How did you get into fish?

[purple permelia]

I've owned just about every type of pet (excluding the fabulous pet rock). Now that I have 2 kids, I don't have time to train a dog. We decided on fish for our family mainly, because we have allergies. Fish don't smell, don't have dander, don't need shots, and don't need to go for walks. Fish are cool. :cool2:

I'm impressed by how little they eat, by how relaxing they are to watch, and how they show me when they haven't been fed. All the gouramis line up and stare at me!

What was it about fish that appealed to you?

[budrecki]

My Dad has had a fish since I was 8. Just 1, an Oscar named spot. He was a gift for my 5 brothers and I when we were able to move home (to my Dad)after a long custody battle with my mother. Spot is still kicking :rolleyes: at the age of 25. He lives in a 160H by himself. He made it through 5 moves in 3 different states over the years. I am 33 and Spot is my Dads "youngest child". He's the best fish ever!

[DaisyTattoo]

I used to keep fish but gave it up when I had my child. I recently got back into it when my parents decided they were tired of their 55g and wanted to put a fireplace where the tank was sitting. So...I got the tank. They didnt want to give it to my brother since his daughter killed all of their fish b/c they needed a "bath" and were "thirsty" which means she dumped hella milk and soap into the tank. There were no survivors to this terrible tragedy, thus...I now have a 55g tank.

[mandimoron]

Ever since I was a little kid, I've been obsessed with animals of all sorts. There's nary an animal on the planet that I don't find cute in some way, and keeping fish gives me an opportunity to observe a whole other realm of flora and fauna that would otherwise be little more than a mystery to me. My fishkeeping career began in earnest in this past October with an impulse purchase of a small starter kit, and though the hobby may be expensive, I have absolutely no regrets. I love how there's always something new to be learned every day. ^_^

[fishman1979]

i had them when i was younger, but nothing like i have now. when i got my 10g in sept, i just woke up one morning and decided to go buy a tank. they are really peaceful to watch, and just like dogs in my opinion. i walk in front of the tank and they all swim right over to the front and stare at me, i love it

[Roan Art]

My 4 year old son had been asking for a fish tank since he was three. We have a ton of animals -- cats, dogs, snakes -- so we finally gave in and bought him one for his birthday. It was a 20g with three silver dollars and three tiger barbs -- we didn't know any better at the time. My husband, who had a reef tank years ago, was supposed to look after it.

As usual, I ended up looking after the tank and one thing lead to another :rolleyes:

Now my hubby calls me "Aqua Woman" and since he's decided he likes snakes after all, he's adopted my ball pythons and sand boa (Monty, Ricky, Susan and Dianna) and I call him "Snake Man" :D

Roan

[hurricanejedi]

I think one day I decided I wanted to get some fish :idea: . After 2 years and much research I followed through with my decision :p: .

[LunchBox]

so I was about halfway through my life story when I realized that I wasn't actually saying why I got into fish. I like them becasue they are fun to watch, are sometimes a challenge to keep (without having to handle large pieces of poop) and I just feel relaxed when I watch the tank. I've made my share of mistakes over the years and for a while I had my 29 gallon (my third tank, I sold the other 2) sitting empty. well one day my wife told me to either put some fish in ther eor sel lthe **** thing so I got back into the hobby. needless to say I have learned many things since then and know exactly how horrible I used to be to my fish back in the day, but now I can enjoy my fish even more knowing I'm treating them right :)

[BcBerri]

It was actually a whim. One I will never regret. I was in Petsmart and said "Why not?" Well now 2 yrs later and lots of "learning experiences" later I love it and can't of not having a tank in the house. At one time I had 3 running. Now I just have one, but I am having MTS like a mad woman!!! :Angel:

[Lauren]

my mom didn't want us to have any pets with fur, or any reptile. Sort of ruled everything out other than fish and rock with string.

[phises]

well when you see fishtank at your grandparents house and your own parents house growing up you tend to be fascinated with keeping fish yourself and how serene it is when you see them in there, good therapy too.

[joephys]

... Fish ...don't need shots...

You don't take yours to get shots?!?!?! Thats terible. I take mine in every six months for theirs. :joke: Jk.

I kinda always wanted to get a fish tank 'cause I always thought they looked cool. One day my old neighbors moved and let me have their gold fish. It didn't take long after that that I was hooked.

Fish are great animals to keep. Its so much easier to cleanup their poop than it is our guinea pigs.

[Fish Kate]

When my daughter asked for a goldfish for her 9th birthday...I did a little online research and ended up here, among the All Knowing. :bowing: We have a tiny house but I love the fish so much I keep buying 10 gal tanks and squeezing them in here and there.

I grew up by a lake and went swimming with the fishes from the time I was a little girl. :dive2: I also fished for them using a bent safety pin and American Cheese as bait (caught plenty of them that way). We had goldfish in a bowl and the little turtles back when they were sold in every 5 & 10 cent store. I wanted my daughter to have the same kind of experience (without abusing the goldfish!)

As an adult, I've had dogs, cats, birds, various and assorted small mammals, even a few reptiles. But fish are by far the best. Why? It's impossible for them to annoy you or make a mess in the house! :)

[Slappy*McFish]

I've always liked looking at aquariums for as long as I can remember. When I was in the 7th grade, my science classroom was full of aquariums and terrariums. We had fish, lizards, frogs, spiders, scorpions, and even a baby caimen. I'm pretty sure it was around that time that I decided I wanted a fish tank. I got one for my birthday about a year later or so and have been in the hobby ever since.

[Rbishop]

Red Lobster.


:devil:

[Gomisan]

I never really thought much about fish until my best friend got interested in Marines. I saw him build up a tank and then add two more and eventually have a custom tank and sump system built. All the while I admired the fish and learnt a bit about the hobby.

But it is expensive for him, the lights, the tank, the live rock and everything. So I just watched... until one day he mentioned that his regular Aquarium shop was closing it's doors, and had a sale on.

I'd just had a bonus at work, so was feeling cashed up, and I wandered down with him and had a look at the freshwater setups... well I walked out of the shop a fair bit poorer with a complete setup, tank, fish, plants, test kits, pumps, gravel vacuum, EVERYTHING I could get. I'm sure it was the easiest sale the store ever made.

Then I started learning ..... and came here. That was 40 days ago. I'm hooked now... trying to work out a way to broach the subject of a second tank with my GF.

[vic21]

We have a 15 year old seal point siamese queen that runs the show.
The cat scratches me, the fish don't! Ergo, I really like the fish.

[Gumby131]

when i was like 14 my freind went to by some fish for his tank, he had a tropical tank that i thought looked cool. i taged along, becouse there was the motocross shop just nextdoor and needed some stuff, when we arived the mx store was closed and i decided just to go into the fish shop with my mate, i saw some zebra daios and bought them with some some change and put em in an old 10 gal

[fishisme]

My family had a gold fish tank, it was only a 30 gal but i loved it. It had 3 gold fish and a sucker fish.... But then the tank got a leak and we decided to quit the hobbie, I cant remember were the fish went.... And then 5 years later i see a betta fish and buy it, and then i just kept buying fish well then the tanks were over stocked and then i bought bigger tanks.. I cant wait till i hit the lotery..i am out of fish monny.

[Emg]

Well, we first tried fish back when my daughter was about 5. I bought a little plastic pet tote.......and a feeder goldfish for about 49cents. That guy lasted about 2 hours.

Soo, we picked up another one figuring there must have been something wrong with that guy........that one lasted half the day.....hhmmm........ok, one more try. The final goldfish lasted 1 day and a half.
We gave up after that one, I just figured fish were not for us.


When my daughter was 12 she asked for a fish tank for Christmas. I thought, what the heck...we'll give it another try. I bought a 10gallon setup that had everything in it.....including...."HEY, what's this stuff.....Dechlorinator ??...what's that for ??" Not to mention a handy little booklet with helpful hints about tank cycles, stocking tanks......and hey...adding dechlorinator and why....!
Best 50 bucks I ever spent !

That and 20 some odd tanks later...........is where I am right now.......my husband just told me last month's electric bill was over 200$ .............must be his computers....http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/innocent/innocent0009.gif

[LunchBox]

my husband just told me last month's electric bill was over 200$ .............must be his computers....http://www.planetsmilies.com/smilies/innocent/innocent0009.gif
haha! so how many tanks are running right now that the bill was 200 bucks? I'm just curious since i haven't done any looking into how much power my tank sucks up ;)

[fish_freak]

Well I just always had fish my whole life. My Aunt used to own a big LFS so we had good acsess to tanks and supplies and what not. I cant remeber not haveing a ten gallon in my room and my parents always had a 30. I finaly broke down the ten when I was like 16. (I was a teenager and to busy for fish now I thought) Well that lasted two years till I was 18 then I got bit buy the bug again and bought myself the 90 gal that I still have. I one point I had the 90 gal 2 55gal 3 10 gal and 2 30 gal going (about two years ago). Then I had a kid and well I didnt have as much time for the tanks so I took down the tens and the 30's. Then I moved cause I was haveing another kid and decided I would just keep the 90 sold everything but my 90 one ten and one 30 and intended on just keeping the 90 set up. That lasted about 4 months and now I have my 10 30 and 90 running

[born2lovefish]

An older guy my family knows gave my brother, who is 9 years older than me, a fish bowl when he was young. My brother bought a 29 gallon tank at an early age and started keeping fish. My dad took interest before I was born and bought a big tank. When I was about 8 or 9 my brother went off to college. He left me in charge of it. At the age of 10, I got my first tank. At about age 14 my dad put me in charge of his 75 gallon. He just did not have the time to take care of it. I am 17 now and I have around 5 tanks. I have kept piranhas, a stingray, which I am looking to get another one is about a month, and a long list of other fish. I have 4 black skirted tetras that I have had for over 6 years. Crazy I know. I have tried to breed betas, but the eggs died and I gave up because I was busy with other things. Last night my angel fish laid eggs again. I have never had them hatch, so I am trying to artificial hatch them this time. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Fish make great pets. When I go to college I plan to try saltwater. I have adult brine shrimp right now, but that is all of saltwater experience I have.

[gagaliya]

a bit strange but i got into fishing because my mother insisted i have some active flowing water in my apartment for fen sui. Something about the year 2006.

Anyway i wasnt all that interested in fishkeeping at first, so tried to get those table top fountains instead, and well they all sucked and splashed water all over the place. Then i saw biorb and bought it on the spot because how cool it looked and to get my mom off my back! Next decided to do some research on stock and found aquariacentral and kind snowballed from there. Now my living room looks like a fish market, so yeah i thnk i have "flowing water" ....

[Danny-O]

My kids got three free goldfish at a fair a couple years ago. The rest, as they say, is history.

[wesleydnunder]

I won a comet at the fair in 1968. He lasted a week. During the next few months I killed several more. I almost gave up, convinced that the only way to keep my fish alive involved stoking the tank with a chicken's foot while mumbling in patois. My mother bought a book on aquaria for me and I stopped killing fish. My first tank was a ten gallon surrounded by a chrome metal frame. Anyone remember those?

Mark

[Drekkyk]

Yep, won 2 fish at a fair 20+ years ago. One died and the other lived for 3 years. Since then I have always been interested, had a tank in my teens that started as a community tank and then changed to a black Pirahna tank. I then joined the military and didnt bother due to the moves. I got out about a year ago and took the plunge again in late January.

[bert501]

We always had fish tanks when I was growing up. My grandmother had a big tank (maybe a 75) that she had planted and raised guppies and one mean old catfish!

I got the mean fish when her work schedule changed and she couldn't devote the time to him. We moved him in a bucket almost 500 miles and he not only lived he got meaner! Would literally attack you if you stuck your hand in the tank. Of course if I rode 500 miles in a bucket I think I would be a mite cranky, too!

After that we kept 10 gallon tanks going all the time with goldfish (I know--wish I knew then what I know now LOL)

My brother has a 125 that he is doing as a saltwater tank but that doesn't spark my interest like the freshwater tanks.

Where we are now is that when my son turned 3 he asked for a fish tank for his birthday and we got a betta for him. That has now turned into a 20g AND the betta tank. Apparently we will be purchasing another 10g next month so the betta in the small tank can "have a bigger house, Mommy!" with a few more female bettas to keep her company!

But that will leave the betta tank empty so I foresee another male betta in that one but then he will be lonely and need a 10 with some friends which leaves the betta tank empty again.....where will this madness end?!

[Midas-n-Titus]

One of my college roommates had a 20 gal. tank at his parents house that he brought to college and we ended up getting some fish together a few days after we filled it. I ended up being the only one taking care of them (as in feeding them, I never knew about water changes, etc) and once we graduated and moved our separate ways, I ended up keeping them.

The original tiger barb we had died after about a week, the green tiger barb died about 2 months ago and I still have the two original gouramis. They're at least 3 years old now and have endured some neglect. Not through laziness, but lack of knowledge.

Anyway, over the last few month the interest in my acuarium has greatly increased and I'm learning a little bit day by day. Now I can't wait to buy a new tank and start things off on the right foot.

[fish_breeder_05]

saw dragonfish. spent all destassiling money on 55 (first tank). started with a community tank, but an electric catfish and bluecrayfish changed that. both dead now. now I keep a 10" kong blood parrot worth $200, a bicher, a growing collection of knives (a 7" G. carapo, and 12" G. carapo), synodontis cats, and plan to get a fw ray setup in the summer. nuff said

[RockabillyChick]

i have a cat, 4 pet rats, hermit crabs, and i had a cockatiel for 3 years up until a couple weeks ago. i gave him to my husband's aunt.

but i've always had bettas, and a few years ago, my mom and I built a pond in our front yard with koi and goldfish, then i met my husband who told me about his 200g tank he used to have with bala sharks (that ended tragically due to a fire in the appartment building and the power being off for a week. all the fish died of suffocation or cold)

i always liked fish, and just decided one day to turn the spare 10g i had been using for hermit crabs into a fish tank. the crabs went into a 20g and i started the 10g with a red honey gourami and 6 glowlight tetras. about a month ago i moved the fish into the hermit crab's 20g long and put the crabs in a 20g high, and my two male bettas in the 10g with a divider. now i'm officially hooked and plan on many, many more much larger tanks as soon as i have the money and a place to put them

[cyberbeer65]

My first tank was a ten gallon surrounded by a chrome metal frame. Anyone remember those?

I had plenty of those when I was a kid,ten gallon and larger.I wish i had kept them.

Just about a year ago i got back into fishkeeping.I'm so happy I did too.I'm so glad I stumbled across AC,because I have learned so much here.when i was a kid,no one did water changes,or added declhorinator,or even knew about the proper way to take care of our fishy friends.

[Chill]

My ex use to keep fish and I never really saw the point. One day I was with her at the LFS and saw a tank full of juvenile colombian sharks. There was about 30 of them in a 20 gallon tank and they were chasing each other all over the tank in one giant school. Constant motion - very impressive - I was hooked. Twenty bucks a pop though so the thoughts of a school were a little daunting. Couple of days later I was at Walmart and they had the same fish for $2.99 I bought three and stuck them in a 10 gallon. Later I come to learn something about the hobby and now realize that was a mistake. This was my first fish purchase the label said "maximum size 4 - 6 inches" and the clerk assured me they would get no where near that size. They have since moved through a progression of slightly larger tanks. Unfortunately one died along the way. Thankfuly the other two are alive and well.