Fish Lore Aquarium Forum Member Spotlight on Lorabell

Hi Everyone! I'm Lori (Lorabell to my Fishlore friends) WOW! I am so flattered to have been asked to do a member spotlight.

Just a touch of history... my parents started this whole animal thing, even though they would never admit to it. I was probably only two or three years old when they got me my very first goldfish (and I have the picture to prove it) I have had a complete passion and devotion to all animals ever since. I have personally owned animals from mice to horses, with just about everything in between, as well as an occasional aquarium.

Currently I am owned by twelve dogs, three Persian cats, thirteen parrots, and six complete aquarium set-ups with two still in the process.

My present MTS started about a year ago when my daughter decided she had to have puffer fish. Well away we went! Of course without any real knowledge of what we were doing. Unbelievably everything went along fairly well. Thanks to the LFS in our area. Well that's when "IT" happened. My husband says... someday I'd like to have some fish. Well of course you know I was at Walmart the very next day. I purchased a 5 gallon octagon with everything with it. I hit Pet Smart the day after that, returned home with three fancy goldfish in tow. (I still have them, but they have been re-homed).

Well of course that just wasn't enough. Back to Pet Smart with the hubby and we purchased a 20 gallon set-up, gravel, and even some poor fish. Mistake after mistake, after mistake, but we kept trying. Finally after all these horrible mistakes I somehow stumbled upon Fishlore. Boy were we stupid! Thankfully, because of all of you friendly, helpful, knowledgeable members, filled with a surplus of information and willing to share it, I have been able to make all of my "fishy babies" lives so much better.

Well after it's all said and done my MTS is hopefully at its "peak"! All tanks get regular water changes 1-2 times a week, filters changed out, etc. I use Prime and or stress coat. Everybody receives a varied diet, from flakes, pellets, frozen, even a homemade recipe. Thank-You SWilkens!

So this is my fish family:

• 20 gallon - Brackish - 3 puffers, 2 knight gobies, feather fin catfish - Sand substrate, HOB filter, fake plants, sunken ship

• 29 gallon - Freshwater - baby whale, couple of platys, 4 assorted cory catfish, 2 angelfish, 2 zebra danios - Gravel, 2 HOB filters, fake plants, and a bubbling motorcycle

• 10 gallon - My betta boy, 3 corries, 3 ruby nosed tetras, and way too many rams horn Snails (for the puffers) - Gravel, HOB filter, and live hair moss

• 37 gallon - Fancy goldfish (way overstocked) Gravel, 2 HOB filters, fake plants, mermaid and seahorse

• 55 gallon - Home to my 9 Blood Red Parrots, pictus catfish, striped Rafael catfish - Sand substrate, fake plants, and terra-cotta pots and a Rena XP3 canister filter

• 72 gallon - BF... special thanks to Ken (aquarist48) this one is getting there currently - housing an RTS, 5 red tipped silver dollars, and 1 angelfish - Planning on EBJD, and some very cool babies supplied by CHoffman. Got wise this time! I used pool filter sand, fake plants, Manzanita wood and huge river rock for decoration. HOB filter and XP2 canister (until I Purchase my XP4 canister)

• 5 gallon - Hex - Ok after tons, and tons of research, I've decided to take the even bigger plunge. I am DIVING into the salty side. This little tank is set up and been running for a few months, just waiting for its new residents to arrive (special order). This is the future home for 4 dwarf seahorses and I can hardly wait! Even hubby is a little excited. At the moment it is occupied by a peppermint shrimp, and a small damsel (which will go back to LFS) so far the hardest part about this one is finding things that are small enough for the "horses" to hitch to, but I'm working on it. Sandy bottoms, fake coral, fake plants

• 36 gallon - BF - future planned for FOWLR

• 20 gallon - future plan home for some very special cichlids

I just want to thank ALL of Fishlore! I really don't believe this would be what it is to me without ALL of you. It has made fish-keeping such a joy and way more than a hobby for me. I'm so proud when people are over and I can show off my beautiful tanks or when hubby and I are just sitting there watching them. Without Fishlore I am sure I would have given up a long time ago. The very first time I signed on here, I felt so welcomed, and had all my dumb questions answered, I've learned so much. What a wonderful experience this has been and is going to be! Special thanks to Mike and all of our moderators for keeping this possible and to some special friends I've made: Aquarist48, Swilkens, CHoffman, Butterfly, Shawnie, Jwokmuba2, Griffen and Beth1965.

A big THANKS also goes out to my husband Mike, for just lettin' me Roll! (lol... trust me its way worse than almost 9 fish tanks!)

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