Why do you keep fish?

[Jovius]

Good day, all. I am really curious as to why everyone keeps fish? I'd also love to hear stories about how you got into the hobby!

I keep them because I really enjoy every aspect of nature and I always have. My other hobby is birding while on hikes! 

I also find it very therapeutic and just sitting next to my tank and watching them really helps my mental state and that is how I got into the hobby. I have always wanted a tank growing up and never had one. Now that I have kids old enough to also enjoy them I took the leap and got started.  

[Tony s]

My daughter won a feeder goldfish at a small city festival. It didn’t make it through the night. She was 6, so we got our first 2 tanks. Really small plastic Walmart tanks. Bad design all around. Learned a lot by completely screwing things up. Had no knowledge at all. But enjoy just learning about everything. Am really good with most animals but never had fish before. Now she’s 9 and we have 14 tanks of all sizes. 
 

I spend lots of time at work, at least 60+ hours a week. Doing the tank maintenance is my way of relaxing. I’ve even been known to do maintenance at 3am after getting in at midnight. Never even crossed my mind before this to raise fish

[AllFishNoBrakes]

My girlfriend bought me a Carolina Reaper plant for our anniversary, and I had always wanted to try aquaponics. This was peak COVID, and I asked her if she cared if I got a fish tank and tried to grow the plant via a media basket on top of the tank. She was down!

I bought the tank, bought the aquaponics kit, and had SO MUCH FUN setting up the tank, cycling it, researching fish, doing water changes, etc. That first tank had me wanting to replicate it many times over, and got me researching other fish, plants, woods, rocks, etc. 

 

Thankfully, she was super down with me setting up a rack and doing whatever I wanted. She literally said “I don’t care what you do as long as I don’t have to care for them”. And it was off to the races. Set up the rack, set up other tanks, built a bunch of tools to help out, started hatching brine shrimp, etc. 

I continue keeping tanks because I thoroughly enjoy them. I enjoy watching them, I enjoy breeding fish, I enjoy growing plants, I enjoy doing water changes and maintenance, and I truly believe it has helped my mental health. My life is super hectic, always something, I’m a workaholic, and watching the tanks helps me decompress and chill out. It’s simply so much fun, and I have a nice balance. I know for a fact I don’t have more space or time to care for tanks, so the current load is exactly what I need. It’s not too little, and it’s not too much. I get to play, try new things, breed fish and sell em to the LFS, and I just thoroughly enjoy aquariums. 
 

I had work friends that got tanks and were setting things up, during peak COVID as well, and there’s only me and one other dude left still doing it 4 years later. I love it. 

[lefty o]

my dad had a 20 gallon community tank ( guppys, mollies, neons etc) when i was little. i like watching the fish, and here i am many decades later still watching guppy's!

[Tony s]

On 5/25/2024 at 11:01 PM, lefty o said:

my dad had a 20 gallon community tank ( guppys, mollies, neons etc) when i was little. i like watching the fish, and here i am many decades later still watching guppy's!

I absolutely love that story. Helps us to connect to the ones who came before. I’m hoping to give that gift to my daughter. 

[Kunersbettas]

I wanted a lizard of some sort, but my parents didn't allow it. My father had been in the hobby for nearly a decade at the time, and he suggested that I prove my responsibility in some way. In 2018, I set up my first tank, a 20 gallon high with some Anubias, which I still have today, though much bigger. For 6 years now I have been hooked (not without burnout), but I still want that leopard gecko someday. 🙂

[CoryWithAKatana]

For my birthday one year I got a $100 gift card to Walmart (weird gift card right?) And I spent it on a 5 gallon cylindrical tank with a bubbler. Like a starter kit. Well I got a betta for it and a moss ball and kept it for at least 3 years before my betta died. Now mind you I was like 10 and had jack squat knowledge of fish keeping. It was a blue crowntail betta that I fittingly named "King tail". This sparked my interest in fish keeping because I enjoyed watching my fish swim around. I got really attached to a female koi betta that I had for 2 years after 'King tail" passed. I also think I have some trauma because one day I was doing a water change and my koi betta jumped out of its little cup I kept it in (I was doing a 90% water change for some reason) it jumped and fell being the stand for God knows how long. I put it back in its cup as I was crying and she started to swim around. I was probably 11-12 dont judge me..

[DBrown918]

My dad bought me my first fish tank when I was around 11 years old.  It was a 10 gallon with neon tetras.  I had no idea what I was doing and overfed them and they all passed from ammonia toxicity as the tank hadn't been cycled properly since I was oblivious.  I felt so bad that I began researching everything about the hobby at a young age so it wouldn't happen again.  

I had several successful aquariums after that until I was around 15.  Took a long hiatus from the hobby during my high school years and became more socially focused.  Met my wife at 22 and we had several tanks in our house and cross bred amazing strains of endlers and guppies for a couple years.  

Took another long hiatus when we moved and had kids and just recently got back into the hobby again.  Now have 3 tanks in our bedroom with tetras, rasboras, rams, and a Betta.  One tank currently cycling and will be home to a pair of Blue Rams.

Forgot how much enjoyment and relaxation the hobby gives me and I'm obsessed again.  My kids are getting into it too.  My 6 year old loves to do water tests.  

[EricksonAquatics]

A couple years ago one of my elementary school teachers brought some Lily pads from his pond to our school so we could grow them in these massive stock tubs on our counter by the window. Unbeknownst to him a guppy (also from his pond) hitchhiked and had babies in the tub. Since guppy is as guppy does, generations of guppies were born and by the end of the year everyone got to bring home a pet guppy. I absolutely LOVED that fish. I got her a 2g from PetSmart, then a 3.5g, then a 5g where she lived out her golden years and passed away. I had just gotten into plants and was really loving the hobby. So I sold the 5g and set up a 10g for a Betta which I hoped to keep. 
And that’s where I am today! Just me, Merlin and a nerite. I absolutely love this hobby, especially the plants and just sitting next to your tank and watching what’s going on. I especially love setting up new tanks. Hopefully time will allow me to set up one or two more in the future but right now I’m really having a good time maintaining my one 🙂

Edited May 26 by EricksonAquatics

[Chris]

My grandmother had a 55 gallon aquarium when I was a kid. So did my great grandmother. I ended up really enjoying it, so we ended up with a couple of other tanks down the line. We kept everything from angelfish to African Clawed Frogs (before the legal issues surrounding them) to some newts we collected from a nearby creek. 

Once I was 10 or 11, I got my first tank of my own - a 10 gallon kit from Walmart. I've had at least one tank ever since - I'm 23 now, and have 15 tanks and 1 pond running. I have more now than I ever have. 

As for why I continue to do it... I really like watching the fish, but mainly I like the tinkering. I like learning about animals, researching about them, messing with tanks and equipment, etc.

[Tlindsey]

The year 1969 my mother brung home a plastic container and a pair of guppies I was 7 yrs old been keeping fish ever since. My mother knew I was fascinated with fish so that's why I keep them.

. 

Edited May 26 by Tlindsey

[FLFishChik]

Well… it started with a couple of goldfish won at a State Fair back in the late 70’s. I was 6 or 7 yo. Parents bought a tank, some blue gravel, the shiny metallic background (IYKYK) and a treasure chest bubbler. I’m sure there was some sort of filter as we kept them for a good while, but there was no lid and one by one, they jumped out of the tank only to be found the next morning.  Fast forward to my mid teens when I got a Betta as a birthday gift. Kept him for a while and then as a young adult in the early 90’s I got my first 20g hexagon all in one..  with an under gravel filter. Bought 4 various Molly and 4 Platy… and within months was up to my ears in fry. LFS at the time was happy to take extras. Gave up the hobby when I moved, got married, had a baby and life got too busy. 
 

 Now in my early 50’s. Life slowed down, son is grown, husband became disabled, I now work from home so I have more time to enjoy staring at my fish and can devote more time. Jumped back in with a 5g Betta tank, then another over time, a 29g community tank, a 10g Glofish tank that is my husbands “man cave” tank.. and most recently, my prized bucket list 75g tank. There is nothing more relaxing them “fussing” with my aquariums. My husband who was not the least interested when I started back into the hobby but was supportive has now taken to parking his wheelchair in front of the big tank and watching fish with me every evening with a cuppa coffee. It’s become our “thing to do” everyday. Sit, talk about the fish, our day, just spend some peaceful time together.

 When guests come over, they also like to sit and watch this tank. There is always something happening- it’s a busy place, Congo Tetra, Lemon Tetra, Rummynose Rasbora, Peppered Cory, Kuhli Loaches, Otocinclus, Amano Shrimp, Mystery Snail and one fabulous Longfin Lemon Blue Eye BN Pleco. So much to see all of the time. It brings me so much joy that it’s hard to put into words. 
 

 I am currently good with the number of tanks I have… don’t need any more, don’t need/want any bigger. I have reached my “sweet spot”.  It’s all a little work, but so much more enjoyment.

 To sum it up - I keep aquariums because they make me happy 😊 

[lefty o]

On 5/26/2024 at 8:58 AM, FLFishChik said:

Well… it started with a couple of goldfish won at a State Fair back in the late 70’s. I was 6 or 7 yo. Parents bought a tank, some blue gravel, the shiny metallic background (IYKYK) and a treasure chest bubbler. I’m sure there was some sort of filter as we kept them for a good while, but there was no lid and one by one, they jumped out of the tank only to be found the next morning.  Fast forward to my mid teens when I got a Betta as a birthday gift. Kept him for a while and then as a young adult in the early 90’s I got my first 20g hexagon all in one..  with an under gravel filter. Bought 4 various Molly and 4 Platy… and within months was up to my ears in fry. LFS at the time was happy to take extras. Gave up the hobby when I moved, got married, had a baby and life got too busy. 
 

 Now in my early 50’s. Life slowed down, son is grown, husband became disabled, I now work from home so I have more time to enjoy staring at my fish and can devote more time. Jumped back in with a 5g Betta tank, then another over time, a 29g community tank, a 10g Glofish tank that is my husbands “man cave” tank.. and most recently, my prized bucket list 75g tank. There is nothing more relaxing them “fussing” with my aquariums. My husband who was not the least interested when I started back into the hobby but was supportive has now taken to parking his wheelchair in front of the big tank and watching fish with me every evening with a cuppa coffee. It’s become our “thing to do” everyday. Sit, talk about the fish, our day, just spend some peaceful time together.

 When guests come over, they also like to sit and watch this tank. There is always something happening- it’s a busy place, Congo Tetra, Lemon Tetra, Rummynose Rasbora, Peppered Cory, Kuhli Loaches, Otocinclus, Amano Shrimp, Mystery Snail and one fabulous Longfin Lemon Blue Eye BN Pleco. So much to see all of the time. It brings me so much joy that it’s hard to put into words. 
 

 I am currently good with the number of tanks I have… don’t need any more, don’t need/want any bigger. I have reached my “sweet spot”.  It’s all a little work, but so much more enjoyment.

 To sum it up - I keep aquariums because they make me happy 😊 

them fair/carnival goldfish are the beginning of many peoples fish keeping adventures.

[Kunersbettas]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:53 PM, CoryWithAKatana said:

For my birthday one year I got a $100 gift card to Walmart (weird gift card right?) And I spent it on a 5 gallon cylindrical tank with a bubbler. Like a starter kit. Well I got a betta for it and a moss ball and kept it for at least 3 years before my betta died. Now mind you I was like 10 and had jack squat knowledge of fish keeping. It was a blue crowntail betta that I fittingly named "King tail". This sparked my interest in fish keeping because I enjoyed watching my fish swim around. I got really attached to a female koi betta that I had for 2 years after 'King tail" passed. I also think I have some trauma because one day I was doing a water change and my koi betta jumped out of its little cup I kept it in (I was doing a 90% water change for some reason) it jumped and fell being the stand for God knows how long. I put it back in its cup as I was crying and she started to swim around. I was probably 11-12 dont judge me..

Early roots run deep! No judgement. I bought a single Rosy Barb once. THAT was a bad idea...

[EricksonAquatics]

Funny story that also connects to how I got into the hobby..

My grandpa kept tanks as a kid (mostly Oscars😂) and worked for TFH Publications (tropical fish hobbyist) for a super long time. His boss was Glen Axelrod, who funny enough “discovered” one of the most well known fish in the hobby.

Think cardinal tetras… scientific name is Paracheirodom axelrodi… after Glen Axelrod!

I believe my grandpa said he was gone frequently to Lake Tanganyika for cichlids. 

So anyways, that was a pretty interesting conversation with my grandpa. He supports my hobby in a lot of ways and really enjoys taking me to club auctions and the like. If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t have kept going down the fishkeeping rabbit hole!

Edited May 26 by EricksonAquatics

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/25/2024 at 9:11 PM, Jovius said:

Good day, all. I am really curious as to why everyone keeps fish? I'd also love to hear stories about how you got into the hobby!

I keep them because I really enjoy every aspect of nature and I always have. My other hobby is birding while on hikes! 

I also find it very therapeutic and just sitting next to my tank and watching them really helps my mental state and that is how I got into the hobby. I have always wanted a tank growing up and never had one. Now that I have kids old enough to also enjoy them I took the leap and got started.  

My older sister kept a betta and a African dwarf frog. The betta lived for 5 years actually! So that kinda inspired me to keep them, because I was so curious about this hobby, my friend has a 20g long, and a couple of nano tanks. He is now not as interested as me, (not that he doesn’t care now) but that I have a love for this amazing hobby, I just was trying something new, and it clicked!! I will just stare at my tank for hours literally…. I love it. I love the plant aspect of fish keeping, it’s almost as good as the fish itself!

Edited May 26 by Whitecloud09

[GoofyGarra]

Two questions to adress here:

1. How did i get into the hobby?

When i was very young my big brother got a betta fish. The tank was 2gallons with a few decorations and no plants or filters. (Side note. that tank is still working in my fish room), the betta lived for a year then died and the tank sat in storage for a few years. Come covid and my little brother and I decided we wanted to get another fish, so we went down to the LFS and got a betta for the tank. In the process i realized i should do some research for care for the fish. I found a freshwater aquarium book and started reading about things like aquatic plants and community tanks and i was very quickly hooked.

2. Why do i keep fish?

They fascinate me and are a form of entertainment. Sometimes its a "Why is that fish doing that" and sometimes it's a "Corydora, my hand is NOT food". It is just a fun hobby to partake in, and i would go insane without a good hobby

[JS Fish]

For farther back than I can remember I've had fish tanks. The first one I can remember was my 10 gal tank which I got around the age of 7. Over its years its had plecos, goldfish, mollies, tetras, Cory's, and more I cant remember. After all of that and when I learned more about fish keeping, I decided on my first betta, a male koi betta. His name was blaze and I had him for under a year before he passed while I was out of town. Then I got a red betta that lasted the same. Now I have l have my beloved betta Domino! Hes been around almost a year now and has a weird bump on his side. Ive tried all fritz medicines but none worked. The bumps gotten bigger but I havent seen a change in dominos movements or attitude. Currently he seems to be ok and I'm keeping a eye on him.

 

At around the age of 14, I started enjoying fish keeping more and decide to convince my parents to allow me to get a 29 gal tank. At first I wanted a snowflake eel, but my parents said no. So instead, I got some black and serpa tetras, a dwarf and three spot gourami, and a clown pleco. It didn't go well. All these fish died within a year except a single black tetra and the pleco. I tried again with a golden panda molly and 10 tiger barbs. Half the barbs and the molly died. At this point, I started doing more research and figured out water testing and changing. No more fish have died and I now have added a rubbernose pleco, florida crayfish, golden wonder killifish, and rainbow shark. Now that I know what overstocking is, I regret the stocking for this tank, but it's working and I'm testing and changing the water regularly. All the fish are also health and active.

 

Next was my 2.5 gal that I started at the age of 15 when I knew alot more. It used to have guppies and bumble bee gobbies but all have since died. The guppies for there life span and the gobies for my lack of understanding of live food. Now, I have a sparkling gourami and a mexican dwarf crayfish. They are both doing well and the tank is stable.

 

Next I got my 20 gal around the 2023 christmas. It was the tank I put everything I had learned up to that point into. It started with 3 otoscinclus which were apparently sick, 11 blue cherry shrimp, and 9 dwarf rasboras that were also apparently sick. I treated the tank but only managed to save one oto and 3 rasboras. All the shrimp were fine though. Since, the shrimp have slowly been dying off. They kept trying to breed but miscarried. Now I'm down to 3 shrimp.  I also just got my dream fish, a scarlet badis, for this tank.

 

My most currently acquired tank is my 5 gal I got around a month after my 20 gal. It used to house a small bass named Boomy I have since let go and currently houses a feeding guppy and two ghost shrimp he didn't eat.

 

Lastly, I recently started hatching live brine shrimp.

 

That's my story of fish keeping but not why I keep fish. The reason I keep fish is 2 main reasons. First, fish tanks are my relax time. Watching them, cleaning them, changing them, paying 5 dollars for a cherry shrimp, it's my way to unplug, relax, and destress. Secondly, I keep fish because I love both nature and learning. With this hobby theres always something new to learn, and I get to be around animals which I've loved as long as I can remember.

I appreciate you reading this and hope you have a wonderful and blessed rest of your day!

[Guupy42]

On 5/25/2024 at 10:48 PM, Kunersbettas said:

I wanted a lizard of some sort, but my parents didn't allow it. My father had been in the hobby for nearly a decade at the time, and he suggested that I prove my responsibility in some way. In 2018, I set up my first tank, a 20 gallon high with some Anubias, which I still have today, though much bigger. For 6 years now I have been hooked (not without burnout), but I still want that leopard gecko someday. 🙂

This is quite relatable, to how I got into fishkeeping as a hobby, actually. I have never had a pet before, and I really wanted a pet snake. I thought it would be a good first step to get some fish first, to learn how to take care of an animal, as I have never done it before. So, I asked for an aquarium on my birthday. For my first fish, I was planning to get some Cobra Guppies (Weird obsession with reptiles, remember?) after a visit to PetSmart. Soon, after doing some research, I had a 5 gallon tank in my bedroom. For the first night, I left it there, but I forgot to do an important step: Cycling the tank. It was when we were visiting PetSmart to pick up the guppies was that the employee told us that we needed to add beneficial bacteria and let it sit. But, we were there already, so the fish came home. I floated the fish in their bag, forgetting to do drip acclimation (Because I have never heard about it before). Then, the fish were let into the tank. All five of them survived their first night, and the next day, I woke to find one of my guppies shimmying. After doing research, I learned that it was just some stress, and thought that he would recover by himself. Unfortunately, that night, I found him stuck to the filter. So, I brought the dead fish to PetSmart the following day, to return for a new guppy. There, I also got a prefilter, and some plants, so my fish wouldn't have to hide behind the filter, which is one of the causes of getting stuck, apparently. I believe the stress came from the tank being uncycled. The guppies have lived for a while, just one dying every once in a while, until I was down to two. One was a guppy bought separately, after most of the 6 original fish (The one that died of stress, the 4 others, and the one I got as a refund) had already died, except one. The other one them was the one I got as a refund for the guppy that died of stress. Sadly, the refunded fish passed of old age, after going through many things, including a 2 day moving trip, black streaks, and diseases. He had lived over a year with us. I went to PetSmart, originally planning to get Endlers to help my single guppy that was alone, because I read that they were less inbred. However, the pet store that was the closest to us were out of stock of Endlers. I decided just to get two more guppies. This time, though, I didn't get as lucky. The two fish that I got were inbred. One of them died of Columnaris less than a week of it getting here. It was brought back to PetSmart in exchange of a new one. The next week, the second guppy also passed away. I then did my research and found a store where I could get some Endler's guppies. Soon after, the third inbred guppy, the one that was exchanged, also died, from the stress of losing a tankmate, the second fish. Now I have two really healthy Endlers, and one Nerite Snail, still in the same 5 gallon tank that started it all.

That is basically a timeline of my hobby from December of 2022 to May 2024. I have been fishkeeping for around a year already. Basically, my fish were originally going to be a pet, but now they are much more. They are still pets, but they are also now a friend and a hobby. Thank you for reading all of that, by the way. This is probably my longest post so far.

By the way, I have gotten over my obsession of Reptiles, and it has been replaced with a new obsession of Fish.

Edited May 26 by Guupy42

[Kunersbettas]

On 5/26/2024 at 2:27 PM, Guupy42 said:

This is quite relatable, to how I got into fishkeeping as a hobby, actually. I have never had a pet before, and I really wanted a pet snake. I thought it would be a good first step to get some fish first, to learn how to take care of an animal, as I have never done it before. So, I asked for an aquarium on my birthday. For my first fish, I was planning to get some Cobra Guppies (Weird obsession with reptiles, remember?) after a visit to PetSmart. Soon, after doing some research, I had a 5 gallon tank in my bedroom. For the first night, I left it there, but I forgot to do an important step: Cycling the tank. It was when we were visiting PetSmart to pick up the guppies was that the employee told us that we needed to add beneficial bacteria and let it sit. But, we were there already, so the fish came home. I floated the fish in their bag, forgetting to do drip acclimation (Because I have never heard about it before). Then, the fish were let into the tank. All five of them survived their first night, and the next day, I woke to find one of my guppies shimmying. After doing research, I learned that it was just some stress, and thought that he would recover by himself. Unfortunately, that night, I found him stuck to the filter. So, I brought the dead fish to PetSmart the following day, to return for a new guppy. There, I also got a prefilter, and some plants, so my fish wouldn't have to hide behind the filter, which is one of the causes of getting stuck, apparently. I believe the stress came from the tank being uncycled. The guppies have lived for a while, just one dying every once in a while, until I was down to two. One of them was the one I got as a refund for the guppy that died of stress. The other one was another that I bought. Sadly, the refunded fish passed of old age. I went to PetSmart, originally planning to get Endlers to help my single guppy that was alone, because I read that they were less inbred. However, the pet store that was the closest to us were out of stock of Endlers. I decided just to get two more guppies. This time, though, I didn't get as lucky. The two fish that I got were inbred. One of them died of Columnaris less than a week of it getting here. It was brought back to PetSmart in exchange of a new one. The next week, the second guppy also passed away. I then did my research and found a store where I could get some Endler's guppies. Soon after, the third inbred guppy, the one that was exchanged, also died, from the stress of losing a tankmate, the second fish. Now I have two really healthy Endlers, and one Nerite Snail, still in the same 5 gallon tank that started it all.

That is basically a timeline of my hobby from December of 2022 to May 2024. I have been fishkeeping for around a year already. Basically, my fish were originally going to be a pet, but now they are much more. They are still pets, but they are also now a friend and a hobby. Thank you for reading all of that, by the way. This is probably my longest post so far.

By the way, I have gotten over my obsession of Reptiles, and it has been replaced with a new obsession of Fish.

I still haven't gotten over mine completely, I was hoping that visiting the forum would help with my chronic burnout issue.

[Whitecloud09]

On 5/26/2024 at 5:27 PM, Guupy42 said:

This is quite relatable, to how I got into fishkeeping as a hobby, actually. I have never had a pet before, and I really wanted a pet snake. I thought it would be a good first step to get some fish first, to learn how to take care of an animal, as I have never done it before. So, I asked for an aquarium on my birthday. For my first fish, I was planning to get some Cobra Guppies (Weird obsession with reptiles, remember?) after a visit to PetSmart. Soon, after doing some research, I had a 5 gallon tank in my bedroom. For the first night, I left it there, but I forgot to do an important step: Cycling the tank. It was when we were visiting PetSmart to pick up the guppies was that the employee told us that we needed to add beneficial bacteria and let it sit. But, we were there already, so the fish came home. I floated the fish in their bag, forgetting to do drip acclimation (Because I have never heard about it before). Then, the fish were let into the tank. All five of them survived their first night, and the next day, I woke to find one of my guppies shimmying. After doing research, I learned that it was just some stress, and thought that he would recover by himself. Unfortunately, that night, I found him stuck to the filter. So, I brought the dead fish to PetSmart the following day, to return for a new guppy. There, I also got a prefilter, and some plants, so my fish wouldn't have to hide behind the filter, which is one of the causes of getting stuck, apparently. I believe the stress came from the tank being uncycled. The guppies have lived for a while, just one dying every once in a while, until I was down to two. One of them was the one I got as a refund for the guppy that died of stress. The other one was another that I bought. Sadly, the refunded fish passed of old age. I went to PetSmart, originally planning to get Endlers to help my single guppy that was alone, because I read that they were less inbred. However, the pet store that was the closest to us were out of stock of Endlers. I decided just to get two more guppies. This time, though, I didn't get as lucky. The two fish that I got were inbred. One of them died of Columnaris less than a week of it getting here. It was brought back to PetSmart in exchange of a new one. The next week, the second guppy also passed away. I then did my research and found a store where I could get some Endler's guppies. Soon after, the third inbred guppy, the one that was exchanged, also died, from the stress of losing a tankmate, the second fish. Now I have two really healthy Endlers, and one Nerite Snail, still in the same 5 gallon tank that started it all.

That is basically a timeline of my hobby from December of 2022 to May 2024. I have been fishkeeping for around a year already. Basically, my fish were originally going to be a pet, but now they are much more. They are still pets, but they are also now a friend and a hobby. Thank you for reading all of that, by the way. This is probably my longest post so far.

By the way, I have gotten over my obsession of Reptiles, and it has been replaced with a new obsession of Fish.

Same way i started. A betta and a uncycled 5g tank. Went to petsmart. Got the tank AND betta the SAME day! Not a smart way to do it, but i had no clue how to keep fish. I did noy cycle it. My betta (name Mario) lived for 2 weeks. Then i said, there is something more to having a tank with healthy fish. He was good while he lasted, i only fed pellets. He got a white cotton like growth on his back fin and stayed right by my heater. He died very quickly. Next fish, Sonic. He lived for 1 and a half years, then he died a few months back. he was the best fish. He went through a tumor, fin clamp, fin rot, swim bladder, and a lot of other issues. He was the best fish i have ever had. My first two fish were named after video game charecters for some reason, mainly because mario looked like he had a mustach lol. Sonic was blue and the first day i got him, he was flying through the tank.

Skip to the present. I have a empty 5g, a 10g with white cloud minnows and a snail. I am planning on  a 20g tank now, and will post some topics about it. 

[clownbaby]

TW for general mental health stuff

Spoiler

I struggled a lot with depression and anxiety. Most of that was due to this magic box I was addicted to known as "a cell phone." On my phone I would spend hours (my weekly screen time was at least 12 hours a day, but often times I would spend up to 18 hours a day on my phone) on social media. I was unsafe, and eventually was hospitalized for about a month so I could stay safe.  

When I was released from the hospital, I ditched my phone. I still now do not have a cellphone, but rather a family laptop for nerdy research & schoolwork and a 2003 flip-phone so I can call my mom [and text my boyfriend yay]. And I am so much happier without my phone! But for a little while I was really quite bored. 

At the time I had a bristlenose pleco named Berry. I was gifted him when I moved into my foster home (now adopted and forever home! ❤️) He was six years old and for most of his life he was kept in a 5 gallon tank with no filter. No water changes. Only top offs when I felt like it (while it doesn't excuse the mistreatment he faced, my depression made my motivation so low I could not muster to even shower, let alone maintain a fish tank). Just... a sad existence. He died about two years ago, two weeks after I got out of the hospital. He was seven years old, and he held onto life despite having been neglected and borderline abused. When he died, I was finally hit with empathy and felt so sorry for this animal that I kept him in a tiny aquarium in horrible conditions. I was surprised how much I cried about it... after burying him I promised to him and myself that any animal in my care in the future would be treated with the best care I could provide. 

And with my boredom, and losing him, I started researching fish. A lot. I learned so much and was looking everyday on local groups for cheap used tanks. After six months of looking, though, I couldn't really find anything. 

I go to an alternative school that has really bad overstocked aquariums (one tank is 30 gallons with 2 bala sharks, a common pleco, and a parrot cichlid), which these are run by the school librarian. However, one teacher in my school has a 90 gallon in her classroom which is absolutely beautiful, amazing angelfish and so many beautiful live plants. I don't have her as a teacher, but I would go into her class (with her permission) to watch her tanks. She even let me feed them a couple of times. Eventually, she offered me a 30 gallon for free, and you know I took that offer. 

Why do I continue to keep fish? It helps so much with my own mental health. I love watching my fish, tending to my plants, and it gives me a purpose - something to care for daily. And I know that is a common reason for many, but you cannot help but be at peace watching fish school together in happiness while darting through live and thriving plants. 

This was a long answer. TLDR; it helps my mental health. 🙂  

 

[Kunersbettas]

Really? I thought Herbert Axelrod discovered the Cardinal Tetra. Anyway, did some research and found out that Glen is/was the president of TFH, a company started by Herbert Axelrod. Not much is known about Herbert's lineage, but I think it is highly likely that they were related. Who knew?

[GuppyLover123]

5 years ago, at a fair, I was convinced by my brother to play a game for a goldfish. My brother - living with me at the time - and I both won goldfish, and had no idea what to do with them. We bought a cheap five gallon tank from a Petsmart, and the goldfish lasted a few months. That was the end of the fish for a while, and my five gallon tank sat in my basement for a while. Then, towards the beginning of this year, I decided to set back up the five gallon. I lost a couple of fish towards the beginning while I figured out how to take care of fish in general. I finally got situated a month or so ago with a couple of guppies, 2 snails, and an African dwarf frog. Just yesterday I set up my new 29-gallon tank, and as of today there are now 6 new fish in my house! I find it so relaxing sitting in front of my tanks and watching the fish all swim around! ❤️ 🙂 

[EricksonAquatics]

On 5/26/2024 at 5:14 PM, Kunersbettas said:

I thought Herbert Axelrod discovered the Cardinal Tetra.

You’re probably right. This information is coming from my grandpa. He’s not that old but he probably doesn’t know what he’s talking about.😂