We were sort of surprised to discover how many of you proclaim your love for FarmVille, the social farming sim game from Zynga. We reported that the company had trademarked the name FishVille last month, and speculated that an aquatic derivative of the wildly popular social game might be in the works.

And indeed it was, with FishVille launching in beta today. It’s a bit of a late contender to the aquarium games space, with Happy Aquarium, Fish World and My Fishbowl all getting a head start. Nevertheless, Zynga has enough clout in the social games space to make FishVille a quick winner in all likelihood. With an estimated $200 million in revenue this year, it’s arguably the most successful of the companies in the space along with Playfish, Playdom, and others.

The game itself is fairly simple, like many of the Zynga’s other titles including YoVille and Cafe World along with FarmVille. You’re given a virtual aquarium with a few starter fish, that you feed and then harvest and sell to invest in new fish eggs. In a similar revenue mechanic to other Zynga games, you can either pony up real money to get credits to buy more eggs, or complete ad-related surveys and offers in exchange for credits — a practice that has recently come under some scrutiny as a host of less than reputable ads have been finding their way into social games from several companies.

Have you played FishVille yet, or tried out any other social games on Facebook or elsewhere? Let us know your impressions and your favorites in the comments.

Tags: facebook, fishville, games, offer ads, social games, virtual goods, Zynga

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FishVille Launches on Facebook; It’s Like Underwater FarmVille