Fish Gazing

No, it's not Nemo!!! Clownfish at Monterey Aquarium (Photos by Anna Mugg)

By now I am pretty sure that there's a pet out there for any kind of human personality. And humans suitable to take care of any kind of domestic animals. That made me remember about two friends from the past: an introspective, who would spend hours taking care of his fish and was very proud of it; and the extrovert, whose fish were the coolest piece of design in his home.

Fish were on the news this week. George, the goldfish, survived a delicate surgery in Australia. I vaguely remembered little goldfish being sold at the farmers' market in my hometown, and how sad I was to see that some wouldn't survive their first day in a flower bowl. Fish can be very nice pets, as George's owner said. Clownfish (just like Nemo) also were in the news. They might be able swim about 250 miles,  proving that Pixar's blockbuster has some truth in it!

WikiHow has an interesting article for beginners that elevate fish to a very special kind of place. It even teaches that they can be trained to interact with you and be really cool friends. In that case I would say that they are wonderful listeners! So, how do you choose a fish? Should it be marine or fresh water? Well, I would opt for the second, as you might be wondering if you would have Nemo in your aquarium (and all those crazy fish) or even feel really bad about contributing to the depletion of tropical fish and coral reefs. Having just read this article here from Scientific American, I would just keep visiting marine aquariums like Monterey.

If you decide to dive in the vast universe of possibilities of how an aquarium should be maintained and all the diversity of fish you can have, please visit The Fish Channel, as it has a vast collection of information that might help beginners and long term aquarium lovers. Or, to go even fancier, watch what the guys from Tanked (Animal Planet) have to share. 

But the most important factor which would make people inclined to keep an amazing aquarium is for the healing and calming purposes. One study from Purdue University points out that aquariums help on the quality of life of Alzheimer's patients, calming them and inspiring them to eat better. And lots of doctor's offices and hospital are including fish tanks in their waiting room, supporting the theory that they have calming effects on patients and are the perfect addition to any waiting room to reduce anxiety.