What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[Shane l]

I have mts I keep getting tanks my room is cramped but its awesome

Just thought I'd add that

 

[killrsheep]

Well, when i was around 7 or 8 years old i guess, my parents got me a small Hex fishtank (1 or 2g tops), they filled it with small seashells, and an air stone, and two Angelfish (yeah... i know, my parents didnt know much about fishkeeping either) well a few months (and a few drops of methylene blue) later i had only one angelfish, i dont really remember what happened to him.
A few years later i remember having a square (dunno 10g or so) fishtank with guppies in it, a few fake plants, and an air curtain in the back, i kind of remember having them breed and stuff, also i remember trying live plants and having a snail outbreak on it,
then on the same fishtank i had some Bala sharks and a couple of plecos (or loaches i think) on it, thats where i learned why you shouldnt leave your lid open, but they died... well they got killed but thats something i shouldnt really talk about
then... nothing, other than a parrot, and three schnautzer generations

Now im 27, making my own buck, and i just wanted to try again, because i dont care what everyone else tells me, fish are a nice hobby, and its a relaxing hobby... most of the time

 

[Pegasusrouge]

It all started for me when I was 5 years old my dad set up a 10 gallon tank with varied tetras. It wasn't till I was older I upgraded to a 29g keeping mostly gouramis. When those died out I got my first severum. He is a lovely turquoise severum. It wasn't until him that I realied just how much personality a fish can have! He is so cute, he knows me and comes to me when I go up to the tank. So recently I decided to get a 75 gal since he was getting big for the 29. Now he lives there and he made me really get into this more, im sure someday I will get an even bigger tank. I still have the 29 going to for the angelfish.

 

[Anthym]

Growing up we had a few goldfish and what have you but I never really took an interest in them.

Some weeks ago the mother-in-law had to move and didn't have space for her tank so I took it off her hands. I had been interested in getting a freshwater tank prior but just couldn't get the cash together to do it properly.

I've since come to love my new hobby and dedicate hour upon hour reading everything I can about it including other peoples problems, hints, etc

I've started this tank from scratch and must say that it's driving the wife mad but I love every minute of it. Starting to save for a bigger tank already!

 

[Lotsofbabies]

I've finally decided to share the embarrassment...

As a child I loved collecting frog fry (don't know what they are actually called) and keep them in tins or jars in our garage close to the garbage for them to have food... Then they kept disappearing and my parents couldn't stand my crying every time I got to my "fishies" and they all had disappeared!! So they bought me a bowl with two gold fish (yes, i know!! I didn't know better and neither did my parents). Eventually they passed away a few years later and I thought that was that for me and fish keeping.

So in 2000 I decided to "rescue" fish from the pet store and my then boyfriend got me a tank for Valentine's day. I kept 2 black moores (Popeye and Olive they were named), 4 gold fish (Snap, Crackle, Pop and Krispie) and a Algea Eater named Sucker. They lived for a rather long time and the moores had 3 fry... Then an illness got into the tank which no-one could tell me how to cure and all of them died .

2003 I started a new set-up "for old time's sake". they were 4 neons, 4 rainbow sharks and 4 Angel Fish (yes, overstocked for a 25l tank, but hell, I didn't know crap!!!) One day I accidentally dropped the under lid light in the tank killing 2 rainbow sharks... So the 2 remaining sharks decided to "take revenge" (I now know better) and ate the angels and neons. yes, you've guessed it: Bruce decided to eat his friend and lived happily alone. He's still alone in his tank with too many apple snails which I'll be getting rid of shortly.

2011 sees me with another 25l tank and a 45l tank with guppies and their fry...

Now that you all had a nice laugh on my expense.... I'm glad I found this community to educate me better and so grateful for Google!!

 

[Coursair]

I loved animals and nature as a kid. Grew up mostly in apartments. Had an 20g aquarium when I was 12. Had a somewhat decent LFS nearby. Owned a copy of the Famous Innes Book

Had a school of Neons and Glowlights. Had an Angel or two.
Fast forward.
in my 20s I was working for a LFS. I got supplies and fish at cost. I had 3 tanks running. A 55g Discus and Angels (yeah I know, too small), they did ok. Plenty of Live Food and clean water. a 30g community and a 10g for some of my smaller fish.
All the above was pre internet...books and word of mouth was the ONLY info.

I moved around a lot and got away from fish for quite awhile, was competing with my Whippets and had Reptiles and then Tarantulas and then was a Falconer for 10yrs.

Flash forward to recent times. About a year ago, I wanted to try live plants in my 5g.
I'd heard about a local planted tank club. I got bit by the bug again hard !!!
I'm running 5 tanks currently from a 1.5g (moss grow out tank) to my bedside 10gs
I love looking at my naturalistic tanks Messy Jungles that they are and enjoying my Shrimp and Fish and other creatures. So soothing.

It was all the pictures in that darn Book that got me started !!!

 

[see_shane_ay]

My GF and I went to a little county fair back in 2010. We played a little game, and ended up winning a goldfish. We took it home, and our son named him (Can not remember the name for the life of me!), eventually that goldfish passed away. I got curious as to why, so I got onto the internet and searched for possible reasons and explanations. After several hours of searching, I came across aquascaping, realized that, that was too much for me. So I bought a 20 gallon tank, took on a few little fishys, then my next move would be just 6 months later. I bought a 55 gallon tank, took on a few more fish friends, then i moved onto a 125 gallon acrylic tank, and along with that, a few more friends :] for some reason I was hooked from the second I seen the potential beauty a tank could have, and since then I've been slowly but surely building my tank into a beautiful home for my fish. 2 years later, and my GF, and our son are both hooked!

 

[flytekk]

Sick of all the testing expenses stress and time consumption of a reef tank. Miss my old freshwater days! Now im back!

 

[nautilus83]

Because freshwater aquariums are cheaper than saltwater aquariums, because cichlids are beautiful fish, and saltwater tanks are too much trouble.

 

[Maxkolbe]

Because I have no money but still like fishes. . (well I have money but not much...)

 

[Scott F]

I thought I'd save money if I took up this and stopped drinking.

Little did I know....

 

[KendallTraylor]

Well about 5mnths ago we were at the fair my little nephew won a goldfish we brought it home put it in a fish bowl and about a week later it died dang fair fish that's how it starts so to calm his little hart my fiancé went to Walmart bought a Berra and then about a week later it committed suicide and jumped out of the bowl so again to calm her heart I went to Walmart and bought a 20 gal starter kit with some tetras gold fish and some others when we got home we put it together and from there everyone knows the rest now I've got a 55 gal community tank with an array of different fish and I keep wanting more I just love the addiction I guess

 

[bigpapafish]

when i was 10 my older brother got a 55 gallon fish tank and set it up salt but he was a very lazy person so about a year later he gave it too me so ever sense i have loved fish now i have 5 10g 4 29g 1 45g 3 20g 2 55g and 1 75g my mom calls me bigpappafish cause i breed fish she likes too talk to them not crazy just goofy

 

[Ftcgames]

Well, it all started when I was 11. I was swimming in my pool in mid-august, and the random thought came across my mind that it would be cool to have fish in there with me (by the way, I was just kidding about the fish-in-the-pool thing. chlorine doesnt do very good with small fish). So I told my parents, and I went out and got a 5 gallon tank that I have kept to this day. The next week, I bought 3 neon tetras, and 1 golden pristella tetra. I also got a golden apple snail. All of them are still alive now, accept for the golden pristella. so, thats how I got into fish keeping!

 

[Duck645]

I'm not allowed to have dogs or any other pet besides fish (and at one point dwarf frogs). When I was really young I had a family goldfish tank but they soon died and the tank was sold. One summer I went to a creek and caught minnows for my neighbors fish tank. I decided to buy a small 10 gallon for tropical fish. Shortly after, my dad's friend gave me another 10 gallon. All my friends with dogs and cats think I'm crazy for loving fish so much but oh well.

 

[tamtam]

I've always been interested in fish but there tends to be time gaps between my ownership. The most recent jump into the "pond" is actually thanks to my almost 5 year old son. He's been begging us for a fish for months. We told him he had to prove his responsibility and that he could start saving up money to "buy" his fish.

If I go back to the very begining -

I remember my mom having this tank when I was little and I was always so interested in it, she always had animals around. She died when I was 8 from cancer and my dad shortly after got rid of all of our pets. I was SO heartbroken to loose all of them. Animals always remind me of my mom.
I remember my brother convincing my dad to get him a tank a few years later. I used to hide out in my brothers room watching them and actually used to sneak in to sleep on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed because I found the noise of the tank so soothing. A while after we moved and the tank was broken in the move, I really don't know if it was just an excuse my father had or not.
It was several years more when I finally got another one. I believe it was my 17th Bday when I really got into owning fish and doing the work myself and having my very own tanks.
By my 18th birthday I donated my tanks to a local nurse retirement home. My father was moving across the country and I was basically moving out on my own, I just didn't have the stability to lug tanks with me from apartment to apartment.

So it's been years, here I am 24 and after spending the past month thinking about having a fish back in the house a tiny little tank with a single betta just didn't sound like it was going to cut it.

 

[jCurve]

Well I got my first fish when I was 8. He was a Black Moor named Mr Butterlips. Prior to this i'd been catching anything that would live in water: Tadpoles, Mosquito larvae you name it. Anyway Mr Butterlips was my pride and joy until one day i returned home from school to find Mr Butterlips Bloated and upside down looking more like a Grey Moor with bits flaking off. My mum will testify to the fact that I was absolutely hysterical but more than anything I wanted to know why this had happened.....

I didn't get into fish again until I was sixteen after my sister had a siamese fighter in a a big glass and i'm thinking,"man that is no way for a fish to live" so I went out and bought a 20gal tank with all the bits and pieces (heater, filter, plants, gravel) that go with it and set it up a little community tank. at that time I had no idea about cycling or GH/KH or PH or Ammonia or Nitrites/ates or what fish went with what etc or how many
fish to put in there. but it all seemed to work okay and it was awesome to have it set up in my room so I could lie in bed at night watching there funny little ways. The Red Tail Black Sharks kept disappearing for some reason but I finally solved that mystery when I had to move out and give up the tank. I found the sharks dried up on the floor behind the tank. Needed a better lid

20 years later. My daughter was 5 and I wanted to introduce her to something that would help her to learn responsibility, understand life and death and most of all bring some intriguing into her life. I bought her a little Splish Splash kit 5gal tank + inclusions for tropical setup. We let it cycle and bought a few Bardinal Tetras a Khuli Loach and a baby Bristlenose. I knew the Bristlenose would outgrow the tank which is why we got it. My wife was kind of against it but I knew I could bring her around and once the Bristlenose got big I could upsize the tank without an argument (hehehe). So over the last three years my daughter has learned to love her fish. she knows how to feed them the right food and how much, she know how to test the PH, she cares for them in everyway and she understands if one dies, the reason it died and she learns to keep them happy.

So LOOOOONG story but i'm back into Aquarium keeping because I wanted my daughter to get into it knowing how rewarding it can be. Suffice to say her little 5 gal tank is now set up purely for quarantine purposes (little small but will do) I have a 20gal. which I am about to put my saltwater training wheels on with and also a 80gal which is the household community aquarium for all to enjoy. Can't get anything else until I buy a bigger house. But i'm definitely addicted.

J

 

[Bayo]

One day, 2 months ago to be precise, I was just relaxing in my couch with a very nice view to the city and I was having just random thought, so one of those who randomly came to my mind was getting a fish tank. So I didn't do any research before hand, no nothing (this is totally odd, because I'm the type of person that analyzes everything in detail and do lots of research and thinking before making any decision), and got up and went to the aquarium. Got a small 6 gal kit tank, set it up and this is when all this oddisey and journey started. Two months after this, after having read two books of fishkeeping, after reading tons on the internet and being very avid reader of all your posts, here I am, hooked to this hobby! Cheers.

 

[DGabbs]

I don't remember, ever since i was a kid i have had the opportunity to take care of nice tanks.

Silver dollars, gold fish, tiger oscars, angle fish, guppies, tiger barbs, shrimp..........

My next venture will be a saltwater set up, but for now I'm sticking with good old freshwater. Probably get Some sort of barb again, they're fun!

 

[Chiroptera]

I was born in Miami, Florida, and being surrounded by water for me was a dream. My home had a backyard that could only be called a tropical forest.. Avocado trees, bamboo forests, mango trees, key limes, oranges, gapefruits, palm trees.. sandy, loose dirt. The beach, swamps, and rivers were always available if I wanted to go, and whenever my mother and I went to the beach, I'd spend HOURS chasing around guppies, and even some brightly colored reef fish (in the keys, there's miles of shoreline that's really shallow yards and yards out, but has large boulders spread around that reef fish seemed to love), but it had to come to an end.

We moved to Virginia (just my mom and I) and everything was too.. green. Forests, mountains, valleys.. but no real water. Some streams, some newts, frogs.. but where were the fish I loved so much growing up? I was instantly homesick for my tropical dreamland. There was a pond that we put some comets in, but that even wasn't the same.

Then, my mom got me my first fish tank. While it didn't relieve my homesickness, it was enough to satisfy me for a while, but something happened, and one of the live plants must have had something, because some kind of choking algae choked the tank in a matter of days. It was a huge dissapointment, but after that small gem of happiness, I started to grow to like my new environment, and my new amphibian friends. (There are some LOVELY amphibians here..)

We moved a few more times and stayed a few places, but eventually she got into an abusive relationship, and I was forced to move out. That's when I got my second tank. It was a lovely tank filled with tons of colorful little fish, but I made the mistake of buying a crayfish, and that was the end of that.

My mother passed away six months ago, and I feel so bad that she tried so hard to make me happy, and got me that fish tank, and I let all the fish die (even though at the time, at 11, I had no clue what the issue was.) I know that's such a small thing to think of, but it meant so much to me.

Now I'm starting a new tank (I still have the 10 gallon she got me, and I'm using it as a nursery tank until I move for college.) It's going to be a 125 gallon dreamtank, and now that I'm an adult, I can care for it as accurately as I can. My mom inspiring me to love nature, my perfect tropical childhood home, and such an interest in life and all it's possibilities, is what got me into freshwater tanks. Thank you for listening to my story. <3