Are fish "pets"?

I find this to be a really good question, and I'm not sure what my answer is. I enjoy my fish, I respect their lives and care for them as well as I know how. I sometimes name them, but generally the names don't stick or get used. I feel sad when something happens to them. But I consider my aquariums and all that is entailed to be a hobby, and I guess I don't really feel the same about my fish as I do my Dog. I would think nothing of selling or giving away my fish (responsibly) while I would go hungry to keep from parting with the pooch. I guess my fish are considered livestock that deserve respect and care (similar to cattle on a farm), but not close pets like my Dog is.
Please also remember that I'm a warped Jaded human being by most people's estimation :laugh: :laugh:
 
Daveedka, I think you summed up my sentiments exactly :thm: . I was just too lazy to articulate them so nicely ;) There is very little I would not do for my dogs or cats, but the fish just don't mean the same to me
 
I think a fish that you have a while, you get more attached seeing it everyday and it could be sad if something happens to it. I like all my fish right now even though I havn't had them long. My oldest in there is over 2 and a half months old (set the tank up in june).
 
daveedka said:
I find this to be a really good question, and I'm not sure what my answer is. I enjoy my fish, I respect their lives and care for them as well as I know how. I sometimes name them, but generally the names don't stick or get used. I feel sad when something happens to them. But I consider my aquariums and all that is entailed to be a hobby, and I guess I don't really feel the same about my fish as I do my Dog. I would think nothing of selling or giving away my fish (responsibly) while I would go hungry to keep from parting with the pooch. I guess my fish are considered livestock that deserve respect and care (similar to cattle on a farm), but not close pets like my Dog is.
Please also remember that I'm a warped Jaded human being by most people's estimation :laugh: :laugh:
Click to expand...

I can agree with that. I still consider my fish pets but the level of attachement is different when compared to my dogs. I think that may be due to the total time spent with the dog and the level of feed back from the dog when comapred to the fish.

Face it, the fish don't meet you at the door jumping up and down and they just don't handle romps in the park well at all! :) The dog also sits with you when you look at the fish and follows you around as you to the usual tank stuff. The fish don't hang out with you as you bathe the dog. :)
 
daveedka said:
Please also remember that I'm a warped Jaded human being by most people's estimation :laugh: :laugh:
Click to expand...

I was thinking cynical and witty, but hey, that was from just one meal. ;)

Depends on the fish. In FW: swords, tetras, barbs and such are pretty well eye candy to me. The eel, the bristlenose, the chocolate, the shark, and the puffers rank higher than that. In SW: the damsel is the oldest fish, but very little attachment. The angel is next oldest, and he's a cool fish. The tang, eh, pretty common, standard fare. The trigger is a daft bugger, the burrfish is like a big dopey dog, and the angler gets treated like a cat--we'd pet him if we could, and enjoy him a lot.
 
I'm sorry, but when I keep fish bigger than my dog, hell yes, they're considered a pet! My midas cichlid even has his own toys and we play chase and tug of war with each other. And I used to play hide and seek with my Jaguar cichlid when he was still small enough to hide! :D
 
take this as no more than opinion but i split classification of fish . i consider small unresponsive fish that are all but oblivious of thier owners as aquarium fish aka a hobby

but the larger fish that recongnise you and understand whats going on i consider pet fish because they are interactive
 
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