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Sorry, I couldn't figure out a way to put this as a how to, so it's just going to be a general rant based upon the outrageous claims that fish are cheaper in real life than they are on Gaia. Really now? Shall we look at the cost? By the way, I'm calculating all of this in real dollars, not gold. If you can get the fish for free through the daily chance (technically you could buy all your fish from the marketplace and spend no money, but someone else had to buy them, so they are not actually free), I'm counting it as free.

Supplies

Real life:
- I don't know how big Gaia's tank is, and quite frankly, I don't care. If you're going to be keeping multiple fish, you'll need a large tank. I'll go with something I saw at Walmart (which will probably kill your fish if it's like any of their other products, but hey, it's cheap): $155 for a 55 gallon with lights, a filter, gravel, a heater, and a hood.
- Decorations can cost $10+ depending on what and where you buy.
- Fish food is pretty cheap, probably around $5~$10 dollars.

Gaia:
- The aquarium itself is free to own.
- The most expensive decoration comes out to about $5.
- The fish food is also free.

Fish Themselves

Real life:
- Feeder goldfish are about 10 to 30 cents.
- I have no idea if/where you can buy fish similar to arrowfish/sharktooth fish.
- Depending on the type of pufferfish you get, I've seen anything from $5-$60.
- Betta fish (seems like the streamer we have) cost from $2~$7
- Banggai Cardinals go for $18, or, that's the cheapest I've seen.
- Seahorses are hard to find, the price I've seen is $60.
- Octopi are very rare, they usually go for hundreds.
- Jellyfish seem to be up around $100
Do I even need to continue for every single one?

Gaia:
- Of course, goldfish, arrowfish, and sharktooth fish are free.
- The spikey costs $1.49 (cheaper)
- Streamer costs $1.99 (about the same)
- Banggai Cardinals are also $1.99 (much cheaper)
- Seahorses are also $1.99 (much much cheaper)
- Octopi are $2.99 (obscenely cheaper)
- Jellyfish are also $2.99 (and are also obscenely cheaper)

So, really? It's cheaper to buy real fish than it is on Gaia? Yeah, I understand not wanting to spend your money on virtual fish ("THAT DIE LOLOLO!!111" as though Gaia invented the idea of a lifespan), but don't throw that bullshit at me. Gaia's aquarium is provided to you for free, and even though the fish you put in it have to be bought with cash, they are nowhere near the steep costs of their real-life counterparts. You could say that, "OMG BUT U CAN BUY SO MANY CHEAP FISH WIT DAT MONAI!!!!" Well, guess what? You can buy a ton of cheap fish off the vend too.

To reiterate, I'm not saying you have to or even should buy the fish on Gaia over buying real fish. I'm saying that Gaia's aquarium feature is nowhere near the cost of a real aquarium, and that everyone who's crying about the cost being sooo much more than real life should actually look up how much the real counterpart would cost.

By the way, if you were to buy the maximum amount of fish you could have (15) of the most expensive fish (now mermaids, 7.49), it would still be less than the cost of a real aquarium with real fish and the money it takes for upkeep.