The keeping of ornamental fish may be the most popular animal-oriented hobby in the United States. One household in every three owns and cares for some type of pet fish. In 1985, approximately 200millionwasspentonaquariumfishretailsales.Anadditional289 million was spent on aquarium supplies and another $93 million in fish food. 1 Although some varieties may be purchases at low prices, people rarely own one fish and the aggregate value of \u27fish in the home aquarium can become quite large. The loss of individual fish may not be expensive, but numerous losses of inexpensive fish can be costly. The growing number of fish hobbyists have few experts to turn to when aquarium problems arise. Many fish hobbyists have other pets in their households requiring veterinary care, therefore they will frequently ask for veterinary advice for their \u27fish health problems