Fantasy fish keeping swims towards DS

We have mixed feelings about keeping fish. If you have an aquarium with crystal clear water and colourful fish, they can certainly be very pleasant and tranquil to look at.

But if – and we speak from experience – your filter doesn't function properly, the water goes thick and stinky, and the fish act like they're auditioning for a starring role in Jaws, by doggedly chasing down and attacking all the other fish, they're not so pleasurable.

So we're unsure whether we should be excited or scared about the announcement of not one, but two fish keeping games for Nintendo's portable console: Aquarium by DS and Fantasy Aquarium by DS (shown above – click to see Aquarium shots), which are being published by Mercury Games, are due in December.

It may not surprise you to learn there are similarities between the two, not least in the way both put you in charge of an aquarium and hand over responsibility for feeding, cleaning and decorating a fish tank.

Over 30 types of fish are available for your tank in either version of the game. In Aquarium, these are 'real-life' pets, such as clown fish and guppies, whereas Fantasy Aquarium features less likely home pets such as blue whales and dolphins.

You'll even be able to swap rare fish with friends over Wi-Fi.

True to life, getting the right mix of fish will be important for the harmony of your tank. You might, for instance, find that whales and seals don't mix too well. (We don't know – our real aquarium was never quite big enough.)

Fail to check on your tank at least once every few days and you might also have some deaths on your hands. Presumably there'll be a virtual toilet to flush the victims down, although we're not sure what provisions will be included for disposal of the killer whale…

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