First tanks? Wall of shame

[squirrilah fish]

Alright let's hear it. Your first tank experience, all the stupid things you did. The terrible combinations or stocking choices you thought might work or didn't think at all. Videos and pics welcome.


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[Freakgecko91]

I took about 20-30 random tetras and threw them in a 39 gallon after 3 days of running the filter...I also had a polypterus senegalus in there lol I started to read online more and ended up trading most of them back into an LFS (I actually got all the fish for free from my old work, long story)

 

[ricco34]

10 gallon, colored plants and gravel, like 8 platys, a female betta, a dwarf frog, and a pleco. Thought it was amazing hahah. It was only 3 months ago hahahha this is my tank now. I got rid of all the fish and use the 10 gallon as a tank to put my mbuna fry. It's only a 30 gallon but it has a lot of hides and I'm upgrading to a 55 very soon


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[1998golfer]

My first tank was a 10 gallon from petsmart, I had a tetra whisper 10i and no heater.. It had 3 mollies, 4 platies, some tetras, and a CAE/SAE. They kept dying, i replaced them until the tank cracked and I gave the fish away. Then I did research and got my 27G cube, everything has been great.

 

[mikem691]

29 gallon with about 15 Africans all selected by the different colors including a hap and a front that was beating the daylights out of everything else in the tank. found this site and returned everything. found a 75 and my severums and never looked at Africans again. Except for my multis.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Alright I'll spill it, before I knew anything I had a 10 and a 30. Ten gallon had lots of Goldfish (Comets and Koi, I know I'm sorry) and the thirty had a BGKF, Polypterus Delhezi and 3 Bala Sharks and a Royal Pleco. Yes I know I'm so very sorry world. Now I know much more than back then and even though I believe if you learn from your mistakes there's nothing to be ashamed of but I can't help but feel bad for all those fish. I ended up rehoming basically every fish listed except the Goldies and the Bichir. This website saved me and I ended up doing lots of research and I realize the massive mistakes I've made.


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[cole_russell]

I still make massive mistakes, good thing you all are here to reel me in xD!
This was my first go at fishtanks on my own just over 1 year ago now and I'm happy with how far I've come thus far, although I'm still attached to my poorly selected stock.
I actually just re'scaped it today which is why the water is cloudy and the plants aren't in the best of shape, excited to say I've gotten two red lotus plants out of one bulb so far and had very little deaths involving water parameters!

 

[Alyxx]

*hangs head in shame* When I was just starting out I had a 10 gallon with like 8 fancy goldfish.

 

[CCXGT]

I had a planted 10G with 12 Neons, 2 Platies, 1 Swordtail, 2 Serpae and 5 Cherry Barbs...

Surprisingly not ALL of them died...


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[Fishy Smell]

27G - I had previous experience from 20 years before so started sensibly with tetras, live bearers, corys etc but soon started over stocking dramatically trading guppies and replacing with Angelfish etc, bought another 20 gallon to put some in etc.
3 biggest mistake buys which the books and internet sites got wrong were;
Badis - only eat live food so ended up wiping out about 3 small cardinals and 6 small hatchets within a week or so, for something to eat.
SA Bumblebee Catfish - It really is a freak of nature what they can fit in their mouth.
Female Siamese Fighter - I had 3 in a community peaceful set up and one went berserk, killing Neons,lemon tetras and a variety of others.

My original tank from 1988 when I was 13 started with (as recommended by the LFS) 3 Tiger Barbs, 2 Angelfish, 2 Firemouths, 2 Bala Shark. This is a tank of roughly 40 gallons. I still occasionally use the place, it's the same guy too but I rarely ask his opinion, funnily enough!



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[squirrilah fish]

Alright I better share mine.

I got a 55 gallon on the classifieds that came with an adult Jack Dempsey, 2 adult Kenyi's and 25 Kenyi Fry, as well as an adult Chinese algae eater and rainbow shark. As if this wasn't crazy enough.
I added an Oscar, 6 Australian Rainbowfish, A neon swords tail, red cap lethrinops, electric blue hap, Demasoni, and a Dinosuar bichir, oh and lyre tail Dalmatian Molly's.

The Dinosour systematically ate most of the fry, the Demasoni brutalized my Jack Dempsey, The Kenyi's went nuts on EVERYONE. I lost most of them. Eventually I traded out almost everyone keeping the Ausies, Electric Blue hap, and Lethrinops.

Now I only have African Cichlids and High Fin spotted Pleco.


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[squirrilah fish]

My FIRST tank was even worse. Bought everything for the 10 gallon tank, AND about 15 fish including, Rainbow shark, Koi, neon tetras, cherry barbs, platys, GLO danios, Dwarf Gourami, and Bala sharks. Put the ten gallon together, without cleaning off any decor, or rinsing anything. Just used tap water and dechloribator. The next morning (6 hours later) they were all either dead or dying. I thought it was a PH problem, so I continued to dose PH minus until they were all dead, as well as clarity, because the water was so cloudy. Petsmart replaces your fish within two weeks, so for the next week I killed probably 25-30 fish, until they miraculously started to survive past a day.
Please don't judge my shame, when your young and excited about something, You just dive right in, and don't think. At least I did/do.


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[PatrickL]

My first tank was a 2.5 gallon from petsmart. I set it up that day, went back(same day) bought 4 tiger barbs and a cory catfish. It didnt go badly, I actually have all of those fish in a 45 gallon now. I had a dead tiger barb, but Ive added before and since(more tigers and cories among other things). Probably not the worst first tank.....I had them in a 10 gallon within a month, and then found that leaking, s they went from a 2.5 gallon to a 45 gallon in 2 months or so....the 45 has now been set up almost a year. The original cory is now bigger than my thumb.

 

[Zacks]

Back in 2007 I think it was... I had a ten gallon that I originally set up for my betta, it had not filter, gravel with holes that you could see the bottom of the tank and a tetra whisper 10i with like a 25 watt heater... Anyways I got rid of the betta and put him in a bowl (terrible of me i know) and my first fish I got were 3 tiger barbs and 1 albino tiger barb, a red tailed shark, a peacock eel, and two yellow labs... It was a mess. Uncycled with a bunch of dirty fish, but over the year of 2007 I had more and more fish die and I kept buying new fish... I got angel fish, platies, cherry barbs, then after toying with my tank for a while I got a natural looking gravel, some live plants an aquaclear 20 and a pair of German blue rams, this was in 2011. I loved those guys soo much they were my all time favorite fish, so I went out and bought a 20 gallon starter kit that I could put my aquaclear 20 on, buy another aquaclear 20, then put the top fin 20 on my 10 gallon that somewhere along the road I got my pair of shelldwellers. So now the 20 is setup and I bought 5 neon tetras, (the number has increased over the years)
So then around end of 2011, early 2012 I started my 55 gallon, now being the avid fishkeeper I think myself to be nowadays I bought a little gold severum and he had the 55 all to himself. He was so scared hid all the time for months, I wanted to get rid of him so bad but I kept him, he grew and grew and came out of his shell (with the help of 6 giant danios [dithers] I bought along the way) and he's like my best friend now. So that's my little fish keeping journey haha


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[cole_russell]

My FIRST tank was even worse. Bought everything for the 10 gallon tank, AND about 15 fish including, Rainbow shark, Koi, neon tetras, cherry barbs, platys, GLO danios, Dwarf Gourami, and Bala sharks. Put the ten gallon together, without cleaning off any decor, or rinsing anything. Just used tap water and dechloribator. The next morning (6 hours later) they were all either dead or dying. I thought it was a PH problem, so I continued to dose PH minus until they were all dead, as well as clarity, because the water was so cloudy. Petsmart replaces your fish within two weeks, so for the next week I killed probably 25-30 fish, until they miraculously started to survive past a day.
Please don't judge my shame, when your young and excited about something, You just dive right in, and don't think. At least I did/do.


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I did the same thing with angel fish the first three days I had my tank.

 

[Fresh2o]

I kept a goldfish with tetras in a 20g tank. I even kept a pair of small orandas in a 6.6g tank for a short time (they eventually went to a larger tank). I also had 10-20 guppies (adults and mostly fry) in the same 6.6g tank (not with the goldfish). These were not my first tanks. And this was NOT a loooong time ago (maybe 5 years ago).
Reading these posts kind of puts things in perspective when a newbie posts something you might pass off as "Are you kidding?" or "What were you thinking?" or "Do your research, Newb!"
We've all been there at some point.

 

[squirrilah fish]

Reading these posts kind of puts things in perspective when a newbie posts something you might pass off as "Are you kidding?" or "What were you thinking?" or "Do your research, Newb!"
We've all been there at some point.

Exactly my motivation for this topic. We've all come along way. I know my tank wouldn't be as awesome as they are if not for AA.


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[Brookster123]

Hmmmm, does this qualify? ?

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[squirrilah fish]

Haha love it.


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[preyas1207]

I don't think I'm qualified to post here my first "tank" wasn't a tank it was a bowl my dad came home randomly with over 30 comets and like 10 rosy reds and we stuffed them in a bowl >-< I'm so ashamed of what I've done but apparently petsmart is kind of getting better with their info but I'm happy one of the Goldie's survived hes so big 1 foot long and he's in a 30 gallon now I'm going to get a 75 soon well we learn from our mistakes


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