budget, you can get decor bundles or equipment upgrades. 

You can buy beginner aquarium tools, such as a starter kit for a nano tank, an algae-cleaning kit, a gravel cleaner, and a wide-spectrum LED light. This budget also covers aquarium care essentials such as app-controlled feeders, nano tanks, and decoration sets. 

Expanding your budget to $50 allows you to find a gift that balances practicality with thoughtfulness. 

You can buy these aquarium care tools from Amazon, Etsy, other online stores, physical pet stores, and aquarium gift shops. For more quality enhancements, you have to double this budget. 

Under $100: Quality Enhancements 

If you’re ready to burst out the Benjamin for a high-quality enhancement, then here are some aquarium gifts under $100 worth every penny: 

• Smart Heaters 
• LED lights 
• Starter Kit Tanks 

Smart Heaters 

For a serious aquarist, a smart heater is a fantastic upgrade for their tank, especially in the winter season. Having a fixture that can modulate temperature itself ensures their pets will always have an ideal water temperature. 

So, with this gift, you’re giving your person reassurance and peace. 

LED Lights 

By now, you’re wondering why LED lights showed up again after popping up on the cheap lists. Well, there are so many aquarium lighting ideas you can explore, and the bigger your budget, the more sophisticated they get. 

For $50 – $100, you can buy the Phlizon 165W dimmable full spectrum aquarium LED light, which is also perfect for reef tanks. 

Starter Kit Tanks 

Getting a serious aquarist a premium fish tank gift will surely move you to the top of their most-loved list. With less than $100 but more than $50, you can buy a standard fully-fitted 10 Gallon Fish Aqueon Aquarium Starter Kit.

This is a budget for dedicated hobbyists. So, ensure the recipient can handle your present. You’ll find these gifts online on Amazon, in superstores with aquarium sections, or at aquarium pet stores. 

$100+: Showpiece Gifts

Big spenders with a baseline minimum of $100 should target luxury aquarium gifts. Here, the goal is to get a showpiece present that’s suitable for an expert aquarist or collector. So, you’re looking at high-end equipment for large tanks and custom-made aquascapes for a personal touch. 

Your first decision is the category of top-tier fishkeeper gifts you want: gear, decor, or collectables. 

Gear and Equipment 

Buy premium aquarium gear such as open-glass tanks, an all-in-one kit, an app-controlled fish feeder, a sophisticated canister filter, or a heater as showpiece gifts. Look out for known brands like Aqueon, Fluval, Tetra, and EcoTech Marine. 

Decor & Collectibles  

With decor, you can make a custom piece or an entire aquascape tailored to the recipient’s personality. Think of beautiful seashells for reef tanks, high-quality aquarium stones like Seiryu and Dragon stone, or hyperrealistic crafts like shipwrecks and beach scenes. 

You can take it a step further and get a handcrafted aquarium decor designed by a notable or local artisan. 

Now that we’ve covered budget buys, let’s focus on experience level-inspired purchases.

Aquascaping Tools & Supplies 

As we dive into professional territory, your gift choice should suit intermediate to expert fishkeepers who spend time maintaining medium to large tanks. You can buy your person some aquarium maintenance supplies depending on their tank type and theme. 

If you don’t know their exact tank type and don’t want to ruin the surprise, buy them a standard aquascaping tool kit. 

You can choose between regular all-in-one kits with curved scissors, straight and curved tweezers, spatulas, algae scrapers, and a tool holder, or get an engraved stainless steel set. 

These aquascaping tools make the best planted tank gift because each item allows a grooming enthusiast to clean their aquascape without displacing plants or decor. 

So, for the standard kit, you can simply buy one from the manufacturer’s website, a third-party distributor like Amazon, or the store. However, you can go the extra mile and engrave a basic stainless steel aquascaping tool kit or get a custom-made set. 

Smart Tech for Tanks 

If you have a gadget-loving fishkeeper, you can impress them with sophisticated aquarium tech gifts. 

It doesn’t have to be hi-tech at first. You can start with basic smart aquarium devices, such as automatic feeders, app-controlled heaters, monitors, Wi-Fi controllers, UV light sterilisers, lighting systems, and remote controls. 

Some app-controlled fish devices that aquarists need and would appreciate include:

Automated Fish Feeder

A Wi-Fi fish feeder allows aquarists to control feeding time from an app on their phone at their convenience.

Get a smart Wi-Fi model that your fish-loving friend can operate conveniently with a remote or an app. Personally, I use this App Connected Camera WIFI Automatic Fish Feeder when we travel as it includes an app that comes with a camera so I can keep an eye on my fish while away (Note: It uses a 2.5GHz WIFI band). However, the camera is optional so the feeder pictured above is perfect.

Apparel & Lifestyle Gifts

Sometimes, the most thoughtful thing you can get an aquarium enthusiast is funny fish gifts. That includes simple lifestyle gifts from themed and branded apparel like shirts, pants, socks, to home accessories and kitchenware. 

You can find simple fish-lover apparel online or DIY it for a more personal touch. Whether you sew on a fish pattern to your proposed gift t-shirt, paint the design on, or write a funny fish quote, the goal is to use humor to show interest in your person’s passion. 

Aquarium shirts and other themed lifestyle gifts always get a smile and typically last forever, even when they fade or become threadbare. 

Aquarium Art & Wall Prints

Another non-operational gift you can use to spice up an enthusiastic fishkeeper’s life is aquarium wall art. A piece as simple as an aquatic-themed painting or sculpture placed on a wall mount can carry many memories. 

With this kind of gift, painting is only one part, while aquatic photography is another. You can also frame real pictures of underwater expeditions and moments, such as swimming with sharks, scuba diving, and swimming with turtles.

Artistic or photographic aquarium-inspired pieces and fish art decor are non-restrictive gifts. Recipients can hang them anywhere, whether it’s above the main aquarium or elsewhere. It becomes part of their identity and a way to show their personality outside of the aquarium. 

Conclusion: Gifts That Make Waves

For ultimate aquarium-lover gifts, it’s best to mix practical and aesthetic items into one package. It’s a gesture that shows thoughtfulness for your person’s hobby without taking it too seriously. 

Also, remember that the goal of this fish hobby gift guide is to inform you that a thoughtful gift doesn’t need to be expensive. Even if your budget is under $20, you can still get multiple gifts for aquarists, such as a simple nano-tank starter kit paired with a nice aquarium-themed shirt.

However, the higher your budget, the more sophisticated your gift can get. So, it’s really up to you and what you can afford. Don’t put undue pressure on yourself. 

When you follow this gift guide and curate a package within your price-point capacity, you’ll achieve the same result: a smile on your aquarium enthusiast’s face.

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