What caused you to take Fish Keeping seriously?

[Matthew]

What was everyone's fish/adjacent that got them into the hobby? Not necessarily the first but the one that made you take the hobby seriously. For me it was a Red Claw Crab named Window. Honestly I didn't even know what I was doing and tried to do research on the fly how to take care of one of these crabs. Turns out there isn't a lot of information on how to properly take care of one. The pet store I got them from wasn't much help either. So I utterly failed. Poor Window passed causing me to fall into a guilt spiral, I had invested a lot of time and money into this crab so I didn't want to give up after him. I spent the following weeks doing research before diving into aquatics again. I didn't want to cause another aquatic life harm. Thanks to Window I found my true passion for aquatics.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Matthew

[Andy's Fish Den]

I was about 14 years old and had purchased some angelfish from a LFS. I ended up having two pairs form, and they started spawning, at first I let the parents go to see if they'd raise the babies, but they didn't. So, off to the library to get some books and learn, I was bound and determined that I was going to raise the babies, and I did. Ever since then, I have had at least one tank going except for a period of about six months when I got divorced and had to move into a small apartment.

[Alison]

I guess it was realizing that I could have plants in my tank so I can have a small table top underwater garden. Then the more I learned about the hobby the more I loved it. I love watching my fish dart in and out of the plants like colorful birds flitting around my garden outside.

 

[Errk25]

I have always had pets and critters to one degree or another. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Hadn’t had fish in maybe 20 years. Ran across some videos on youtube including Aquarium Co-op and started watching them. Seemed there was so much more variety of species and science involved in the hobby now which really intrigued me.  Our kids are grown and out of the house now and we had a room that I could do anything I wanted with. So I thought getting a fish tank with live plants would be a fun thing to try. That was a couple of years ago now. I now have four tanks in that room, one in my wife’s home office, and a 150 gallon stock tank pond outside. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by Errk25

[Rikostan]

11 minutes ago, Errk25 said:

I have always had pets and critters to one degree or another. Dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Hadn’t had fish in maybe 20 years. Ran across some videos on youtube including Aquarium Co-op and started watching them. Seemed there was so much more variety of species and science involved in the hobby now which really intrigued me.  Our kids are grown and out of the house now and we had a room that I could do anything I wanted with. So I thought getting a fish tank with live plants would be a fun thing to try. That was a couple of years ago now. I now have four tanks in that room, one in my wife’s home office, and a 150 gallon stock tank pond outside. 

This is pretty much my story too, although it was about 40 years for me and i still have two adult children living at home. 🙂

We have a large walk-in basement that is nice and bright with some large windows. We currently have two large rooms down there for the kids bedrooms, so my fish room is upstairs, but as soon as either of them move out, I am going to move everything down there and get some larger tanks. For now I just have two 45 talls, two 20s and a ten... and I just bought my first 55 a few minutes ago. I'll go pick it up tomorrow.

 

I've only been back to the hobby for about two months now and only one of my tanks even has fish in it... lol. I have some guppies in one of the 20 gallons, but I bought some cherry shrimp yesterday from Aqua Huna, so in a couple of weeks the guppies should have some friends.

 

So what made me take the hobby seriously? Not really sure, other than a responsibility to the fish. I want them to thrive and live long happy lives, so I am learning (and  re-learning) everything I can.

[KBOzzie59]

I was in the hobby in the early 70's (72-78),  I am now very close to retirement and thought it would be nice to have a couple tanks to keep me occupied.  Then the CooP got me hooked on live plants, maintenance got easier and a couple tanks has turned into a couple dozen tanks.  Now breeding a couple lines of guppies and mutts, platties, and pelvicachromis Taeniatus.  My wife has taken serious interest in the hobby now and is responsible for naming all the fish (well she tries to name them all).  Right now her two favorites are not even fish, a mystery snail named Steve and a dwarf from named Frog-A. 

[Ben Ellison]

I really enjoy that I'm making a small world and making changes all the choices and seeing if that makes the world better. I also love the idea of the hobby making some of the money back through breeding

[Errk25]

1 hour ago, Rikostan said:

This is pretty much my story too, although it was about 40 years for me and i still have two adult children living at home. 🙂

We have a large walk-in basement that is nice and bright with some large windows. We currently have two large rooms down there for the kids bedrooms, so my fish room is upstairs, but as soon as either of them move out, I am going to move everything down there and get some larger tanks. For now I just have two 45 talls, two 20s and a ten... and I just bought my first 55 a few minutes ago. I'll go pick it up tomorrow.

 

I've only been back to the hobby for about two months now and only one of my tanks even has fish in it... lol. I have some guppies in one of the 20 gallons, but I bought some cherry shrimp yesterday from Aqua Huna, so in a couple of weeks the guppies should have some friends.

 

So what made me take the hobby seriously? Not really sure, other than a responsibility to the fish. I want them to thrive and live long happy lives, so I am learning (and  re-learning) everything I can.

The learning and science of it all is fascinating to me. 

[Irene]

I'm like @Matthew - I got truly serious about fish keeping after my first major disaster where almost all my fish died of columnaris. I was already doing a decent amount of research online, but I didn't realize as a beginner that people on the Internet have varying opinions and sometimes you have to dig really deep, verify across multiple sources, and personally test things to make sure something is true. After rage-quitting the hobby for 9 months, I came back with a renewed determination to learn everything I could to give my fish the happiest, healthiest lives possible. 🙂

My first 20G tank before columnaris hit it:

[Errk25]

54 minutes ago, Irene said:

I'm like @Matthew - I got truly serious about fish keeping after my first major disaster where almost all my fish died of columnaris. I was already doing a decent amount of research online, but I didn't realize as a beginner that people on the Internet have varying opinions and sometimes you have to dig really deep, verify across multiple sources, and personally test things to make sure something is true. After rage-quitting the hobby for 9 months, I came back with a renewed determination to learn everything I could to give my fish the happiest, healthiest lives possible. 🙂

My first 20G tank before columnaris hit it:

When I started gathering info I was surprised at all the widely different opinions too. Found Aquarium Co-op to be a good home base for info and then found other youtubers that seemed very knowledgable and reasonable too. The science and learning new things are some if my favorite things about the hobby. 

[Ben_RF]

Honestly? It brings so much joy that I just wanted to spend my time trying to do the best I can with this.  Plus, I have always been a bit anxious, and I find being able to simply watch my tanks and tend to them with care helps a lot. So spending my time fishkeeping has been somewhat medicinal for me.   

[ADMWNDSR83]

I've always wanted aquariums, and have been through several in the past, but the current tank I'm probably most serious about.  In this case, it honestly comes to a question of money.  I just purchased a new house, so funding is at a premium, yet I set aside some extra for a tank and start-up costs.  I expected to get some inexpensive fish and just see what happened with them, but then I found Angels plus and fell in love with the koi angels.  Now, I've got a tank where every decision is impacted by my vision of a theme, and two of the most expensive fish I've ever raised (which I realize are still relatively inexpensive compared to many fish, but for my finances they were pushing it!)  It has me paying more attention than I've ever paid, and caring more about how the fish are doing.

[Taylor Blake]

For me I had a fish tank on day one my mother thought a 20 long with two gold fish would look nice. I had those fish until my 7th birthday when they both died in front of me (it was a rough 7th birthday) I didn't get fish again till my family moved into a House on the lake. I had reptiles starting from the age of 9 and my parents said no more pets( I only had like 8 at the time) but they didn't count fish as a "real" pet. They regret that mistake as I quickly had hundreds of gallons of fish tanks in my bed room. Then the rule was "Fine just keep it in your room" so now I'm in my own house and the wife now has the rule of "Keep it in the basement and no alligators" I still have plans for a pet barn for my animals and maybe then I can have a crocodilian 😉

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

I came for the plants. I noticed that most aquarium plants were really just sneaky terrarium plants parading about like full aquatics......

[FishyJames]

The first time my platty's had baby's.  Nature is incredible.

[AdamTill]

One of those silly betta hydroponic setups. That poor first fish was doomed but got both my wife and I hooked.

[H.K.Luterman]

It was the plants for me; the concept that you're building a little enclosed ecosystem really sparked my passion for the hobby. 

[Rita]

Like others have mentioned, I became interested in the hobby from wanting a betta fish... then reading a few articles, which led to youtube videos... which led to Cory and aquarium co op. After reading about cycling tanks, and the many, MANY different methods of fish keeping, Cory's method resonated with me. I too liked the Idea of growing underwater plants and basically experiencing the trial and error of the path I've decided to take. I am still very new to the hobby but simply planting my tank and watching the plants grow was already rewarding... Creating an ecosystem within itself is rewarding in a way I didn't think possible. I have an entirely new level of respect for fish keeping as a hobby and a profession.

[Levi_Aquatics]

I am only 15, but what really got me into the hobby was a youtube channel called Challenge The Wild. I then transitioned to watching Aquarium Co-op.

 

[Wippy0813]

once I joined a local fish group and everyone was talking about live plants. This is when I combined my passion for plants and fish. I have found that the time I stay interested in an aquarium lasts a lot longer as the look of the aquarium constantly changes as the plants grow. 

[Tanked]

As Aquariums are not weather dependent or seasonal, I can combine my interest in plants and fish in one place.  An added benefit is that it is unlikely that I will ever see a Bud lite or KFC bucket in an aquarium.