| Advice for New Fish Keepers
Something I said to some friends who had spoken rather casually about 'fish being easy to take care of' I thought I would note here. I said, kindly but firmly, that it is far from the truth. The way to think of it is like this: buying a mammal pet means you are essentially sharing the same environment with them. They need some equipment and they need food and to be looked after and while that is work it is not the same as with fish.
Fish live in an entirely different environment from human beings, and you need to create it for them. You have to adjust it and balance it depending on the kind of fish. Some need brackish water, others can live comfortably in room temperature or cooler. Fish are as different as mammals in personality. Some are rather rough characters, are cannibalistic or violent. Some are very gentle and friendly, some require as much attention as a cat or bird, like bettas. If I bought say a gerbil I might have the previous day spent some time cleaning the new cage, setting it up with water, hiding places etc, but that's about it. My new 10g tank has taken me two weeks to set up, and even then I'm not entirely happy with it.
In effect, you can think of getting a fish the same was as you would entertaining a visitor from another planet. It's not a casual visit. | 
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