I'm not really a cash player - when playing with friends for smaller amounts of money it gets annoying trying to pay everyone off at the end, so we usually play winner take all (second gets his money back). I'd start off with $10 buy-ins because that's what I always play.

However...I'd rather do $5 buy-ins if possible, so thanks for the suggestion.

As for fish...well...I am used to playing weak/maniacal players, so it's not a big deal. I fare well against decent players, too, so I don't have much of a preference.