Aquarium hobby has come a long way ever since the first public aquarium was established in 1853 at the London Zoological society. Aquariums have become a favorite focal point of many homes and has become a serious hobby for many dedicated aquarists the world over. Prejudiced views of disillusioned people who suggest that fish keeping is a complex and difficult hobby is a thing of the past, with advancement in Science and Technology and efforts of dedicated aquarists and ichthyologists around the world and their goodness of sharing their success stories inspire more and more people to keep fish and maintain specialised aquariums that once upon a time were supposed to be very difficult if not impossible to maintain. Another reason why aquariums have become so popular is because it can have an enchanting effect on the on-looker - A relaxing view of the underwater world which takes the on-looker far away from his/her stressful rather technological life. But, one should understand here that the biggest enemy of fish rather the single most important factor for fish mortality is ‘IGNORANCE’ on the part of the fish keeper. Often I come across people who bought a fish falling prey to temptation and later discovering that the recent purchase is not suitable for their tank or is not compatible with the fish they already have in their tank. Moreover, people don’t care about maintaining quarantine tanks to condition and monitor their new fish which often results in a disaster. I am really sorry to note here that most fish keepers don’t even know what a quarantine tank is and thus fail to understand the importance of it and most who do don’t want to shell out that extra space and money for something that is not going to look glamorous, such people however should buy fish from a honest and reliable fish store or dealer (How to identify a clean and honest LFS) . In a trade where the mantra is ‘buyers beware’ it is better that we hobbyists are better off by being self educated rather than depending upon people who might not be dependable or falling prey to temptation and buying a pretty looking juvenile fish which grows up to become a monster. So how well informed are we about our fish? or put in other words “Do we know our fish?” In recent times internet literate people have the good fortune to interact with each other the world over and share their knowledge and success stories. Something we did not have when we started off and had to learn things the hard way. Thanks to the easy access to information possible with the internet today that people can (IF they want to) acquire proper knowledge and understand a fish better before buying it rather than feeling sorry about not being able to maintain their impulsive purchase. I am of the opinion that if we know at least the basic things like a fish’s habitat, behavioural pattern, important things to be considered when keeping the fish in a captive environment, diet etc. Our chances of keeping the fish healthy and happy will double up. After all “It is not life but, the quality of life that matters!” Most of the fish keepers and breeders have achieved success by studying the fish’s natural habitat and replicating it in their tanks thus, the famous saying: “Take care of the water and the fish will take care of themselves!” But, as discussed earlier it is the fish keeper’s responsibility to learn about the fish before considering a purchase. We at Aquascapes don’t sell you fish . . . . We help you to buy them! But, often people approach us for purchasing some cute looking Goldfish for a fish bowl, some want to keep Goldfish just because some Feng shui expert advised them to keep some and due to lack of space want to cramp up nine of them in the smallest tank possible or according to them a ‘large’ fish bowl. Often, the dedication of such people is only limited to selfish beliefs of getting good fortune from keeping fish. But, is it ethical? Should we really keep fish if we really don’t care for them? The answer we all know and I would leave it there. Again there are some people who love to keep Goldfish when they buy a fish tank but, later want to put in something like a tiger barb etc. the result of such fin nipping tank mates proves fatal for the poor Goldies. Then, there are the flashy and colourful looking Cichlids that are often bought on impulse only to the fish keeper’s horror to find torn and tattered fins of other fish in the tank. People often blame Cichlids for being aggressive and bad tempered but, the damage would not be done only if the fish keeper had known the fish better before the purchase. Often such impulsive buyers get fed up of the fish that they bought and later realised was too much for them to maintain in their tanks. Such people who have little awareness about the ecological balance would do a serious blunder to release such ‘un-wanted’ fish into natural water bodies like lakes, rivers etc. As most of us might know any natural water body can be very a delicate and fragile ecology and can be destroyed by such careless acts – we have already seen a total wipe out of almost all endemic species of fish where ever foreign fish like Tilapia were introduced as edible fish for giving a boost to inland fish farming. Moreover, if the ornamental fish is infected and is released into the wild it can result in a catastrophe as none of the wild fish in the natural ecology can coupe up to such a sudden epidemic and perish.