What Made You Want A Freshwater Aquarium?

[Fishdude3233]

My mom...

 

[megastri]

When I was growing up my mother always had her 55 gallon tank. I loved watching the tank. I started out with small.tanks and just got bigger and bigger. Its definately been a lifelong hobby.

 

[honeybee]

i got one for no reason at walmart and I enjoyed the challenge so I am getting ready for a dwarf puffer tank and a 29 g unsure of what I will be stocking it with yet though. Will be planted though

 

[Dutchz]

one of the guys my dad worked with had a 150 gal fresh. so I got a 10 then 15 and now a 55. I love the hobby.

 

[ThatPlantedTank]

I was jealous of my friend

 

[cgthebeast]

Dad ha one for 3 years , had a major die off. So I jumped in the game 5 years later with a 10 g and a mad mom lol she later helped me pick up a 45 and let me start a Sw

 

[wutdidyousay]

I was cleaning the water of my betta fish tank and I had this connection with my fish. like we bonded over the water change and from that point on I gave him all that I could to make him happy. I named by betta George after my boyfriend; at the time I didn't seem him very often so George the fish was a companion to keep me from getting sad over my boyfriend. Now I see him every day and bug him about the fish hes named after. i did a breeding experiment with George and learned a lot. Hes such a trooper, the female ripped his fins apart he didn't attack her and even was a great father for a lot longer then he was supposed to. He even got stuck in the filtration system for a few hours but still made it through. I feel I owe him a fantastic tank so I now I want to dabble in aquascapes then do some breeding again :3

 

[Bageezus]

Why I still keep fish.

I think the main reason I keep them now is my two little girls. They love them. They love to go pick out fish with me, and have always helped me move plants and rocks around in the tank. They even both have there own tanks now.

My first tank ever was when I was 8. My dad bought a 29 gallon and I was hooked. When I got my first job, I had 8 tanks in my parents house. I now have 4 tanks in my own home and still keep buying tanks. I have always been allergic to cats and dogs, so the kids never got to have a puppy or a cat, so this has been the best animals for them.

I have even taught my girls (8 and 4 years old) the meaning of death and why things die. When a fish would die they would cry so much, now they just say they have went to fish heaven to be with there other friends and family.

 

[Old Scales]

I had two daughters that grew up with me having aquariums. My oldest went on to be an aquarist also. She is 44 yrs old now. My youngest is 41 and never took up the hobby but she talks of our tanks often. Your post touched my heart and revived many precious memories with my little girls. Cherish every moment with them doing the tanks together. They grow up so fast. Congrats, OS.

 

[Dutchz]

Those are great stories!

 

[Dlee13]

For me I have always had pets all my life growing up and fish are one of the few pets I haven't had (I've had several cats, mouse, bird etc.). I had the urge to get a new pet but wasn't sure on what to get until I went on holidays and seen Goldfish Market in Hong Kong! To be honest, it was the turtles that caught my eye but it wasn't for just good reasons. I loved watching them all swim in their tanks but there was a few stores that had buckets of them just crawling all over each other which didn't seem right to me and was quite cruel.

Once I got back from my holiday I kept researching all different types of fish I had seen on my holiday and the ones that caught my interest the most where the freshwater fish like the Betta. So for the past several months I have been slowly buying everything I need to start up my tank while doing plenty of reading and learning as much as I can. Once I build my stand tomorrow I can finally start cycling my 20g and hopefully within a few months I can finally have my fish (I'm so excited I already got names for all of them even though I haven't bought them LOL).

 

[FishSim]

Why I wanted a freshwater aquarium....

My 3.5 year old son loves fish! Anytime we go out and we happen to pass by an aquarium my son yells out "fish, fish, fish!!!". We have to stop and let him look at the fish before we can continue whatever we were doing.

Since my wife and son went to Vegas about a week ago I decided to setup a "starter" aquarium up and surprise them when they get back tomorrow! So far so good....I've setup my 10 gallon kit and have 3 healthy mickey mouse platies swimming around! One platy actually got stressed out and her bottom fins were clenched close to her body. I thought she was going to die, so I read up and tested the water etc.... Eventually I read that aquarium salt really helps so I ran out and bought some. I carefully mixed the correct amount and added it to my aquarium. After a few hours I saw no change....I thought she was a goner and would be scooping her out the next morning. In the morning however to my surprise she was happy and healthy, fins were out and she was zipping around with the 2 other platies! I'm pretty excited that I was able to save the fish.

I hope when my wife and son come back home tomorrow they'll be delighted with the aquarium and fish. We'll add a few more tank mates but make sure we don't overstock.

I've read lots in these forums what a great site!

That's my story!

 

[micromail]

What a lovely story, FishSim. Hope they loved it.

 

[AquaShark]

I really really wanted a pet lizard as a child. It is all I wanted, but my parents wouldnt let me. So it eventually turned into any pet. They said no to all except a fish. So one day driving by petsmart we went in and bought a betta. My first fish. Tons of research later here I am haha

 

[Fishfur]

I can't recall precisely when I got my first tank, but I do recall catching tadpoles in the creek in fourth grade, and watching them morph into frogs, and buying those poor baby turtles in the wretched plastic bowls with their equally wretched plastic palm trees. They never lasted long, poor things. Found one turtle shell in the rafters in the basement, I guess our cat got that one.

Ended up, by the time I hit high school, with a 30G tank. I think the tank and basic equipment was a Christmas gift if memory serves. Had a lovely pair of angels who spawned often, but of course, never managed to hatch any eggs. Had a mystery snail, and used to wish its eggs would hatch too. TIger barbs, one poor lone kuhli loach, a pair of corys of some kind and a swordtail, and one poor Betta that the barbs nibbled all the fins from, until he died. I wish I'd known then what I know now.

Later I got some guppies and other live bearers, platies and mollies, which were fun because they kept having babies. And I had one Black Moor goldfish, kept in a tank by himself, who was a character. He'd eat from my hand. Called him SOB because he used to nibble the turtle's bellies and drive them crazy, when I'd drop them in his tank to eat the snails. They were nowhere near big enough to be a danger to the fish. He went to live in a huge pond when he outgrew his tank.

I think had four tanks when I finally graduated from college, and then had to get a job. Lacking the time to do the maintenance or enjoy them, I think I gave away all the livestock and slowly, as I moved around, the gear all went too. My turtles got really lucky, an architect with a huge indoor/outdoor pond that could be closed off from the exterior in the winter by an enormous sliding glass door was looking for snail control, and took all six of them, promising they'd have a home for life.

Got back into it finally last year, after my mother had to enter a nursing home and her house was no longer available for long visits and I knew I'd be around to care for the tanks. Wanted a planted tank, then I found out about shrimp and that was my undoing. Now I'm hooked for life.. five tanks, shrimp, fish & snails and while there are no turtles, I have floating frogs in one of them, with some shrimp and snails. I culture live foods for them all.

Things have changed so much since I kept fish before, it is an entirely new hobby now, but much the better for it, I think.

 

[nbc123isme]

your guppy babies

Your guppy will have her fry when she is chubby, and in 28 to 30 days. She will hover near the bottom of the tank, or in a plant. Then, remove the babies from the tank.

-guppy breeder[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]

 

[jakeras]

My grandpa always had a fish tank. My earliest memory is sitting there watching the andel fish play with the tetras. Now, 14 years later, I bought my own 10 gallon and am getting another today! My first ten gallon failed miserably when I was 12, and I lost interest for about a year. Now i m back, and finding this website is the best thing to ever happen to me ever. So many knowledgeable people.

 

[Bettaorr]

I always hated fish said they were the stupidest thing u can buy. My son turned 2 and his grandmother bought him a betta a few months went by the betta died( water got to cold and did no research what so ever). So I desided for Easter back in march wed get him another and see what happens did tons if research an that bettas still alive. One day we went to the pet store and I fell in love with adfs so I bought on an a 5 gallon tank for the frog n betta to live in. That didnt go over we'll betta didn't like him so had to moved the betta back to the 1 gallon. 3 weeks ago I desided to get a 10 gallon tank had it 3 weeks just sold that tank and upgraded to a 30 now I love my fish and can't believe I went this long without them( love my adf more still tho)

 

[Fishguy1111]

I have always been mesmerized by fish, and giving some there own little home is nice.

 

[Blitz]

Here it goes again.......

When I was in my Teens, I bought a 20L Knew nothing about aggressive vs non, a community tank was whatever the LFS had, think I tried an angel and Oscar, it didn't got well, Eventually, my Oscar outgrew the 20, I bought a 40 Bow Front, I ended up rehoming him, and turned that tank into saltwater, but gave it up when my first Daughter was born 21 years ago. My Yongest daughter Won a goldfish in one of those "throw a ping pong ball in a cup", she was 4 years old. She's now 14, 4 months ago, I saw the goldfish in a bowl and my wife cleaning what amounts to a 2.5 gallon aquarium, I could not believe that goldfish was still alive, he barely had room to turn let alone swim, I bought the GF and my Daughter a 25 Gallon Fluval Accent, I bought myself a 55, I bought my wife a 20L and apparently, I'm back into this Hobby full swing.

Now I can't sit and watch my fish for more then 10 Minutes without Napping.