So, how did your addiction start?
- Thread starter Ami
- Start date
Ami
Fishaholic
bball4life (what's the story behind that name?), Reddish is as good a name as any. I think all our goldfish were called goldie, the blackmoors blackie, our rabbit was wiggles, the budgies were all joey or billy, the cats were kitty and dogs things like lady....I guess kids just don't have enough experience of names to think of anything more original. 
That's a really good way to get into fishkeeping, with your dad surprising you n all. Sounds like you have some real good memories there!
Ferris, RTBS are pretty cool! Your guy must be the full 6" now. Did you ever think about trying to breed him - I've heard it's pretty hard becuase they're so aggressive to each other?
PS - my hubby just pointed out that my comments to Ferris could be miscontrued...sorry!
)
That's a really good way to get into fishkeeping, with your dad surprising you n all. Sounds like you have some real good memories there!
Ferris, RTBS are pretty cool! Your guy must be the full 6" now. Did you ever think about trying to breed him - I've heard it's pretty hard becuase they're so aggressive to each other?
PS - my hubby just pointed out that my comments to Ferris could be miscontrued...sorry!
)
Nauplii
Fish Herder
Ok, my lil addiction started when i was first able to actually remember watching programmes on tv about fish like blue planet and just any kinda sea and water wildlife programmes when they were on.
We've always had fish like goldfish.. The first tank we all had here was about a foot square and we didnt have any filter or air pump or anything... We had some shells in there and i think we had a few fish...
From what i remember we had : 2 larger goldfish around 3-4" (samsun and delila), my brother had 2 lil goldfish called tom and jerry and i had my beautiful goldfish with the long tail called ariel. I dont actually remember getting the tank... or even going to the shop to get the fish..
Bit strange... But meh i was young-er lol
Heh i actually remember me and my brother picking the fish out of the tank and stroking them wile my parents were in the living room lol... Poor fish fell on the floor and i think thats when we stopped playing with them
Anyways since i was 13 ive wanted to get a tank and well my mum promised to get me one... But you know... Never did
SO when i got to 15 going 16 and still no tank, i decided to borrow the money off my brother and went staright up the shop and bought a reckord 60 and me and him carried this thing a mile to my house
god that was stupid 
Anyways i stocked the tank first off with a rock ornament (hollow ) and a nice ruins thing and a few plants and continued to stock my tank...
I think to start i had something like 2 sailfin mollies, 1 marble mollie and a balloon mollie.... as time went by i bought more fish, which most of these others died due to the shop being riddled with diseases...
AND thats when i got my job at wildwoods, joined here and met YOU GUYS
THATS ALL FOLKS
(If you read all that you are BRAVE... Since its long
We've always had fish like goldfish.. The first tank we all had here was about a foot square and we didnt have any filter or air pump or anything... We had some shells in there and i think we had a few fish...
From what i remember we had : 2 larger goldfish around 3-4" (samsun and delila), my brother had 2 lil goldfish called tom and jerry and i had my beautiful goldfish with the long tail called ariel. I dont actually remember getting the tank... or even going to the shop to get the fish..
Bit strange... But meh i was young-er lolHeh i actually remember me and my brother picking the fish out of the tank and stroking them wile my parents were in the living room lol... Poor fish fell on the floor and i think thats when we stopped playing with them
Anyways since i was 13 ive wanted to get a tank and well my mum promised to get me one... But you know... Never did
SO when i got to 15 going 16 and still no tank, i decided to borrow the money off my brother and went staright up the shop and bought a reckord 60 and me and him carried this thing a mile to my house
god that was stupid Anyways i stocked the tank first off with a rock ornament (hollow ) and a nice ruins thing and a few plants and continued to stock my tank...
I think to start i had something like 2 sailfin mollies, 1 marble mollie and a balloon mollie.... as time went by i bought more fish, which most of these others died due to the shop being riddled with diseases...
AND thats when i got my job at wildwoods, joined here and met YOU GUYS
THATS ALL FOLKS
(If you read all that you are BRAVE... Since its long
superjalami30
Fishaholic
I think my addiction began when I was young, 7-8 yrs old and onward.
I never had a tank until I was 28 but when I was young I was always catching fish, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, bugs, and anything that lived in or by the water and putting them in containers of some sort.
Sadly some of these 1st time pets didnt do so well, mainly the fish of all things!
but then about 3 years ago my wife decided to buy a goldfish and a BOWL **shudders
Of course the goldie didnt last long at all, nor did the second.
She then purchased a 10 gallon starter kit and set it all up before I returned from work.
"She" thought it was going to be "her" responsibility, but, The second I seen the tank and the goldie swimming around in there I was hooked!
I'm unfortunatly an addicted cigarette smoker who's tried to quit many times, and am currently going through withdrawl symptems at this very moment!
(quitting "again", cold turkey this time)
I will quit smoking, and I cant wait to be able to say I've 'QUIT", just so I can take all that money I waste on smokes and spend it on more aquarium related things.
LOL
I never had a tank until I was 28 but when I was young I was always catching fish, crayfish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, bugs, and anything that lived in or by the water and putting them in containers of some sort.
Sadly some of these 1st time pets didnt do so well, mainly the fish of all things!
but then about 3 years ago my wife decided to buy a goldfish and a BOWL **shudders
Of course the goldie didnt last long at all, nor did the second.
She then purchased a 10 gallon starter kit and set it all up before I returned from work.
"She" thought it was going to be "her" responsibility, but, The second I seen the tank and the goldie swimming around in there I was hooked!
I'm unfortunatly an addicted cigarette smoker who's tried to quit many times, and am currently going through withdrawl symptems at this very moment!
(quitting "again", cold turkey this time)
I will quit smoking, and I cant wait to be able to say I've 'QUIT", just so I can take all that money I waste on smokes and spend it on more aquarium related things.
LOL
Briarmoor
Fish Crazy
I inherited a 10g tank from my mom. She got it for her betta who was a gift from my middle sis. Mom didn't think the betta was happy in the vase with a plant, so got him a tank. Then she got a 30g and another 10g. Then she decided it was crowed and gave me the older 10g. Then a friend gave me her 20g. I drooled over a 55g and finally bought it. Now I have 3 tanks going and am thinking how neat a 75g would be downstairs!
As a child I had a tadpole and was so upset when it died that my mom got me a black molly that I kept in a fish bowl (no kidding). She lived for a year until we went on vacation and a little friend who was watching her changed the water. I guess the cold or chlorine or both killed her. I changed her water a lot but always let water sit a few days before changing her bowl. People think she must have been a black moor, but I swear she was a molly. I remember like yesterday.
After her were a couple of goldfish, one in the bowl then one in a tank. I don't know what happened to the tank, but the basement room got cold one winter and I think that did the goldfish in.
So no fish for many years (just too many dogs!) until now. But they are very relaxing and fun, so I think I will keep them around.
As a child I had a tadpole and was so upset when it died that my mom got me a black molly that I kept in a fish bowl (no kidding). She lived for a year until we went on vacation and a little friend who was watching her changed the water. I guess the cold or chlorine or both killed her. I changed her water a lot but always let water sit a few days before changing her bowl. People think she must have been a black moor, but I swear she was a molly. I remember like yesterday.
After her were a couple of goldfish, one in the bowl then one in a tank. I don't know what happened to the tank, but the basement room got cold one winter and I think that did the goldfish in.
So no fish for many years (just too many dogs!) until now. But they are very relaxing and fun, so I think I will keep them around.
My addiction started a meer two years ago. I was living alone with a dog and a cat. I wanted something to keep my cat occupied during the day while I was gone, he was getting older and I wanted to keep him at least mentally active and what not. So I thought I'd get a little fish tank, maybe some goldfish or something (I knew nothing of fishkeeping at the time), so he could watch them. I had started pricing tanks and fish a little, but not seriously. I was talking with a co-worker about it one day and she mentioned that she was thinking of getting rid of their fish tank due to lack of time to keep it going. I said I'd happily take it off her hands if she decided to. Then her tank sprung a leak. They had taken all the fish to a shop, but offered me the tank and equipment for free if I wanted to try to fix it. I tried, but ended up buying a new tank (it was a 10 gal, cheaper to replace than fix). I started with livebearers, namely lyretail mollies. Knew nothing of cycling, somehow a couple survived. Found this forum, foudn myself on here more than was healthy..... The stand I had gotten from my coworker was a wrought iron one that could basically hold two 10 gallon tanks. So of course, I bought another 10 gallon. Then I bought a 20 gallon and two five gallons, then a couple of 1 and 2 gallons for bettas.......................and the addiction took over.
I'm currently down to the 20, a 5 and a 10, plus all the 1 gallon bettas (I discovered reptiles and a couple tanks were converted for holding lizards and such). Planning to set up a fish room in a couple months, concentrating on a few specific species and doing some breeding, so I'll be adding some more 10s and 20s and some larger grow-out tanks, along with a large (hoping for 50-75 gallons, see how the pocketbook fares) community tank. But the addiction will never end.
I'm currently down to the 20, a 5 and a 10, plus all the 1 gallon bettas (I discovered reptiles and a couple tanks were converted for holding lizards and such). Planning to set up a fish room in a couple months, concentrating on a few specific species and doing some breeding, so I'll be adding some more 10s and 20s and some larger grow-out tanks, along with a large (hoping for 50-75 gallons, see how the pocketbook fares) community tank. But the addiction will never end.
My brother kept fish years ago and was always promising to help me set up a tank, but with moving around a lot, I never got round to it. Then my friend's 12 year old son got into keeping fish and after several trips to the lfs with him, I succumbed to temptation and bought a 30 litre tank. That was in October last year. I am now a fully fledged fish addict, "fish bore extraordinaire" , with a bad case of MTS - I got 5 tanks over the next 6 months 
I have had to force myself to stop - but it's killing me, with soooo many lovely fish out there 
It's great!!
I have had to force myself to stop - but it's killing me, with soooo many lovely fish out there It's great!!
shuhu
Fish Crazy
Actually I didn't even find fish to be amusing at all, they were pure boredom to me, maybe because I've always been a (fuzzy hair) dog lover The only reason for me to start keeping fish is because my 9 year old Golden Retriever past away, so I couldn't stand being at my house without thinking or taking care of her 
And my brother had a tank kept in his closet so I decided that I would give it a go.
I started with a 10Gal tank and on the same day I managed to buy:
2 Mollies (the only survivors of the new tank sindrome),
3 Red Eye Tetra (all died)
2 Common Plecos (all died + none mentioned how big they can get).
And was this close to buy 2 angels, 2 Bubble-Eye Goldfish, 2 needle fish and some others I don't even remember. (No one at the LPS mentioned the Nitrogen cycle btw)
Three months later I've already bought a bigger tank (75Gal), I'm still planning to add some more fish, and now I always research before I buy Anything!!!! I also take care of my moms tanks which she got from a friend including the fish (don't blame those on me btw)
btw... I'm getting a new dog aswell
The only reason for me to start keeping fish is because my 9 year old Golden Retriever past away, so I couldn't stand being at my house without thinking or taking care of her And my brother had a tank kept in his closet so I decided that I would give it a go.I started with a 10Gal tank and on the same day I managed to buy:
2 Mollies (the only survivors of the new tank sindrome),
3 Red Eye Tetra (all died)
2 Common Plecos (all died + none mentioned how big they can get).
And was this close to buy 2 angels, 2 Bubble-Eye Goldfish, 2 needle fish and some others I don't even remember. (No one at the LPS mentioned the Nitrogen cycle btw)
Three months later I've already bought a bigger tank (75Gal), I'm still planning to add some more fish, and now I always research before I buy Anything!!!! I also take care of my moms tanks which she got from a friend including the fish (don't blame those on me btw)
btw... I'm getting a new dog aswell
Ami
Fishaholic
So many posts and so many varied stories on why people like fish!
Vixen, I'm sure we used to stroke the fish my mum had too. I didn't know then of course that the oils in our skin could harm some of them. Is Wildwoods a fish store in London then?
Superjalami - glad to hear you're trying to stop smoking! Imagine, you could buy a shoal of fish for the cost of a pkt of ciggarettes!! Just keep looking at the fish when you get stressed and chew some gum. BTW - we used to catch young Rainbow Trout in a river near our house when we were kids. My mum used to take some home and keep them in the bath or even add them to the bowl with the goldies. Needless to say they all died - normally by jumping out of the bath. My mum wasn't the brightest....
Briarmoor, why was the Betta in a vase? Did it come like that?! And how on earth do you have space for all those cats and dogs?? Are Australian Cattle Dogs large or are the more collie sized?
Mam - I would love to see pics of your fishroom once you've got it set up. In one of the recent copies of PFK there was a guy in the UK that had transformed his garage into a fish room. He had a ridiculous number of tanks, including a couple of huge aquarium sized ones, to indulge his hobby of catfish and rays. I think that was maybe taking it a little too far though - but then, if you have the space.....
Fiori, you seem to be well on your way to a serious addiction! 5 tanks in such a short period is pretty good going. You might need to persuade your folks to buy a bigger house though!
Shuhu - I'm so sorry about your dog. It's always sad when you lose a member of your family and I'm glad that keeping fish - not to mention a new dog - is helping. Sounds like your developing a severe case of MTS - lets hope there are no probs with new tank syndrome this time!
Vixen, I'm sure we used to stroke the fish my mum had too. I didn't know then of course that the oils in our skin could harm some of them.
Is Wildwoods a fish store in London then?Superjalami - glad to hear you're trying to stop smoking! Imagine, you could buy a shoal of fish for the cost of a pkt of ciggarettes!! Just keep looking at the fish when you get stressed and chew some gum. BTW - we used to catch young Rainbow Trout in a river near our house when we were kids. My mum used to take some home and keep them in the bath or even add them to the bowl with the goldies. Needless to say they all died - normally by jumping out of the bath. My mum wasn't the brightest....
Briarmoor, why was the Betta in a vase? Did it come like that?! And how on earth do you have space for all those cats and dogs?? Are Australian Cattle Dogs large or are the more collie sized?
Mam - I would love to see pics of your fishroom once you've got it set up. In one of the recent copies of PFK there was a guy in the UK that had transformed his garage into a fish room. He had a ridiculous number of tanks, including a couple of huge aquarium sized ones, to indulge his hobby of catfish and rays. I think that was maybe taking it a little too far though - but then, if you have the space.....
Fiori, you seem to be well on your way to a serious addiction! 5 tanks in such a short period is pretty good going. You might need to persuade your folks to buy a bigger house though!
Shuhu - I'm so sorry about your dog.
It's always sad when you lose a member of your family and I'm glad that keeping fish - not to mention a new dog - is helping. Sounds like your developing a severe case of MTS - lets hope there are no probs with new tank syndrome this time!
Nauplii
Fish Herder
yea wildwoods us quite a recommened store in london for fish and products alike..
www.wildwoods.com
Great shop, worst boss lol
www.wildwoods.com
Great shop, worst boss lol
Snailguy101
Moved On
Well my fish addicition started when I wen't to wal-mart March 23 2003 I went by the fish sectrion and saw bettas I got one that is still alive to this day.Now I like snails and many other fish also.Thank you Bettas!
debiasir
fancy goldfish rule!!!
my fish addiction started as a youngster pestering my mum and dad for a goldfish. so they bought me a goldy and a quite a large tank. when this goldy died we didn't replace him and my fish keeping hobby ended there untill last easter when i watched Finding Nemo
I though it would be "cool" to keep fish again and started looking on the net about what to do, buy and any where to join for advice.
So i went out and bought my first tropical tank, then i went out and bought another tank. now i am planning a 100 gallon coldwater tank and 100 gallon tropical tank for when i get my own place.
I though it would be "cool" to keep fish again and started looking on the net about what to do, buy and any where to join for advice.
So i went out and bought my first tropical tank, then i went out and bought another tank. now i am planning a 100 gallon coldwater tank and 100 gallon tropical tank for when i get my own place.
I won my first goldfish Barney at the fair. Lived for years by some miracle.Took a notion years later that I wanted to keep golfish again and was given a tiny tank by a workmate(who used to keep mice in it)!
Totally overstocked it to the point where the fish had practically to do a 3 point turn in the tank! Needless to say the death rate was horrendous and I never once wondered why
Lfs owner talked me into tropicals about3/4 months ago.Gave the remaining goldfish away and actually read up on the subject.Realised I should be doing time for what Iput those poor goldfish through and have been trying my best to do things right with the tropicals
Have 4 tanks and a small hospital tank which Im eyeing up for a betta
As I said in another thread my family think Im mad but as my previous hobby was vodka they prefer me to keep fish rather than drink like one!!
Totally overstocked it to the point where the fish had practically to do a 3 point turn in the tank! Needless to say the death rate was horrendous and I never once wondered why
Lfs owner talked me into tropicals about3/4 months ago.Gave the remaining goldfish away and actually read up on the subject.Realised I should be doing time for what Iput those poor goldfish through and have been trying my best to do things right with the tropicals
Have 4 tanks and a small hospital tank which Im eyeing up for a betta
As I said in another thread my family think Im mad but as my previous hobby was vodka they prefer me to keep fish rather than drink like one!!
GSD
Fish Gatherer
got a goldfish and decided it needed a bigger home so for xmas i asked for a small tank for my room.I got a 20gallon jewel with a stand n i still love it!its my fave!but then i decided to keep the 20 as a tropical and build a pond for the goldie(advised by my uncle who has a 275gallon chiclid)
so it went
20gallon-first tank
10gallon-free from a friend who didnt want it
5gal betta tank
1gal betta bowl
44gal-got for a fiver at a car boot
then i got my 200gal for my birthday off my mam and dad
im 13 and i have this many tanks so imagine how many im gonna have when i get my own house
so it went
20gallon-first tank
10gallon-free from a friend who didnt want it
5gal betta tank
1gal betta bowl
44gal-got for a fiver at a car boot
then i got my 200gal for my birthday off my mam and dad
im 13 and i have this many tanks so imagine how many im gonna have when i get my own house
boom-sage
Fish Fanatic
i got a 29 for my birthday in 01 and then it really took offf when me and space monkey became friends.
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