[Administrator]

How did you get into this hobby of keeping an aquarium and spending tons of your hard earned money towards it?

 

[fishkeeping]

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.

 

[nbr1rodeoclown]

parents gave me a tank in 2nd grade.

 

[FishFan13]

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.

 

[co2art]

One day my wife brought home a betta. I looked at it and said to myself, that ain't right. I later found this forum and several others. The rest is history.

 

[PsymonPsays]

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.

 

[big b]

My dad had a goldfish pond when I was about 4, I was obsessed with those fish.

 

[THE V]

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.

 

[Airena]

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.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[RWaters]

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.

 

[walklong]

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.

 

[GraphicGr8s]

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....

 

[Betta132]

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.

 

[plantetra]

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.

 

[osbora]

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.

 

[Bushkill]

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.

 

[jboone82590]

A while back my girlfriends parents gave a 55 gallon to her brother they had it and moved and couldint take it so it found its way back to them and I set it up and got fish and put plants in it and now I have 3 tanks and a turtle tank

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[jboone82590]

And we got a red eye puffer and a 29 gallon for each other this past valentine's day and have been into tanks together ever since

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

 

[Lemonpeel]

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.

 

[Audionut]

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!