Your journey, how and why?

[Caliban07]

Well it's taken longer than I thought but I'm now looking at my 47 gallons and thinking they just arn't big enough anymore. Kinda got me thinking that this happens to everyone and I'd like to hear about your first tank and inhabitants and your progression to your current tank/s. More importantly though, I'd like to hear why you wanted to upgrade, what was the reason or thought process.

Or maybe you wanted or needed to downsize. Again give reasons.

I just think my fish would prefer double the terrain to explore. I'd love to give them a much bigger tank even though I don't consider it over stocked.


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[PNWaquarist]

My first tank was a 10 gallon with a few goldfish and an albino cory. This was in the mid-1980s. My fish-keeping practices were awful and I'm surprised that most of my fish lived. I always wanted tetras, but my mother wouldn't let me get them because she thought they were too "difficult" to keep.

Fast-forward 30 years, I still wanted tetras and thought that a 29 gallon tank would look nice in the sitting room in my house. (Not insignificantly, my wife was OK with it as well. As long as it required no work on her part.) I also live in an area where the water is very soft and buffers poorly (to the point where driftwood tannins can easily knock the pH below 7). So tetras made even more sense in that regard. Thirty years is a long time to upgrade from a glorified goldfish bowl to a proper tropical aquarium, but I'm glad that I finally did it.

 

[fishliker]

Hello, a lot of this story is about gouramis. We started out with a 10 gallon tank, soon moved up to a 20 gallon. I fell in love with a dwarf gourami and had it in the 20 gallon with some cory cats and rasboras. He was beautiful in there but he was aggressive and made the other fish miserable. SO we got a 29 gallon tank hoping he would cAlm down, but he did not. Eventually I found someone with a 75 gallon tank who took him and said he was fine in there. Anyhow, I kept the 29 gallon for a few years and finally this year, went to a 55 gallon tank! Reasons were, I wanted fish that I could not have in a 29 gallon and I like an under stocked tank so the fish are peaceful and calm and their behavior will be as natural as possible. In the 55 gallon are 3 pearl gourami and 8 congo tetras and pristella tetras oh and kuhli loaches. In the 29 are 4 honey gourami, some cherry barbs, red cherry shrimp and assassin snails. I have decided to make that tank a species tank with honey gourami and I have 2 new ones in at for that tank. The reason is the honey gourami are very nice to watch, they seem to enjoy the tank, they often swim and hang out together in a group but not always and they use the entire tank. All this started about 6 years ago. I am really glad to have the 55 gallon tank, it is the most stable one I have as far as water quality and is fun to decorate. It can become a $$$ black hole. the new honeys are in quarentine I meant.


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[Caliban07]

Great stories


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[ppo8820]

Well when I was a younger guy (14) I started working in a fish store. I used all my paychecks on tanks, fish, etc. I had fresh and salt water and I loved it. Then I hit the usual teen angst years and stopped having tanks. I look back and dont know why. I didnt have any tanks for over 15 years. I am now 33 and got a gift card from my staff for boss's day and got a 5 gallon tank that I put a betta in with a snail. Then I got a 10 gallon, and then a 15 column I had to have. I am currently cycling the 15, and the 10 and 5 are about at the end of their cycles. I am having some issues with the 5 and nitrites spiking randomly. The 10 has 2 baby angels I plan on moving when they grow, but one is NOT eating this whole week. He is a rescue from the giant tank at work (I also care for) as he was getting bullied by a larger male angel.

Today during black Friday sales, I almost bought a 37 bowfront, but I decided to try and be responsible. It was hard and I am still thinking about it. I assume I will get it, maybe during tax refund time.

 

[Caliban07]

Well when I was a younger guy (14) I started working in a fish store. I used all my paychecks on tanks, fish, etc. I had fresh and salt water and I loved it. Then I hit the usual teen angst years and stopped having tanks. I look back and dont know why. I didnt have any tanks for over 15 years. I am now 33 and got a gift card from my staff for boss's day and got a 5 gallon tank that I put a betta in with a snail. Then I got a 10 gallon, and then a 15 column I had to have. I am currently cycling the 15, and the 10 and 5 are about at the end of their cycles. I am having some issues with the 5 and nitrites spiking randomly. The 10 has 2 baby angels I plan on moving when they grow, but one is NOT eating this whole week. He is a rescue from the giant tank at work (I also care for) as he was getting bullied by a larger male angel.

Today during black Friday sales, I almost bought a 37 bowfront, but I decided to try and be responsible. It was hard and I am still thinking about it. I assume I will get it, maybe during tax refund time.

Sorry about your angel but. You know, I use meds when the time is right. If you have given the angel all of it's home comforts and it still isn't getting better then maybe it's med time. Home comforts could be anything from temp, to flow rate. Perhaps he/she is constipated?

My uncle had fish when I was little. I can't remember who big it was but it seemed huge maybe because I was small. I used to love going round to play with the magnets that cleaned the tank. All I can remember is his neons.

Fast forward to when I was 15 at home with my parents I got my first tank about 15 gallons. I had so much trouble with deaths it was unreal. I never gave up though. Perhaps I should have for the fishes sake. I mean, the amount of fish I had in that thing was really awful. I did 25% changes every two weeks. The tank stabilised eventually after it had culled the necessary livestock to restore a balance and the tank was fine. I loved it. We then moved and I dismantled it and gave my fish to a guy at college.

I continued to live tank free at my parents when my PC began freaking out. Another mate of mine came round and fixed it and I gave him the 15 to say thank you. He set it up at his house and out some zebra danios in.

I then rented with another mate for a few years. I wanted a tank then but thought it was pointless. I'd met my girlfriend by then and was looking like we would be moving in together so I held out.

Here I am now age 30 with 3 tanks in a small 2 up 2 down terrace. Room is limited but my gf hasn't moaned once. I bought here a betta for her birthday and an aqua one set up. Her first fish ripley (after the alien franchise) was a great fish. She came home from work one day and ripley had jumped out. He was still alive so she dropped him back in...he died a bit later.

When I got home she was still crying. We made the tank in to a shrimp tank until she was ready to pick out another betta. His name is gabe and we made sure to cover the feeding whole this time.

I have a cichlid tank and a community both 47 gallon. Trying for a pair in the SA cichlid tank and think I finally have one.



Gabe..



My cichlid tank.




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[ppo8820]

I want a bigger tank, yours look awesome. I am worried my landlord will say something as I live on the top floor with hardwood floors. I can picture him saying no to a big tank especially since I am not on the lower level. Id love a 55 gallon or even a 75 someday when I move (hopefully from Minnesota to a coastal city). I am over these Minnesota winters big time.

As for the angel, I would med him if I knew what was wrong. Clean body, good gills, and clear eyes. Swims fine, but doesnt eat. He stares at food and looks like he may eat, but then he doesnt. Its frustrating.

 

[Caliban07]

I want a bigger tank, yours look awesome. I am worried my landlord will say something as I live on the top floor with hardwood floors. I can picture him saying no to a big tank especially since I am not on the lower level. Id love a 55 gallon or even a 75 someday when I move (hopefully from Minnesota to a coastal city). I am over these Minnesota winters big time.

As for the angel, I would med him if I knew what was wrong. Clean body, good gills, and clear eyes. Swims fine, but doesnt eat. He stares at food and looks like he may eat, but then he doesnt. Its frustrating.

That's too bad. At least you know some day you will have a big tank. Look forward to that.

Thanks. I think it looks ok but I would like to inject co2 and have a high/med plants and grow some grass. This tank just isn't big enough. Not even for two firemouths as i planned. I took advice. And the advice was that it could work but it would be tight. I should have listened. I am
Thinking of removing the firemouths and adding smaller cichlids or freshwater puffers.


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[ppo8820]

Puffers are cool but they need salt when they get older. I didn't know they eventually prefer marine water. They had babies at my lfs and I nearly bought one.


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[Tolak]

Hahahahaha my journey, what a road. A couple spare tires & an oil change along the way, one of those.

I'll try to keep this short, no guarantee. 1992, 11 year old daughter wants a fish tank. Being pre internet the only research is a couple shops, the usual 10 gallon setup with half baked stocking & half ugly colored gravel. A few looks at books, let's keep with these few smallish fish, tank survives for years & a move to a new house, cool.

Time moves on, 1998, Dad has an apartment down the street. I stop by a few times weekly, one day there's a 55 gallon, set up, stocked, in his living room. Guy down stairs got evicted, Dad is "fishsitting", glad these guys humped that thing up to the 3rd floor. Look online, basic fish care, he's no way capable of slinging buckets due to med issues, I'm there all the time, I've got this one.

Five years later, 2003, multiple med issues are getting the better of Dad, he goes into a nursing home after 5 years of fishsitting, (they never came back!) 55 goes down the street to my place. Time for a bit more research, hit some forums, join the local fish club. Fish club. Enablers. Big time.

Club guys sell fish, cheap. Same with used gear. Get a group of angels, they pair & spawn. Get a truck load of used tanks cheap. Build racks, stack tanks, breed & sell angels. Nice money, buy more tanks, sell more fish. Get into modding, then admin on a large forum. Fish eat a lot, get into selling live blackworms & dry food to support the little buggers food addiction. Make more money, buy more tanks. Large forum gets sold to an ad agency, they suck I bail. This leaves a lot more time for, you guessed it, more tanks, more fish, more consumable sales. All the fish & consumables sales leads to driving to club events all around the Midwest, making lifelong friends, and causing untold trouble in the process with these friends.

As it sits now, 30 tanks, 1k gallons, easily another 500 gallons of empties waiting for my daughter to get her furniture out of here so I can expand. A couple refrigerators for worms, a stack of gear for auctions & swaps, and a long list of local to worldwide friends who I really have a good time with. Honestly, half of this is about fish, half about people. Fish people are crazy, I seem to fit in well!

 

[Ricky 1]

Good story's, interesting reading, I started early on with a small freshwater tank and as time went by, I went in to marine tanks as I loved the fabulous colours of marine fish, that went on until I found out they used cyanide to stun them, this I found out lessoned their life span quite a lot, so I went back to freshwater,

Now I had a 16g bow front with the normal tetra's, platies etc. But I always wanted Angels, rams, lots of ground dwellers, so bought 50g from pond solutions, the tank is very well made in a metal frame with a trickle filter and 2- t8 tubes, in the lid and separate flaps for access to the tank and filter, so that is what I have now,

I had 6 koi Angels, so they could pair up and 4 went back, and that's my list of fish I have below.......This is the tank new and after.......

 

[Ricky 1]

sorry should be this

 

[Caliban07]

Hahahahaha my journey, what a road. A couple spare tires & an oil change along the way, one of those.

I'll try to keep this short, no guarantee. 1992, 11 year old daughter wants a fish tank. Being pre internet the only research is a couple shops, the usual 10 gallon setup with half baked stocking & half ugly colored gravel. A few looks at books, let's keep with these few smallish fish, tank survives for years & a move to a new house, cool.

Time moves on, 1998, Dad has an apartment down the street. I stop by a few times weekly, one day there's a 55 gallon, set up, stocked, in his living room. Guy down stairs got evicted, Dad is "fishsitting", glad these guys humped that thing up to the 3rd floor. Look online, basic fish care, he's no way capable of slinging buckets due to med issues, I'm there all the time, I've got this one.

Five years later, 2003, multiple med issues are getting the better of Dad, he goes into a nursing home after 5 years of fishsitting, (they never came back!) 55 goes down the street to my place. Time for a bit more research, hit some forums, join the local fish club. Fish club. Enablers. Big time.

Club guys sell fish, cheap. Same with used gear. Get a group of angels, they pair & spawn. Get a truck load of used tanks cheap. Build racks, stack tanks, breed & sell angels. Nice money, buy more tanks, sell more fish. Get into modding, then admin on a large forum. Fish eat a lot, get into selling live blackworms & dry food to support the little buggers food addiction. Make more money, buy more tanks. Large forum gets sold to an ad agency, they suck I bail. This leaves a lot more time for, you guessed it, more tanks, more fish, more consumable sales. All the fish & consumables sales leads to driving to club events all around the Midwest, making lifelong friends, and causing untold trouble in the process with these friends.

As it sits now, 30 tanks, 1k gallons, easily another 500 gallons of empties waiting for my daughter to get her furniture out of here so I can expand. A couple refrigerators for worms, a stack of gear for auctions & swaps, and a long list of local to worldwide friends who I really have a good time with. Honestly, half of this is about fish, half about people. Fish people are crazy, I seem to fit in well!

Excellent story you have just convinced me to join the local fish club......


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