Greetings and Salutations! Although since I'm from the Southern USA I suppose I could just say Howdy, Ya'll!
I am new to TFF, but I have kept fish on and off all my life.
I remember as a child my Mother almost always had a small 5 or 10 gallon tank. We moved often because my Father was a Pastor, and often a tank was broken. My Mom saved S&H green stamps and she would replace the tank because she always had her 'stash'.
She loved guppies and live bearing fish. In the area of Florida where our church had a campground there were 'tropical fish farms' where fish were bred in large tanks. After a big storm there were always live fish to be found in the ditches beside the road, and we would often make extra money by catching and selling the exotic fish to LFS in the area. We kept the ones she liked best.
I had various tanks over the years, mostly stocked with neons and guppies. In the 90s, I was able to get a 55 gal that I LOVED! I had my first experience with Angel Fish. LOL I bought 8 babies about the size of a quarter. As they began to grow... yup, they began to kill each other off. I finally ended up with a pair of Green Lace Veils that measured about 9" from tip to tip that were the sole occupants of the tank. They killed everything else, with the exception of 8 neons. Either the Neons were faster or they didn't consider them a threat to their territory.
They were setting up to breed and I was planning on giving them every opportunity when my mother became ill, I went down to Central Florida and while I was gone, the Panhandle of Florida had one of the worst winter storms in 30 years. We love power for long enough for my fish to die of cold.
My Mother passed away and I sold that tank. I didn't have much heart for fish keeping until much later. I began to have a small tank again here and there.
Two months ago I bought a 55 gal again. It was a used tank and came with the gravel still wet. He had recently emptied the tank of fish. I filled it and let it cycle. Took about a week, and I've been adding a few fish at the time. I only have a few. There are a lot of things that I am learning. Things that we didn't think about 30 years ago. We just kept the water out overnight and put it in the tank...
I have a pair of Sailfin Mollies, a catfish of some kind, (I can't remember), 4 young (about 4- 5 months old) pineapple swordtails, 1M/3F... I think. 2 other mature swordtails both male, although I thought one was a female. Just last week it started to grow the sword and the male anal fins... I'll post a picture. I swear it's the sex change fairy in my tank.
Oh, I have a male guppy that is waiting for a honey bunny. I got a beautiful female, she gave birth the evening I put her in the tank and promptly died. She was just too high strung. I have her fry in a separate bowl and they are growing quickly. I'll add them when they are big enough to escape. I had 8 neons as well, but they were small enough for the Male Molly to eat, so he did. They about choked him, I'm sure, I don't know how he did it. They were pretty big... but he did it. I'll get some more and they will be bigger!
So I want to add to this a blue lobster, some neons, and maybe a trio of peacock guppies. I am adding plants, I am looking for some lily type for the back and some dwarf sag.
I am looking around the house for where I can put another aquarium
. I have a cousin who has several and he is no longer about to keep them. (It vacuums to get old). I'd love to have a salt water, but I don't know if I'm ready for that.
I'm no longer in Florida, land of my birth. I have retired in Alabama, where my Mother's family lives. I'm looking forward to my Golden Years.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Jo
I remember as a child my Mother almost always had a small 5 or 10 gallon tank. We moved often because my Father was a Pastor, and often a tank was broken. My Mom saved S&H green stamps and she would replace the tank because she always had her 'stash'.
She loved guppies and live bearing fish. In the area of Florida where our church had a campground there were 'tropical fish farms' where fish were bred in large tanks. After a big storm there were always live fish to be found in the ditches beside the road, and we would often make extra money by catching and selling the exotic fish to LFS in the area. We kept the ones she liked best.
I had various tanks over the years, mostly stocked with neons and guppies. In the 90s, I was able to get a 55 gal that I LOVED! I had my first experience with Angel Fish. LOL I bought 8 babies about the size of a quarter. As they began to grow... yup, they began to kill each other off. I finally ended up with a pair of Green Lace Veils that measured about 9" from tip to tip that were the sole occupants of the tank. They killed everything else, with the exception of 8 neons. Either the Neons were faster or they didn't consider them a threat to their territory.
They were setting up to breed and I was planning on giving them every opportunity when my mother became ill, I went down to Central Florida and while I was gone, the Panhandle of Florida had one of the worst winter storms in 30 years. We love power for long enough for my fish to die of cold.
My Mother passed away and I sold that tank. I didn't have much heart for fish keeping until much later. I began to have a small tank again here and there.
Two months ago I bought a 55 gal again. It was a used tank and came with the gravel still wet. He had recently emptied the tank of fish. I filled it and let it cycle. Took about a week, and I've been adding a few fish at the time. I only have a few. There are a lot of things that I am learning. Things that we didn't think about 30 years ago. We just kept the water out overnight and put it in the tank...
I have a pair of Sailfin Mollies, a catfish of some kind, (I can't remember), 4 young (about 4- 5 months old) pineapple swordtails, 1M/3F... I think. 2 other mature swordtails both male, although I thought one was a female. Just last week it started to grow the sword and the male anal fins... I'll post a picture. I swear it's the sex change fairy in my tank.
Oh, I have a male guppy that is waiting for a honey bunny. I got a beautiful female, she gave birth the evening I put her in the tank and promptly died. She was just too high strung. I have her fry in a separate bowl and they are growing quickly. I'll add them when they are big enough to escape. I had 8 neons as well, but they were small enough for the Male Molly to eat, so he did. They about choked him, I'm sure, I don't know how he did it. They were pretty big... but he did it. I'll get some more and they will be bigger!
So I want to add to this a blue lobster, some neons, and maybe a trio of peacock guppies. I am adding plants, I am looking for some lily type for the back and some dwarf sag.
I am looking around the house for where I can put another aquarium
I'm no longer in Florida, land of my birth. I have retired in Alabama, where my Mother's family lives. I'm looking forward to my Golden Years.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Jo
