Become a Certified Aquarist

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Aquarium Maintenance School

If you love aquariums, you might want to study aquarium maintenance to become an aquarist because a dream career is one where you get to go to work every day doing something you absolutely love.

An aquarist enjoys a career working closely with fish. If you have a passion for the life aquatic, you might want to study aquarium maintenance because a dream career is one where you get to go to work every day doing something you absolutely love.

What does aquarium training mean though? By studying aquarium maintenance online at Animal Behavior College, you can be a certified professional looking for aquarium careers in about eight months. With the percentage of aquarium owners who engage the services of an aquarium care and maintenance professional growing by the year, it is a solid career choice, and one you will enjoy daily.

An aquarist is a trained professional who is responsible for keeping and maintaining an aquarium. Sounds easy, but what people do not realize is that there is a very delicate balance that is required when it comes to aquarium maintenance. Aquarium and fish keeping courses, like Animal Behavior College’s Aquarium Maintenance program will teach you about freshwater and saltwater fish species and the caretaking of these underwater animals. Aquarists are responsible for not only maintaining the aquarium and its underwater environment, but they are also in charge of monitoring the marine life’s diets, health, signs of sickness or distress, and much more.

You might be thinking “But, are there any aquarium jobs near me?” especially if you do not live near largely popular aquariums like The Aquarium of the Pacific or the St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. An aquarist certification can land you a job in a number of facilities. Have you ever visited a restaurant, hotel or office that had a saltwater aquarium stocked with beautiful tanks on display and thought how cool it would be to know about sustaining a large marine habitat? They hire aquarium maintenance professionals to clean and maintain their aquariums! Aquarists may work in a variety of businesses including aquariums, zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, restaurants, hotels, businesses, or even out in the field to gather and study specimens.

The aquarium industry is more complicated than just picking out pretty fish at the store and setting up a tank. The industry is made up of professional aquarists, aquarium technicians, fish breeders and distributors, independent fish store owners, aquarium maintenance professionals and aquarium cleaning services, all with aquarium training. These industry professionals also provide support for households and businesses that have aquariums.

According to the 2023-2024 APPA National Pet Owners Survey¹, 66% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 86.9 million households. The staggering fact about this statistic is that 13.3 million households have either fresh or salt water fish. The growing number of fish being kept as pets, directly impacts the demand for aquarium care and maintenance professionals who can offer fishkeeping services. This results in the business potential in the industry being on the rise.

This is your opportunity to have a successful career as an Aquarium Maintenance Professional with an aquarist certification. With Animal Behavior College’s Aquarium Maintenance Program, you will acquire the aquarium training you need to make this career a reality.

Learn more about ABC’s Aquarium Maintenance program by calling 800-795-3294

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What You Will Learn in ABC’s Aquarist School?

There are a lot of aquarium and fish keeping courses out there, so what makes Animal Behavior College standout? Our Aquarist School consists of 10 stages – nine online modules plus a final exam. The course is packed with information to educate you in the art, science, and business of aquarium design, fishkeeping and aquarium maintenance. The course will include hundreds of pages of curriculum that will walk novices through everything they need to begin maintaining freshwater aquariums and saltwater aquariums, and ultimately build a business model around aquarium maintenance service. During our aquarium maintenance online course, you will learn about:

Starting and maintaining fish tanks
Freshwater tanks
Saltwater tanks
Aquascaping and planted tanks
Ponds
Commercial aquariums
Fishkeeping and fish breeding
Aquarium maintenance business building
And more!

Learn About Maintaining Fish Tanks from a Professional Aquarist

Meet our Aquarium Maintenance Program writer, Ethan Mizer.

Ethan Mizer was born in Upland, California and he took an interest in the aquarium hobby and fishkeeping at a young age. From his first goldfish tank to his now more intricate freshwater and saltwater fish systems, Ethan took his love for the hobby and transformed it into his career.

Over the last 14 years Ethan has worked in the pet industry, with an emphasis on aquariums. He started his career in journalism for Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine, eventually becoming the managing editor. He has also covered the aquarium industry in a wider capacity for Pet Product News, both as managing editor and as a freelance writer. He has built relationships with many independent local fish stores and maintenance professionals and regularly attends trade shows, aquarium club meetings and special events such as Reef-A-Palloza in Orange County, California. Ethan’s interest in aquariums and fish truly blossomed as he worked directly with aquarists, experts and leaders in the fishkeeping industry – such as David Lass, Bob Goemans, Robert Fenner, Charles Delbeek, Tim Hayes and many others. It is from these aquarists that Ethan learned the intricacies of fishkeeping and aquarium maintenance and began keeping more advanced tank systems, such as aquascaped aquariums and biotype systems. One day, Ethan aspires to design and maintain a truly massive freshwater planted aquarium system. Now, Ethan continues to write about the aquarium industry and hopes that his work will help support the growth of the fishkeeping industry and educate new aquarists and aquarium maintenance professionals.

How Much Does It Cost to Become an ABC Certified Aquarist?

Aquarium technician training can be affordable! Tuition for our Aquarium Maintenance Program ranges from ~~$2,299.00~~ $899.00 to $2,695.00 depending on your payment arrangement.* This price is all-inclusive and covers your learning materials, certification and student support.

Speak with an admissions Counselor and see what payment plan is right for you as ABC has a plan for everyone and no credit checks! Contact Admissions at 800-795-3294

*Ask about our discount for Active Military and Veterans who enroll in our distance learning courses

Aquarium Maintenance Professional Certification

Upon successful completion of your aquarium management course, you will receive your professional certification as an Animal Behavior College Certified Aquarium Maintenance Professional (ABCAMP). Your certification will demonstrate to your clients that you have extensive aquarium maintenance, aquarium cleaning, aquarium set up and fishkeeping knowledge including an education on various freshwater and saltwater fish species.

Student Support

After you enroll in our aquarium maintenance course, you will be assigned a Program Manager and receive their contact information. Your Program Manager will grade your exams and be your guide throughout your studies. You will be able to contact them directly if you need assistance or have questions along the way. You are never alone at Animal Behavior College when pursuing your education and new dream job.

Flexible Online Course

ABC’s Aquarium Maintenance Course is structured to allow you to keep your current job while pursuing your education (for your future aquarium jobs)! Our course materials and tests are all online, which means you can access your program at any time of the day, no matter where you are. This format gives you the flexibility to set your own studying schedule around your already busy life. Also, with studying online you never have to worry about commuting to a brick and mortar classroom, or spending the high gas prices to get there. Completion time for our Aquarium Maintenance Course is approximately 8 months.

Aquarium Maintenance Career Resources

Career Information and Advice for Aquarists from the professionals at Animal Behavior College

From Fish Geek to Fish Professional

Turn your hobby into a lucrative career today by earning your aquarist certification! Get started on becoming a certified aquarium maintenance professional by calling 800-795-3294.Please note: Animal Behavior College does not guarantee employment after graduation.

This program’s officially approved title is Aquarium Maintenance (online). However for grammatical reasons and purposes of clarity it is sometimes referred to as the Aquarium Maintenance Program.

¹APPA

Gift Certificates

Give the gift of helping animals to someone you love. Click below for our program gift certificates.