How Did You Get Into Fishkeeping.

[kym_sharpe_3]

OK,
Lets get a nice simple thread going here, on how you got to where you are today in this great hobby.

What was the single most influential factor which led you down this fishy path?

When i was younger my step grandad made his own fish business gathering up brine shrimp,bloodworm and plants etc selling them to garden centers then he started breeding fish to sell. we had his old house which had a 7ft in built tank in the wall which was for cold fish. 10 years later i found my diaries of when i was eight saying i wanted a fish tank then my boyfriend bought me a 96 litre tank and grandad still breeds fish and has one 7foot tank in his living room. and i have my cute fish

 

[poopsydrew]

gf bought me a 5 gallon long ago...the rest is history

Drew

 

[Danno]

My fascination with water leading to my imminent fish tank.

 

[caboose_122]

when i was about 7 my neighbour had a 200 gallon fish tank with i think they had oscars in it, ever since then i wanted a fish tank, my first fishtank was a 5 gallon when i was 13, i had neons and they kept dieing and i gave up on that, sold the tank and then a year later i bought a 10 gallon, the only serviving fish died last month, it was a neon, it was a snack for the angel, and now i have 2 tanks and soon to be 3

 

[ChaseTheBetta]

About a year ago, at my After Prom Party, there was a game where you could win goldfish. I knew absolutely nothing about goldfish, but I won 2 of them. I put them together in a 1 gallon bowl (yeah, I know, not a good idea). One died in a week, and the other died in 2 weeks.

I decided to get a betta fish. I thought they were cool, and someone I talk to on another forum just got one, so I decided I wanted one. I researched them, bought a 2 gallon tank, and got Chase. I've had him almost a year. Now, I'm looking to get my second tank and betta.

 

[arabballin]

My uncle from florida said lets go to petco i wanna look at birds. i said ok, so i drove since i knew where to go( i live in cali by the way) and right when we walked in he says " go pick out a tank. At first i didnt want one, so when he said to get a 60 gallon i said no (i regret that soooo bad) and that the 29 gallon would be good. He bought me feeder fish to start off and as i went online to research so i could really do this right, i was hooked. I took all the feeders back and started my cycle and BAM. i now have a new obsession.

 

[DevUK]

About 2 1/2 years ago my job was really crappy and stressing me out. I just decided one day that I needed a fish tank. Even though it started badly, I've now learnt my lessons and things are going ok And the stress factor has lowered! Nothing like staring at a tank for a few hours in the evening

Also, I'm starting to get into planted tanks, and the technical side of it. I haven't gotten there yet though... I think this is to suppliment my lack of enthusiasm for my job, working with computers. My last job was more technical than my current, and I think I'm missing that. But also, as much as I liked working with computers, now I'd happily do something else (if the money was the same or better).

 

[MojoDex]

my dad has been keeping fish for over 30 years so i was always around fish

thing is my dad knows nothing at all! the first water change done in that house was done by me when i was 16 and had my first tank!

actually my dads knowledge on fish or rather lack of it scares me!

 

[Arfie]

I was scuba diving in the Red Sea and saw all the beautifully coloured fish on the reefs and thought I'd love a tank.

About 6 months later a friend told me of someone who was getting rid of his 2 foot Juwel tank, due to illness and I had it, a few months later and he got rid of his other with fish and I had that, then I got obsessed and bought tanks of all sorts of sizes from shops and fleabay.

I have decided not to get the marine fish that first sparked my interest, I'll leave them on the reef and keep freshwater fish at home

Arfie

 

[Benauld]

My grandad used to work for a water company, he's just always had fish tanks, and the fish have always fascinated me... I also remember thinking how cool it was, to be able to have a unique little slice of the amazon, (etc.), in your own home.

 

[borissimo]

A combination of it being difficult for us to have pets such as dogs as we both work so much and would not wish to leave dogs shut up indoors, and we had been looking at aquariums and thought that a tropical aquarium in our living room would give us a feeling of relaxation and tranquility.

Little did we realise that one tank would progress to three and that we would worry so much about them. I also didn't realise quite how much it would all cost financially - not the fish themselves, but just keeping them!

 

[-germ-]

Went shopping for a cactus about 3 month ago, the only one with "personality" being £80, so my girlfiend sagely decided to buy a fish tank(in the name of purchasing something worthwhile), it was about 5 gall with an angelfish and a black shark
As you can imagine that lead quite quickly to something of a more decent size, which lead to an algae eater (hillstream loach) which lead to a biotope(ish)tank. Now i'm on 3 tanks and i always research a fish before buying it......

 

[nathan01]

Well i had by bedroom decorated and i wanted a light for my desk, so i was flicking through the Argos catalogue and saw the BiUbe tanl lol.So i went to but it but when i got home decided it wasnt that good so upgraded to a bigger better tropical tank lol.Now im lookin at marine

 

[Frasier]

When i was about 10 my grandad kept 2 tropical tanks. I spent ages talking to him about the inhabitants of his tank. When i was about 12 i got myself a 1 foot tank with some goldfish. One tank became two with the addition of a fancy coldwater tank. When i was 16 i spent all my Summer holiday money on a 3ft tank. The maximum number of tanks i have had is 3. A four foot, three foot and two foot. I now have a 3 foot and a one foot. I now maintain my elderly grandads 3 foot tank, my wifes grandads 2 foot tank and a one foot tank at work as well as my own. The enjoyment that our elderly grandparents get out of the tanks makes the time spent really worth while. I owe my grandad a great deal for getting me started in the hobby.Apparently my parents thought it would be a five minute wonder! Here i am 20 years later and aiming for my first small fish house. Heres hoping!

 

[Mikaila31]

I asked for a new 55gal to replace our 8yr old 55gal that we had down stairs for my 13 birthday. Well, the rest is history.....