What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[RedDevil83]

Been thinking about getting a large Oscar when I upgrade and sell my fish about a year down the line.


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[ImACoolguy]

I've considered an Oscar many times but like discus they are an investment and take serious dedication to water changes. If water quality isn't kept they are very prone to HITH.


Caleb

 

[Myah]

Fish have always interested me and so all I wanted for my 16th birthday was a 20 gallon fish tank (I know kind of weird for a 16 year old girl) and that's what I got. I now have my 20 gallon, two 10 gallons, and now a 55 gallon. I AM EXPANDING!


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[walklong]

No good deed goes unpunished . . . .

I work as a swimming pool service tech. Two years ago, I was servicing a large inground pool out in the boondocks and found a tiny (1 1/2") red eared slider turtle in the skimmer box. Thought it was dead, but noticed after setting it out of the water it was moving. Twenty six months and two or three thousand bucks later, I've got a 75 with the turtle and some natives, a 29 planted with tetras, a 20 L planted with guppies, an 8 (Fluval Flora setup) planted with endlers and shrimp; a couple of 1 1/2-2 gallon setups with more shrimp, snails and moss/guppy grass, and ...... dreaming of a 120 or so as the final home for Sundae, the turtle that started it all.

 

[DaddyD]

My turning point into wanting freshwater fish was my kids wanted dogs. I said if they do a good job taking care of some fish, I'll get a dog. They did a good job with it until I took over the tank (bigger tank on stand I didn't want them to pull down while doing maintenance) and the rest is history. I can't believe fish maintenance cost me more than both my dogs.

 

[Drakmanka]

I was introduced to aquariums at a very young age. My mom bought my dad a 100-gallon aquarium for their anniversary one year, while I was very little. I always had to say goodnight to the fish every night, and I named every single one of them, from the gouramis to the neon tetras. I seem to recall I named his Pleco catfish Fatty...
In hindsight, I realize that my dad really had no idea how to care for fish, as the tank only lasted a couple years before all the fish were dead and he had gotten burned out on it. For me, however, it was only the beginning.
I stumbled into fishkeeping over about a decade of keeping Betta Splendens, and now have a small tank with two female Bettas and a handful of Cory catfish. I plan to get a large, 40-gallon tank within a year or two and get a few more fish.

 

[Ntwolfsoldier]

I have had many fish tanks over the years. But I honestly got the most into it when I was in high school. I took an agriculture class where through our direct efforts as students and FFA members and we had an awesome Teacher/Advisor. We were able to set up multiple aquariums for study and the biggest was 1,000 gal stocking tank used by the state to populate local streams and rivers in the area we would hatch and raise fish through the use of this multiple tank system. Then we would release them in our area under the guidance of Sate Fisheries and Fish and Game commission

 

[obxWaMi]

My hubby put a cute little pond in our flower bed last year and to keep mosquitoes from breeding he put a dozen goldfish in it. They survived the winter and even spawned when the weather turned warm. When we moved a few months ago I put my goldfish, along with the water lilies and other water plants, in a 55 gallon aquarium on the front porch of our new house until we could get the pond installed again. Well, that pond still isn't installed.
I know that winter is coming and the aquarium will not survive on the front porch without breaking (ice build up) so I bought a 75 gal. tank a few weeks ago. I finally got it set up today and tomorrow I will start cycling it.

The adventure begins!

 

[bigsea]

I was casually introduced into this hobby by an old neighbor of mine in an apartment complex roughly a year and a half ago. I say neighbor but we're actually really good friends. Everytime we hung out hed just go on and on about his tanks and showing me every little bit of new things going on in his tanks and honestly it was kind of boring. It wasnt until 2 months later that i actually started realizing what he exactly was doing and started tuning in more and retaining a lot of the knowledge about the plants and water parameters. My thirst for aquariums grew exponentially. He ended up kicking down a ten gallon to me that i stocked with 3 glolight tetras. Literally one week later i searched and ended up with a 29 gallon for free. Stand and all. I received a ton of free plants from this same guy. Enough to heavily plant it. Again my thirst grew! I bought the 26 bowfront. It lasted about a month before i tore both tanks down (aware of multiple tank syndrome) and got yet another free tank. A 55 gallon. Here it is



- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Finntastic]

I was casually introduced into this hobby by an old neighbor of mine in an apartment complex roughly a year and a half ago. I say neighbor but we're actually really good friends. Everytime we hung out hed just go on and on about his tanks and showing me every little bit of new things going on in his tanks and honestly it was kind of boring. It wasnt until 2 months later that i actually started realizing what he exactly was doing and started tuning in more and retaining a lot of the knowledge about the plants and water parameters. My thirst for aquariums grew exponentially. He ended up kicking down a ten gallon to me that i stocked with 3 glolight tetras. Literally one week later i searched and ended up with a 29 gallon for free. Stand and all. I received a ton of free plants from this same guy. Enough to heavily plant it. Again my thirst grew! I bought the 26 bowfront. It lasted about a month before i tore both tanks down (aware of multiple tank syndrome) View attachment 282183and got yet another free tank. A 55 gallon. Here it is



- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

Nice tank. A few discus would make your tank look even better (if that's possible)

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[bigsea]

Thanks means a lot!! I still need to fine tune it as this is a fresh aquascape from this

The branches arent waterlogged yet and in their final spots. Theres also lots of debris. Getting there!
I have 2 angels, 3 siamese algae eaters, 3 mystery snails, 2 flower shrimp, 8 cory cats, and 1 bristlenose pleco. Think i have room for discus??


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

 

[Finntastic]

Thanks means a lot!! I still need to fine tune it as this is a fresh aquascape from this
View attachment 282190
The branches arent waterlogged yet and in their final spots. Theres also lots of debris. Getting there!
I have 2 angels, 3 siamese algae eaters, 3 mystery snails, 2 flower shrimp, 8 cory cats, and 1 bristlenose pleco. Think i have room for discus??


- St Charles Almendras Geraldizo

Yeah Nevermind no discus

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[rachelives]

I wasn't allowed to have real pets when I was younger, so when I won goldfish at the fair one day (I know, awful) I decided to buy a tank for them! It was 3 gallons, and since I knew nothing about water parameters, they died shortly after. Later I decided to buy a Beta and some African Dwarf Frogs (Not sure if that's what they're called). They actually survived a while considering my awful upkeep, but eventually they did die. Fast forward to 7ish years later, and my friend gets me two mystery snails and two goldfish for my birthday. Unfortunately, they all came in a one gallon aquarium. (Again, awful) And I whipped out my old 3 gallon tank, which was far far too small still, but what was I supposed to do? Soon after I got everything set up, one goldfish died because I never got the chance to cycle the tank considering I could not prepare for them. The other goldfish lasted a month and completed my nitrogen cycle (but created so much waste that I had to do water changed/gravel siphonings every day) and is now down the toilet But thankfully I still have my two mystery snails that are very happy! One is really large and very active and the other is small and slow. (Does anyone know why this is? He seems healthy just not super active) That's my story! Thanks for listening!

 

[Finntastic]

I wasn't allowed to have real pets when I was younger, so when I won goldfish at the fair one day (I know, awful) I decided to buy a tank for them! It was 3 gallons, and since I knew nothing about water parameters, they died shortly after. Later I decided to buy a Beta and some African Dwarf Frogs (Not sure if that's what they're called). They actually survived a while considering my awful upkeep, but eventually they did die. Fast forward to 7ish years later, and my friend gets me two mystery snails and two goldfish for my birthday. Unfortunately, they all came in a one gallon aquarium. (Again, awful) And I whipped out my old 3 gallon tank, which was far far too small still, but what was I supposed to do? Soon after I got everything set up, one goldfish died because I never got the chance to cycle the tank considering I could not prepare for them. The other goldfish lasted a month and completed my nitrogen cycle (but created so much waste that I had to do water changed/gravel siphonings every day) and is now down the toilet But thankfully I still have my two mystery snails that are very happy! One is really large and very active and the other is small and slow. (Does anyone know why this is? He seems healthy just not super active) That's my story! Thanks for listening!

That's how a lot of ppl get started, fair fish. As for the snail he may just be older, I don't know much about snails I'm more of a fish guy. I would be glad to help you in this amazing world and hobby and all I can say for now is Welcome to the Forum

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[Finntastic]

Oh and I do know why the goldfish died. Goldies create a ton of waste because they have no stomach, in other words what they eat gets immediately transfered to waste and they are always hungry. Also 3 gallons is a little small for goldies, they can get from a foot to several feet and they can live 25 years in good conditions. As for the 3 gallon, people here could help you easily turn it into a tiny planted shrimp and snail tank or a planted betta tank, or you could have fake stuff. It's your choice.

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[rachelives]

Oh and I do know why the goldfish died. Goldies create a ton of waste because they have no stomach, in other words what they eat gets immediately transfered to waste and they are always hungry. Also 3 gallons is a little small for goldies, they can get from a foot to several feet and they can live 25 years in good conditions. As for the 3 gallon, people here could help you easily turn it into a tiny planted shrimp and snail tank or a planted betta tank, or you could have fake stuff. It's your choice.

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I heard that 3 gallon tanks were too small for most fish, but if you could help me turn it into something cool that would be awesome! But first I am starting a new 10 gallon planted tank tomorrow that I am very excited about! I will probably be asking for a lot of advice

 

[Finntastic]

I heard that 3 gallon tanks were too small for most fish, but if you could help me turn it into something cool that would be awesome! But first I am starting a new 10 gallon planted tank tomorrow that I am very excited about! I will probably be asking for a lot of advice

So first things first. With the 10 gallon, set it up and let the filter run for a few weeks and build up important bacteria that help keep the fish alive, this is called cycling the tank. And advice is what we are here to give. And bettas are about the only fish for a 3 gallon

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[Crustyshellback]

Well, here it goes. I have kept a few small aquariums over the years. I was a career Navy man and moved around too much to be very successful. I retired about 5 years ago, and bought a house with a huge basement. Once we set up the Man Cave, I installed a 20 gal tall. I'm now completely hooked. I've added a 55 gal long and a 93 gal cube. Since then, I rarely watch TV. I watch my fish. Nothing is more relaxing after a rough day at work (you can never really retire from the military). Thinking about adding a 75 gal cichlid tank if Lynna will let me. By the way, We retired to the Midwest, so I think the tanks help pacify the sailor in me.

Don

 

[differenter2000]

My mom always had fish so we already had all the stuff. One day we went to the pet store and I saw a $5.00 crayfish for sale and I fell in love! I bagged my dad to get her for me (they said yes) and I brought her home, set up my 15 gal tank and named her skittle! I wanted to spoil her so I got her LOTS of decorations to "play" with, a heater, a filter, sand and every type of food you can buy for a crayfish. I slowly started adding fish to my tank like cherry barbs because they're fast and can out "run" her (I actually still have them). But sadly she past away . I started adding more fish to that tank like 3 cory cats and a blind cave fish. Eventually I wanted bigger and more aggressive fish and cichlids have always caught my eye so I got a 30 gallon tank at the second store for $15.00 and I got a bunch of cichlids and now I'm upgrading them to a 79 gallon tank which once it's set up I'm hoping to get more cichlids. One day (when I have money, time and experience) I'm really hoping to try a salt water tank!

 

[Finntastic]

My mom always had fish so we already had all the stuff. One day we went to the pet store and I saw a $5.00 crayfish for sale and I fell in love! I bagged my dad to get her for me (they said yes) and I brought her home, set up my 15 gal tank and named her skittle! I wanted to spoil her so I got her LOTS of decorations to "play" with, a heater, a filter, sand and every type of food you can buy for a crayfish. I slowly started adding fish to my tank like cherry barbs because they're fast and can out "run" her (I actually still have them). But sadly she past away . I started adding more fish to that tank like 3 cory cats and a blind cave fish. Eventually I wanted bigger and more aggressive fish and cichlids have always caught my eye so I got a 30 gallon tank at the second store for $15.00 and I got a bunch of cichlids and now I'm upgrading them to a 79 gallon tank which once it's set up I'm hoping to get more cichlids. One day (when I have money, time and experience) I'm really hoping to try a salt water tank!

Oooo, cichlids are awesome. And that's the mistake I made when stepping into the salty side, I didn't have money or time or experience

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