How Did You Get Into Fishkeeping.

[Tolak]

The short version is this; Uncle’s had fish ever since I was a kid, being a kid I always came home with newly discovered “pets”, fish being among them. These were locally caught species, fatten them up for a week or so, then return them to their home on our next local fishing adventure.

Fast forward to ’92, daughter wanted a tank, so we picked up a 10-gallon setup. I still have some of that gear running, I need to get a bulb for the hood today.

Fast forward once again to ’98, my Dad, who was in an apartment down the street, got a 55 gallon setup for free, when a neighbor got evicted. Since I lived so close, and had some aquatics knowledge, maintenance was my job.

Push the FF button again, to ’03, my Dad’s medical conditions worsen, requiring living in a long term care facility. The 55 goes down the street to me, and just beginning to have some computer knowledge, I do a little research, and come across TFF, along with a multitude of other info. This includes the local aquatics club, full of boneheads like me that enjoy aquatics, other animals, building things, and being dirt cheap. These guys led me down the wrong path, ending up where I am today with countless tanks, fish, phone calls, cheap shady fish deals, the whole ball of wax.

I really dig doing this, my wife jokingly calls it my mid life crisis, I tell her it beats fast cars & wild women.

 

[boardy]

It's always been a childhood dream of mine since I was about 6 to have a big fish tank. Just before my 21st birthday I bought myself a 60l and 2 Oranda, not knowing what I had just done I kept them in that until very recently when I managed to persuade my fiancee I must have a bigger tank. What she didn't realise was that I had already arranged for the Oranda to go to the LFS and I had ordered some freshwater fish online.

I got my 108l tank, external canister filter, and all the rest of the stuff, my fish went in, all planted up (still needs more work), lost 2 platies and I think the male is now on his way out (P@H rescues). I'm now looking into a 270-300l custom made tank but she has put her foot down this time and I have to buy a TV for the new house because our projector is too powerful for the living room. I will be getting the bigger tank and she's promised me that I can get it, but not before stuff for the new house.

All of this as a Lincoln Uni student, it's a hard life lol. I am running out of room now though so will probably get rid of the 60l and buy 2 30's or 40's, then build a rack for them. I also want to try a marine tank with the 108l when I get the bigger tank. We shall see.

Well that's my past story and some of the future, but believe me the future will not end at a 300l, there will be more

Adam

 

[cursedblad3]

Friend from college asked if i knew anyone that would want a 10G fish tank because she needed to get rid of it before she went to university. My dad used to have several tanks in our old house but got rid of them all when we moved. I said my dad would probably have the tank, i asked, he said yes. I brought it home and my mum said that he couldn't keep it in the main house because already got some bearded dragons. I volunteered to house it in my room until he cleaned his shed up and store it in there.

However, it gradually just became my tank and i now have a 10G and a 5G and i want more and bigger tanks!

 

[kubora666]

my dad had the most amazing malawi set up. i could watch it ALL day long.
and he had an old 5gallon tank that he let me put some goldfish in.
then i upgraded to a 20gal tank and had a small tangynikan comunity
then my dad got a marine reef aquarium (aquamedic) so he gave ME his old malawi tank,
since then ive kept tangynikan,marine, and sucessfully bred many south american cichlids,
until now ive bin imedietly led back down the path to Malawi's XD

the one thing that makes me really happy is how much better my tank looks to when he had malawi, my mums always saying it to him which annoys him XD

 

[caboose_122]

i have 6 tanks now lol 1x 2.5, 2x 10, 1x 20, 1x 25, 1x 29

 

[abzorbd]

My younger cousin is a real animal freak. Anything that's alive and not human, she LOVES it. We were at Petco looking at reptiles and stuff. I saw a common pleco that was a foot long. Apparently some woman had brought it in the day before to give up for an adoption. I took it. I had a ten gallon aquarium at home from past reptiles. The next day I went and bought a twenty gallon. I know now that it wasn't big enough. The people at petco didn't even ask me about my tank or anything. If anything they were annoyed by having to net it and put it in a bag! Then after he died I went and got a platy and a goldfish with my fiance. They were our first real pets together. That was almost three years ago. The fiance and I are no longer together. The goldfish is still alive and well with my animal freak cousin. I now have a fifty five gallon community tank and in the closet awaiting funding are a twenty gallon and a thirty gallon. I plan on eventually having lots of tanks. I LOVE taking care of fish. My family is starting to get annoyed by how much I talk about it.

 

[dzsigmond217]

I always wanted to fly when I was a kid and the way fish float through the water reminded me of flying. Then I realized that watching the fish swim completely relaxed me..almost like meditating. Plus I just found out..fish are good Feng Shui

 

[fourthtimelucky]

My Dad bought me a goldfish for my 5th birthday. It lived for fourteen years, but it was his pet more than mine in that he did all the waterchanges etc (with no water conditioner at all, ouch!) It was a sad day when hubbabubba died. I then won another fish at the fair but had to give him to a friend when I went to uni.

Both of these fish were in woefully inadequate tanks, but when I decided to set up my first tank this year I wanted to do it properly so did all the research etc and now I have a 30g livebearer tank and a male betta in a 5g hex.

 

[Truck]

i got into fish keeping by just seeing all the prety different fish

 

[littlest]

I was ill and staying at a friend's (who was looking after me). She had fish, and as I spent many hours lieing on the sofa, I spent a long time wathcing them and just found them really interesting.

I did have fish when I was younger too. Two goldfish in a bowl (EeeK) which were given to me as a Christmas present. I didn;'t really care about fish at the time to be honest. I did get a bigger tank and filter (still inadequate) but didn't take good care of them (as I know now).

 

[Texas_Wolf]

I had always seen bettas in those little cups in the store, and I've always been a sensitive sucker towards animals, so when I was 16 I went out and brought a 2gal hex and a betta from walmart....

that betta is still with me (his name is Phoenix) in a 10gal to himself now.....and theres also another 20gal high....a second 10gal...and that old 2gal hex with my at college

Now I'm hoping to have enough money saved up after I get out of college to buy a 90gal(for a green terror) and a 46gal to make a peaceful community

 

[cgbender]

As a small child I spent a lot of time at the local zoo's aquarium (before they shut it down) Pisses me off that they changed it to a terarium cause it was $0.38 cheaper per square foot in the remodel. In that building was the most at ease I have ever been ... so its a no brainer why I got hooked.

 

[wendywc]

My older brother had a fish tank and when he left for boot camp, I took over.