I had a 10 gallon tank when I was a kid, but we were never able to keep fish. They always ended up dying or the tank would become cloudy and disgusting. So, after a few unsuccessful tries of filling up the tank, plopping in fish, and watching them die, we (my parents and I) gave up and got rid of the tank.
A friend of mine in college had a betta in a 0.5 gallon bowl in his dorm, and I thought it looked cool. I decided to get myself a betta for my dorm, which consisted of a 1 gallon tank kit and a betta! I kept him alive for 3 months until something very unfortunate happened. My dorm-mate at some point decided to clean my betta tank. He did a great job cleaning it, except my betta died. He honestly did not know what he did wrong. I was upset, he was upset, and I was asking a ton of questions to figure out what happened. "Did you use any soap?" "Did you make the water too hot/cold?" Did you treat the water?" etc... He did all of that. The only thing that he didn't do was put the betta in water while he cleaned the tank. He put it in an empty cup. He said something like, "Well, they breathe air too so I thought it would be fine!".
Anyway, after that incident I kind of put the idea of owning another fish away for a while. It wasn't until February of this year (about 2 years after the incident at my dorm) that I got another fish. I was a lot more informed this time around. I did my research before committing to the idea of it. I bought a Betta, a 5 gallon tank, heater, thermometer, water test kit, food, and decor. He has been thriving in his tank ever since! I actually bought another Betta and did the same setup a few months down the road. The last tank that I bought was a 10 gallon and I put several Danios, Tetras, and Barbs in there. They are also doing great! I'm proud of the progress that I've made and I've really started to get addicted to this hobby. I'm already planning on setting up a 6o gallon aquarium and getting a few more 10 gallons.
Unfortunately, this morning I noticed that my Betta (who I named Mr. Bubbles) has a large white mass on his side. It looks like a tumor, but I'm not really sure. I'm worried about him, and if he passes I will be very upset. Here's that story:
White Spot on Betta
I guess illness comes with the hobby, but it can be depressing. Anyway, that is my story summed up. I just really like learning about the hobby and caring for the fish. I'd like to take my turn at breeding them soon. Maybe that will happen next year!