What was your first aquarium?

[Tristan's 6000 Fish]

When I was 11 I got my first tank which was a 20 gallon from Petco. I had river rocks/pebbles and a mix of Anubius and Anarchis Elodea. For some odd reason the Petco employee recommended a whole goldfish. Not even half of it, she sold me the whole thing. I didn't know anything about goldfish. I had studied a lot on bettas, but most of them were sick, dead, or on their way to death. My mom was a Guorami person, my dad was a Turtle guy... 6 red ear sliders, 2 ybs and 4 dbt in our outdoor pond... So I did learn from them after that. When he unalived, my mom bought me a betta and some cherry shrimp. My mom was good with fish tanks she was able to plant it, cycle it, set it up for me, taught me how to maintain it, and he the betta lived for 4½ years.

To this day, I stay as far away from Goldfish as I can. They need an ungodly amount of space, and I personally find them unattractive. Also the Statesboro Petco sucks, as with most things here in Bulloch county.

 

[DawnMichele]

Yep. I used a corner filter too. I think HOB was too luxurious for me at the time.
This tank was on a table at the head of my bed. I think half the water splashed on me during the
The 1971 San Fernando Earthquake

Did they have HOB filters then? You were in that Earthquake?

 

[FINWIN]

I was about 8 or 9 with my first 'tank'. It was one of those squat bowls with gravel, a bubbler and some elodea. I had a white oranda named Silver (no red cap). Later I moved Silver into a 20 long with blue crushed glass gravel, one of those neon ceramic castles and some loud plastic plants. two corner filters. My giant apple snail Charlie was his tankmate.

 

[danotaylor]

When I was kid our neighbor had a “big” tank in their wall with 4 Oscar’s in it. I loved it. For my 11th bday in 1981 I got 3’x1’x1.5’ tank with river gravel and air driven under gravel filter. My first inhabitants were a geo brasiliensis, pair of black convicts () and a jack dempsey. It got really violent really quick when the convicts started to breed
By the time I was 15 I had a small fish room under my parents house with 10 tanks and spent my time breeding and trading mostly CA/SA cichlids.
Good nostalgic memories. Great thread!

 

[LBDave]

Did they have HOB filters then? You were in that Earthquake?

When I worked at this fish store the owner would clean all the small tanks with a HOB filter. He would steer up the gravel and let it filter for a while and then go to the next tank. That's about all I remember about HOB's at that time.
I was near the earthquake enough that it shook our house a lot. Some damage but not major. Scary time. Lots of aftershocks.

 

[Ogertron3000]

When i was really young, like around 5 we had 2 goldfish in a bowl. They lasted a few years from what i recall.
My first real tank of my own was when i was around 10, small one that i kept an axolotl in, i really looked after it and even had a worm farm so i could feed him his daily earthworm. It got big and 2 years later my parents got me a 2 foot tank so i could upgrade. Sadly i didnt know much back then and just filled it up and dropped him in. changed its diet to sliced up beef heart as it was summer and worms were harder to come by and a week later he was dead and i was heartbroken. I still feel bad now recalling it all, the thought that the new tank would be great for it and how excited i was and then the death of a pet.
I learned a harsh lesson that good intentions can sometimes have a bad outcome, it took me a good few years to learn about cycling tanks etc. when i did i realised what a mistake i had made and how easy it could have been prevented.

 

[AR1]

I got my first fish when I was six, at a local school festival. My parents couldn’t stop me from buying one, and the lady selling the fish definitely saw an easy target! She sold me a single goldfish in a cup at a high price, and I happily spent all my money on it.

While leaving, my friend swapped my fish for a larger one, which made me even happier. That happiness didn’t last long though, because he later "accidentally" sent it down a drain during a water change.

Fast forward, I put the replacement in a 25-liter bucket—no filter, no decor, just a bucket. My mom used to change the water every other day, and we eventually bought three mollies as "mates" for my chubby goldfish. The mollies, being the escape artists they are, kept jumping out, so my mom put a lid with holes over the bucket. Less oxygen, great plan! The next morning, I found all four fish belly up. My parents declared fish to be “weak” pets. I wasn’t convinced.

After that, we took a year off from fish, but one day the building caretaker gifted me a used tank—maybe 5 gallons, or 10. I was excited to finally have an aquarium! We bought a filter, decorations, and another large goldfish, this one black and orange. My dad was a big fan of that fish.

Around the same time, my uncle got married, and his father-in-law turned out to be a fishkeeping expert. He guided me, suggesting I remove the goldfish and get smaller fish like guppies. I eventually did, but housed them with the goldfish anyway (rookie mistake!). My brother and I, in our enthusiasm, thoroughly cleaned the tank and filter... with soap. You can guess what happened next.

Unfortunately, the only person who really guided me in this hobby passed away, and I was back to square one. My family and I continued keeping fish, but no matter what size or species, the result was always the same—disaster.

About two years ago, I discovered this forum. Since then, I’ve gained so much knowledge, and I’m now successfully running a 500-gallon pond and a 45-gallon tank. Thanks to this community, I finally know what I’m doing—most of the time!

 

[makeit]

I was in high school when I got to my friend's house, and he had a small fish tank with small fish. Then I went home to my parents, who insisted on buying me a fish tank. After one week, my father got bored of me speaking only about the fish tank and bought me one. The rest is history. I still have a fish tank, not too big, but it makes me feel good at night watching the little fish swimming.

 

[troublesum]

Wow i've noticed most of you guys started young, I didnt get my first tank until i was in my 30s a coworker gave it to me a 20 gallon with 2 6in Oscars and 2 6in Pacus within a week i had a 75 for them within a month i had a 125 within 6 months all fish grew to 10-12in i gave away the Pacus to a shop owner and kept the Oscars in the 125 for about 4 years within the 4 years i had over 10 tanks with about 800 gallons
Now 23 years later i just have a 125 and a 36 gallon bowfront.
BTW my first filters were the ones from Big Als they were hugh HOBs that had little heaters that went into the HOBs was pretty cool

 

[Sassafras]

Really enjoy reading this thread.

I was in third grade, 8 years old. The teacher kept a 15 gallon aquarium in the classroom, which fascinated me. At the end of the school year she asked for volunteers who would like to take the fish home. My hand shot up, even though we had nothing at home to keep them in. I walked in the door at home that afternoon with a small silver angel and two neon tetras in a quart jar. Amazingly, my dad and mom took me to K-Mart and bought a 5-gallon, stainless steel framed "Metaframe" aquarium kit, consisting of a corner filter, bag of multi-colored gravel, net, small fish food, dechlorinator, SS hood and light bulb. We set it up on my dresser, where I enjoyed it or many years, adding a couple of 10-gallons and a 45-gallon tank as years went by. My little setup went through that same San Fernando earthquake LBDave . Don't think I lost as much water as you did, we were in La Mirada at the time and got a good shaking, but no damage. My first job was also at a tropical fish store, which were everywhere in the 1970's. Started out cleaning tanks and filters and ended up working the shop solo for the owner, who was also in real estate.