Table 2. Summary of study characteristics of included studies.
| First author and year | Design | Participants | Aquarium Intervention(s) |
Comparator(s) | Setting (Country) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Total sample size (n) | Age (Mean) | Gender (% female) |
|||||
| Fish as companion animals | ||||||||
| Kidd 1999 [81] | Survey | Pet fish owners | 100 | 37.1 years | 50% | - | - | Not applicable (USA) |
| Langfield 2009 [52] | Phenomenological study, in-depth interviews | Pet fish owners | 9 | 34.9 years | 33% | - | - | Not applicable (Australia) |
| Correlational studies | ||||||||
| Lin 2013 [82] |
Survey | Medical directors at accredited hospitals | 737 | 49 years | 8% | Presence of aquarium in workplace | Presence of other interior amenities (indoor plants; music; art and exhibitions; private or personalised spaces) | Accredited hospitals (Taiwan) |
| Intervention studies | ||||||||
| Barker 2003 [53] | Within-subjects (“crossover”) study |
Patients awaiting electroconvulsive therapy treatment | 42 (only 30 included in analysis) | 48.4 years | 74% | 10-gallon aquariums containing around five African cichlids, approx. 20-minutes of passive exposure (n = 30) | No aquarium (n = 30) | Holding/waiting rooms at outpatient treatment centre (USA) |
| Buttelmann 2014 [62] | Between-subjects study without randomisation | Undergraduate students | 71 | 22.5 years | 92% | Five-minute interaction with one veiltail goldfish in 5.5l goldfish bowl, to “try and accustom it to humans” (n = 18) | Five-minute interaction with dog (n = 18) or plant (n = 17), or no activity (n = 18) | University laboratory (Germany) |
| Cole 2000 [83] | Before-and-after pilot study | Patients awaiting heart transplantation | 10 | 55.9 years | 20% | 15-gallon saltwater tank containing four colourful fish, 11 days (n = 10) |
- | Hospital rooms (USA) |
| DeSchriver 1990 [84] | Between-subjects study with randomisation | Older adults in publicly subsidised housing | 27 | Median per condition = 73–76 years | 78% | Eight-minutes viewing 10-gallon tank with nine fish (2 black mollies, 2 red wag swordtails, 2 gold wag moons, 2 pineapple swordtails, 1 catfish) (n = 9), or video of tropical fish in an aquarium (n = 9) | Eight-minutes viewing “placebo” video of television lines/static (n = 9) | Purpose-built laboratory in publicly subsidised housing complex (USA) |
| Edwards 2002 [64] | Interrupted time-series with non-equivalent control | Residents of specialised dementia units | 62 | 80.1 years | 61% | Aquariums containing eight large colourful fish, up to four months (n = 62) | Scenic ocean picture, two weeks (n = 17) | Dining rooms of specialised dementia units (USA) |
| Edwards 2013 [65] | Interrupted time-series | Residents of specialised dementia units | 70 | 82.2 years | 74% | As above (n = 70) | - | As above |
| Edwards 2014 [54] | Before-and-after study | Residents of specialised dementia units | 72 | 80.3 years | 71% | Aquariums containing eight to ten large colourful fish, 10 weeks (n = 72) | - | As above |
| Staff of specialised dementia units | 71 | NR | 82% | Aquarium as above, 10 weeks (n = 71) | - | As above | ||
| Katcher 1984 [85] | Between-subjects study with randomisation | Patients undergoing elective dental surgery | 42 | NR | NR | 40-minute contemplation of aquarium with (n = 8) or without (n = 8) hypnosis | 40-minute contemplation of poster with (n = 8) or without (n = 8) hypnosis, or no intervention (n = 10) | Dental surgery (USA) |
| Maranda 2015 [86] |
Pilot Randomised Control Trial | Adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus | 29 | 14.2 years | 64% | Fishbowl containing Betta splendens fish, and instructions to pair diabetes self-management tasks with daily and weekly fish care duties, approximately 3 months | Usual care (n = 12) | At home (USA) |
| Riddick 1985 [60] | Between-subjects study without randomisation | Older adults in publicly subsidised housing | 24 | Range 57–94 years | 71% | 2.5-gallon tanks containing two goldfish, plus nine visits from researcher over six-months (n = 7) |
Ten visits from the researcher over six-months (n = 8), or no intervention (n = 7) | Publicly subsidised housing (USA) |
| Sanchez 2015 [63] | Before-and-after study with control group | Students/trainees in paediatric orthopaedics | 69 | 28.2 years | 58% | 30-minutes viewing 265-gallon saltwater aquarium with >25 fish, including several species of surgeonfish (n = 69) | 30-minutes viewing white wall (n = 12) | Hospital waiting room (France) |
| Wells 2005 [68] | Between-subjects study with randomisation | University students | 100 | 19.7 years | 42% | 10-minute video of 10 neon tetras swimming in a tank (n = 20) | 10-minute video of birds in an aviary, primates in a zoo enclosure, a popular soap opera, or a blank screen (all n = 20) | University laboratory (UK) |
| Public aquariums | ||||||||
| Cracknell 2016 [87] | Between-subjects study, quasi-experimental | University students | 84 | 24 years | 76% | 10-minutes viewing above exhibit when fully stocked (n = 29) or partially stocked (n = 26) | 10-minutes viewing exhibit when unstocked (n = 29) | Public aquarium exhibit (UK) |
| Cracknell 2017, Study 1 [61] | Within-subjects study | University students | 39 | 19.5 years | 74% | Images of public aquarium exhibits (n = 39) | Images of built, green, aquatic or sub-aquatic environments (all n = 39) | University laboratory (UK) |
| Cracknell 2017, Study 2 [61] | Within-subjects study | University students | 40 | 20.8 years | 68% | Images of public aquarium exhibits differing in species richness, abundance of individuals, and content (tropical/temperate) (all n = 40) | - | University laboratory (UK) |
| Sahrmann 2016 [88] | Before-and-after study | General public | 165 | Range 18–68 years | 72% | 10-minute interaction with stingrays at touch-tank (n = 165) | - | Public aquarium exhibit (USA) |
NR: not reported