do you feel that fish relax/chipper you up on a stressing/depressing day?

Fish freak me out. No, really, stop laughing, they really give me the creeps. I have a reason though - I think this is due to a traumatic fishy experience in childhood. Picture, if you will, a small child, at a convent school, sitting on the piano stool awaiting her piano lesson from Sister Rose, in the small music room. The huge fish, in the rather small fish tank, swam up and down, or actually kind of shuffled, quite frustrated that he couldn't swim too well in aforementioned tiny tank. Suddenly, as the child attempts a scale, fishy jumps out of the tank, and lays flapping at her feet on the floor. The Nun teacher picks it up, firmly scolds it for such behavior and throws it back it. I swear, this happened every other lesson. Never did the woman get the poor thing a bigger tank. This was a long time ago and sadly Sister Rose has left us. I'm sure the fish has too, but I like to think it finally escaped and lived out its old age in a nice river somewhere - somewhere spacious.... As for me, I still play the piano, I just prefer that there are no fish nearby.

I sit and watch them, kind of relieves stress. I think you might be right, of all the animals on earth, fish in a tank have to be the safest, happiest of all. No stresses, no worries, just swimming. *I hear Dori's voice in my head* (from finding nemo) "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming"

Yes, they do! It's been scientifically proven! This is from a WebMD article: "Watching fish can be relaxing. Your body actually goes through physical changes in 15-30 minutes that make a difference in your mood. The level of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, is lowered. And the production of serotonin, an important chemical associated with well-being, is increased." This is why most doctor offices have aquariums. I have a 60 gallon aquarium, and it's so nice to just waste time watching the fish wander around. It's also fun to get a laser pointer and watch them chase it...yes, fish chase laser pointers, just like cats do! Mine go absolutely crazy over it! LOL

Everyone thinks I'm a freak for enjoying my fish as much as I do. I'm so glad to not be alone! Instead of like most pets that require so much work, fish do not give you additional stress from their care requirements. Also, they don't add noise if your head is exploding. They are merely pretty and swim around. Okay. Creepy admission. I like to talk to them while I play with them--as in running my finger along the bowl and telling them how awesome I think they are or just vent the problems of my day. Fish rock!

yep I do fish do give you fish relief when you have stress.

Yeah, and thier good listeners even before you speak