When it comes to fishkeeping, you usually start out with one fishbowl only, and then you get another one so that you can house that special species you like so much. When fish start reproducing you can’t help but have a whole ‘maternity’ and then you find yourself with more fishtanks than televisions at home.

Tips to find out whether you’re addicted to this hobby:

• You have got more than two t-shirts with fishes pictured on them
• People ask you how many fishes have you got and you answer with the number of fishtanks you’ve got
• You take better care of your aquarium than you do with your car
• You are still in denial when it comes to the electricity bills
• You notice the seaweeds on the water but can’t notice the dust on the living room
• You have another pet named Molly and even a child named Oscar
• You have a ‘properly’ wet home in the winter
• You have or seek to have a whole room for fishtanks only
• You spend your Saturday afternoons partially changing the waters of your fishtanks
• You don’t get bothered with mosquito outbreaks, since they are free food for fish
• You enter a petshop and it is the employees who ask you what have you got at home
• You only care about washing the dishes when you have to change the water on the fishtanks
• Your computer screensaver is another fishtank
• Acquiring more fishes is just a good excuse for you to get a new fishtank
• You cannot find anything to eat on your fridge but you do have frozen fish food
• You spend a whole lot of money with the water on your tanks but you drink your own water from the tap
• You think mermaids are way more interesting than real-life men and women
• You sometimes wonder what is going on in your fishes’ minds
• There is not a single aspirin at home but you do are prepared for an eventual case of ich
• Instead of buying fish, you sell them
• Instead of selling, you give them away…

If you can picture yourself in:

1 to 5 of these statements – You’re at the beginning of the issue, so you better take care.
6 to 10 statements – You better start seeking some help. Sign up for the Fishkeepers Anonymous.
More than 11 true statements – It is official! You have legitimately become a fishkeeping addict.