I have many hobbies,
RC CARS, BICYCLES, TARGET SHOOTING and more. For about two years I have
been putting thoughts into an aquarium. I work a very high stress job,
it is rewarding but I needed some relief. The possible solution could
be an aquarium. This should be affordable - $200 to $500 should do it.
Research, research and more research. I think veteran fish keepers would
keep people like me away from this hobby/pet world. I must call these
fish pets, they are way more than a hobby. I started out with a 55 gallon
kit. This was OK and I introduced 5 young beautiful Ruby Swordtails.
These fish appeared to be very happy to now be in a larger environment.
From the second day these beautiful fish would present themselves to
me in a curious display. I guess I was there new fish god who was to
feed them. After another week I added 5 Opaline Gouramis and they rapidly
became my favorite. As many rookies I fed these fish way too much. My
two to five hundred dollar project was about to become like all of my
other hobbies, EXPENSIVE!!! This was still OK because you needed to
have gravel, rocks, plants, air pumps, nets, housing and all the aquarium
kit items like the thermometer, heater and filter now needed to replaced
with quality items to maximize the efficiency and reliability and I
am really loving these fish so no grief about the money. Well as I mentioned,
I work a high stress job, so I feel qualified to recognize stress when
I see it. Due to over feeding I was not only fighting the related problems
with that but the Gouramis were growing so fast. I noticed the Swordtails
just were not as much fun as I remembered when I first entered them.
There was the chance that maybe I was going to have babies or maybe
the now overgrown Gouramis were not good neighbors for the much smaller
Swordtails. Who knows, not me because I'M still very much a novice with
lots and lots to learn. To be sure I ran right out and purchased another
aquarium kit, 30 gallon this time. After setup I placed the Gouramis
in the new tank, they did not seem to mind, just feed me. I did the
hokey pokey and turned myself around to see the Swordtails back to normal,
front and center looking beautiful and stress free. Now I get it. As
time went on I added 5 Panda Cory Cats to the 55 gallon tank, these
are really cool fish, these guys have five different personalities,
some are shy and some could not care who is looking. I enjoyed these
cats so much I added 5 Spotted Cory Cats to the 30 gallon tank, another
filter, thermometer, heater, more live plants, gravel and some sand
plus a bubble wand and more stuff $$. I can not help myself, this fish
thing moved me to the next level humanity. I think I like people again.
About a week later I added 5 Long Finned Zebras to the 55 gallon tank
and it all came alive with exuberance. This is good stuff, I shared
this new found knowledge with many of my coworkers. Now other people
as myself are endangering these lovely tropical fish, I should be jailed.
About two weeks after the Zebras were entered I had two really fat fish,
unlike the others these gals looked like they could explode, kind of
like my girlfriends. I ran right out to purchase a tank to follow the
advice on the Badmans site for these Zebras to lay eggs. A 10 gallon
kit later with marbles, plants, gravel, air pump and all the other stuff
I set it up with water from the 55 gallon tank to help reduce the shock
factor from moving my Zebras over. Just try to catch these fish, that
was an experience to share with the world. Probably the only thing I
did right was to add this 10 gallon tank for the Zebra fry. Both gals
dropped their eggs and lost a lot of weight within hours of the transfer
to the 10 gallon tank. I do not know if any survived from being eaten
by the lightning fast Zebras. You can not believe how badly I want this
to be succeed. I failed to mention how I added feeder Guppies in thinking
my pals would enjoy eating them but instead wholeheartedly accepted
these fish right into their community. I am so glad they did, the Guppies
are surely worth their space. So after 3 aquarium kits, upgrading everything
at least once, the chemicals, tank stuff and fish my $200 hobby turned
into $1500 and no slowdown in sight. I can hardly wait until I feel
confident enough to put in the 'BIG TANK' a 150 to 200 gallon at least,
maybe a glass swimming pool will be appropriate, who knows.. THIS IS
NO FISH STORY.. I promise to keep learning and improving.. Tom from
York, PA.
I have many hobbies,
RC CARS, BICYCLES, TARGET SHOOTING and more. For about two years I have
been putting thoughts into an aquarium. I work a very high stress job,
it is rewarding but I needed some relief. The possible solution could
be an aquarium. This should be affordable - $200 to $500 should do it.
Research, research and more research. I think veteran fish keepers would
keep people like me away from this hobby/pet world. I must call these
fish pets, they are way more than a hobby. I started out with a 55 gallon
kit. This was OK and I introduced 5 young beautiful Ruby Swordtails.
These fish appeared to be very happy to now be in a larger environment.
From the second day these beautiful fish would present themselves to
me in a curious display. I guess I was there new fish god who was to
feed them. After another week I added 5 Opaline Gouramis and they rapidly
became my favorite. As many rookies I fed these fish way too much. My
two to five hundred dollar project was about to become like all of my
other hobbies, EXPENSIVE!!! This was still OK because you needed to
have gravel, rocks, plants, air pumps, nets, housing and all the aquarium
kit items like the thermometer, heater and filter now needed to replaced
with quality items to maximize the efficiency and reliability and I
am really loving these fish so no grief about the money. Well as I mentioned,
I work a high stress job, so I feel qualified to recognize stress when
I see it. Due to over feeding I was not only fighting the related problems
with that but the Gouramis were growing so fast. I noticed the Swordtails
just were not as much fun as I remembered when I first entered them.
There was the chance that maybe I was going to have babies or maybe
the now overgrown Gouramis were not good neighbors for the much smaller
Swordtails. Who knows, not me because I'M still very much a novice with
lots and lots to learn. To be sure I ran right out and purchased another
aquarium kit, 30 gallon this time. After setup I placed the Gouramis
in the new tank, they did not seem to mind, just feed me. I did the
hokey pokey and turned myself around to see the Swordtails back to normal,
front and center looking beautiful and stress free. Now I get it. As
time went on I added 5 Panda Cory Cats to the 55 gallon tank, these
are really cool fish, these guys have five different personalities,
some are shy and some could not care who is looking. I enjoyed these
cats so much I added 5 Spotted Cory Cats to the 30 gallon tank, another
filter, thermometer, heater, more live plants, gravel and some sand
plus a bubble wand and more stuff $$. I can not help myself, this fish
thing moved me to the next level humanity. I think I like people again.
About a week later I added 5 Long Finned Zebras to the 55 gallon tank
and it all came alive with exuberance. This is good stuff, I shared
this new found knowledge with many of my coworkers. Now other people
as myself are endangering these lovely tropical fish, I should be jailed.
About two weeks after the Zebras were entered I had two really fat fish,
unlike the others these gals looked like they could explode, kind of
like my girlfriends. I ran right out to purchase a tank to follow the
advice on the Badmans site for these Zebras to lay eggs. A 10 gallon
kit later with marbles, plants, gravel, air pump and all the other stuff
I set it up with water from the 55 gallon tank to help reduce the shock
factor from moving my Zebras over. Just try to catch these fish, that
was an experience to share with the world. Probably the only thing I
did right was to add this 10 gallon tank for the Zebra fry. Both gals
dropped their eggs and lost a lot of weight within hours of the transfer
to the 10 gallon tank. I do not know if any survived from being eaten
by the lightning fast Zebras. You can not believe how badly I want this
to be succeed. I failed to mention how I added feeder Guppies in thinking
my pals would enjoy eating them but instead wholeheartedly accepted
these fish right into their community. I am so glad they did, the Guppies
are surely worth their space. So after 3 aquarium kits, upgrading everything
at least once, the chemicals, tank stuff and fish my $200 hobby turned
into $1500 and no slowdown in sight. I can hardly wait until I feel
confident enough to put in the 'BIG TANK' a 150 to 200 gallon at least,
maybe a glass swimming pool will be appropriate, who knows.. THIS IS
NO FISH STORY.. I promise to keep learning and improving.. 