No, their not the same as keeping fish. They require live foods. You may be able to train them to eat prepared foods, but they will go back to live after a short time and not accept anything else. They also require some specialized equip. that is not standard for salt fish. Like keeping fish though, if you do a lot of research then I don't think they are very difficult to keep. DON'T purchase then try to catch up on the research, do it (research) first.