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Just wondering how people progressed throught the hobby...

I will start (don't flame for fishbowl... it was a gift and as soon as I knew better Id id better)

workmate gave me a fishbowl
====> 1.5 foot on desk on work

Got enthused but was patient... wanted a bigger tank but waited and got one for free for home:
non standard approx 3ft inherited from my mum's workmate that I set up as a freshwater community tank
======> upgraded it to a 4ft community,
=========> restocked as SA cichlids,
===============> converted it to African cichlids, Lake Malawi that I am still enjoying now

What about you.... jump straight into marine tank?
Start off with sea monkies?



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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

My first tank was curtosy of an uncle who was moving. We had to pick it up in Long Island and drive it to my parents house in the Catskills. I remember me and my brother in the back seat with a 1/2 full fish tank and my Dad trying very hard to avoid any pot holes for the 2 hour drive. (I think it was actually closer than 2 hours but who knows when you are kid.. feels like FOREVER). Now if I drove it, I get there in no time.

Anyway,
I have no idea what kind of fish we had, I just remember how much I loved the tank. It sat in a big, empty room by the stair case. If you see that room now, it has 2 couches, numerous chairs, tables, etc... It used to have nothing but hard wood floors, a fire place and a fish tank. (I used to refer to it as my personal roller rink, although, that quickly stopped when I almost skated into the fish tank.)

I have had numerous Betta's since then... A couple of years ago, I moved and did not have any kind of fish until I met my boyfriend who suggested that I fill a wall (that used to harbor a table that a roommate took when she moved out) with a fish tank that he would be able to bring down if I would be willing to stock it. I quickly jumped at the chance, and the rest. . . is history

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"it's the neck, it creaks under the weight of too much heavy thinking."

I always wanted tropical fish. When i was a youngin my dad had a 2ft tropical set up.

I started with goldfish in a bowl, as most people do I guess and then progressed to a 2ft which I got from the classifieds. It was a bargain and came with goldfish. The goldfish ended up in the pond and the tank was put in storage for about 2 years.

Decided to finally go for the tropical setup just on 12 months ago and within that year I have managed to setup 2 more larger tanks.

I acquired a 4ft community which came with fish and all accessories. Well thats just too small now so I'm now in the process of setting up my new 6ft (well its set up just transferring the 4ft occupants slowly).

When the 4fts empty its going to be a cichlid tank. I think thats going to be it for now, no more room in my place for any more.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I started with a 20GH tank from goodwill. Yep, I know, but it came with everything even a HOB filter. I then proceeded to put in 10 angelfish a pleco and some other stuff. What a disaster. Two of those angels lived on in my care for 4 years before they got traded back to the lfs last year. I found FP at the same time I got the tank, but only read the articles and posts and stuff before I joined a couple years ago. At one point two years ago I had a 20GH, 2 20GL, 10G, a 30 and a 38G - all freshwater. Now I only have a 30G saltwater started last october, and a 50G freshwater starting right meow, with 10G QT. Less is more right now. One day I'll have a fishroom.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

My aunt had fish for awhile when I was younger and my brother had what I think was a 10g for a couple years, when I was young, but they didn't interest me then.

I started with a 10g kit from Walmart after my boyfriend bought a 5g kit and put 6 tiger barbs in it.

I stocked my 10g with 4 zebra danios, then got 2 dwarf gouramis (both males) and 2 CAEs. The DGs fought until one died and one of the CAEs killed 2 of my danios. I then found this site (wasn't too long ago!) and learned what mistakes I had made. So I got rid of the fish and decided to stock the tank properly with neons and a betta.

That lead to the purchase of my 55g a year ago. I should have been smart and looked in the classifieds, but I shoved out tons of money on it from a LPS. After that my neons were a bit cramped and I had a little ammonia problem in the 10g, so I bought a 29g in December. My aunt recently gave me her 38g which I'll be setting up soon. And I found a good deal on a 55g tank and stand in the newspaper and it is still empty (and probably will be for awhile ).

So now I'm at 3 tanks setup and 2 empty. And the MTS continues!

Oh and I still live at home. Could you imagine if I had my own house and the money to buy more?? Yikes!

*Kristin*

My first tank was when I was a kid, but my first tank that really started me in the hobby was a 2 gallon my mum bought me when I lived in my first flat, about six years ago. Had a few different incarnations, including neons, guppies, and a crayfish named Cecil, and then I bought a 2nd hand 20 gallon, filled it with community fish (it was about this time I found FP, or ETF as it was back then, and started to figure out why I had so many deaths), was given an additional 25 gallon, and then finally bought a 2nd hand 120 gallon, which I made into an mbuna set-up. I sold the 25 gallon but kept both the 20 gallon, as a planted tank, and the 120 gallon for some time, as well as a few 2 gallon betta tanks. Eventually, when I moved into the apartment I live in now, I tore down the 20 gallon (had cyanobacteria that I couldn't get rid of) and, as yet, haven't set it back up again, as there is little space in my home. I also sold the 120 gallon when the floor underneath it started to bow, and bought an 80 gallon curved-end tank instead. Currently this is the only tank I have running, still with mbuna but soon to be converted to discus and plants, and a heap of empty tanks in the garage.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde