What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[Pacu Man]

quite simply, pacus!

 

[Sponge Bob]

Wanted fish 5 years ago when I was 8. Bought a Male betta who lived for 3.5 years and a couple of feeder fishes (5 to be exact) for my 2 gallon hex. It was overstocked but I never knew about this stuff back then. Fast forward 5 years and now Im 13. Two of my feeders died, the rest got big and are still alive (gave away to friend). Im currently stuck with Bettas still I have 2 females 3 males and my first time ever betta frys !

 

[roblikesfish]

Hello every one.

My Name is rob and I am new to this forum. I live in Fort Worth Texas and I am 22. When I was a little kid my parents kept a 20 gallon tank filled with various fish. I would watch them for hours. Fast forward to this past weekend. My wife, my 2 year old daughter and I were in wal-mart picking up various pet products for our dogs and my daughter spotted the fish. So we roll the shopping cart over to the fish and she was amazed by them. Unforchantley we had to continue our shopping and she cried and cried wanting to stay in front of the fish. Once home she forgot about them but not for long.

Sunday we go back to wal-mart for some soil and planting supplies. She immediately recognized our location and wanted to see the fish .. I Broke down and got her two gold fish and a cheap 2 gallon tank Came with pump and light etc. Bag of colorful rocks and a plastic plant and we were off.

It being Wednesday now, I am glad we got them .. I have enjoyed them as has my daughter and my wife.


After some thinking and some surfing ( here I am ) I have decided this is a hobby I want to pick up ..

Cant wait to share my future travels, questions, and advice with you all !!

Rob

 

[yellowjacket171]

Why I started a fish tank

Hi my name is Cindy and I'm very new to the aquarium hobby. My three boys and I have had so many pets over the years, cats, dogs hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, and even a pot bellied pig, but never fish. I never wanted them because I remember my mom and her 10 gallon tank. She was always cleaning the tank, checking to see if everything was alright, and always worring about it. And I wanted nothing to do with fish. So in April of 2003 we went to Petco for a dog brush and guinea pig hay. Well I got the brush and hay and also walked out with a male betta, who was quickly named Charlie by my youngest son, a 2 gallon tank and all the necessary supplies, an impulse buy compliments of my husband and boys. So I go home knowing nothing about fish, set him up and go explore all kinds of information on the internet and found two days later I really liked my betta named Charlie. So early May I got my first 29 gallon aquarium up and running. I just love it. I'm always watching my nine fish instead of the TV and can't walk by without checking to see if everything is alright. And now I'm just like my mother, always making sure they are clean, healthy and I worry alot if things are not quite right.

 

[Kuroneko]

My answer is a little unorthodox.


I was having a boyfriend problem, my 2 ex's wasn't leaving me alone, and I couldn't find a man I was interested in. One day while I was talking to a friend she told me not to worry, that there "were plenty of fish in the sea." And I though, I don't live anywhere near the sea, but there are two fish in my fish pond. And it hit me! Maybe, if I buy a fish, I'll catch a man.

The very next day I went to the pet store and bought a tiny goldfish. For a while he lived in a small one gallon tank. Soon it was apparent that I would have to get something bigger. I went to a fish enthusiast friend of mine (who had just got a brand new 50 gallon saltwater tank) and asked him if he had any old aqurarims he wasn't using, and if he did could I buy one. He ended up selling me a 20 gallon tank with light and topper for 10 dollers. My little fish looked so huge in this big tank.

Two weeks after I got the fish I started dateing my boyfriend. Together we have become fish people. I now have a 29 gallon tank with 5 semi-happy fish. Our fish have offered us hours of happy entertainment, and a few soggy eyes in the process. We both enjoy many happy trips to the pet store, and one of these days we want to get a huge 200 gallon tank for our fish.

It sounds weird, but the fish really helped us bond, and we've had fish ever since we started going out 4 years ago. We are always trying to make the tank better, and keep our fish happy. We clean our tank with joy in our hearts, and smiles on our faces.

So when fate has you down, and there just aren't any fish in the sea, you can always buy one, and turn fate around.

Kuroneko,
A fish lover.

 

[phisigfish]

Well I am 19 and living in a Fraternity house so I had never thought to start a tank, plus I never had one as a kid. A couple of weeks ago my big brother in the fraternity was moving and he gave me a 29 gal and I love it. I am currently running 2- 20gal Liberty filters and they keep the tank beautiful. I have several baby cichlids and they are the coolest fish. I found out today they love ghost shrimp. Moral is good in the tank I have recently added three real plants. My next big addition will be some texas holey rock. The best part about it is the fact that for the past year I have been called Fish (got the name before I got into tanks). Thanks for all the good advice and keep on tanking

 

[Punkymom]

Whew! I've been trying to read all these, but I can't get past the 2nd page!!! I can't read them all!!! WAAAAAAA!!! Anyway, on with my story.

I started keeping fish when I was in 7th grade. I started out with a 5 gallon that my mom bought me. I put 2 goldfish in it and a pleco. All died. Not surprising. Then my mom bought my brother and I 2 roundish 1 gal tanks and 2 bettas. I loved my betta!!! He survived so much crap...he lived for about 2 years. Then he croaked. I also had a 2 gallon hex that I still have that houses my current betta (much happier...). I finally decided to buy a heater for this 5 gal little tank and go tropical with it. I bought zebra danios and other stuff but I don't remember now...LOL. I do remember bringing the zebras home and running around the room with them hugging the bag...then the bag broke...and I had little zebras all over my kitchen floor...amazingly, they all survived...somehow. LOL. I was like "see my babies???" I was so obnoxious...Then I was given some goldfish and I put them (3) in the little 2 gal hex. There they lived for a year until I accidentally put soap in the water. I didn't mean to, my brother was mad at me, so to get back at me, he emptied out a dechlorinator bottle and filled it with hand soap...meany...So that was the end of 2 of the goldfish. The one survived, so I put him into my 5 gallon with my other fish and a couple of fiddler crabs...don't put goldfish in with fiddler crabs...fiddler crabs eat goldfish...it isn't pretty...So then I had to move here to the lovely state of Georgia where everything sucks (just kidding, I love it here) so I gave my 5 gal away to one of my friends. She put the fiddler crabs in her 10 gal. It's really funny because one of them died, and the other one got out of the tank and got eaten by her cat...stupid crab...teach you to eat my goldfish...So once I got here to Georgia, my mom asked me to set up the 2 gal hex in her bathroom. So I did and got a couple guppies and a CAE to live in there. They all did fine for about 1.5 years. Then I was cleaning the tank and the CAE got himself stuck in an ornament and I let it sit out of the water too long. He died. Then the guppies died one day mysteriously...strange...and so my dad bought zebra danios for the tank. I told him this wasn't a good idea...but would he listen? Nooooooooo...He must have gone through 20 zebra danios...then one Christmas my dad gave me a 10 gal starter kit. I was smitten. I set it all up and ended up putting zebra danios, tiger barbs, and a rainbow shark into it. Way too many fish, but there they lived happily for almost 3 years. Then I got lazy and didn't clean the tank. For a year...please don't kill me...I was going through some REALLY tough times and I was taking out my frustration on my fish...not a very nice thing to do...So here I am after about 3 years...with a 2 gal hex housing Mr. Grumpus (he flairs at EVERYTHING) and a 55 gal that's just started cycling housing a Firemouth Cichlid and will eventually house about 4 Severums and 4 Clown Loaches. I plan on either upgrading, or buying a smaller tank to house the clowns in when they get too big. I read they grow at a rate of 1 inch a year...so I have plenty of time. I've kept every single kind of fish just about. Zebra danios, goldfish, otos, plecos, CAE, Leopard danios, lemon tetras, tiger barbs, cory catfish, rainbow sharks, sword tails, snails, fiddler crabs, and assorted others. I also have had a ton of other animals...cats (currently have 3), hamsters, rats, frogs, rabbits (have 3), and hermit crabs. I would like to get a long tank and put hermits in it. I know they aren't aquatic, but they are still really cool...

 

[platylover]

Hi all,
This is my first post and I thought that this would be a great place to start. My story isn't as good as some of the others, but here it goes.
I was about 10 years old when my parents bought a 10 gallon tank, a few neon tetras and 2 african dwarf frogs. I would sit in front of that tank for hours just staring at the fish swim around. I did live in the country and had nothing else to do so I had plenty of time to watch those fish. 8) My parents really didn't know much about caring for fish at that time and the fish eventually died off. We moved from the country to the big city of Des Moines for my father's work. The fish tank didn't make it. It had cracked, so that was the end of the fish watching for me. I didn't have much thought about starting back up for about 15 years until the day my wife thought that it would be good for my oldest son, who is 4 yrs, to have some fish. We went to the LFS and purchased a 20 gallon starter tank. I set the tank up while my son was at day care. When it was time to pick him up, I took him to the LFS to pick out a few fish. He was so excited! We brought the fish home and put them into the tank and decided that 3 zebra danios wasn't enough. When my wife got home from work that day we went back and bought 3 platies and 2 spotted corys. That looked better. About a month went by and my oldest son lost interest in the fish, but my interest had grown at a rapid pace. Now the fish tank is mine and my wife says that I am obsessed with the fish. I do have plans to upgrade to a 55 gallon tank as soon as I find room in our house.

 

[e-cat]

i started off with a 10 gallon tank for my birthday about 10 years ago and have now expanded a lot and have a bunch of tanks but have had too cut down due too a baby girl tanking over the old fish room, so im back too one tank with my catfish.

 

[izzy]

I wanted to have a dog, not just any dog, a newf! I thought it might be too big for the house so I was looking into alternatives. Past April I visited my family in Europe and my brother was taking care of 12g aquarium that actually belongs to my 3 year old niece. I liked it very much so I decided to get me one when I return back to US.

uppon my return I was looking around, surfing the web, bought a book and read it few times. In the mean time i was looking for a good startup setup. I figured 29g would be a nice start. Ended up that a friend of mine had 55g tank and stand he was willing to give away as he didn't use it in many years. So I took his offer. After transporting it home and cleaning it I ordered equipment for it (Penguin 330, UGF with 2 power heads, 2 heaters). I hooked everything up to a computer UPS to give me an hour or so extra juice in case of power failure

After setting it up and planting it I started slowly stocking it up... I lost few fish (2 neon tetras, 2 lemon tetras and 1 cory) in the process. But now the tank seems to be doing ok and fish are happy

Few months later I got the dog anyway Now I have a dog, a cat and 32 fish!

Now my next step is setting up 30g long aquarium I've got from another friend.

I wonder where it ends?

 

[ctvll]

well heres my story ,I had a 10 gal tropical tank when I was about 9 ( my mom thought I might become a marine biolologist or somthing, I really wanted something much bigger with Oscars or Arowanas ) The answer was always No.Its a horrible story ,want happened to my tank when my parents got a sudden divorce (really dont like to think about it,but I found it years later in the back yard ) 19 yrs later after I got a Shar-Pei dog/kid (now have 3 that I love tremendously). I went to a Thai Restaurant and fell in LOVE with their fish tank full of Lionhead goldfish. I must just have a thing for fat,adorable, lumpy-headed beings(dogs and fish) I decided I had to get a couple lg tanks with Lionheads and/or Ranchus.I can literally sit in front of my tanks, gazing at these beautiful, benign (with the exception of my Ryukin ) creatures for hours.I guess this is why I'm into freshwater.

 

[LonerVamp]

Well, I've always been a bit of a nature guy, even going so far as to be an Environmental Science major for 2.5 years in college.

However, in my current job in computer/network administration, we had a guy move away for personal reasons rather abruptly and he left a lot of stuff to another co-worker and other friends. Well, some of the stuff he left behind included $400 in equipment for a 30 gallon tank.

I didn't take the stuff off his hands for about 8 months, but after a few relationships that didn't take off, I decided I was in need a one or two new hobbies to round out the summer and avoid that dreaded third strike of the season. (What really sucks, if I may add in this tangent, is that both relationships were good, just in bad moments in our lives.)

So I took it all off the hands of the coworker for free and used that as my excuse to get started.

In addition, I dated a girl a long time ago who was into animals and fish, and this summer I dated another girl who also is into ecology and the like, so they helped establish me a bit and act as my sounding board for my questions.

So far, I'm up two bettas at work (happy little buggers too!) and just starting a new tank, having just put in a group of danios to break it all in.

-edited for coherency

 

[Devilishturtles]

I started getting into fish and all when I got a job at Wal-Mart. I worked in the pet department and saw all the cool kinds of fish and heard people's stories of their tanks and fish, so finally with mom and dad's permission, I bought a 10 gallon. Well soon I had to have bigger so I bought a 55 gallon with some angels and gouramis and such. So now I have a 55 gal tank and a 10 gal african chiclid tank, and 3 red ear sliders(turtles).

 

[MicroFish]

I was one of those kids who felt really bad for the goldfish and bettas at the county fair, so I would win those stupid ring toss games and such to get the fish..... I started out w/ a gorgeous multi-color betta who lived for nearly 3 years. He was extremely smart and friendly and learned a few tricks. I've never had another Betta who would do the things he did... then I had a goldfish for a while and eventually, when I moved out on my own, I graduated to a 44 gal hex tank which I stocked w/ tiger barbs and various types of "sharks". I absolutely loved that tank and was hearbroken when I had to move and couldn't take it w/ me... just no room. So I sold the setup to a neighbor and went without fish for about 5 years....

Until this year when, after almost 5 years of hearing my lament the loss of my fishes, my sweet boyfriend bought me a 1 gallon tank and a couple of danios and a lemon tetra for my birthday. He didn't realize that the tank would be too small when the fish got bigger so we set up the 20 gal tank I've had sitting in the shed for years and put the fish in there to cycle it... and thus began the journey once again. He'd never had fish before and he's finding that he really enjoys them, so we're "into it" full time now. We bought two 2-gal tanks and put bettas in them, since I just can't have fish without a betta, and then recently we "inherited" a 50gal aquarium, complete with fish, from friends of ours who moved and will be in a travel trailer until their house is built... they also gave us an empty 50 gal and some other smaller tanks and supplies....

We're already devising ways, of course, to stock the other 50 gal... thinking of getting a black ghost knife (we both fell in love with those we saw at PetsMart) and a few other tankmates for it. Any ideas would be appreciated. I'd like to put something like discus or angels, but I don't know if they will be compatible.

Sheila

 

[Scottw68TN]

I was restoring old classic cars and decided stop for awhile. Good money but lots of time and effort away from the house. I needed something that was technically challenges. Now I have been creating all kinds of DIY projects. Pumps filters etc. I've even started selling them.

 

[peterp]

Since the 60's I cant remember not having a tank of some kind running. Even tried salt for a while but the costs were way to high. So now I stay to FW and a little pond with goldfish and Koi. (Hobby is still way to expensive ).

 

[bwhynot14]

i started with a 5 gal then about a year later i got a 10 gal fw and now about 3 years later i ahve a 100 gal reef tank.

 

[myriam]

Years ago in NYC I had a 10 GAL with about 6 guppies that multiplied to a couple of dozen. When we moved back to the West Coast, I gave the whole setup to my landlords' two little kids.

I'd been wanting another tank for years now, and finally got it together a few weeks ago after months of promises to my preschooler and toddler. Now we have a 20 GAL with 3 Black Mollies, 5 Red Wag Platies, and 2 Aeneus Cories. Such fun for the kids and me, too!

Someday I'd like to get something really big, like a 55 GAL...we'll see.

 

[ferret]

To be honest, I first did fish because it was about the only thing I hadn't done

I've had cats, dogs, ferrets (5 at once), gerbils, birds, lizards, etc. I had a 75 gallon tank that had belonged to a chinese water. While I still had the lizard, I decided to buy my 29 gallon tank. That was a disaster because the store and a 'knowledgable' friend ended up urging me into over stocking the tank very quickly. I still have 4 fish from that tank though, long finned zebra danios.

After I moved, I bought a 10 gallon and moved the 29 gallon tank survivors to it. The lizard had passed on, I spent a long time cleaning the 75 and filled it up. I let it cycle for a long while and started adding fish into it. The 29 gallon became an african cichlid tank. I added a variety of fish to the tank, most did well, but I lost a few learning the ropes. It had gouramis and tetras and rainbow sharks.

Eventually, I finally had the money to purchase my 90 gallon, which is an All-Glass aquarium. The store was having a sell and I got it for $200 off, which was great. My growing group of cichlids were moved into it, and the 29 sat empty.

Much debate. I decided to make a full Gourami tank. MISTAKE. I happened to buy the majority of my fish right after the lfs had a disease introduced to their tanks. I had moved the gouramis from my 75 tank into the 29 gallon as well, and ended up losing the entire tank just about. The next week, the lfs had about 2-3 fish per tank as well.

The 29 gallon was cleaned and cycled, and the remaining Gouramis and small fish from the 10 and 75 gallons were moved to it. Its a perfectly happy tank now, I love it. About that time I got the final 3 african cichlids for my 90 gallon, bringing it to 16. The 10 gallon got a gold fish for my wife, a ryukin calico.

At this time, my 75 was nearly empty, with only a pink kisser and 6 beunos aires tetras, and a common pleco. So I bought a school of six bala sharks. But recently a monsterious ammonia spike wiped out that tank It's currently cycling still, preparing, I think, for Oscars. I haven't decided.

I also have a 20gallon L, that I bought while trying to save the bala sharks and tetras from the 75. I saved the Pink kisser gourami and the pleco, but lost the sharks/tetras . Once the 75 is cycled and the pleco moves back (Pink kisser went to 29 gallon), it's going to have water dog salamanders in it.

 

[captainGregor]

I always wanted to have an aquarium and started experimenting with them about 3 years ago. I have not read anything or researched anything about it and had a betta in a bowl that had successfully died because I was doing 100% water changes and the poor thing just went to forefathers.
Later on I had a plastic 7 gallon that had only UGF and that thing lasted maybe a couple of months. All of the inhabitants decided to leave this world. The 7 gallon went to the garage where it remained for about 2.5 years and then someone gave us an adult molly. My wife and I set up the 7 gallon that reappeared from the garage and bought 2 other mollies. I still refused to read anything about it. Sooner or later one of the females gave birth to a millon babies and died, then I decided to start research. Boy I was surprised to find how huge this hobby was and how complex things could be. Now my 7 gallon has heater, HOB, thermometer, UGF. I really do not care much about it any more because I have a brand-new 55G and equipment on the way. Grown mollies will move to the large tank to kick-start the cycle. 7 gallon may become a hospital tank or maybe quarantine.
At this point I am researching fish and hope I am successful with this great hobby. My beautiful wife becomes jealous because she believes that I spend more time reading about fishes than with her. 8O I adjusted my behavior pretty quickly and now do both