What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[robertmarda]

I chose a fresh water tank because it costs less to start.

I am Robert Marda. Sometime 1997 I got a 10 gallon tank and bought some fish. I think I decided to set up the fish for the pleasure of my son, who was 2 or 3 at the time. Since then I have become hooked and I keep fish for the pleasure of our entire family.

In October 1997, I moved with my wife and son from Utah to Northern virginia. Since we decided to drive, I gave the few fish we had to my father and moved with the empty tank to Virginia. Sometime in Late 1998 or early 1999 I set that tank up again and have been keeping freshwater tropical fish ever since.

We found an ad for a 55 gallon tank for free in Sept 2001 and picked it up and set it up. I currently have a 10, 20, and 55 gallon tank set up. All have tropical freshwater fish in them. I began breeding fish in Jan of this year and currently have groups of mollies born in March 2002, July 02, and Sept 02. I have about 40 redwag swordtails that were born a few weeks ago. In about a week my female silver lyretail molly should have more babies.

I have an ongoing experiment in my 55 gallon tank. In Jan 02 I bought a convict chiclid (he was about a half an inch when I got him) and put him in the tank with mollies, platies, swordtails, tetras, barbs, and an 8 inch long pleco (I've had him since Nov 1999). When I bought the chiclid he was the smallest fish in the tank. Now he is the second larges fish in the tank and for the most part acts like a community fish. He chases fish sometimes but not enough to stress them out nor does he strike out at them except on rare occassions, in fact this morning I watched as the painted glass fish in that tank swam directly in front of the convicts mouth and then did it again. Both times the convict seemed to touch the fish gently and do it no harm.

My 20 gallon tank houses the baby fish until they are large enough to not fit in the convicts mouth. I use the 10 gallon tank as my hospital tank.

I dream of having a salt water tank because of the brighter color fish you can get, but as yet I can't spend the money required to get started.

Welcome to the site Robert! Good story!

[Grant R]

Excellent story.
I can totally vouch for the addiction thing. I've had my 11.1 gallon just over a month and I already have plans on setting up a 20 - 25 around xmas time and transferring the current fish !!

Fish keeping is dangerously addictive ! But good fun.

[JurassicRIP]

Well, i became interested in fish when i was about 10/11 years old. Try as i might i couldn't get my parents to agree to any form of living creature (apart from humans!) until i turned 16. This was when a line of cats (currently 3, has been 4 in 1 house....hmmm lovely!!)all of whom i adore to the ends of the earth appeared on the scene, but i put the fish on the back burner(not literally!!!).That is until now, i'm an undergraduate reading earth sciences in portsmouth, whose digs have forced her to leave her kittys behind(nasty ,horrible landlord),and i have a fundamental need to have living things around me, so i finally decided to set up that long awaited goldfish tank(i just adore fantail and moors......hmmm,sweet)and its safe to say i'm well and truely smitten.

[cricket]

I started keeping fish a little over 2 yrs. ago. Bought a 10 gal. kit from WalMart, and some tiger barbs. I read a book on the basics and thought I would be fine. Didn't yet recognize the need for water testing,etc. Everything was fine for mos. then suddenly all the barbs died on me. I started over, got a computer and suddenly had access to a lot of information on fishkeeping. That's made all the difference! Next I had to have a bigger tank, a 30 gal. Filled it with tropicals, a couple of this, a couple of that. Then I decided I needed a 55, which at the time seemed huge. Moved the tropicals in there, then decided the most interesting fish I had was the Blue Rams. Then I kept Kribs, and bred them and decided to go all cichlids. So now I have a 55 gal. Malawi, a 55 SA cichlids, a 30 CA cichlids, a 30 gal and 10 gal. fry grow out tanks. Also keep loaches, I love them as much as cichlids. And 2 bettas in smaller tanks. I am just starting with some easy plants in my 10 gallon tank. Also, someday I would like a saltwater setup, I've done alot of reading on them already. But for now freshwater more than holds my interest.

[Somethingfishy]

I have always had an interest in fish, but only started in earnest around January time, when my then fiance bought me a 45G for Xmas. Since then I have got a 10G Q/grow out tank, a 20G and a 30G. I have now recently just purchased a 130G so am consolidating all the tanks. But next year will be looking at setting up a 45/55 marine tank.

[SleeplessLwd]

Several years ago I had a 45 gallon freshwater tank, but I got rid of it when I moved. I was sorry I did years later. A few years ago I went to a Chinese Auction with a friend of mine and tried to win her son a 10 gallon tank set up. She won it instead. After watching them set it up I decided to start a tank again. I started with a 5 gallon, then went to a 10 gallon, then a 20 gallon hex tank, then a regular 20 gallon. Then I moved up to a 29 gallon tank. I am currently running a 29 gallon freshwater and a 5 gallon for my bettas. After a couple of years of freshwater I started a reef. I love the reef, but it was very expensive. I kept finding things I wanted to add to it and I didn't have the room. I shut down my reef for now and when I have more money for a bigger tank and more time to devote to it I'll start it up again. But for now I'm still enjoying my freshwater fish.

[ReefRaff]

Hello, when I was 13 or 14 we (me and my sister) had two 20 gallon tanks with all kinds of fish. I (and my dad) were also inexperinced and rip them tanks down once a month. most of the time I would loose a fish or two. After overworking ourselves and loosing to many fish we gave it up.

Alot of the time it seems like it's the KIDS that get the spark going in all of us cause I to got back in to it when My GF's niece brought home a goldfish. From the school fair. Although the goldfish died I went out and purchased a kit, 36Gallon. then I broke up with the GF, but not to woory, I took the tank w/me. Along with both tv's,couch,waterbed,all the cats and my car. now I have a 36G F/W, a 75G Marine (FOWLR) and another 36g failed marine, wich I have to start over. I like Fish,corals,cata,dogs,birds although the birds have to stay out side

Tim

P.S. I have found that if you keep the cats well feed than they leave the fish alone. 8O

[Thaiboxer]

I had a goldfish bowl as a kid, and always liked it. We had three fish, and they lived forever! Like 8 years! (I suspect what really happened is when they died, one parent would distract me while the other ran and got another fish and put it in the bowl so that I never knew...)

When I saw the wonderous variety of fishies out there, I knew I had to have an aquarium. Now that I'm stable financially and not physically moving a lot, I'm building my tank how I want it! Pictures coming soon!

[goozy]

I went to petsmart for some doggie stuff and I saw those poor little bettas in cups, there were about 100 of them. I bought a little one gallon tank thing and a betta just to save him. A week later I decided it wasn't big enough or warm enough for him so I bought him a 5 gallon aquarium. I had no intention of getting any more tanks but I did. now I have 6 tanks. (down from 8 during the summer)