Hi y'all!

[rlboyce]

Hi!
I'm Rachel. I've been keeping fish for years but only goldfish with the odd betta mixed in. Trying my hand at my biggest tank and first tropical setup ever.

My boyfriend Brad showed up at the end of October with a HUGE fish tank and the stuff to set it up and says, "You set it up, I'll buy the fish." Added our first 6 (we are now well aware this was a lot...Heh.) fish and set off. We unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge and conflicting information, wound up with new tank syndrome which is currently getting much better, but is how I wound up here. Hoping to get some advice on my current issue, learn a ton, and hopefully be able to share some too.

Can't wait to get involved!!

 

[ridewithme38]

You've keep goldfish in the past, but a huge tank is 23 gallons? What did you keep the goldfish in?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

 

[redsea]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[rlboyce]

You've keep goldfish in the past, but a huge tank is 23 gallons? What did you keep the goldfish in?

Everything from cookie jars (when I was a small child...) to just basic 10 gal's. They always did fine and their water was never seriously dirty--I kept up with water changes pretty well. Plus I usually kept at least 2 if not more when I got to the 10--I kept 6 goldfish and a plecco.

I have a friend with a couple of hundred + gallon tanks and those freak me out. I'm definitely waiting until I have a house where I can have a fish room before I get into stuff that big. 23 has been quite the jump for me and I like it size wise.

 

[Hholly]

Ouch! This person is here trying to get more informed. Maybe we could welcome her and encourage her to learn more, rather than crucifying her for past mistakes.

Anyway, welcome to the forum. Hope you take advantage of the experiences of others.

 

[ridewithme38]

Ouch! This person is here trying to get more informed. Maybe we could welcome her and encourage her to learn more, rather than crucifying her for past mistakes.

Anyway, welcome to the forum. Hope you take advantage of the experiences of others.

You're right, i'm sorry OP, the mistreatment of Goldfish kinda bothers me...i wish just people would either research Goldfish before buying them...or at the very least, if they need a tiny tank, buy a betta

 

[Hholly]

Yeah I can tell you are passionate about it. That's cool. Hopefully the op will be moved to do more research. It's nice that you care for fish so much.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi and welcome to the forum Rachel I have also done the same in the past 12 goldfish in a ten gallon now i am much wiser and me fish much happier as yours will be My worst horror story was i kept a goldfish in a bowl in me shed which i forgot about and the weather had been seriously cold.Me mum asked me about the goldfish and with shock and horror I raced out to the shed and found the goldfish still alive,but it was in the centre of an ice cube {best way to describe it - the ice completely surrounded the goldfish}so grabbed the bowl raced indoors {bowls are nice and light to carry}and placed it under the hot tap me mum said let me,an she simply placed the goldfish bowl on the side and as the ice melted removed the ice and replaced with fresh clean water {didn't use dechlorinator though}and the fish survived

 

[ridewithme38]

Hi and welcome to the forum Rachel I have also done the same in the past 12 goldfish in a ten gallon now i am much wiser and me fish much happier as yours will be My worst horror story was i kept a goldfish in a bowl in me shed which i forgot about and the weather had been seriously cold.Me mum asked me about the goldfish and with shock and horror I raced out to the shed and found the goldfish still alive,but it was in the centre of an ice cube {best way to describe it - the ice completely surrounded the goldfish}so grabbed the bowl raced indoors {bowls are nice and light to carry}and placed it under the hot tap me mum said let me,an she simply placed the goldfish bowl on the side and as the ice melted removed the ice and replaced with fresh clean water {didn't use dechlorinator though}and the fish survived

This is why I wish more lfs would push bettas to new people. Goldfish are amazing creatures that deserve Much more care then the newbie can give them. Atleast with bettas they're used to being kept in cups for them a bowl is an upgrade

 

[rlboyce]

Well...that is certainly not what I was expecting... O_O;;

I came here to learn...not be embarrassed. I never did and would never do anything to my fish because I intended to abuse them. I love fish and always have.

It was nice meeting those of you who weren't total jerks but I'm out of here. I'm not joining a forum where instead of constructive advice and suggestions, members are met with snarky remarks by elitist jerks. Thanks...but no thanks.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Please don't let one person put you off the forum. Nearly everyone is very nice and helpful. We are all passionate fish keepers and I hope you'll give AA another chance. Oh and welcome!

 

[severum mama]

Welcome to AA! We hope you will stick around.

 

[SwimsWithFish]

Welcome to AA! I hope you stay, without this place I would get nowhere in this hobby. Hope you choose to stay with us

 

[rlboyce]

Thanks everyone. I'm probably just going to lurk for a while until I get a better handle on the forum.

It really hit me hard that someone who doesn't know me at all would accuse me of doing anything less than caring as best I could and doing everything to make my fish happy. I mean, I cried so hard and stayed home from class (college) to take one of my beloved goldfish back to my home to bury him. I love my fish. They have gotten me through some rough times and I have been up to my elbows in daily water changes to fix the new tank syndrome (fixed), went to get a handful of gravel from an established tank of a friend (which really helped), and am working really hard to fix my mistake because I really really want this to work out and never intended to hurt my fish.

Been scouring the forums for old threads relating to my problems (foamy water) and already got an answer to it, so I'm working on the other now. There is LOTS of good advice here so I'm really hoping to learn a lot. I also have a really banging fish store that I'm using instead of a chain like Petsmart. It's called Fintastic--they rock.

Here is a photo of my tank in the beginning-11/3/11:

Looking better-11/12:

A couple days later:

I'm really loving our new tank. Can't believe my boyfriend bought us such a neat project.

 

[rlboyce]

Er...I posted a big post...and apparently it ate it! O_O;;

Anyways, I'm thinking I'll lurk for a while. Not going to leave because there is a TON of good advice here. Already figured out one solution to my latest problem. Headed back to searching in just a second.

...watch my big post show up like 2 seconds after I post this. xD

 

[Hholly]

Glad you reconsidered. Have fun!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Glad you reconsidered./QUOTE]

Me too! Sorry you first impression wasn't the nicest. I like the ruins in your tank.