We at Armchair World are always on the lookout for exceptional, well made and ingenious items and this marvelous "aquarium" certainly fits the bill.

How many times have you set up a fish bowl, dropped in a goldfish and then tried to keep both bowl and goldfish looking good? What with the necessity of replacing the water, cleaning the bowl and regularly feeding the fish, the result was probably an early grave for the fish and a guilt trip for you. Enter the Easy Aquarium in a Frame.

It's an attractive frame with a narrow tank that holds three plastic fish. The fish have articulated tails and are painted to resemble reef fish. The patented hidden magnetic mechanism causes the fish to move with extremely realistic motions. It's a fish tank without the work!

The aquarium comes in two models, grey or black. The grey model has a grey frame with a photographic reef background; the fish are colored in reds, yellow oranges and cream. The black model has a photographic sea anenome background; the fish are colored in yellow, light blue, cream and rose. Each frame is 9-1/4" wide by 7-1/2" high by 2-3/4"deep.

You can hang the aquarium on the wall like a picture frame or stand it up on a table or desk. To add your own creative "touch" to your aquarium you can replace the realistic background with your own photograph. Just think of the possibilities. Your fish can appear to be swimming in your living room, your backyard or your office. Instant 21st century surrealism!

Setting up the aquarium is simplicity itself. Just fill the tank with water, drop in the fish, add a few drops of dishwashing liquid and place the tank in the frame. Insert two "C"-cell batteries (not included) and your aquarium is ready to go. A readily accessible on-off switch allows you to wake up your fish or put them to sleep at your command. If the aquarium is left on continuously, your fish will swim for about a month until the batteries are exhausted. We keep our aquarium on during business hours; at that rate the batteries last over 4 months before needing replacement.