What fish did you start off in the hobby with?

[Cearbhaill]

The earliest memory of fishkeeping I have concerns my Dad raising Zebra Danios in garbage cans. I'm sure he bred the fish in tanks, mind you- it's just that he had to use garbage cans for grow out tanks. He, like every other novice, had underestimated the space needed to grow out fry.

The reason it sticks in my memory is that he and my Mom were fighting about all the garbage cans full of fish all over the house.

That would have been around 1962.

 

[TYPO]

i have just started my tank, it is no more than 3 weeks old. i actually started my fish craze with a betta after my boyfriend got one. i had him kept with 3 ghost shrimp, and, all three died for various reasons. (one died just because, and my fish got depressed. one jumped out of the tank while i was out, and forgot to put the lid back on, and the last one died because my sisters betta ate him.) soon afterwards, i got an 18 gallon tank, put in a pair of fancy guppies, 2 leopard danios, 2 adfs, a plecostemus, a black mystery snail, and my betta.

i added 2 female bettas to my collection, though, they are in a seperate tank.

i have since lost both my guppies and my betta was removed because of a bad case of ich; he's fully recovered, but my tank hasnt yet. as soon as it's done cycling, i think i will try adding 2/3 dwarf puffers, and if that doesnt work out, ill put them into a smaller tank i have lying about.

also, i plan on breeding my bettas, i cant wait !! (any suggestions would be apprecaited. Thx!)

~TYPO

 

[johnnyxxl]

first a gold fish and fish bowl,
then that gotld fish and another feeder gold fish in 2 ten gallon tanks about 10 years ago. I then moved to a 20 with guppies and sword tails
the guppies just kept breeding along with a few batches of swordtails

 

[afulltank]

When I first started my hobby with fish, I had a fish bowl with guppies and snails. The bowl had no filter or heater. They were always having babies and doing great. I think that guppies are great starter fish but also tetras would be good.

 

[johnnyxxl]

sounds like most of us were smitten with the same fish lol

 

[tawnylane]

Well, maybe a little different
35 years ago my dad got my brothers and me a 10g steel frame tank: 2 or 3 angelfish, tiger barbs (yea, REAL good choice with those angelfish!), algae eater and I don't remember what else. Since we didn't mess with them too much, some fish lasted awhile... Then of course, I won the obligatory goldfish at the fair! My mom will tell you that goldfish just wouldn't die! Had it at least 3 years (same old 10g), ich, fin rot, hmm - red streaks in the fins? and swim bladder disease. I'd read enough to treat a lot of stuff with salt, much to Mom's suprise. Then teens and 20s, all tetras in a mirror-back 20H (I LOVED that tank!) with a real filter and of course : Oscar in a 10g! Gave him to a friend with a 75 when he reached about 5" - broke my heart.....Just got back in beginning of this year and right now have 4 tanks!
T

 

[Must4ng s4lly]

My first tank was a 15 gal given to me by a neighbor when I wuz about 10. It had the aluminum seams and the magnet driven charcoal and fiberfill filter hung on the back. Pretty cool for the mid 70's.
I had a comet goldfish won at a school fair with 2 chinese algae eaters a pictus cat and a porthole catfish. I also had two tetras kept in a 2 gal pickle jar..... stupid! anyway there were no such things as conplete aquarium covers back then and my cat with 7 dust all over him would put his paw in the fish tank and chase all of them. They slowly all got poisoned and they all died. My mom gave away my set up when I was in college.

at the age of 34, I got back into aquariums with a 58 gal and was soon totally addicted! I have been addicted ever since & will soon get a 100 Gal set up. Yippee!

 

[bozco]

The first I ever brought home were trout fry from the river down the hill. I was like 10 and had collected them painstakingly in a coke can. When I got them home I put them in a bowel and they all start looking sick instantly. The water was too warm. I kept dumping icecubes in it and my dad drove me back to the river to put the poor babies back.

5 years later I started a 10 gal tank with two rainbow sharks, who this last Chirstmas, at 4 inches each, jumped out when I moved them to the 33 gal and dried out on the floor. I was crushed.

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

we had a cabin on the beach.... and when the tide went out (wayyyy out) i would go into the sandy tidal pools and catch fish with a kitchen strainer.

i think they were salmon fry.... or something that came out of a stream and onto the beach. I would put them in a jar and make a little aquascape with some seaweed and shells.

i was young so i didn't really care for the fish and kept them in the jar for a day or two before i would let them go and get new ones. and they would live! when i look back now i am so suprised.

i also caught a baby flounder once, but i think it was because he was sick that i was able to actually catch him. man those things can MOVE.


anyways, that was my first fishkeeping experience.