Why do you have your pets?

I got my first fish due to my father's obsession with fish-breeding! I was 11 when my father started getting crazy about breeding Japanese carp. He would use different fish from the kohaku (white and red), taisho sanke (white, red and black) and showa sanshoku (mostly black with red and white patches) to see what colour variations would come up. I was put in charge of feeding the growing carp and that was how I developed my love for aquariums and fish-rearing in general.
So yes, you could say that I was a chip off the old block!
I find sitting by a pond and watching ornate and elegant Japanese carp gracefully gliding along is just mesmerizingly beautiful.