Support Group Meeting inside.

[Blue Lobster]

Welcome to the TFF 12 step program.

Each person steps to the mic and tells how they got hooked on fish. In turn we will comfort and console with coffee and conjecture.


[Approaches Microphone]

Hello, my name is Matthew and I have been addicted to fish keeping for 10 plus years now. It started out innocently enough, a 10 gallon with a couple feeders. No big thing right? They lived for quite a while.

From there it went to a 20 gallon with assorted Tropicals (This is before the internet, so big fish small tank abuse and lack of knowlege) still I was not hooked. I thought it was a phase.

Started watching the fish more than the TV. Started the slide downhill.

From there I started thinking about larger tanks. I could feel the urge for a bigger fix. It was bad man, months of "Do I get a 35g hex or a long 40g? Sand or gravel?"

It got dicey for a while but I couldn't resist.

At the time I was still living at home, and disposable income leads to bad things.

Bam, nice 35 hex. Balas didn't like it but it's all that I could fit.

The 35 found it's way into my apartment, my wife is understanding of my addictions, cars and fish....The apartment was small, and I needed a bigger tank.

Started researching and found out I needed to move those balas ASAP.

Rented a house, had the room for something bigger!!!

This is where it all went to hell.

Found an ad online. 55&75 gallon setup $250. Must sell, need cash.

"Honey, I am going to pick up a 55 gallon tank from some guy online in Pennsylvania for the new house. It's a 3 foot wide tank" Figuring I'd sell the 75 and break even.

I get there and he has a nice 55 and a 75 top and bottom breeding setup for sale. Nice but I was in a tropical nut's basement, he had tanks all over and needed cash bad.

What's that? A 5 foot wide tank on a stand in the corner?
"Hey, is that one for sale?"
Like a diamond in the rough I saw the potential thought the grey film and beat up metal stand. Oxyclean and razors would make it presentable, I am sure of it.


Zero resistance on my part, and I caved.

So I show up at my house with a 110 and my wife gives me that look.

"Honey, it was the same price as the ones I went for, I swear"

"That tank is soo gross inside, will it ever come clean?"

3 days of cleaning later and a veneer surround and the wife was like "That thing is alot bigger than I thought, but it's really cool now that it's set up and everything"

Hours of research online, dozens of gallons transferred, 2 weeks of cycling, anticipation and the balas were on the way to the new house.

They died a month later when I stocked the tank with some fish from a LFS and went away on business. I get a call in Vegas "Matt, the fish are not looking good. They look like they rolled in salt" ICH. Did the best I could when I got back but they were too far gone

Most of the tank died, except those corys.

Restocked and learned more about quarantine.

So now I am a fish addict, 2 tanks in the living room of my house and no hope in sight. I am constantly checking the water, watching my new setup mature and dreaming of a tank wall in my new house when I get one.

HELP? I got a bad case of tropical addiction.

 

[Discomafia]

best post I've read in weeks!

 

[abstract]

1) got a used 10 gallon tank from my aunt for free when i was approx. 12 years old
2) liked fish and so did my parents so upgraded to a 46 gallon bowfront (donno where that 20 gallon ever dissappeared to over the years) approx 14 years old
3) my parents cared for the 46 gallon my first two years of college (dorms and small 1 bedroom apartment)
4) was doing an internship last year and one of my coworkers LOVES fish - she got me back into it
5) when i moved into my new 2 bedroom apartment last summer my 46 gallon came along and got restocked (only had 2 tiger barbs and a common pleco left from the 4-5 years it was at my parents)
6) thats what i began reading fishforums and learning all of the mistakes i had made in the past - a lifesaver (for the fishies)
7) next, the coworker who loves fish (has 7 tanks) gave me a 20 gallon long tank which gradually turned into a nice planted tank
8) then, bought a 2 1/2 gallon tank w/ filter for my first betta
9) betta got ill and died within a few months - decided to buy a 10 gallon and plant it
10) so here i am now with a 46 gallon in my living room...a 10 and 20 gallon planted in my bedroom, an addicted girlfriend, an addicted roomate, and the lease is almost up - looks like i will be moving 3 tanks in the next 4 months lol

sorry about the lack of paragraphs - it was a lot easier to list my experiences like this

 

[Blue Lobster]

1) got a used 10 gallon tank from my aunt for free when i was approx. 12 years old
2) liked fish and so did my parents so upgraded to a 46 gallon bowfront (donno where that 20 gallon ever dissappeared to over the years) approx 14 years old
3) my parents cared for the 46 gallon my first two years of college (dorms and small 1 bedroom apartment)
4) was doing an internship last year and one of my coworkers LOVES fish - she got me back into it
5) when i moved into my new 2 bedroom apartment last summer my 46 gallon came along and got restocked (only had 2 tiger barbs and a common pleco left from the 4-5 years it was at my parents)
6) thats what i began reading fishforums and learning all of the mistakes i had made in the past - a lifesaver (for the fishies)
7) next, the coworker who loves fish (has 7 tanks) gave me a 20 gallon long tank which gradually turned into a nice planted tank
8) then, bought a 2 1/2 gallon tank w/ filter for my first betta
9) betta got ill and died within a few months - decided to buy a 10 gallon and plant it
10) so here i am now with a 46 gallon in my living room...a 10 and 20 gallon planted in my bedroom, an addicted girlfriend, an addicted roomate, and the lease is almost up - looks like i will be moving 3 tanks in the next 4 months lol

sorry about the lack of paragraphs - it was a lot easier to list my experiences like this

Photos are not needed. I feel your pain. Parents kill fish easily.

 

[keane]

Photos are not needed.

he said PARAGRAPHS...not PHOTOGRAPHS!!! lol

I feel your pain. Parents kill fish easily.

?? ??

steve 8)

 

[BettaMomma]

Hi.
I'm BettaMomma and I'm a bettaholic.

My obsession started when I decided (for some crazy reason) to cruise down the fish aisle at WalMart. I saw little Amos staring back at me, and I could swear he mouthed the words "help me". So, I picked him up, put him in my cart and off I went. I visited another fish store and got a glass tank, all the while he was sitting patiently on the carseat waiting for me to come out of the store with the goodies to load up his tank. Got him into his tank back here at the office and fell in love with the little guy.

I decided that I really liked having a tank around, so I went to WalMart again and found Harvey - staring at me, and again I saw "help me". I was kinda starting to learn a few things about fish, and I noticed that he had some torn fins and stuff and I knew he needed me, so I decided to pick him up and give him a good home. Took him home and put him in a 2G acrylic hex. He hated the tank - because of the situation of the tank sides, he could see himself all around and he was going completely crazy. I went out and got him a new 2.5G glass tank and moved him on over.

HMMMM..... I had an empty tank at home.
SO.... I went to PetWorld to scope out the fishes there - and saw Archie. He, too, looked very sickly - his fins looked like the grim reaper and he was laying on the bottom of the tank. Into the cart, thru the checkout, into the hex tank.

THEN... I got the bright idea to upgrade Amos to his 5G tank. Once he was moved, HMMM.. i had another empty tank. Back to WalMart I went. Spotted sickly little Jasper, into the cart, thru the checkout and back to the office. Put him into the tank and he was REALLLLLLLLLy sick. Turned out he had acute viral hemoraghic septicemia - but we got that taken care of and now he's a great little fish.

In the meantime, Amos got severely stressed and sick. I went right out and bought him another 2.5G glass tank to get him out of the horriffic conditions which he hated - the 5G hex. Amos died. So, now I'm left with the empty 2.5G and the empty 5G).

I decided that in my grief after Amos was gone, I'd go to WM and throw some of my anger at one of their employees in the event that I found a fish that was in bad shape. And did I. It was a Sunday, I found Jack - fins looked like they had been thru a blender, and then slammed through with nails and a hammer, and then he had cottony patches everywhere. not to mention the black crap between his scales, his slightly bloated belly and his lethargy. Into the cart, thru the checkout, and home with me he came. Picked him up a cute little 2.5G minibow - he's only been with us for 4 days at this point, but the cottony crap is already disappearing and he's very active and gorgeous.

So, now I have a net of 4 live fish, one r.i.p. fish and 2 empty tanks. I WILL get those tanks filled up, as soon as I find the right little finned creature that needs a good home desparately.

AND, I'm considering buying a big old 29 (or bigger) tank to go along with my collection of minis.

I'm hopelessly addicted.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Well, I only came here for the cookies. But I'll tell you all anyway.
It was one cold autumn evening, and the family had embarked to Pets At home for some cat food and hay. We went for a stroll down the fish section, when I casually remarked....
'I'd like a fish...'
So, Xmas day, and a 4.5g 'goldfish tank' was being unwrapped. I was slightly dissapointed, as, after finding TFF, had decided on a bigger tank. But anyway, after being told by my dad I couldn't have a hgeater because it was acryllic, got 3 coldwater guppies. They eventually died in an uncycled tank, then I cycled it and got a heater and a betta. Sorry to cut it short, I have a plate of food with my name on it...

 

[nc_nutcase]

Hello, I’m an aqua-addict and my name is Toby

I grew up in a house of aqua-addicts so as a child, I didn’t know that keeping a small tank or two would lead to all of this. Where I grew up it was accepted to devote your free time to serving the needs of the finned slave masters.

I have no clue when I got my first tank but it was somewhere between 6 & 8 yrs old. By 10 yrs old my bedroom and the hallway outside was backed with lizards, snakes, turtles and cichlids. My mom was the community tank lover and my dad the cichlid guy, assumably I fell in the footsteps of my Father.

I recovered somewhat in my early 20s when I moved out of state. Because I was bouncing from state to state trying to find my place in the world, releasing aqua-addict in me wasn’t an option.

A couple years later I was wondering through Wal-Mart on a very non-fish related adventure (telling that story would get my post removed from the forum and maybe even my account closed down). The two girls I was with wondered off to find me a surprise and meanwhile I was wondering around just killing time. Until… I saw this big ole rack of bettas in 1/100th of a gallon bowls. But… there was one not on the rack with the rest and in a different shaped (but equally sized) bowl. He was staring at me as I looked at the other fish half interested.

He eventually talked me into taking him home (bettamomma I totally understand when you say they mouthed ‘help me’ to you). I’m sure that first night was a rough one for him because I was quite distracted until the following afternoon.

Well, I’m done with my moving all over… and I have a decent sized house with odd and end furniture. So it made sense that getting a nice tank with a stand would actually make the house look nicer (I didn’t believe that at all but the girlfriend bought it). Well… that was a couple tanks w/ stands ago.

So the lesson is learned… don’t pick up the first one! Because once you do, these lil guys can getcha. Now I have 4 rooms in my house that are primarily fish rooms. But they are loving, they still let us sleep in our bedroom with them.

 

[littlefishie]

Hi, my name is Crystal, and I am addicted to fish.

It all started ten years ago. I was 8, and my mom had given me a 2 gallon hex tank for my birthday. With a betta.
Which was fine, til the betta died. So I got a pair of guppies.
Guppies gave birth, and my mom thought "Oh no! Where do we put the fry?"

So on her way home from work the next day, she picked up a ten gallon starter kit from Superpet. Knowing nothing about proper cycling, we dumped the guppies and fry in the tank, along with some Aquaplus and some Cycle.
Surprisingly, they all lived.

I swear we overstocked that tank so badly as, at one point, we had another betta, a common pleco, guppies, platies, balloon mollies... I don't remember everything, but we also had dwarf flame gouramis and zebra danios.. Not necessarily all at the same time.

When we moved when I was 12 all the fish were given away, and the tank came with us. We had a small pond in the backyard so I kept the goldfish for it in the ten gallon for the colder months.

As I was packing for university I found the tank, and my mom said she was considering selling it. I told her not to. I wake up the morning of our garage sale to find she's sold the entire kit [All you had to do was add fish and water..] for $15. $15!

So when I moved to school I bought a betta.
And then another betta.
And then a 5 gallon tank.
And then the first betta had a tumor so he had to be put down.
So I got another betta.
7 bettas, a 15 gallon tank and another 10 gallon tank later, my room is packed with fish!

Not to mention I am living with my grandparents this summer, so I will be getting a 55 gallon tank.

Oh, and I have a job interview at Marineland coming up in 2 weeks, to work with the whales and dolphins and such.

Damn, you know you have problems when..

 

[bigfish]

Slurp of coffee,, crunch crunch of a cookie.

well my story started off the usual way 1 goldfish in a goldfish bowl (shudder @ the thought) goldfish grew bigger than bowl, embarked on a 30litre tank, mum said oh bet hes lonely???

So i bought her 2 further friends......bigger tank... then i decided on tropical fish as i cud have more in a smaller space.......bought a big 130litre hagen tank, goldies went in there and had smaller tank for Tropicals.............tropical kinda over took my bedroom @ 1 point i had 3 tanks.

Now i only have 2 again but thinking of expanding.

 

[smb7676]

Hello, I’m an aqua-addict and my name is Toby
The two girls I was with wondered off to find me a surprise I’m sure that first night was a rough one for him because I was quite distracted until the following afternoon.

Toby
Your story was nice but the suggestions in your post made me laugh so hard I wanted to cry.

 

[smb7676]

My name is Stacy and I have a problem! I now have passed on this addiction to my young naive offspring.

It all started when my parents had tanks everywhere when I was a kid. I even swam in our big tank when I was 1yr old. this was an accident

My mom and dad got a divorse but my mom missed the fish so...... She got a ton of tanks and setup the frontroom with them and started selling them.

A couple yrs later we moved and no fish for 10 yrs but I was always scuba diving, and going on vac. to Aquariums.

Fastforward to xmas 2004 and well I thought we should get my kids a tank of there own !!! Yeah right We had the ten gallon starter tank for maybe 1/2 day before I had called mom had a 20 long on its way and bought a 20 high kit at the LFS. Hubby in garage building stand cuz I wanted it sit into the corner at a very specific angle. Xmas morning kids are happy. Cycle tank and off we go to buy the starter fish that sadly was the last time my kids had a part in the decision process. The kids like them have named most of them but no one calls them anything but MOMS FISH. Hubby got sick of listening to me say I wanted another tank so he went and got the 10 gal kit again so now that is set up. I wanted bigger.
I wasn't happy so hubby made deal to get his garage insulated and now I'm shopping for a 100 plus tank!!!!!!!!!!
We let the kids watch 1/2 of tv before bed and I sit an watch my tanks. I am now cheering on the "pickup" lines of my apistos and have turned into a chemist ( my husband loves this since he was a duel major one being chemistry, ) with all the water test kits.
I am hooked no pun and I don't think I'll ever get my 10 day sober button. Thats ok cuz I don't want one.
great thread !!
Just one question what are the 12 steps getting us our own Fish store or our own Aquarium.

****Littlefishie****
We live near MArineland good luck hopefully you'll be doing something that will let you beat the tourist that let trash loose into the orca tanks let us know you fish a holic

 

[hellohefalump]

Hello I'm Helena and I'm an addict...
It started when I was two, my aunty won me a goldfish at the fair. We called him Simon and put him in a little bowl. Then we decided Simon was lonely so we got another goldfish called Peter to keep him company.

Simon jumped out of the tank and died, so we got Peter another friend... and another and another and another... and a small tank (but bigger than the bowl). As the years went by, Peter just kept on living! The fish outgrew their little tank (I think it was a 60litre) so mum bought a 125litre tank. They lived in this for a long time, growing, swimming around... I was their official 'keeper' from the age of seven. I read the leaflet that comes inside the interpet medicine boxes over and over and became an 'expert' on deseises.

We had a number of 'plagues', most notably a very very stubborn fungus/finrot/internal bacterial problem that killed most of the fish... but not Peter!

I moved out two years ago when I turned eighteen. My sister still wanted fish, so my stepdad wanted to keep the tank. But I insisted they were MY fish! So he 'traded' the tank for another one - the rio 180 I've got now.

I got a job in a fish shop and suddenly got very obsessed with tropical fish. For my 19th birthday I got my first tropical tank! a 90litre...

Before long, I was feeling sorry for the fishies in the little tank, so I found another 180litre on ebay and now they reside in that.

Then I was in a fish shop one day when I fell in love with Sharkie, a bala shark. I just had to get him, so I maxed out on my overdraft and bought a 125 litre tank to take the fishy 'overspill'. That tank is now my livebearer tank (and five danios and two BNplecs).

Future plans...........
* someone I know is giving me a tank soon, and I'm going to put Philip (my collomessus puffer) in it.
*obviously, the community tank is too small for sharkie when he's full grown, and sharkie could really do with some friends, so naturally I am going to upgrade to a bigger tank as soon as I have some spare cash. I've got my eye on a rio 300 or 400.
*The goldfish tank is too small for four goldfish when they're all adult sized, and is definately too small for a common plec when he's full sized... so when I have more cash I'm upgrading to a rio 400. This is number one on my to do list.
*I really really really want a trigon 360 and I want to keep pirhana in it.
*I have a couple of spare smallish tanks that would be good for bettas. Need to cycle them first though.

 

[littlefishie]

****Littlefishie****
We live near MArineland good luck hopefully you'll be doing something that will let you beat the tourist that let trash loose into the orca tanks let us know you fish a holic

Hehe, if anyone puts crap in the tanks while I'm on duty, I'll personally toss 'em over the falls. No one messes with my orcas! Don't worry. The tourists will pay..

Right now it looks like I might be a cove guide, which is the person who takes you through Friendship Cove to get kissed by whales and dolphins. I'm so excited!

 

[smb7676]

Cool !!
If ever a strange woman stares at your name tag and declares TFF Rocks !!! You'll know its me. I won't be hurt if you look away and act like you have no idea !! Just kidding I wouldn't do that.Its more like if you ever see a woman almost falling into the cove cuz her kids thought they should pet a whale thats me. Good luck and beat the tourists