I think I must have caught the fish keeping bug, since being a baby. Where we lived there was not television (or at least dedicated childrens television and only 1 possibly 2 channels to choose from) so my mum used to put us babies in front of the fish tank in our little bouncer beds. From there I can pretty much recall having a large fish tank in the house with some huge goldfish (and probably other fish that where destined to be killed or dumped since it was so expensive to bring things in and out by sea). But as a kid I was far more interested in my green tree frogs and knowing that they used the fish tank as a bath to remove the fluff they picked up in their nightly wonderings through the house.
Then we moved interstate and the fishtank was left behind for somebody else, and then I caught my other passion birds. The house my parents ended up buying had a huge aviary with some budgies and canaries and zebra finches already in it. I some how expanded the collection (on a megre $2 a week pocket money for doing house chores) and got fantail pigeons, bantams, king quail and java sparrows. While dreaming about being able to afford Red Cheeked Cordon Bleus and Gold Finches.
We moved again and this time the birds had to find new homes (but we always took our family cat and dog where ever we moved to) and went interstate again. This time I was able to have a fish tank again, and it soon expanded to two tanks.
Fast forward a couple of years and we moved again but this time stayed in the same state and only around 10hr drive away from our current home at the time, so the fish came with me, nursed in my lap in a container that only had cling wrap to stop the water sloshing out.
Eventually while I still had the fish I got a couple of peacface lovebirds, and had to make a choice did I want fish or birds
I chose the birds and sold up my fish and tanks (by now 3) and purchased my second- but techniqually first aviary because it wasn't pre-existing aviary second hand. It came with a pair of red wing parrots and though beautiful they where not suited to a mixed aviary.
We moved house again but stayed in the same town and my aviary came with me, now with my main love finches and a second aviary was soon on the way.
I finished school and went away for TAFE so all my birds and aviaries had to be sold, since my mum and dad had no intention on taking on that commitment, and who knew where I would eventually end up town or state wise.
Fast forward a few years again and I ended up buying a small tank for my husband because he fell in love with a particular strain of guppy. That small tank expanded to a slightly bigger tank and then escalated to the current 7 tanks currently in use and a 1000L pond as well as an old bathtub that doubles as another pond. At the sametime as all this I was madly saving to build from scratch another.....aviary.
I think there is an affinity with birds and fish they just seem to go hand in hand and my cats and dogs just except yet another critter somewhere in the house yard.
