Yeah, dont buy goldfish either.... A guy at a petstore once told me that they breed goldfish so much, so fast and so "cheaply" as he put it, that they aren't expected to hold up more then a few weeks, unless you get one of the larger ones that cost a few bucks (but aren't reccomended to swim in those little bowls....

I used to raise Gala Sharks, they are easy to maintain, friendly to other fish, but if they last more then a year they will get too big for your bowl and you will need to transfer them to at least a 10 gallon aqarium. A friend of mine had one once that he bought that was the size of a typical small goldfish that when it died it was the size of a small trout....yeah they do get big.


Anyway, if you plan on getting a fish, I noticed that someone said get a beta. Thats an excellent idea if you are only going to have one fish. They are easy to maintain and last a good long time.