They are pets their owners cannot cuddle, carry or interact with in any physical way.
Neither do they respond when their owners call them by name.
Mostly, they live in a world of their own separated from their owners by a glass tank.
Yet fish owners, also known as aquarists, can become very attached to their pets, dedicating hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to their care.
Interior designer Michael Lai, 44, has cared for hundreds of fish since his fascination with aquatic life started at the age of six.
He says: "Most fish have their own character and behaviour and seasoned hobbyists will know with one look whether the fish are in a good state or whether they are sick. It's like keeping a dog and suddenly noticing it is not coming to the door."
Now the owner of about 50 fish, including six stingrays, he adds: "Just looking at them swimming happily and rushing to the top (of the tank) when I feed them has given me many happy memories."
Mr Lai has found that visitors enjoy his fish too. "It has offered our guests who pop on over many topics to talk about. They are fascinated by the many varieties of fish and the vast knowledge behind the simple hobby," he says.
Fascination with fish extends to all ages. Eight years ago, Mr Adrian Yeap, 45, bought his three children a custom 1.5m-long marine tank, which they filled with soft corals and colourful fish such as clown fish, cichlids and surgeon fish.
The transportation manager says: "It's very much like owning a pet. You come home and you enjoy looking at them. They're so colourful, so beautiful. The children love the clown fish because of the movie Finding Nemo and they've come to know a lot about the sea from looking at it.
"They go online and find interesting facts about the fish in the tank, print out the information and put it in a folder which they take out to share with their friends who visit."
According to hobbyists and salespeople Life! spoke to, fish keepers can become so dedicated to their pets that they start breeding fish, designing aquatic landscapes or collecting rare and exotic species, such as the female thousand island, black diamond stingray P13 owned by Mr Lai.
Dubbed Big Mama, the stingray is worth more than $1,000 and is the pride of his collection.
Some aquarists are so devoted to their hobby that it takes up whole walls or rooms in their homes.
At the peak of his hobby about eight years ago, dental surgeon and fish enthusiast Kenny Poh, 45, had more than 30 fish tanks which filled a room in his Pasir Ris flat.
There he would breed fish, such as fighting fish and the African killies, and design his own aquascapes, arranging drift wood, plants and rocks in a tank so that it was like "a painting come alive", he says.
A dedicated aquarist in his youth, he rediscovered his passion 15 years ago when, at 30, he was about to get married and move into a new flat.
"I like keeping fish. If you keep a dog, it's noisy. It barks and runs around. But a tank is quite serene. When you come home and have nothing to do, you stare into the tank and it has a calming effect, or you can feed the fish and watch them go into a feeding frenzy," he says.
He also prefers fish to furry animals for their ease of maintenance and cleanliness. "They're not dirty because they are in an enclosed environment which you can control," he says.
Though he cleared out most of his tanks seven years ago to make room for his daughter, Venus, he still keeps one tank, a 15cm cube of plants and some fish.
"Now my daughter likes looking at it. She already wants a tank of her own. My wife's greatest fear is that the hobby gets rekindled and we end up with another fish room," he says.
Though fish are rather low-maintenance pets - they typically require daily feeding and a fortnightly or monthly water change, depending on the tank - the initial costs of fish ownership can be expensive.
Tank systems, which include a tank, water pump and filtration system, lights, and water additives, can cost anywhere from $300 to upwards of $10,000.
In addition, these tank systems will add anywhere from $50 to more than $200 to your monthly electric bill.
Fish and plants cost anywhere from a couple dollars to thousands of dollars a piece.
However, a burgeoning aquarist could start an aquarium for less than $20 with the purchase of a bubble pump ( $8 ), a small plastic tank (about $5) and three to five guppies or tetras (about $1 to $5 each).
First-time owners are advised to start with freshwater tanks as they require less complicated maintenance than marine (saltwater) tanks.
Instead of fish, some aquarists fill their tanks with ornamental shrimp, which come in a rainbow of colours, from red to blue to green, with many different types of designs and markings on their shells. Like fish owners, shrimp owners can become hobbyists with rooms full of tanks, often breeding the shrimp in an effort to create new shell designs or new species.
The shrimp, which are only 1 to 2cm long, can cost $1.50 to upwards of $180 a piece, depending on the rarity of the breed and the beauty of its markings.
Mr Sam Lee, 33, a civil servant, and his wife Pamela Koh, 31, a life skills lecturer, have kept ornamental shrimp in their Tampines flat for the past three years.
"They help me to relax. They keep moving around, interacting among themselves. The ornamental shrimp have different colours, different designs on their shells, every single one is different. It's fun to look at them," says Mr Lee, who has no children.
Mr Lee has one tank of ornamental shrimp, one tank of mini lobsters, and three tanks of Wondershrimp, a shrimp species that is self-sustaining, and plant ecosystem developed and trademarked by local shrimp shop CRS Haven using a special type of volcanic shrimp.
Unlike other fresh water tanks, a Wondershrimp tank does not require any extra filtration or light system to survive.
They cost $40 for a water glass sized tank to $1,000 for a half metre tank, or more if you want a custom design.
Mr Lee has a Wondershrimp tank in his office, which he likes to look at to relax.
"They are easy to keep and very soothing to me. Especially in times of stress or pressure from work, looking at the shrimp just relaxes my mind. It's a fuss-free kind of pet."
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