Whenever I go to a pet store I always walk past the long aisles of aquariums, and I may stop for a moment and look at some shiny little fella that catches my eye. Usually I'm fascinated by the vibrant tropical fish, dazzling me with their spectrum of color. But for the life of me, I can never remember the names of these amazing little creatures, and more the shame because they're blessed with such interesting names.

I never knew that those silvery little fish that always appear in my friends' aquariums were known as neon tetra, and that they were school fish who liked to live in groups of five or more. I never realized that the black striped swimmers were known as the convict cichlid, and that they are one of the easiest fish in the world to breed, and that they were related to the Texas cichlid, those sparkly pearly and gold fish that are very common in the United States.

Well I guess if I took the time to learn more about these aquarium dwellers, maybe by visiting an authority website, such as the Aquatic Community (or ACT Tropical Fish), an online aquatic resource and information website for tropical aquarium fish keepers, I would learn and understand more about tropical fish, and might even be more inclined to join the growing number of aquarists. At the very least I could compliment my friends on their neon tetras instead of saying: "those sure are some shiny fish you got there".