Remembering my first aquarium... how the heck did it stay alive???

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serjuanca888

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Mar 17, 2003
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I was thinking about my first aquarium today, and I was thinking that nothing should have survived in it.

It was a 5.5g aquarium with a UGF filter and an incandescent hood. I had no other filters.

I had it stocked with a pleco, four tiger barbs, three dalmation mollies, two kuhli loaches, and an oscar (yes, i know).

I also had an Amazon Sword which grew great. I could even say that it thrived better than any other plants I've ever had.

I never changed the water or cleaned the gravel. All I did was top off the water weekly.

I also had some breeding going on. My mollies multiplied like crazy, but of course they ate the fry. My tiger barbs even layed eggs once in the amazon sword, but something ate the eggs.

My question is: how the heck did anything live in this tank? I must have been extremely lucky. Now I know the fish weren't happy, but they were alive. That really surprises me.
 

Rometiklan

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Feb 27, 2003
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That's not too surprising, as I have heard similar stories plenty of times from people who are just casual aquarists. They do not do anything remotely routine except to put in some flakes every now and again, and to top off the water level due to evaporation. The fishes survive because if the poor water conditions are built up slowly enough over time, fishes can slowly acclimate to these conditions without undue shock to their systems. Some fishes are resilient enough to tolerate a wide range of water conditions, even those conditions outside their normal comfort zone if done gradually.

The problem starts when that same casual aquarist decides to make a water change after going a long period of time without one. The resulting water conditions are so vastly altered that the fishes often die or develop diseases due to the extreme shock to their systems, even though the water is now closer to the fish's ideal condition. Ironic, isn't it?
 

blitzen25bm

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i think fish strains and stuff are getting weaker they are getting too mass produced. i remember my first pond like 12 years ago the koi were like 30 dollars and now you can get them at petsmart for 2.99 and they are full of deformities. my first fish were endlers and guppies in a 2 gallon bowl with no filters or even an air pump. i used drinking water but never cycled or had a heater or anything i probably changed the water like once every 6 months, complete water changes and scrubbed all the rocks too. -john
 

Tetratastic

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Apr 7, 2003
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My first tank was a 10gal with two kuhlis, two gold fish and a pleco (all of this fish, tank, equipment, etc. was a friend's that was given to me when they moved out of state).

The tank had just a filter (the stick to the inside of the tank kind - I don't know the technical name), and no heater (probably because of the goldfish).

I would clean out the tank completely once a month. I put all the fish into a big bucket and then cleaned everything - including the gravel, filled the tank back up with water - no water conditioner - and put the fish back in.

I also fed them nothing but flake food, the tank also had no plants, just some shells to hide under.

All the fish lived for 7-10 years... I have no idea how they did it either!

Thank goodness I know a little better now!
 

Matak

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Jun 18, 2002
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Originally posted by Tetratastic

I would clean out the tank completely once a month. I put all the fish into a big bucket and then cleaned everything - including the gravel, filled the tank back up with water - no water conditioner - and put the fish back in.
Me too. It must have been nasty for the gills with all that chlorine. After about a year I moved and the home made tank developed a big crack. I gave my fish back to the store for free and was shocked at how much they had grown. I am even more shocked now that I understand good fish keeping.


Also posted by Tetratastic
I also had an Amazon Sword which grew great. I could even say that it thrived better than any other plants I've ever had.
It must have been all that natural fertilizer! ;)
 

Tim Bo

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Apr 11, 1999
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Fortunately I did lots and lots of research before I set up my first tank. I do remember seeing a tank for the first time though, atleast one that I got to take a close look at. I was about 12 years old and my friend had a tank at home he wanted to show me : A 20 gallon with 3 Jack Dempseys (juvenlies), some frogs, 2 Kribs, 5 or 6 plaites, two goldfish (big), 1 angel, and two bettas. He kept going on about how he was going to get a bigger fish pretty soon. At the time, I just remember being in awe at all the fish. Now I know that that tank was a disaster waiting to happen...
 

wetmanNY

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Me and my brother's very first tank (1950s!) was a 5 gallon in a "marbleized" painted iron frame: guppies and floating Cabomba. (Later Dwarf Gouramis spawned in it!) Then we got a "big" 20g with a slate bottom.

We never did water changes. But when we'd finished siphoning over the surface of the gravel, and topped up-- it was the same thing! Lucky fish.

What a zoo: guppies, platies, zebrafish, Neon Tetras, Head-and-Tail Lights, Serpae Tetras, Dwarf Gouramis-- and a betta.

But we always had real plants.
 
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