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How did you get into this hobby?

23K views 85 replies 83 participants last post by  makeme 
#1 ·


How did you get into this hobby of keeping an aquarium and spending tons of your hard earned money towards it?
 
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#2 ·
I first got into this hobby when I rescued a male veiltale betta from my mother, his name was Snape. At first, it was just a tank with a bulb, some gravel, and some hideaways. But soon after, I saw several pictures of planted tanks and decided to try it for myself. Now I'm hooked, it's beautiful to look at and it makes me feel proud.


However, may Snape swim in peace.
 
#4 ·
We started an aquaponics system in our basement and I decide that I really liked fish. I put together a 10 gallon in the kitchen for an aquaponic flower bed. I then got a 20 long for free and I had seen some beautifully aquascaped aquariums and I wanted one. I then got a 29 gallon for free.
 
#6 · (Edited)
My father was a huge animal lover (managed a zoo, we raised exotic animals like baby lion cubs, capybaras, peacocks, and farm animals like chickens. Also bred chocolate and black labradors and also huskies). He kept several massive planted tanks, and we also dug and built several large koi ponds that we kept on our property.

He passed away about a year and a half ago. When the year anniversary crept up this year, I decided to try my hand at starting my own tank (especially since I found watching my friend's tanks therapeutic), to help cope with the loss. Never knew 6 months later that it would become my biggest obsession ever lol.
 
#8 ·
I won a goldfish at the fair. It was 115F that day. Kept him alive on well water for 6 years in a 10 gallon tank with occasional "Deep cleaning". This was back around the time I first saw Windows 3.1 on a computer. (looks like windows 10 if your wondering).

Looking back he was stunted, had old tank syndrome multiple times, and died of septicemia leading to dropsy.

I've learned a little bit since then.
 
#9 ·
My grandmother always bought me a new pet when she would come babysit me while my parents were out of town. When I was a teenager she decided I needed a tank. I've had one ever since. I got into plants after coming across this forum a few years ago.

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#10 ·
My parents bought me a ten gallon tank when I was a kid. In the 1960's! Metal frame and light fixture, incandescent bulb, slate bottom, filter box with floss. I was lucky to keep fish alive considering how little I knew back then. :laugh2: In high school I developed other interests (let's not get into details - it was the '70's). Then around 1989 I bought my son a ten gallon tank and the bug bit me again.
 
#11 ·
For five months of the Missouri Ozarks year, I maintain swimming pools. In late May, 2013, I rescued a small (3 cm/1+") Red Eared Slider juvenile from an in-ground pool skimmer. Took her home and started the slide . . . . Now, I work in the LFS in the 'other' months of the year as well as keep after several planted nano tanks. My 11 year old has been successfully keeping a betta for over 18 months. We tend fish together.
 
#12 ·
As a kid I always wanted to set up a tank we had in the wine cellar. $(Hey I'm Italian. Gramps loved to make wine. Had all the grinders, press, etc>)
It was a Metaframe. And it leaked. Fast forward to 1980 mid year I started dating this girl and her brother brought home a snapping turtle. Off to get a 10 for it. Then a month later another ten for fish. And it's never stopped. The only time I was without a tank setup was April 1999 until August 1999 while this house was being built. Even had the architect put an area in the family room for a built in tank next to the fireplace. And 38 tanks later....
 
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#13 ·
I was flipping through a Carolina Biological catalog (we homeschooled, Carolina Biological is basically the supplier for educational things that are in any way related to biology), and I found a section about a new fish they had for sale- Glofish. Convinced parents to get them for me, set up a 10g, and promptly lost 5 of 6 fish to lousy advice (namely, no cycle). Realized I was doing something wrong, went on a research trip, found out what I was doing wrong, and kinda just went from there.
It's been something like 9 years, and I now have about 180 gallons of water in my room. Also, I am currently on my way to becoming a marine biologist, and I'm conducting a personal research project into the species and numbers present in a river near our house. I kinda got REALLY hooked.
 
#14 ·
I was born in one of the third world country where it is extremely expensive to maintain an aquarium. So I started out with a glass Jar from some pickle or something like that and caught fish from the river. And later made a 1 gallon aquarium from some scrap glass. Funny story, my parents wanted it to be clean all the time. So i used to take the fish out, and the gravel out and wash it, dry it and put it back together. Didn know anything about Ammonia then. But they all survived forever. I think I used to do it every week and there was not enough time for ammonia to build up or something watched over the fish. There was no filter, no heater no airstone either. I killed more fish after coming here in the US even though I have a hi tech tank. Semi high tech until last week.

Yup so the love for aquarium started when I was maybe 8 years old. Its an obsession now.
 
#15 ·
Carnival fish (Goldfish 1) for 5 year old daughter. Unfortunately I had no idea about fish and changed the water without decholirnator and goldfish 1 R.I.P. Then I actually read up on keeping fish then bought mashaki (kids named) and goldfish 2 and a 10 gallon tank. Then I became hooked! 5 gallon betta tank,20 gallon shrimp tank,90 gallon community tank, and now 55 gallon goldfish tank.
 
#16 ·
When I was about 8, my dad came home with an 8 gallon Metaframe and some swordtails that his doctor gave him. Oddly, I never even met the man. Times were so different. There was at least 5 different LFS within walking distance and guppy breeder around the corner.
I had to shut down for about 3 years but had stored all the tanks and re-starting was really a snap. That was the only period in 50 years in the hobby that I wasn't with fish of some sort to care for.
 
#19 ·
When I was 3 or 4, my brother set up a 55 gallon goldfish tank that sat out in our, very poorly insulated, porch. That then fueled my obsession with the aquatic world and I have always had a tank of some sort since. From Bettas to reef tanks. You name it, I've had it.
 
#20 ·
Bought the kids a 10 gallon tank for (last) Christmas, relied solely on the LFS advise to get started since I figured if the fish didn't die they were trustworthy.

My parents had a tank and a pond when I was younger, didn't really interest me back then, but I remembered them talking about water parameters.
Started researching and seen to many people saying leave the water alone............Challenge accepted!
 
#21 ·
Wow, interesting question. As it turns out I was looking for a cheaper hobby than working on cars - did not know what I wanted to do.
Youngest daughter comes home with a snail from school " I want to keep it, PLEASE". Ok, I guess.
Oldest daughter is into Betta fish and tells me I have to do better than just dumping the mystery snail into a 1 gallon glass jar and ignoring it. So, I start learning how to keep it alive. Then she brings home another snail from a friend that can't keep the one she got from school. Now I have 2 snails to keep alive. Well, about a year later, here I am.
 
#23 ·
I started with a 3 gallon Marineland Eclipse tank. I kept 12 white cloud mountain minnows and 4 black neon tetras in it. I faithfully did 50-80% water changes on it every week. I got a 2nd tank, one of those 1.5 tetra cubes. I kept 2 albino cories (that bred somehow), 8 zebra danios. Well,the zebra danios made a break for it down the drain as I was cleaning their tank, just jumped from the counter I had the tank on, straight down the drain. I moved all the fish in the 3 gallon into a 10 gallon. Then added platies. Then discovered the "joy" of overpopulation and Noah's ark syndrome, in having 2 of each kind of fish. Then I finally wised up. All the fish had passed on to the great pond in the sky except for 2 of the black neon tetras. I kept those suckers alive for over 6 years. They lived until I was upgrading their tank from a 20 high to a 29 gallon and forgot to add the water dechlorinator. So, that was a LONG time ago. Not going to say HOW LONG, because it isn't polite to ask a lady her age! I now have....11 tanks. (taking 1 down soon) I keep Shrimp, 2 varieties of endlers, dwarf crays, and 2 bettas. plus a odd number of mystery snails.
 
#25 ·
I had two aquariums a long, long time ago as an educational venture for my son, who is now a grown man as an indicator of how long ago that was. I did the best I could back then. I am a video artist, so I had purchased 5 blue guppies to create a performance video that focused on memory. My great-grandmother was well-known in some circles for her blue guppies. I have no idea of what kind there were other than pretty and blue. I used be allowed to help her sort them when I was around 5 years old. In January after I made the video I tried to find a committed home for them, which is a tall order out here where I live in the desert. So I decided to keep them for myself. I began to search the internet to learn about how to care for them properly, how to cycle, and all of that. I lost all but one blue guppy, and have since acquired others of completely different types/colors. I saw Takashi Amano's tank styles and fell in love with the idea of creating a planted tank that emulates nature. So even though I only have a 20 gallon for now, I have a beautifully landscaped habitat. I want the best life for my fellahs and their tank mates, so I'm researching all the time. I love to watch them. I feel as if they're an important part of my life now. I'm hooked! I plan to get a larger aquarium as soon as I can make the monetary investment. Graduate school is taking all of my money right now. I'd like to have one that's at least a 125 gallon. I can't wait!
 
#26 ·
I had a couple of tanks that had been used for a snake and gecko. They both passed a while back and the tanks were sitting empty for a few years. During this time my wife and I had a couple of kids and they recently reached the age where they started showing interest in fish. We had the tanks so I figured, "Why not?". I had no idea what I was getting into.

I selected one of the tanks and immediately noticed some chunks missing from the silicone. The years of service in a herp environment had taken its toll. So I found some videos on how to reseal a tank and did so. Then I set up the tank with a bunch of fake plants and sunken pirate ships because that is what the kids wanted. We got our fish and I thought I was finished. Then the itch struck.

I started eyeing live plants and fell down the rabbit hole. First a couple of moss balls went in (yes, I know they aren't actual moss). Then a Java fern. Then some actual moss. Then an Amazon sword. The next thing I know I'm replacing the basic gravel with a more plant friendly substrate and dosing Excel. Then came a little more demanding pants and pressurized CO2. Over a few months the aquarium quickly went from "something for the kids" to "Daddy's hobby".

The second tank is still sitting empty. Intentionally trying to ignore it.
 
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