Very sound advice!

In the early stages of the game, it is better to stop time when the computer is off or if you can't be sure when you'll be using it again.

I have a 'cheat' tip regarding time settings, though.

Play 2 games simultaneously. You could call your 2nd game TEST. You don't have to actively play the 2nd 'TEST' game but before you stop playing the game, make sure that this is the game you last selected.

That way, if you play again much sooner or later than you had expected/planned then you can change user to your 1st game and then select options to change the speed. This is very useful if you left the game on 2X or normal (1X) but weren't able to play the game for a couple of days - an extra insurance to prevent your fish from dying on you. Likewise, if you left your game on 1/2X or stopped the time and you return a few hours later, you can speed up the time too.