My mom got my a betta in one of those dreadful vases. I moved him to a 5 gallon tank shortly after I got him. Now I moved up to a 29 gallon tank that I am still stocking.
how did your fishkeeping get started?
- Thread starter fishdude
- Start date
My start was through my parents also, but very long ago... They got a wrought iron stand with a 20H on the top, a 15 underneath (both stainless framed, slate bottomed, stainless strips with incandescent lights) with a piston pump to drive the angelhair and charcoal filter boxes. The setup was in the den, and nobody took care of it, so I said that I would keep it up if it went to my room. It was all downhill from there. Other than some periods in college and grad school, I've kept multiple tanks since then.
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
I was surfing the net and came across some beautiful planted aquariums.
I thought I'd like to try, and so, here I am.
I think I'll stay awhile.
I thought I'd like to try, and so, here I am.
I think I'll stay awhile.I have had fish on and off all my life.
I first had a goldfish in a bowl my mum got.
Then my uncle ( who my mum thought knew alot about fish :thud: ) bought a 5 gallon tank that we stocked with 2 goldfish, a redtailed shark, a molly, a guppy, and a pleco. That tank didnt work out very well as you can imagine, all I had filtration wise was one of those box filters with the charcoal in the bottom and a sponge on the top. That got us out of the hobby for a few years. Then one christmas I got a gift certificate for Pjs and went out and bought a 1 gallon "goldfish starter kit" which i stocked with two ryukins. After about 2 days we relised that this was no option becuase the fish were constantly gaspy at the surface. So we went a bought one of those 2g hexs with the UGF. We also then added 2 kuhli loaches becuase we were told they would help clean up after the goldfish (great advice eh?). Later almost that week i found that old 5 g and set it up.... I then thought i could add more fish ( being like 8 yrs old how did i know ?) so i went out and bought a plec and 2 mollys. For my birthday my uncle gave me a ten gallon tank so again i was told i could add more fish eventully i ended up with 3 goldfish, 2 mollys, 3 glowlight tetras, 2 kuhli loaches, 3 silver hatchets, 2 cories, and a plec. I was never once told i couldnt mix goldfish with tropicals or that my tank was over crowded by either my "expert" uncle or anyone at the LFS. I also never did water changes or even replace the filter. :thud:
Anyways that tank didnt last long ( wonder why?). I then got out of the hobby until 2 years ago when i went to the grand opening of a new super pet. They had a guess how many feeders are in the tank contest which I won. The prize was a 25 g starter kit. Thats the tank I have now. But now that I work at petsmart MTS has set in big time and I'm planning to at the very least upgrade my 25 to a 75-125g in the next few weeks.
So yeah I still feel really bad looking back on my previous tanks and thinking about how many fish I lost but i look forward to getting bigger better tanks soon to do things right.
I first had a goldfish in a bowl my mum got.
Then my uncle ( who my mum thought knew alot about fish :thud: ) bought a 5 gallon tank that we stocked with 2 goldfish, a redtailed shark, a molly, a guppy, and a pleco. That tank didnt work out very well as you can imagine, all I had filtration wise was one of those box filters with the charcoal in the bottom and a sponge on the top. That got us out of the hobby for a few years. Then one christmas I got a gift certificate for Pjs and went out and bought a 1 gallon "goldfish starter kit" which i stocked with two ryukins. After about 2 days we relised that this was no option becuase the fish were constantly gaspy at the surface. So we went a bought one of those 2g hexs with the UGF. We also then added 2 kuhli loaches becuase we were told they would help clean up after the goldfish (great advice eh?). Later almost that week i found that old 5 g and set it up.... I then thought i could add more fish ( being like 8 yrs old how did i know ?) so i went out and bought a plec and 2 mollys. For my birthday my uncle gave me a ten gallon tank so again i was told i could add more fish eventully i ended up with 3 goldfish, 2 mollys, 3 glowlight tetras, 2 kuhli loaches, 3 silver hatchets, 2 cories, and a plec. I was never once told i couldnt mix goldfish with tropicals or that my tank was over crowded by either my "expert" uncle or anyone at the LFS. I also never did water changes or even replace the filter. :thud:
Anyways that tank didnt last long ( wonder why?). I then got out of the hobby until 2 years ago when i went to the grand opening of a new super pet. They had a guess how many feeders are in the tank contest which I won. The prize was a 25 g starter kit. Thats the tank I have now. But now that I work at petsmart MTS has set in big time and I'm planning to at the very least upgrade my 25 to a 75-125g in the next few weeks.
So yeah I still feel really bad looking back on my previous tanks and thinking about how many fish I lost but i look forward to getting bigger better tanks soon to do things right.
I kept seeing the tanks at my local LFS/garden centre and said to my G/f in passing that I would like to try fishkeeping so for my next b'day she got me a 15g tank.
4 months later I brought myself a 40g, a couple of months after that a 55g and then I inherited a further 40g from a friend. I am working away from home at the moment so all the tanks are broken down in storage but I still have regular periods where I plan how I will landscape / stock the tanks and I still visit here to keep the addiction in check.
My then g/f now fiance still says she regrets the day she brought the first tank..
(wait until she finds out we're having a fish room when we move back home... )
4 months later I brought myself a 40g, a couple of months after that a 55g and then I inherited a further 40g from a friend. I am working away from home at the moment so all the tanks are broken down in storage but I still have regular periods where I plan how I will landscape / stock the tanks and I still visit here to keep the addiction in check.
My then g/f now fiance still says she regrets the day she brought the first tank..
(wait until she finds out we're having a fish room when we move back home... )
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For my birthday a few years ago, my girlfriend-at-the-time decided i should get a fish tank so i'd have something to take care of. So we rolled to That Fish Place and picked up a 10 gallon aquarum, an undergravel filter, gravel, a little cave, 3 guppies, 5 or 6 neon tetras, a common pleco, and two or three live plants.
That turned out to be a total disaster. Our lack of experience and knowledge lead to fish dying in an uncycled tank and all kinds of other problems. She lost interest in my tank and just settled for her bettas in bowls. But I decided I was going to do things right and now I've got a 29 gallon and 10 gallon, both with all the goodies, and a 75 gallon on the way soon. Best of all, the only fish i've lost in the past six months were a few neon tetras that came from the LFS with neon tetra disease. Not much i could do there. So yeah, I'm hooked now.
That turned out to be a total disaster. Our lack of experience and knowledge lead to fish dying in an uncycled tank and all kinds of other problems. She lost interest in my tank and just settled for her bettas in bowls. But I decided I was going to do things right and now I've got a 29 gallon and 10 gallon, both with all the goodies, and a 75 gallon on the way soon. Best of all, the only fish i've lost in the past six months were a few neon tetras that came from the LFS with neon tetra disease. Not much i could do there. So yeah, I'm hooked now.
When I was about 7 or 8, our neighbours(who were good friends of my parents) were moving and asked me if I'd like to have their 20 gallon guppy tank, everything included. My parents thought it would teach me some responsibility and allowed me to have it. I had that tank running for about 6 years, never buying new fish, just letting "nature take it's course"... When I was 12, I added a 30 gallon tank and kept basic "community fish" in it(tetras, angel fish, mollies, swordtails, pleco, etc...). From there, my love for the hobby really grew and now, at age 23, I have 7 tanks set up in my basement. My favourite is my 66 gallon brackish tank. I think I'm ready to try salt water now and really wanna set up a porcupine puffer tank...
I really owe those old friends a big "thank you"!
I really owe those old friends a big "thank you"!
My grandson wanted an aquarium for Christmas last year. Of course, I got him one. It only took about 3 weeks of setting his up, buying his fish, etc. for me to decide I liked this! I purchased a 55 gallon for myself. I'm now thinking seriously about getting a 10 gallon for a betta. I guess MTS is trying to take over for me also.
I satrted out with a goldfish when I was maybe 6 or seven, which never worked out for me. My mom must have figured it was too much for me then and after all of us feeling dissapointment at the redundantly dying fish, we didnt purchase anymore and my mom put our little 2 gallon tank away. 
Not that I was saddened- we had purchased a pair of Anoles and several parakeets that I played pirate with (both the lizards and the birds). I fared much better wit th anoles and we had the budgies for abotu 7 years untill the brood grew to at least three dozen and we sold all of them to a bird lady. :bowing:
This time around started last May when i was in a bit of depression, I decided since I was de-socializing myself I might as well add some "feng shui" to my room. Of course feng shui ehncourages ading "life" to your room, so I started woth potted plants, lucky bamboo and then got an pair of ADF which I placed in an old Gallon Bowl. I remebered my friend had four of them in less than a gallon bowl which she kept for over a year. So the same week (not cycled or anything) I plopped in the frogs I also bought my bandit cory (or masked cory) and added him. The next week after doing some reading on the net I went and got my twenty gal start up kit. Now I have two 29s (only one going) and two twentys, going to upgrade soon too.
Not that I was saddened- we had purchased a pair of Anoles and several parakeets that I played pirate with (both the lizards and the birds). I fared much better wit th anoles and we had the budgies for abotu 7 years untill the brood grew to at least three dozen and we sold all of them to a bird lady. :bowing: This time around started last May when i was in a bit of depression, I decided since I was de-socializing myself I might as well add some "feng shui" to my room. Of course feng shui ehncourages ading "life" to your room, so I started woth potted plants, lucky bamboo and then got an pair of ADF which I placed in an old Gallon Bowl. I remebered my friend had four of them in less than a gallon bowl which she kept for over a year. So the same week (not cycled or anything) I plopped in the frogs I also bought my bandit cory (or masked cory) and added him. The next week after doing some reading on the net I went and got my twenty gal start up kit. Now I have two 29s (only one going) and two twentys, going to upgrade soon too.
I used to watch Sea Hunt when I was a kid and was always fascinated by anything underwater. I would put on a swim mask in a little kid pool then too and pretend I was a diver. Finally, as an adult, I did scuba diving around Midway and Guam when I was in the Navy and became even more jazzed about underwater life. At one point, I thought I would like to be an oceanographer. I like "model" or scale anything, like cars, railroads, etc., so aquariums are a natural underwater model for me.... and live, to boot. I remember going by the fish tanks in the department store as a kid. I just loved the sound of the bubbles in the tanks and the hum of the equipment. It reminded me of Sea Hunt when the divers were breathing through their regulators and made bubbles when they exhaled. I know... I'm wierd like that.
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