We're going to need a bigger boat! (Goldfish)

Member Name: Boonoiy

Product:	Goldfish
Date:	05/11/02 (902 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, Pretty

Disadvantages: Do not mix well with other animals (see cats for instance)

Yes, it's true, the most common name for pet goldfishes is that old favourite "Jaws".

Let's see, what in the world can we write about when it comes to the world's most DULL pet? Well, to begin with there's the obvious:

Latin name: "Carassius auratus" - Lit: Fish of Gold (OK, made the translation up but that is the real Latin name).

Cost: Usually between £1 and £2.50 (depending on the shop/fairground stall you go to).

Habitat: Water.

Food: Odd little specks of something resembling Hoover-bag innards.

And that just about sums it up for most, you stick the little bleeder in a bowl of water, feed it once a day and watch as the endlessly entertaining strings of poo come out of it for the 2 months you can keep it out of the reach of the cat and then take the bowl off to the car boot sale with the rest of the brick-a-brack on the weekend.

But NO! NO, NO, NO!!

These fishes are a great pet, entertaining, fun, apparently intelligent (forget all that nonsense about 3 second memories - they soon get to recognise the cats of the house and the person who feeds them) and they need some attention to keep them from going loopy.

How to keep your fish entertained:

1. TV - they really do seem to like it, colours and sounds can easily pass into the water and they do (at least they always have in my house) seem to be happier fish when the TV is on.

2. Ornaments - simple enough, they're cheap and tacky and the fish love them. I'm sure you've all seen them in other people's fish tanks, the castles, the gravel on the bottom of the tank, the skulls and the sunken pirate ships. All make for a bit of a fishie playground and this keeps the fish happier for longer.

3. On a similar theme, plants. Have some live plants around, they are fun for the fish and add nutrients to the water for the poor little fishie.
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br>4. One of those fancy filter things - not really necessary but they can help. A bit dear and I've never bothered.

And that's that, the principal aim of having a fish is to usually to have something nice to rest your eyes on, they're calming in times of stress and pretty in times of wanting to look at something pretty.

It's a simple enough pet to keep, cheap food, cheap to set up the whole thing and lovely.

I would recommend the goldfish anyone really, not a thing that can be said against them (and the strings of poo really are funny.....)

I've not mentioned the indoors/outdoors varieties of fish - mainly because I know very little about the differences. The outdoors ones tend to live in ponds and be quite happy with little or no care and the indoor ones want a pond made for them in the goldfish bowl but with regular meals and a lack of feline intrusions.

Go on, get a fish - ten bob to you sir!

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