Annaliesa
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi. I'm not normally the type to do introductions on forums, but I saw the PM requesting an introduction. *shakes hand*
My dad and I kept pastel guppies (from a breeder), which we later bred and sold. We also kept Golden Albino Sailfin Mollies for fun. It started off as a 20 gallon tank, then came another tank, and another, and another. I was pretty young - late elementary, early middle school.
Fast forward to late twenties. I have a toddler, and she asked for pet fish after seeing various tanks in a Big Box store. The fish looked miserable, and some of the breeds should be a crime to sell at a Big Box store - read: Blood Parrot Cichlids. Still, I took her by the fish tanks whenever we was in the store because it immediately soothed her if she was cranky.
I decided to get a 10 gallon tank. We have very little room in our house, around 900 square feet. It's my husband and my starter house. We intend to rent it after I finish graduate school and get something bigger. Then I can get a bigger tank.
I have awhile, though. Plenty of time to learn.
The tank is planted. My daughter picked out three wagtail platties from one of those lovely chain pet stores. Actually, their tanks are very well-cared for, and the staff who take care of them are nice to work with. We have two LFS's in our town - one salt water and one salt water and fresh water. The latter store does not take very good care of their fish. For example, one of their show tanks is over-stocked with a mix of large African Cichlids. They barely have room to swim. It's ridiculous.
I stopped by the salt water store not knowing they only stocked salt water - I'm new to the fish thing, obviously.
The owner is well-versed in fresh water as well, though he prefers salt water. As a side business, he stocks and maintains fresh water aquariums for local physician waiting rooms. He recommended the chain store over the LFS, as their fish are healthy and the staff is great.
I did a fishless cycle with gravel from a friend. Water is hard as all get-out, but all the "bad" stuff is not present. We lost one wagtail platty. Sudden death. The fish appeared healthy - no ick, wounds, fin rot, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something I did. Though I am wondering about one of the other platties. She's a bit aggressive. Her tank mate holds her own well, at least. They're both female.
Anyway, I can be a little verbose (understatement). If you managed to get through all of this, hats off to you! Looking forward to chatting with you guys. This site is great.
My dad and I kept pastel guppies (from a breeder), which we later bred and sold. We also kept Golden Albino Sailfin Mollies for fun. It started off as a 20 gallon tank, then came another tank, and another, and another. I was pretty young - late elementary, early middle school.
Fast forward to late twenties. I have a toddler, and she asked for pet fish after seeing various tanks in a Big Box store. The fish looked miserable, and some of the breeds should be a crime to sell at a Big Box store - read: Blood Parrot Cichlids. Still, I took her by the fish tanks whenever we was in the store because it immediately soothed her if she was cranky.
I decided to get a 10 gallon tank. We have very little room in our house, around 900 square feet. It's my husband and my starter house. We intend to rent it after I finish graduate school and get something bigger. Then I can get a bigger tank.
I have awhile, though. Plenty of time to learn.The tank is planted. My daughter picked out three wagtail platties from one of those lovely chain pet stores. Actually, their tanks are very well-cared for, and the staff who take care of them are nice to work with. We have two LFS's in our town - one salt water and one salt water and fresh water. The latter store does not take very good care of their fish. For example, one of their show tanks is over-stocked with a mix of large African Cichlids. They barely have room to swim. It's ridiculous.
I stopped by the salt water store not knowing they only stocked salt water - I'm new to the fish thing, obviously.
The owner is well-versed in fresh water as well, though he prefers salt water. As a side business, he stocks and maintains fresh water aquariums for local physician waiting rooms. He recommended the chain store over the LFS, as their fish are healthy and the staff is great.I did a fishless cycle with gravel from a friend. Water is hard as all get-out, but all the "bad" stuff is not present. We lost one wagtail platty. Sudden death. The fish appeared healthy - no ick, wounds, fin rot, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if it was something I did.
Though I am wondering about one of the other platties. She's a bit aggressive. Her tank mate holds her own well, at least. They're both female.Anyway, I can be a little verbose (understatement). If you managed to get through all of this, hats off to you! Looking forward to chatting with you guys. This site is great.
