New to this site. Kept fish when I was much younger and never really figured out what I was doing (no internet back then). Eventually married w/ children who won a few goldfish at a carny and of course we became fish keepers. These guys eventually led to our first of many ponds and the tanks being shut down.
Fast forward years, we now have five ponds. One had a growing leak, one developed a near catastrophic leak and my neighbor's yard grading almost destroyed the largest w/ run-off. Winter came and I got sick before the new mega pond could completed so we ended up having to find a way to move and keep a large number of koi, gold fish, cats and plecos on the short.
Scouring yard sales, Craigs List, classifieds and divorce sales brought us some incredible bargains, and contact with some amazingly brazen dolts.
The divorce sales were the best bargains, and usually worst fish abusers. Seems that childless couples who fall out of love now use the dog or the fish as a way of trying to hurt the one that they now hate. I learned very quickly that "free" tank also usually meant rehoming fish that were quite ill and / or distressed. I posted elsewhere in these forums about the first case and someone asked for pics. Probably the last thing on my mind at the time...suffice to say that we have rescued fish that were literally covered with ick and floating in a viscous goo that used to be principally H2O.
The problem as I write is that we've now accumulated so many tanks, at a very good price mind you, that I'm quickly running out of electric. Today is run new circuits day 'cuz 2 x 15 amps aint gettin' it no more.
We still haven't spread our original fish out enough to be really comfy 'cuz we keep getting tanks from people that were already over crowded...and sick. Fortunately I haven't lost one yet. I just can't convey how distressing it is to confront the ignorance and stupity that seems so common place.
Just yesterday, while picking up some meds and vitamins for our hospital tanks, I waited while a lfs employee was drug from tank to tank by a fellow from Nigeria who was so enamored of the hobby thathe wanted one of everything. When I asked how many tanks he was stocking his son replied "just the one...a new ten". He already had a hand basket filled with 1/2 gallon bags of specimens...and was getting more!
I won't be back since the same store was selling several varieties of Apple snails that they couldn't I.D. and I later discovered were not likely to even be legal. Takes all kinds.