How did you become interested in this hobby

[Anonymous]

As with any tragic story, mine began with a girl...

Common tragic story beginnings: A girl, and a foolish act...

 

[Anonymous]

You have tinfoil on your head..

 

[fyrefysh]

I grew up in Wyoming and never saw the ocean until I was about 15. I suppose what started my fascination was when I was about 10 and went to a LFS store and saw a yellow-tail blue damsel by himself in a 50 gallon aquarium. It seemed so alien and beautiful to me, I'd never seen a marine/reef creature in real life before. I must have stared at that thing for at least an hour.

 

[Sponge_Bob]

Other : I grew tired of FW after a year and a half as I pretty much had every kind of fish/types of tank possible. That includes African cichlids, South american cichlids, various cichlids, fantail fancy goldfish, tetras, rasboras, livebearers and what not. I even breed a few of them just for fun. Saw some beautiful moments like the birth of a new fish, eggs hatching, fry swimming and feeding...and horrors of unknown and unexplained deaths (on very few occasions). The worst I've seen is 2 fish, from different tanks, 2 weeks apart, dead by this strange disease : The gill plate was detached from the skin!!! Only on one side. Spoke to several persons about it, whether in LFS or to marine biologists, forum members... no one has ever seen this happen and could not explain it. Never happened again so I can not say what it was. Dreadful experience, I must say.

So at one point, I went to the LFS and asked my friend there what I could try because I grew tired of my mixed community planted "Tropical paradise" tank. He told me : "Well, you've pretty much covered all the FW sp. so I guess that if you want to have some change, you have to kick it up a knotch and go for marine." I told him that I was not ready and he said that I probably knew more than most LFS personnel in Québec so that I was ready and shouldn't be afraid to jump in. I did. I was not quite ready. So I read like crazy, devoting close to 6 hours a day, 7 days a week to studying marine aquaria. I found that I really knew little and that marine aquaria is far more complex and demanding than FW is. I LOVE IT! Of course, my chemistry background helps me a lot but there is far more than chemistry in marine husbandry. I needed a challenge and I got one. I'm hooked for life I think... I hope.

 

[minibowmatt]

I also had to vote 'Other'
I got interested because I had taken a planted FW to the max, and had super outstanding growth over a year. I figured I had maxed out.. Plus- My older brother was involved in FW planteds too, and when his tank started to become nicer, and more involved than mine, I had to One-Up him and I started a reef. I originally planned a 2.5G shroom/xenia tank, but when a minibow became available to me, I went with that. it was all down hill from there!

I will also add that going to a reef was very rewarding to me. I was becoming very bored on my weekends and out-of work time, and starting a reef gave me hundreds of hours of research time that I really enjoyed. My wife was really getting pissed at me because I was spending soo much time surfing and spending time reading instead of hanging with her... I think that I am a better person and I feel better because I have such a rewarding and educational hobby.
Thanx Reefing!

 

[Anonymous]

We always had freshwater tanks when I was a kid. I always was intrigued by nature shows like Jacques Cousteau, etc. Marine life was just always a fascination for me. Can't really pinpoint exactly where I first took notice of it, but I imagine it was from TV. Coming from N. Georgia, it certainly wasn't from the smell of the ocean.

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

I've always kept fish, and being the Masochist that I am, it was a logical choice...

 

[Anonymous]

Have had FW since the age of 5 or 6, and have always kept an eye on SW.

 

[Anonymous]

Went on vacation and came home with a hermit crab and sand crab, they needed a new home. Had planned to return them to their native home the following year. Both died 2 weeks before the return trip.


Been down hill ever since. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

i became intrested in fish as a youngster.... one of those bring the goldfish home from the fair afairs. needless to say that poor goldfish didnt last long but who realy expects them to. as time continued i killed more that my fair share of fish untill about 14 when i got tired of just murder and decided to figure out why i was killing and others wern't. after a long discusion at the lfs i knew all there was about the nitrogen cycle and i was off. now 20+ years later i am struggling to stay in one place long enough to have a stable reef. being in the military i move all the time and i have one when i can and live vicariously threw others pics when i can. i read every piece of lit i can on the topic and go to every public aquairum i come across..... the wife was tired 20 aquariums ago but i never do. moving to georgia in two weeks and i will be setting up a 40 gallon breeder reef and the delema will begin again....... just a little long winded today so boooooooooooorrrrrrrrred...

 

[Nautilus1]

I had a 10 gallon with a Fantail goldfish named etorino when I was about eleven. He lived with zebra danios. After about a year Etorino began to die from Dropsy. Before he died , not knowing much, I decided to let Etorino die in a place he came from....The Ocean i thought. I carried his bloated body to the ocean at the end of my street and tossed him in. He was still alive, bloated and floating. The seagulls beagn to circle. I got my sling shot and sat on the beach and fought off seagulls all day from mutilating poor Etorino. Eventually he floated out too far.
After that I got a 55 gallon for my birthday I had an oscar and a snakedead. A short time after that my bedroom was wall to wall aquariums, fresh, salt w/ UGF, brackish, planted. I worked at the LFS as a kid. I carried this passion to college where I studied marine science.

It was nice to share this with all of you.
RIP Etorino..................

 

[jetaero]

Well... It was a mixture of always wanting to save the lobsters from the tanks at the grocery store. :lol: And as well, my love of beachcoming, and snorkeling.

I've had a freshwater tank since I can remember though.

-Josh

 

[Anonymous]

I had a friend with cystic fibrosis, and one day while we were going through his photo albums looking at all his vacations and parties and stuff, he told me, you have to do every thing you've always wanted to do NOW, because you never know how long you have. Here he was, 35 years old (which is old for a CF person born when he was; the life expectancy is higher for folks born more recently, though), and he had friends who died in car accidents when they were in the full bloom of health and youth ...

Anyway, in his honor, I decided that I would do something I'd wanted to do since I was a little girl and first saw seahorses (H. zosterae, dwarf seahorses) in a pet store fishbowl: I set up a seahorse tank. And the rest is OCD history. :mrgreen:

But really, I've met so many wondferful people through this hobby, and had some great times at conferences and reef club gathering, I'm really grateful for the lesson my friend taught me back then. I really miss him, too.

 

[Anonymous]

I always had a FW aquarium when I was growing up. My wife and I snorkled on some reefs during our honeymoon and I decided that we should give marine aqauriums a try. We set up a 30 gallon reef and within two months had added a 90 gallon reef to the collection. We were both hooked.

Andrew

 

[Anonymous]

I moved into an apartment with a girl.

You see, I've always had a tank. (usually really nice livebearer setups) When I moved into this huge apartment, I told her

I'm getting a BIG fishtank, and it's going to be saltwater. Her response? The day you get the tank I"m getting a cat or two.

I found a 100 gal on ebay.

While I was looking for cool fish to put in the tank, I found . . .


REEFS.ORG


and I've been hooked ever since.

B

 

[MartinE]

I got interested in this hobby after snorkleing at a number of places and being convinced by the new literature that saltwater has gained many advances and that with them I could successfully keep the fish and coral I have always liked viewing in the ocean.

 

[The_Big_Fish]

Oddly enough my 1st tank was a SW set up back in the mid 80's.
FOWLR suggested by Richard over at Tampa Bay Salt Water.
I Lived in St. Pete at the time.
Who knew what it would grow into in the future!

 

[Be11yDancer]

10. Because of a personality test I once took.
9. Because I kept my last fish alive 5 years.
8. Because my husband won't let me have a dog.
7. Because now my husband knows where to shop for my birthday. (LFS)
6. Because I want to educate my kids who, unlike myself, are grossed out by slimy, wormy, snakey things.
5. Because I have seen Nemo, SpongeBob, and SharkTale movies close to 657 times.
4. Because I want to impress my neighbors (you can see the tank from outside!)
3. Because I dove in Hawaii and held an octopus, fed the fish in Waikiki, and snorkeled in Aruba.
2. Because I wrote a grant to get one for my school's library and was rejected!

And the number one reason:

BECAUSE I HAD THE SUPPORT OF THIS BOARD.

 

[cklayko2000]

started with FW got bored when nothing died for 3 years, moved to agressive salt water got bored when nothing died for 3 years, moved to reefs - somehow haven't gotten board

 

[Anonymous]

I never had a fish in my whole life. Not even a gold fish.

One day, I walked by a reef store and saw the incredible display tank and I thought: "that is sweet, but too much work for me."

Then my wife said "I want that, make it happen."

So I got a bunch of books and got onto forums and learned for a few months, then I jumped feet first with a full blown reef tank.


Now I spend my work days here and my saturday slaving over an aquarium, my wood floors are salt damaged, my living room is 3 degrees too warm due to radiant heat from the tank, and my wife cries when even a hermit crab turns up missing. What a great hobby! :lol:

At least it entertains guests when they come over so I don't have to talk to them.