Dan - That's a tough question. Maintaining fish goes far beyond simply looking at them and feeding them. This means water changes, gravel vacuuming, filter maintainance, inspection of heating and lighting and observing the fish themselves with a critical eye for signs of any behaviour which is 'not normal'. AcmePet - Everyone of us has had, at one time or another, to destroy one of our fish due to disease. Even though we tried very hard to save it with various medicines, water changes, hospital tanks, etc.
Some people say that running the fish down the toilet is really cruel to the fish.
Dan - I personally prefer putting the fish in a ziplock bag with some water and then placing the bag in the freezer. Fish definitely have personalities and this is most evident in you keep different species. My fish do recognize me. When I feed them they all come to the front of the tank and some will even eat out of my hand. When my wife feeds them if I'm away on business, they hide in their caves when she approaches the tank.