Hello Mike. Thanks for your comments. Well, I have been into fish-keeping on   
   and off since I was a kid, and indeed, it is quite a pleasurable, relaxing   
   and satisfying hobby. Just ask my cat, Socks, who enjoys falling asleep on   
   my computer desk as she watches my Malawi cichlids. :)   
      
   She enjoys pawing at the glass and wondering how she can actually get the   
   fish, but she hasn't figured it out yet. I've given up on trying to keep her   
   away from the aquarium. I simply can't guard it twenty-four hours a day. Now   
   she even prances along on top of the light fixtures and the Penguin 330   
   Bio-Wheel filters, and takes a sip of aquarium water whenever she gets a bit   
   thirsty . . . even though it isn't really good for her.   
      
   I don't keep glass tops on my tank. It helps keep the water cooler, as well   
   as better oxygenated. I just have to top off the tank with a gallon or two   
   of water every few days, which I keep prepared in one-gallon jugs. Being as   
   most cats are afraid of water, I don't think that she is too interested in   
   trying to stick her paw down into the water in order to try to catch a fish.   
      
   Oddly enough, my fish are just as interested in Socks, as she is in them,   
   even though she terrorizes them. They will cautiously approach her, led by   
   the most bold fish, inch back, inch forward again, etc. It's rather   
   interesting to watch their reactions to Socks. They have now grown used to   
   her presence, staring at them with her big cat eyes.   
      
   Being on a strict budget myself, I fully understand your concerns regarding   
   the cost of maintaining an aquarium. However, after your initial investment   
   and setup, your ongoing costs can be reduced if you are smart. In my case, I   
   spend money on Stress Coat -- chlorine remover -- and fish food -- Hikari   
   pellets -- maybe once or twice a year at best. I purchase two 16 oz. bottles   
   of Stress Coat, and a few bags of Hikari mini pellets, and we are good to go   
   for quite a few months. Other than those two expenses, there is the extra   
   electricity and the water that are used, but that is really about it.   
      
   As I mentioned quite some time ago, I don't waste money on expensive filter   
   media or other fish paraphernalia that pet stores try to convince you that   
   you need to buy. I learned long ago to make my own filter pads by cutting   
   out foam squares from those thin children's mats that they sell at the   
   store. You can wash them out over and over again for many months, and save a   
   lot of money on filter cartridges.   
      
   Of course, if you are into marine aquariums, maintenance can be considerably   
   more expensive -- and time consuming -- particularly because you have to buy   
   sea salt and mix your own water, unless you happen to live near an   
   unpolluted ocean source as I do. I used to haul water from the ocean in   
   five-gallon jugs when I had my 170-gallon marine tank years ago.   
      
   Come to think of it, I spend more money on our cat, than I do on my fish;   
   but my daughter brought her home one day, I've become quite attached to her   
   now, and I don't have the heart to take her to the pound, or anywhere else.   
   Besides, my landlord has no problem with us keeping the cat. Of course, it   
   does help that I've been renting from them for twenty-three years now.  :)   
      
      
      
      
   Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23   
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