For some reason, fish are considered to be one of the easiest pets to raise, but if you've ever had a fish, you know that is so not true. The sudden horror of seeing your fish floating upside down... not many things compare. My first pet was a fish, and for a long time afterwards, it discouraged me from having any pets at all. I mean, if I couldn't handle raising fish, how could I ever handle anything more complicated than that?
Eventually, I got over myself and got a different "more difficult to raise" pet and realizes that fish were by far more difficult to keep. And apparently, I'm not the one the only who thinks that, considering the sudden influx of tweets about the difficulties of raising fish. Thank you, twitter, for yet again making me feel better about myself.
There's so much chemistry involved in raising fish, and if you're unprepared for it, you will probably not be able to keep them for long. The stereotype that raising fish is easy is such a wrong one, and more kids than you realize probably get mildly traumatized by it. I know that I was, seeing my fish who I just names floating in the aquarium I was so excited about.
Agreed. I've never had a hamster myself, but I've heard many stories from friends of my about the difficulties of raising hamsters - about how they require a lot more care than you expect, and they pass more easily than you'd ever expect. And the pain that any person, but especially kids, experience at seeing that is as real as it would be had it been a cat or a dog.
Moral of these tweets is: don't get a pet if you're not ready to take care of it, no matter what pet it is. From fish to hamsters to cats and dogs. Raising animals comes with difficulties and responsibility that everyone needs to be able to commit to before taking them in. They rely on you to give them what you need. Make sure that you are able to do that for them.
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