What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[Shadowraven]

The goldfish I kept as a kid, then the 20-gal my sister had. I'd love to just sit and watch the fish interact, especially when they swam in and out of the "caves". I could do it for hours.

That is one reason why I love to give my fish so many hidey-holes and things to swim through.

 

[relisefishies8897]

I love aquariums and fish, as a little girl I won three gold fish 1 died upon arrival, the other two well I don't know, I always heard stories from my grandma and momma about an aquarium they used to have w/ coolies, neons, black tetras, and an algae eater. after nearly 25 years she finally got another and now we have 2 blacks, 2 bumblebee cats, an ADF, 2 corydoras, and an algae eater. I plan to get some when I'm old enough and have enough money.

 

[WendiDell]

I'd love to just sit and watch the fish interact, especially when they swam in and out of the "caves". I could do it for hours.

That is one reason why I love to give my fish so many hidey-holes and things to swim through.[/QUOTE]

You, and me both. They are hypnotic aren't they?

 

[Shadowraven]

Too true. I guess that we are all a bunch of fish voyeurs!

 

[skiweeangel]

I had a tank back in my teens. We got a 10g for my son for his first birthday and it was the only thing that he would sit still for. For his third birthday he asked for a huge castle he saw in the local pet store fish department that is bigger than his 10g! So we decided to give him a tank that could fit it. His 55g is up and running with a few danios in it to start. I am hoping to get some neon blue dwarf gouramis and eventually some angels for it. I think they would look great with a castle. And the little danios could hide in it nicely.

i love watching them. It's so peaceful!

 

[WendiDell]

I had a tank back in my teens. We got a 10g for my son for his first birthday and it was the only thing that he would sit still for. For his third birthday he asked for a huge castle he saw in the local pet store fish department that is bigger than his 10g! So we decided to give him a tank that could fit it. His 55g is up and running with a few danios in it to start. I am hoping to get some neon blue dwarf gouramis and eventually some angels for it. I think they would look great with a castle. And the little danios could hide in it nicely.

i love watching them. It's so peaceful!

Ask around but, I've heard that for different reasons, Angels and Gouramis aren't a good mix.
It's always better to be safe than sorry, with this kind of thing.

 

[skiweeangel]

True. It's luck of the draw from what I have heard.

 

[Mog]

This is who made me want to start an aquarium Now I'm hooked.

It started with a $4.95 Betta from Walmart... which turned into a 5 gallon tank all of his own, which has now progressed to a 75 gallon which is currently in the process of a fishless cycle

It's amazing what she can get dad to do... especially with her newest phrase... "Pa, pa, pa, pa, please?", of course that combined with the puppy dog eyes and cutest smile she can muster

Oh boy, I'm in trouble... LOL

 

[allaboutfish]

ive always loved all animals and i love how fish are like a tv but living i had a crawdad at first that i rescued from getting eatin but she eventually died and i decided to get some fish bc of how energetic they were and i could see the reproduce and have babies now i think ill have this love for the rest of my life!

 

[WendiDell]

ive always loved all animals and i love how fish are like a tv but living i had a crawdad at first that i rescued from getting eatin but she eventually died and i decided to get some fish bc of how energetic they were and i could see the reproduce and have babies now i think ill have this love for the rest of my life!

Welcom to AA along your fellow fish addicts.

 

[WendiDell]

This is who made me want to start an aquarium Now I'm hooked.

It started with a $4.95 Betta from Walmart... which turned into a 5 gallon tank all of his own, which has now progressed to a 75 gallon which is currently in the process of a fishless cycle

It's amazing what she can get dad to do... especially with her newest phrase... "Pa, pa, pa, pa, please?", of course that combined with the puppy dog eyes and cutest smile she can muster

Oh boy, I'm in trouble... LOL

Yes you are, she's darling, and can manipulate Papa before she knows what it means.
But it's awesome she loves the fish too.
I started the fish thing for my grandson. Just a little 10g tank. We now have 2 10g tanks & 2 55g tanks, with plans of changing the 2 55g to 90g tanks. As Casey has gotten older he is now helping a lot with the tank maintenance. I couldn't do it all without him.
It makes for a great family hobby.
Welcome to AA and enjoy

 

[MountainAsh87]

My aunt kept fish when I was little, and I always loved watching them. I would watch her pleco against the side of the tank for hours. When we went to a store with fish, I would beg to go look at them. Tetras were always my favorite.

So, I guess you could say I was raised around fish. Unfortunately, I have since found out, most of her information on keeping fish was dead wrong. I'm amazed anything survived in her tanks. Now, I want have happy fish, not ones that are just "alive."

Saltwater fish can be pretty, but I love the subtle beauty of freshwater. I might try salt at some point, but until then, I'm happy with fresh.

 

[jcolon]

I first got into it back when I was a 7th grader. I was given what I can only assume was a 55 gallon tank .... I just remember it being long from side to side. I stocked it with various fancy goldfish, your basic gravel, a whisper filter and it had this amazing ceramic type of background that completely covered the back glass. It really created a great rocky wall backdrop with outcrops and ledges. Of course as a 7th grader ... cycling was not even a thought so any water "changes" was done when the level got a bit low due to evaporation. Don't ask me how I managed to keep the fish alive but they thrived .... somehow. Well I ended up going away for high school and leaving the fish in the care of my mom and sister ....... needless to say... when I would return for Thanksgiving .. Christmas .. etc ... there would be one or two less fish than before.

Fast forward 20+ years and I inherited my brother in law's 75 gallon tank. I really had NO interest in starting up a tank ... but he had a cut out made in a wall to fit the tank perfectly and my wife really wanted that space to go for an aquarium. So ... after some apprehension ... to please my wife I completely gutted out the tank and thoroughly cleaned the glass. Then I started with doing the research on how to maintain tropical fish where I got my cycling education. Thankfully I am a science teacher so water chemistry came easy which is really what maintaining good water is about IMO. First came the gravel, which sat in empty tank for 3 weeks. Then during winter break, I added the water and a couple of fake caves (am now contemplating making slate caves). Let it run on a fluval 404 for about 2weeks before I added 4 tigerbarbs and 1 RTS. Two days later came 3 albino and 2 green tigerbarbs.

Today .. it's become a hobby again (so the PWC's and such are part of the mix) so real plants a few more barbs and Blue Gourami are part of the community.

Hope no one feel asleep reading this!!

 

[EndlersEatGuppies]

Where were you inspired to have an fw aquarium?

Hey everyone i am just starting a thread on how the FW hobbyist started there journey to become what they r today.

HERE IS MY STORY

I had a bithday/large event party and we had goldfish as our center pieces. We had a 10g as a decoration piece with the extra goldfish. A few month later i decided i wanted a tropical fishtank. So we cycled the tank, put the fish in, got fake plants, and now we r in the process of slowly switching from fake to live plants.

Now i would like other users to tell us their stories.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Merged this thread without sticky on this subject.

 

[monstersmom]

Well there were a couple of reasons I decided to get a tank in general. I have always enjoyed going into petstores and watching fish swim around. This was padded on to my 2 year old son who absolutely loves fish to the point when we stayed at a friends house he saw a tank went up to it introduced himself and then when we were leaving said "bye fishies" and kissed the tank lightly. I had been trying to convince my hubby to get a tank for the past year and he finally agreed. We decided on a fresh water tank because he's had them in the past, and really enjoyed his ghost knife. I myself have always loved Angelfish. I also really like Mollies and Platys so freshwater seemed to be the best choice. Its been a couple of weeks since we added the fish to our cycled tank.

Another thing I really enjoy is after a hectic day at work I can come home watch the fish for a little bit and Im much more relaxed. I work in a daycare so it can be hectic most days some more then others.

 

[WendiDell]

Well there were a couple of reasons I decided to get a tank in general. I have always enjoyed going into petstores and watching fish swim around. This was padded on to my 2 year old son who absolutely loves fish to the point when we stayed at a friends house he saw a tank went up to it introduced himself and then when we were leaving said "bye fishies" and kissed the tank lightly. I had been trying to convince my hubby to get a tank for the past year and he finally agreed. We decided on a fresh water tank because he's had them in the past, and really enjoyed his ghost knife. I myself have always loved Angelfish. I also really like Mollies and Platys so freshwater seemed to be the best choice. Its been a couple of weeks since we added the fish to our cycled tank.

Another thing I really enjoy is after a hectic day at work I can come home watch the fish for a little bit and I'm much more relaxed. I work in a daycare so it can be hectic most days some more then others.

Fish are great to have around children. My grandson is why we started keeping fish. It really helped him stay calm and not over react to, well to life in general.
A friend of mine owns a Daycare Center. She works primarily with special needs kids. Kids like my Grandson who has Asperger's Syndrome.
She saw how much having fish helped Casey, so she decided to set up an Aquarium for her daycare kids. I helped her set it up and get it cycled and now the kids help her with the general maintenance. They are all learning how to properly care for FW fish. Things like compatibility and water chemistry.
The kids absolutely love it and seem clueless that they are being educated at the same time.
It was suppose to be something to help with the afternoon quiet time but has become so much more.
Didn't mean to ramble, my point is you may want to try setting up a tank at the Daycare where you work. It could help to decrease the stress at work for you and for all the kids.
It made a big difference at my friends Daycare Center.

 

[monstersmom]

Fish are great to have around children. My grandson is why we started keeping fish. It really helped him stay calm and not over react to, well to life in general.
A friend of mine owns a Daycare Center. She works primarily with special needs kids. Kids like my Grandson who has Asperger's Syndrome.
She saw how much having fish helped Casey, so she decided to set up an Aquarium for her daycare kids. I helped her set it up and get it cycled and now the kids help her with the general maintenance. They are all learning how to properly care for FW fish. Things like compatibility and water chemistry.
The kids absolutely love it and seem clueless that they are being educated at the same time.
It was suppose to be something to help with the afternoon quiet time but has become so much more.
Didn't mean to ramble, my point is you may want to try setting up a tank at the Daycare where you work. It could help to decrease the stress at work for you and for all the kids.
It made a big difference at my friends Daycare Center.

Funny you should mention that, I was just talking to my boss about two unused tanks that I happened to see in the back room of our centre. Once I get my tank more established we were talking about setting up the tanks for the kids. I have mollies so I know there will come a time when there may be some fry needing a home so we may just have some in the near future.

 

[WendiDell]

Funny you should mention that, I was just talking to my boss about two unused tanks that I happened to see in the back room of our centre. Once I get my tank more established we were talking about setting up the tanks for the kids. I have mollies so I know there will come a time when there may be some fry needing a home so we may just have some in the near future.

Let me know how it goes. I love hearing about the great response to fish by young children.

 

[Aquachic4545]

How I Got into Caring for Fish

Well, it all started with a glass bowl, 1 Crown tail Betta and three khuli loaches and of course - my 5 year old nephew who begged Santa to bring him a betta for Christmas. Well, I ended up caring for both my fish and my nephews fish over the holidays due to some interesting situations and THEN my mom brought in a betta and I discovered this was getting to be a bit tough. I migrated to a divided 5 gallon tank and discovered the nightmare of fin fungus. Well, from there, I bought a 20 gallon tank (thinking of moving a betta) BUT my mom loves the two with the divider so it became a community tank. Here's where I loose my mind. I buy a ghost knife fish (no one warned me they need a huge tank and grow super fast). I have the Marina 20 gallon setup and those filters are just AWFUL! They really don't work too well. I go out and buy a Eheim Canister filter system. Well, the ghost knife gets to be 7 inches long and now all my community fish are at risk and I'm terrified I'm going to loose my khuli loaches. What do I do? Well, naturally, I buy myself a 75 gallon setup from a local LPS store (to house the ghost fish) and decide it's going to be a planted tank. Well, now I have a ghost knife, a scat and a variety of other semi-aggressive fish (this time used the Carib Sea Instant Aquarium which is amazing stuff). They all are living quite happily (did I mention the Filstar XP3?) and I just discovered today my lights aren't bright enough to grow my plants (SOB) so I run out and order a new four bulb WavePoint Aquarium lighting system (found a killer price). I think I finally am at a happy point where I get to stop for a bit. Basically, it's become a hobby that's truly addictive. It all started with one Betta fish whose name - no kidding - is fluffy.