How did you first discover the joy of aquariums

[DallasCowboys16]

If I had to guess, many of us developed an affinity for aquariums long before ever setting up our own.

For me, it all started at 6 years old.

My first grade teacher had an aquarium in our classroom and it got me hooked on fish for life.

I still remember the fish it had inside: X-ray tetras, neons, a few guppies, and an African Dwarf frog. I loved that tank. It was a standard 10, maybe 15 gallon glass tank with the old school black plastic hood on top. It had plastic plants and one of those alligator head decorations that moved up and down as the airstone inside built up enough air. There was a small can of Tetra Min food next to the tank (I can’t believe I actually remember that).

The tank itself was unremarkable, but to me it was the coolest thing in the world.

It would still be years before I could setup my own tank, but the spark was lit all the way back then.

I would love to hear everyone else’s story on what really got them interested in fish keeping. I imagine there are some cool stories out there.

When and how did you discover aquariums?

[Beach Cruiser]

About the same age, a girl gave me a goldfish at the school fair that she had won. It needed a proper home, so my folks took me to the LFS a few blocks from our home. 

The store was small; a proper old school Mom & Pop outfit. Wall to wall tanks & a double row down the middle with not much else. Dimly lit, the tanks stood out against the shadows. It smelled freshly green & vaguely aquatic, like you had mown your lawn in the rain. 

It was a magical, new world for me & I'm still exploring it decades later ...

Edited May 31 by Beach Cruiser

[Rachel0825]

I’ve always been fascinated with the ocean and plants and fish.  As a kid, I had sea monkeys and goldfish and all the normal kiddo things.   Finally as an adult, I bought a 5 gallon tank and placed some community fish in it.  Then I added a 10 gallon tank and bought 2 little lobsters.   Then I upgraded to a 35 gallon and had cichlids.   Finally I got my 35 gallon in community status with the black tip sharks and pretty fish I liked.  I’ve had a few bettas, I’ve had pea puffers and loved them all.   When I moved, I rehomed my fish and tank.  8 years later I decided my office needed a nice something to relax and I thought…… well a bowl and a betta.    I’ve missed having fish and watching them and reacting with them.   Being the study worm I am, I started reading and watching and eventually decided on a 5 gallon tank that’s planted and has my betta in it.  My husband jokes about the “mortgage payment” on the tank.   Lol.   But I wanted the best and I wanted to pamper my little guy.  And it took some learning and some work and I hope I have it on the right path with the forum.  👍🏻🙏🏻

[Tanked]

Somewhere around 11 or 12 years old I spent a few days at my brother's house while the parents away.  His most recent hobby was fish keeping, and he never did anything half way.  One wall in my room was lined with the Metaframe tanks which were top of the line in their day.  It is strange that I remember nothing about them except that I would go to sleep each night to the sound of a rotary air pump clanking in the dark, and the light reflecting on the metal tank frames and the dozens of Neon Tetras swimming in the aquariums.

[Pepere]

Fred Rogers!

I remember my mother calling me in to the Living Room one afternoon and sat me down in front of the old black and white TV set on legs with a big wooden cabinet and speakers on the side and plants on top.  It was 1968 and she told me there was a brand new TV show that would be playing that was designed especially for children my age.I saw the first episode of the nationally syndicated MisteRogers Neighborhood that afternoon, and I was hooked and made sure to be in the house in the adternoon at the same time to visit with my friend every day.  My two favorite TV shows were MisteRogers and Captain Kangaroo…

 

He didnt have a fish tank early on.  That was a new addition iirc in 1970 or so.

 

That Christmas after the introduction I received a metal fish tank stand, a 10 gallon chrome trimmed Metaframe tank, an air pump, a box filter, an airstone, multicolored pastel pink, turquoise, yellow gravel,  a chrome reflector light fixture, thermometer,  PH up and down, ph paper strips, plastic plants, a lighthouse bubbler, a fish net and an introduction to fishkeeping book with questionable instructions that were taken as gospel…. Not a single mention of the Nitrogen cycle or ammonia or nitrites or waterchanges or gravel vaccing…. Fill your tank, let it set for 3 days and get fish….

 

sigh…

I still have the lighthouse….

[aminowrimo]

I'd seen aquariums in other peoples' homes and never really gotten into them (they weren't planted). Then I had a friend that got an aquarium and was sending me pictures. I really wanted a pet and then ended up falling down the rabbit hole... 

[Jovius]

I have wanted one since I was a kid and once I was adult I either had a job where I was traveling most of the time or young kids and the expenses that come with them. Now that my kids are older I pulled the trigger and got my first tank. 

[shawnkissed]

I always had a fascination with fish. When I was in high school I bought a Betta fish and a 20 gallon tank. I didn't have any gravel or anything in the tank. I would steal water hyacinth from a neighbor's front yard fountain and put it in the tank. It only had a bubbler, no filter. I then bought a female Betta and next think I know I had about 25 Bettas. Once they were big enough I put the in baby food jars (this was a long time ago, don't judge) and gifted them to my classmates.

Now I'm almost 40 and after watching MD Fish Tanks on YouTube like 6 months ago I got inspired to make a no tech ecosystem. And here I am, 10 gallon, dirted, planted, tank with 2 adult WCMM and 6 fry later. 🤣🤣

[Kunersbettas]

I wanted a reptile. My dad loved tanks. I saw tanks at first as chance to prove responsibility, then once I helped my dad breed bettas, I really fell in love with them.

[Tanked]

On 6/1/2024 at 11:17 AM, Pepere said:

an introduction to fishkeeping book with questionable instructions that were taken as gospel…. Not a single mention of the Nitrogen cycle or ammonia or nitrites or waterchanges or gravel vaccing…. Fill your tank, let it set for 3 days and get fish….

At least you had an instruction book to blame!   We were just told to change the water. Once a week we changed all of the water and washed the filter, the aquarium and that ugly multicolored pastel gravel, in the bathtub before refilling.   Prior to the arrival of the information age, many a fish gave their life for the hobby.

[SoDaksam]

I love to fish got me started. My Aunt Florence had a tank full of livebearers and her cat would sit on the top of the tank watching them.  My grandpa would through an egg yolk into the tank, and the fish went crazy.  Convicts laying eggs and having little ones got me excited, too. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

My mom had a tank when I was a kid. I had a Betta at one point. Nothing beyond that as a child. 
 

I played with other plants as a young adult and spent a lot of time in indoor gardens. If you know, you know. My friends and I always had coco fiber or dirted/compost indoor gardens, used CO2, propagated plants, etc. 

Fast forward to 2020 and my girlfriend got me a Carolina Reaper plants as a gift. My love of indoor plants/gardens/everything that comes with that came back to mind, and I always thought aquaponics would be fun to try. So, I asked her if she cared if I got a tank to try and grow this pepper plant in. She was down, so I bought a 10 gallon tank and an aquaponics system. I had SO MUCH FUN setting that up, cycling it, doing water changes, picking out fish, etc. and I wanted more.

 

It was peak COVID, and I was hooked. I asked if she cared if I set up a rack in our living room, and she said “as long as I don’t have to do the work I don’t care what you do”. Game on. Set up the rack, set up more tanks, put tanks in the bedroom, put tanks in the spare room, and had all the fun. 
 

4 years later I still have all the tanks, bred tons of fish, sold lots of fish and shrimp, and I still thoroughly enjoy all aspects of it. I was able to take my love of indoor gardens, how CO2 works for terrestrial plants that are about to be rescheduled, my childhood memories of my moms tank and my Betta tank, and smash it all together into what I have today. 
 

I guess my mom planted the seed as a child, and it just took a couple of decades to sprout into my love for aquatics today. 

[DallasCowboys16]

These are all great stories. It’s interesting to see all of the ways that people end up stumbling into aquariums and fish keeping.

It seems like all of us were predisposed to fish keeping and all it took was a chance encounter to wake it up inside us.

[VanDogh]

I used to have fish when I was a kid, but it wasn't what sparked my interest in fish keeping today, though I have, in general, a huge interest in animals.

My interest began when my friend told me about resins and making resin art. I have always been an artist my whole life, painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. When I discovered aquascaping through video recommendations on YouTube after watching some resin arts-videos I was hooked, and my wallet was doomed to an eternity of emptiness.