In our second survey of fishkeepers in the UK, customers visiting 64 retail outlets throughout Britain filled in questionnaires. The total estimated population of ornamental fish was 135 million (our previous survey found 151 million). This equates to almost 2.5 fish per person in the population.

When the records for both surveys were combined, OATA found that:

• The mean length of time spent in he hobby is just over 8 years. The median time is 5 years. This is some evidence that 50% of hobbyists starting in any year give up the hobby in 3 years, while 75% give up in 6 years.

• The mean number of fish kept is 44. However, very keen hobbyists owning more than 100 fish constitute 6.6% of the population, but own 45.5% of the fish. The median figure is 22.

• The total population of ornamental fish in the country is in the region of 144,072,500.

• Most hobbyists have only one aquarium or pond. 63% of hobbyists keep only one category of fish. 27% keep 2 categories, 7% keep 3 categories and only 32 respondents keep all four.