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GuppyNut

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 26, 2022
Messages
1
I had a large living room full of about 20 aquariums back in the early 1980s. I filled them with Florida natives -- Golden Topminnows, Blue Spotted Sunfish, Florida Flagfish, larger sunfish, and various turtles, sirens, newts, clams, crayfish, catfish, gars, shrimp, etc..basically whatever I could catch, but no live plants But then moving, downsizing, and job changes cut that down to one tank by the early 2000s. And then I did nothing for almost 20 years while devoting my time to a teaching job at the University of Central Florida.

I retired in 2017 and by 2018 I was looking for something productive to do with my time. In a visit to my stepson, I viewed his 45-gallon tank with an eel as its lone inhabitant. . . .and the fire was rekindled in me.

I decided to do guppies and live plants this time around and started with 3 20-gallon longs in the beginning of 2019. I used bristlenoses and corys as co-inhabitants and still have most of those 3 years later. I also experimented with RCS, ottos, and neons, none of which thrived. I currently have 1 55-gallon, 2 29-gallon, 5 20-gallon longs, 1 45-gallon, and 1 10-gallon in operation. Those original guppies I got from Petco and Petsmart have filled most of those tanks with their progeny. I add new males from time to time. Two tanks have natives -- Golden Topminnows and Florida Flagfish. One tank has a 5-inch turtle that my wife found in the swimming pool when it was about 3/4 inch.

I have found the aquarium world today to be totally different than it was in the 1980s. During that time one was totally dependent on LFSs and books for information about the hobby and availability of animals, plants, decorations, substrate, etc. That world, I quickly learned (and gladly). is gone. I still love LFSs and books, but the internet has brought a wealth of information about the hobby that was never, never available before. I can seek answers in forums like this. I can watch videos of how to DIY decorations, or make a filter, or clean a tank, etc. I learned how to attach plants to objects by watching videos! And I can shop, shop, shop at platforms like eBay and Aquabid. I love it!

Regards to all,
Jerry
 
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