What Was The Fish That First Got You Into Fish Keeping?

[Stu4648]

Most people probably have a particular fish that really triggered their interest in fish keeping, whether it was their grandmothers 15 year old goldfish or some giant Arowana they seen as a kid (even a small one seemed giant when you were about 10) in their local fish shop. For me there were a few different species but the main one was the Red Tailed Black Shark, the nemesis of many but to me it was the coolest fish I had ever seen. Mind you I was about 10 at the time and had not even begun to scratch the surface of what is available out there. I still have the book that had the photo of this awesome fish in it. It only took me 24 years to finally get around to acquiring one and as big a pain in the backside, as anyone who keeps RTBS's knows they can be, she behaves at times I would not swap her for anything.
 
The other fish were Tiger Barbs and Clown Loaches by the way. I have managed to tick the Tiger Barbs off that list too. Just need to get me some Clowns now, which hopefully may become a reality at some stage in the next 12 months but that is a story for another thread, and my childhood list will be complete. Of course several more species have since been added to that list but these are the ones which kicked it off all those years ago. 
 
How about you guys?

 

[techen]

Duck.

 

[Stu4648]

Duck.

It's the drakes you need to watch out for.

 

[fluttermoth]

There are two for me.

The original was black moors, which I saw in a pet shop when I was about three! I was allowed one, but it didn't last long in it's unfiltered, 60l plastic bow fronted tank

Poor Oggle Boggle. The tank saw many years good service as a gerbil house though, until Itsy managed to chew her way out through one corner.

Then, when I was seven, we visited an uncle of mine who had a tropical set up, and I couldn't be dragged away from it! The only fish I can remember were the neon tetras, and I was instantly besotted with them! That blue! I didn't get to own any until after I'd left home, as my parents told me that tropicals were 'too difficult'.

And now I don't own any fancy goldfish (although I do have some normal ones in a pond) and I don't keep neons either; I've switched my allegiance to the green/false neon, as the red is boring, and they don't have it

Times change

 

[Ch4rlie]

No particular reason for going into the fish keeping hobby to be honest, just drawn into it i guess.
 
Once i got into the hobby, i was hooked, truly was.  Spent many hours researching and finding out what the cycling was all about and spending quite a bit of cash on my first tank set up
 
And am so glad I did though, the enjoyment I have had out of my tanks is priceless and hopefully will continue to do so for many years to come

 

[LyraGuppi]

I had 2 goldfish...Black-Jack (?) and Cremesicle. They lived in a 10 gallon for a really long time, but after that it was mostly guppy and bettas in...HACK....bowls, and a community tank in a 5 gal. >-<
Researched a bit, bought a 20 gal, and the hobby begun!

 

[Stu4648]

Glad to meet a lot of other like minded fish fanatics on this forum. 

 

[stanleo]

My husband had a saltwater tank and I loved that. He took me to an aquarium store and they had a huge freshwater display tank and I was hooked. The tank had rainbow fish but I have yet to keep any rainbow fish. I wasn't so much drawn to the fish as I was to the plants and the variety you could have.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Goldfish... and of course that went badly.... eventually guppies and that sparked the real fish keeping.
 
I dream of having a pond one day.

 

[star4]

A weather loach did me. I had a tropical tank when I was about 7, set up and stocked by my dad for me. My heater failed killing all but the weather loach. I loved him to bits, he would feed from my hand. I do have a big soft spot for weather loach, although most of my fish now are american cichlids, I still have weather loach (not the same one lol)

 

[SeanTrollope]

i dont really know what fish did it for me because my older brother has always had fish then i started as fishtanks and fish are just so beautyful

 

[Essjay]

My interest in fish started 18 years ago when my teenaged sons turned up from the fair with four goldfish. They spent their first night in undechlorinated water in the largest mixing bowl I possess. One didn't make it through the night. We got a tank (60 litres) as soon as we could get to the shops, gave them away to someone with a pond 9 months later, and I got a heater and tropical fish.

 

[attibones]

I've always loved aquariums. My mom could take me to the public aquarium any day of the week and I'd be satisfied and well behaved for days. When I moved for college and I couldn't take my dog with me that first year, I decided to get an aquatic pet. We could only have tanks up to five gallons and I didn't start doing research until a year later (then I learned about cycling). I went to the pet shop, bought a five gallon tank, set it up that day. Then a few days later I picked up two pink kissing gourami (both males, as I later discovered) and (yikes) a fantail goldfish. No heater. Tank was filtered. Very minimal decorations. One gourami killed the other. The goldfish eventually died (about two months later), and then I got more goldies. When those didn't work, I decided just to keep the other gourami. I'd always wanted cichlids though. I wanted blood parrots and angelfish. Now I still want angels, but I'd rather have discus than parrots. I also fell in love with bettas, odd fish like puffers, and shrimp. I love shrimp the most, I think. I've been in the hobby for about four years now, and I believe I have learned so much.
 
(I actually found this forum when I was seeking help for an ailing molly, then I decided to get a 55 gallon aquarium.)

 

[Serg559]

bala shark

 

[nic1]

Mine was when I went to work with my mum. Must of been 8 or 9.
She was cleaning houses and this one lady had a heavily planted tank with guppies and fry. I didn't know what fish they were at the time but I remember being mesmerised.