What kind of fish are you?

When I was younger I had terrible allergies.  The only 'pet' allowed in the house had to be void of fur.  I had newts, hermit crabs, and fish.  Lots of fish.  I had goldfish at first like most kids.  Then I graduated to the fancier fish that required just a little bit more care - algae eaters, pumps and filters.  You've seen them filling up the walls of the pet store.  These were your fancier fish.  My favorites were swordtails and kissing gouramis.  Following along, the goldfish were for beginners.  The swordtails and friends were for the more intermediate fish folk.

Then, of course, were the advanced fish folk.  These are the fish that usually require some guy to come into your house with 'supplies'.  Saltwater fish were never something I managed to graduate to.  To be honest, I haven't had fish in over twenty years and I still have dreams about forgetting to feed them for weeks.  But, I had a friend who had a tank full of these fancy fish.  They were colorful, more unique by a longshot than those goldfish I got a the school carnival, or even my fancy to me swordfish!  The payoff of what they offered was balanced by the work they required for their care.

It's important to accept where you are in fish life.  Some of us are goldfish.  We have a short list of needs, get to hang out with lots of kids, sometimes even a belly flop to the carpet a time or two.  This isn't me, but I would totally want to be the ones with the bug eyes.  They are my favorite.  Some of us are swordtails, requiring a little more work for care- fancy pumps to keep our water clean. Some of us are salt water fish.  We have a lengthier list of needs that may or may not include calling in a few experts for our care.  A salt water fish doesn't know to consider itself high maintenance.  It just has a list of care requirements, neither good nor bad.

Accepting what kind of fish you are helps you tell others what you need.  Don't show up with the goldfish if you are a puffer fish!