Yellowknife (Jan 05/07) - His job is dedicated to making fish comfy in their homes, but Patrice Lapointe doesn't actually like the creatures.

"I'm not a fan of fish," he said with a smile. "I like the plants and the tanks."

Lapointe started an aquarium maintenance business in September. He cleans, designs, decorates, and maintains the fish tanks of Yellowknife for clients who don't have time to tackle the job themselves.

"I wanted to work at something I like," he said.

Originally from Roberval, Que., the 25 year-old has been in Yellowknife for nearly four years.

His interest in watery entertainment centres coincided with his arrival in the city, he said.

"I wanted to have a pet, which was hard to have in my apartment, so I bought an aquarium," he said.

He bought goldfish but quickly got bored, he said. Pet store staff encouraged him to expand into growing his own aquarium plants and he became hooked, said Lapointe.

He started his business after attending a program with Service Canada on self-employment. Now he provides plants for his customers as well, to improve the look of their aquariums.

Beyond the artistic side of things, he also takes care of the grunt work, which he admits can be gross.

"Some are terrible," he said. "Most of the time my first visit is a lot of work. Sometimes tanks haven't been cleaned in months."

It always gets easier, he said, once he is in charge of maintaining the tank.

Prices depend on the size of tank and the regularity of his visits. Most of his clients have 50-gallon tanks, and he charges about $150 per month - a $100 base fee with $1 per gallon on top of that.

He provides the plants for free and also lends accessories such as lights to his clients.

He has three tanks of his own now.

"I should get more," he said with a rueful grin.

Don't expect there to be a lot of fish in them, though.

"I only put in a few," said Lapointe, "just so people don't ask where the fish are."