Fish Lore Aquarium Forum Member Spotlight on Bonochick

My name is Katherine, but a lot of people call me Kat. I'm 26 and I have lived in Michigan my whole life. I love music, computers, video games, Great Lakes freighters, Barbies, and of course fish! My family has always been pet-friendly. Growing up, we had dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, newts, frogs, turtles and fish. We had a 55 gallon community tank, and I always remember watching my parents do the tank maintenance. It seemed like a huge undertaking. We moved from my hometown when I was 18, and the aquarium was sold, since it would be so hard to move. I did keep a couple bettas soon after, but then I went without fish for a while. I really didn't have a desire for a tank that was very big, as I worried it could get overwhelming.

I moved in with my boyfriend in the spring of 2005. His two labs were our only pets. Don't get me wrong, I adore the dogs, and they certainly commanded a lot of time but I wished we had another family member. I found myself wanting a betta, as I figured a small tank setup wouldn't take up much space, and I probably wouldn't be overwhelmed by tank maintenance. My boyfriend said no. There were to be no more pets in our house, and if I brought home a fish, the fish would be flushed. I figured he was bluffing, but I wasn't going to risk calling him on it.

I pestered him on occasion about it, but the end of 2005 still found me without a fish and with more threats of flushing. I continued talking about a fish through 2006. Come the end of December, he finally caved and took me shopping to pick out a tank as a Christmas present. I still had my sights set on a betta, but he told me I could pick out any tank I wanted as long as there was room in the house and the floor could support it. I was still nervous about getting a bigger tank, as he said it would be my tank, my responsibility, but he said he would help me with it if I needed assistance. We didn't purchase a tank that night, but we got ideas. The next day, we went to a few stores and found a beautiful 29 gallon tank and stand at a local fish store.

Once the tank was going and ready for fish, I picked out a mix of fish that I now know really isn't ideal. However, everybody was getting along pretty well and seemed happy, so I kept everyone and went with it. I think most people with fish knowledge would have concerns over compatability and overstocking, so my tank may not be setting a very good example. I have been fortunate that my fish tend to get along with each other though, and it's a pretty peaceful tank (sometimes my barbs get a little feisty though!). My water parameters also remain stable. Having a good aquarium filter helps greatly. I have an AquaClear 110, and I absolutely love it. I could have made due with a lesser filter, but this was well worth the upgrade.

I currently have eleven fish in my tank. They are Jasper (marble angelfish), Jerry (golden marble angel), Elliott, Conor, Steve, Skippy (rosy barbs), Jack (white skirt tetra), Napoleon (black skirt tetra), Oliver, Reggie (red eye tetras), and Kramer (pleco).

I owe a lot to my boyfriend for finally caving in even better than I'd ever hoped for! He's also been wonderful about helping me with water changes. There is no way I could carry those buckets, and he's also better at handling a siphon than I am (no, of course, I've never gotten water all over while trying to do it myself!).

I adore Fishlore because it's a friendly community full of great people with different areas of expertise and experience. I know that if I have a problem or need some info, I can count on somebody to help me out. I haven't been let down yet!

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