Why I love this hobby

[Paul B]

I mean is it me, look at how cool some of this stuff is. You can have a dog, and well, it's a dog. OK everybody has a dog. (I don't) or you can have a cat although I don't know why anyone would have a cat. (I don't have one and never will) My Daughter has one for about a year and I don't think I ever saw the thing. I have no idea what color it is, how many legs it has, nothing, it's a cat. It's name is probably, cat. Maybe Felix, I have no idea.
But fish are so cool. How many different types of cats are there? 4, 7? Who knows, and more importantly. Who cares. It's a cat.
But fish. OMG, there are thousands, and they don't poop in a stinky litterbox, they don't spit up those disquesting hair balls or scratch the furnature (although they sometimes leak on it). When they die, you flush it and go buy another one. Even catfish are cooler than cats. Hech, amphipods are cooler than cats. OK, so I don't like cats, don't hate me. I know a lot of people have cats. I don't know why. But a lot of people don't know why I have fish. They just don't get it.
If you have a dog or cat, you give it some food and water and forget about it. But fish, have a life. Well for me they do. Yes, I know, I am weird.
But I do have multitudes of friends, some since grammar school but of course none of them have fish. They all have dogs and cats.
My wife has a cousin and quite a few years ago we went to their house for dinner and they have this big cat. It could have been a lion but they said it was just a house cat. It was on top of this high piece of furnature starring at us. Her cousin said not to make any sudden moves or the cat will attach you. I mean, Really. Would you have an animal that may attack you if you make a sudden move? I can run back and forth in front of my tank for as long as 15 minutes and not one of my clown gobies will make a move towards me.
My neighbor is going on vacation and she wants me to feed her dog. I hate that dog and I am scared to death of it. Whenever I walk up to her door, it growls, barks, jumps up and down and scratches curses in the glass door referencing me. She says he is playing. Like Duh, Playing. I get the horrors when I go there and now I have to play with this thing.
Anyway. Fish are so interesting and cool. just look at these guys. Try and get a cat that looks like this.

 

[tomjof]

Fish are the BOSS

 

[edd]

i have fish a cat and a dog. but the cat has more personality than all of them.

 

[SanmanReefer]

I love my fish but these two girls are amazing!! Boston Terrier and our Alaskan Klee Kai.

 

[edd]

thats a nice dog. looks like a mini husky.

 

[SanmanReefer]

thats a nice dog. looks like a mini husky.

Thanks , she is full grown. 8 lbs. go check my wife's website, www.asecondhomedogcare.com. There's tons of pictures about her and Bella the Boston. Bella has been in commercials and TV. She's awesome, very well trained. Wonderful dogs, but fish ROCK as well.

 

[drej424]

Well, I love my fish as much as anyone. Or most of them, anyway. I actually hate the 10" red grouper in my FOWLR tank. I haven't been in this hobby for 10 years yet and I'll be long gone before I'm in for 38 years! But I've had some of my fish for 7 to 8 years now and even if they're nothing special or different, I sure do enjoy them.
But we also have 3 dogs and 2 cats. And, honestly, if you can get this much enjoyment out of fish, I don't see how you could live with a nice dog or cat and not grow to love them! Just sayin....

 

[Paul B]

We love our dogs and cats because they are family, My fish are not family, just a hobby, so we can't compare them, I am just saying fish are more "interesting", not that they are better "pets".
We don't get much love from our fish, at least I don't.

I love my fish but these two girls are amazing!! Boston Terrier and our Alaskan Klee Kai.

This girl is also amazing, especially in swim class

 

[Paul B]

If anyone is thinking about getting a moray eel, I have a story about one I encountered.
I was diving in Mexico once and the guy in front of me pointed to this huge green moray eel. He was in a Volkswagon size rock and his head was sticking out of one end and his tail was sticking out the other end so I estimate the thing to be 8 or 10' long.
I pointed it out to the genius behind me in case he wanted to take a picture, but I didn't think he wanted to take a picture of himself tickling the eel under his chin like
Cousteau used to do. So the eel, who probably never met Mr. Cousteau, takes this guys entire hand into his mouth, halfway up to his elbow and he is shaking him violently.
I was watching and hoping the eel would eat him completely so I could get on with my dive and make believe I never saw the guy. But at that depth blood appears black and he was making this big black stain like a giant squid would do so I had to appear surprised and horrified. (I actually scolded the eel for not finishing him off)
So now we have to drag this idiot back to the boat, then to a Mexican hospital and wait the rest of the day (on my vacation) until they stitched him up.
When we got back to the hotel, he was a big hit as he was telling the tale of how this man eating eel attacked him while he was just minding his own business.
That is one reason why I almost never dive in any group. I go someplace, hire a guide and dive. If we are in some tropical place my wife dives with me.
Of course most of my dives are off my own boat here in new York and I don't have to deal with any of that. In the 45 or so years I have been diving, I never got bit by anything. But there was this one time when I was diving here and the visability here is about 2'. Something big hit me and kept smacking my face and wrapping itself around my head.
It was a little nerve wracking but it was a cormorant bird. They dive for fish and swim through the water with their 4' wings, not like a duck that swims with it's feet.
It was one of these things on top of the lighthouse. As a matter of fact, I think that is him on the left, I can tell from his smirk.

Here we are on top of that lighthouse. It was abandoned many years ago and I was out there as a consultant.

And this is what they leave all over the place.

 

[SteveZ15]

We think we own them but they own us,just make a move towards the kitchen and the cats think they are eating and they usually get something because they make cute faces and cry,walk by the fish tank they all hurry to the top and start showing off and following you as you walk the room,usually ends up in a few pellets tossed in for them.You cant walk past anything in this house without feeding it ..I can walk circles around my girl squeak cry rub on her and all I get is you aint crippled go make yourself something to eat..