What was your first fish?

[fishyd]

When I was 9 or 10, my dad had a small tetra tank for a while. It just disappeared one night... Didn't have my own till about 4 years ago. Got a 29 gallon with 3 green terror sisters from my father in law. They were so much fun, always together and always friendly. (except at dinner time)

 

[Andy Sager]

Mine was a male guppy that started out as a joke we played on my best friend when I was 6 years old. He had won a female guppy at the county fair and asked me if I could watch her for him while he was on vacation. We bought a male and put them together but hid the male when my friend came home and I gave her back to him. Considering he had had her for about a year, it was quite a surprise when 3 weeks later she had babies. Meantime, this male was living in a tupperware container in my closet when my friend was at the house. That was the start of a now near 50 year hobby and the expenditure of hundreds of thousands of dollars learning about and keeping so many varieties of fish through my fish businesses. Wouldn't change a thing either lol

 

[TOMatt]

When I was 5, i won a goldfish at a fair. We brought it home in the bowl of coloured water, and put it into a cleaner, larger bowl.
Then we moved to another continent not long after, but gave it to our neighbours. We expected the fish to live for a month or two.
Somehow it lived 6 or 7 years! I don't think anyone expected that kind of committment... lol

 

[sixtyfou]

These are great stories. Seems like that cruel fair game gets a lot of young newbies started. I haven't see that game in a while. I wonder if that's still common.

 

[corydoralover]

It's a lot less common now. The carnival in my city doesn't have any animals.

 

[BL1ND1ND3X]

When I was 6 my mom bought me a 5 gallon tank and not knowing anything we bought 2 bala sharks, a Pleco, and a minnow. In a couple days the sharks killed the Pleco and ate the minnow.
As confused as we were why that happened after the store employee told us that there would be no problems we just kept the sharks. Until one day they disappeared. Knowing that try were the only two in the tank we were confused until we looked behind the dresser the aquarium was on to find them on the floor already dead. Yeah we gave up on aquariums after that incident. Looking back we should have done research, I feel bad for the fish.

 

[sixtyfou]

Some of the stuff beginners get told is sad. I had a guy at Meijer try to tell me I could put 15 Danios in a 3 gallon tank. I knew better, even though I was just beginning my research at that point.

I had some sword tails as a kid that like to jump out of the tank.

 

[HUKIT]

Mine was a unusually aggressive Andinoacara rivulatus which started my passion for cichlids.

 

[Fibsog]

A betta from 6 years ago- died in a year. My own, yes. But my family has ran a tank for 12 years.

 

[sixtyfou]

My ex wife got my daughter a betta shortly after we split. It didn't end well. I'm secretly prepping a 5 gallon that will appear on Christmas with a betta. She always asks for one when we go to the LPS. I think she'll really dig it.

 

[Alan79]

I remember my family had 2 comets in a small bowl full of green water. When the bowl got cleaned out both fish died. The algae was clearing up the nutrients i guess.

You could probably say i started out with whatever i could catch in local creeks. I had a 21 litre bucket that regularly became my tank. Tadpoles, guppies, frogs and lizards from the creek were my regular catches. I managed to catch three turtles over the years which i eventually released. On a trip to the beach once i found 5 red starfish that came home with me to die in water that was not fit for them.

Since adulthood i've kept mainly Comets in a 20g. I was a bad fish keeper for about 10-12 years. Only found out recently what comets require to live a full life. I would keep about 3 Comets and an occasional sucking catfish or some danios with them. Usually i would wind up with 1 Comet left that would die at about 6years.

I'll be looking for a new adventure soon. I plan to alter a tank to house spotted blue eyes and some Threadfin rainbows pretty soon. Possibly some Australian shrimp too.

 

[Old Scales]

A possible future lifelong aquarist

My ex wife got my daughter a betta shortly after we split. It didn't end well. I'm secretly prepping a 5 gallon that will appear on Christmas with a betta. She always asks for one when we go to the LPS. I think she'll really dig it.

Sixtyfou.
Good for you buddy! When my 44 yr old daughter was little she loved "helping" me with my tanks. Ended up she's kept fish all her life because of that spark within her. Enjoy! OS.

 

[leslee.dudding]

My ex husband bought me a 110g tank that we set up several years ago after we went to Jamaica to get married. We went on a glass bottom boat ride, and the curious sergeant major damsels caught my attention right off the bat! After setting up my salt tank, I got 3 sergeant majors and loved to watch them! It was like being back in Jamaica every day on that glass bottom boat. Unfortunately, when we split, the tank was left in his custody until the divorce was final, and he didn't do any maintenance, so my fish all died. Can't wait to get it set back up, and start over!

 

[Tieberion]

Three carnival comets I won for my first wife. Like her, they are no longer with me

 

[Tommy10]

A Betta that lived 5 years

 

[Pleco1415]

My first fish was a clown pleco. I bought him 6 years ago at petsmart and he is still Alive and doing great. Very exiting first fish. I originally started with a ten gallon tank and somehow I have 4 tanks now. I have a 29g, 20g, 20g long, and a 10g.

 

[Kittykat364]

My first fish was a small goldfish. My sister and I both had 2" goldfish in a 2.5 gallon tank. I now know it is horrible and cruel. They only lived 2 years

 

[venymae]

My wonderful father helped me set up and maintain a 20 or 30 gallon (not sure) tank in our room when I was around 2nd grade. I started with a small black marble male angelfish, a small white marble female angelfish, and a bunch of guppies. My marbles eventually got big, beautiful and started breeding, so my father (an angel lover) took them to his gorgeous 55 at work, where unfortunately my male wedged himself between the glass and a coconut and suffocated. I was so mad at my dad for a while! However I am very thankful to my dad introducing me to the love of fish and aquariums. 15 years later and I still love them

 

[Haileyjade]

I was 6 or 7, and my birthday money equaled $100.00. Feeling rather rich, I asked for a fish tank and all the accessories.

My dad picked out a 10 gallon kit, which we set up and let run for 24 hours. We then went to get 2 black mollies, some neon tetras, and some kind of algae eater.

That night, the mollie gave birth. I was so excited.

Funny how much we have learned about fish keeping since then!