steveangela1

I have to ask how it started for you all.... I got a 6 gallon tank for my oldest for a gift and ever since I have been the one to take care of it I have been hooked. Well I got guppies after the tank was down and empty for about 5-6 months and I had bought preggos.. I then had to have a fry tank...
Then I wanted to get more fish so I got a 10 gallon.
The Idea hit us that we needed a 55 in jan, so we got it and put african cichlids in it. Now we are planning to buy another tank to separate the peacocks from the rest.
My husband asks why I haven't took any of my tanks down when they get empty (a friend of mine is taking all of my guppies next week) I am then putting a bb puffer in the 6 gallon w/ a oto catfish, and I don't know what I want in the 10g yet but I will put more fish in it, it won't be empty for longer than a day!


I just wondered if it was like an addiction for others too! I will fight tooth and nail against my hubby over these tanks and he has got to the point of saying wth lets get more if you are going to clean them....

angelfish220

well it all started one day a long time ago.....

My grandmother's friend's son was moving and couldn't take his tank with him, some how that ten gallon tank ended up with me. I figure well I might as well but something in it.

and my fish saga began.

I wanted a pretty tank so I got some guppies. I wanted a lively tank, so I added danios. I wanted a flash tank, so I got some white skirt tetras. I wanted a graceful tank, so I got a pair of gouramis. I then wanted a bigger tank!

Thus begins the next chapter in my epic.

I found a nice 30 gal tank for sale in the classifieds. I decided I would get it and put the guppies gouramis and danios in it, and leave the 10 in my room with the tetras. I poured myself over the internet finding the perfect fish for my tank. I saw discuses, angels, and rainbows. I saw puffers, leaf fish and elephant fish. I saw loaches, catfish, and plecos, and suddenly 30 gallons was no longer enough I needed more. more room to have exotic fish from far away places.

Now there is a 55 gallon tank behind me as I type. The raphael catfish is eating the fresh peas I set out every night with him in mind. The silver tipped tetras are excited that I will be getting them more buddies the next trip to the lfs. The man platies pace the glass waiting for their namesakes to be born while the girl platies hide in the grass in the back of the tank.

All of this came about because some guy moved to virgina and couldnt take his fish tank with him. To him I am eternaly greatful.

Allie

Our MTS started b/c I liked tropicals, betta, cichlids, fancy plecos and my bf liked piranhas...can't keep them together.
We kept liking species that couldn't be kept together. Now he is outta piranah so we've got lots of fishies in different tanks b/c my bf now like a lot more than pirnaha lol.

COBettaCouple

We started out with a 10g for our first Betta, a week later we got some Platys and 2 days after that, our 2nd tank to make our Betta happy so it didn't take long for our MTS to start.

Coryd55

It started because my mom showed me a fake jellyfish tank that she saw in some fancy magazine. I was sick from school one day and bored so I decided to look up that tank she showed me to see how much it was because it was coo. I then went on youtube to see one and then I clicked on the side tab of related videos and there was a real fish tank. I thought it was really cool and Christmas was coming up so I got to thinking. Then I looked up fish aquarium or something on google and eventually ended up here at fishlore. CWC replied to my thread and I began PMing him. He was such a great help to get me jump started in my fishkeeping "career". I then ended up talking to Dino about buying some fish and a tank. We met with him and they helped me set up my first tank, a 55 Gallon. It was my christmas present and I loved it. I then got a 10G QT and fry tank and put it on my counter( was also from Dino and CWC). Then I began to look on craigslist because I read about it on here. And sure nuff there was a 30G with all the equipment for sale so I bought that and there came my 3rd tank. Then someone at my mom's work had some old fish tanks that they didn't want so they gave them to us, a 20G and a 30G. Then I had 5 tanks. Then I decided, hey I want a betta. So I got another 10G. So now I have 6 tanks. And 7 if you count my whites tree frog terrarium.

=) All thanks to this:http://www.popgadget.net/2007/05/aquapict_jellyf.php, and Dino and CWC

Tom

It started with me and a 36 gallon. Then I had some platy fry and lots of them, then a 28 came along, then i moved them to a 10 gallon and then just spread it from there.
Tom

Sabi

Mine started when i over stocked my 67gal. An 8gal followed and then another when i decided to try breeding angels. A hospital was needed, then the marine bug hit.

capekate

My MTS also started with the love of more fish! BTW, I also have a 29g cycled tank that I want to tear down... dont know what is stopping me either lol.... Other than, its a good cycled tank where I can keep new fish in QT if and when the time comes....
My goal.. strange as it is... is to have the 55g tank stocked with the fish I love and tear down the two 29g I have going. The betta tanks of course will always stay.

~ kate

Narcicius

I always find myself shopping for fish to put in the hospital tank, then I have to buy another one, and the vicious cycle continues.

Rbacchiega

My parents had big tanks for as long as I can remember, with the pride and joy being a 120 gallon planted that my dad had a little bit of everything in....(20 years ago...so I gave him a break LOL) Anyways, for one reason or another they had to get rid of them, but I've always had fish. Started with (I"m ashamed to say) a 2.5 gallon hexagon tank I got for my 10th birthday. The people at the petstore said I didn't need to do anything because it was so small, and sold me 1M 1F BLUE PLATTY, 1 M BETTA and 2 OTTOS....omg that tank was overstocked. But I didn't know anybetter. Needless to say, in a few months I had a 2.5 gallon betta tank with some ghost shrimp. Then shortly after than I had a 10 gallon, then another, then a 25 and then the 55 that now sits in my parents house and is the happy home to some discus, tetras, corys, loaches and a pair of bn plecos (see Rbacchiega's 55 gallon planted discus). Then when I moved out I only took one 10 gallon because, frankly, I didn't have any room in my small little apartment to house anything else. Fast forward half a year and I'm working at a chain store (shakes head) and every interesting fish we got in I wanted, so the research began. Bought another 25 gallon. Moved into a basement suit and bought a 55 gallon. Now I live in my own home and have way too many tanks, but alas, a fish that is gonna need a bigger one. So this weekend I'm bringing home a 90 gallon and in a few months there's gonna be an amazing 225 gallon tank sitting in my basement

capekate

Hi Narcicius.. I see in your aquarium info that you have a 29g tank and a betta tank (OPPS NOT BETTAs.. shrimp, sorry)... any more laying around? btw what size hospital tank do you use?
~ kate

Shaina

I'm in the beginning stages of MTS. I currently have a 10gal that got me through college (my poor guppies...they've endured something like 7 moves in 5 years...), but now I'm hitting the real world and I've spent the last several months looking for that *perfect* deal on a used tank. I had planned to rehome my guppies to my mom's spare tank and started researching what I wanted instead, when I realized I was going to need a *LOT* more room...I may be getting a 100+ gallon in the next week, lol, and of course my 10 gal I will still run as a hospital tank. My new tank will be a tropical community tank, but I'd like to try my hand at saltwater sometime waaaay down the road.

You know you need to start treating yourself for MTS when you start making plans to spread fishtanks around your future (and very hypothetical) house strategically, such that it doesn't look like you have severe MTS ("Hm, I could put on in the living room, of course, and I've always liked having one in the bedroom:the sound of water is so soothing. So of course any kids' rooms would need to have one as well, or it's just not fair. Oh, and we'll have to have a study-type room, which could really house a few tanks, and...")


This site is really an enabler for people with early MTS symptoms: so many beautiful tanks and great ideas out there!

andy65

My family's MTS hit after I bought a 10 gallon starter kit for a chain store.
Some how I found this place and I'm glad I did!
The ONLY person in the house that does not like fish is my middle brother. He HATES going into fish stores and when we all start talking about fish stuff.


Now we have 140+ gallons worth of tanks and it all stated with a little 10 gallon.

My mom has a 40 Gl community tank.
My brother has a 30 Gl to be cichlid tank.
I have a 10 Gl in my bedroom with 1 GBR,2shrimp and 1 otto.
We have a 10 Gl QT/fry tank. I am growing out some platiy fry in it now
Then there is the 35 Gl tote that has our pond fish in it. We are thinking of building a indoor pond for them.
Oh and then there is the 20 tall tank on our front porch that needs a good scrub down when the weather gets warmer.

Let me tell you this,if you have only one tank now your GOING to be getting more in the future. That is just the way MTS works.

tkfury

I was losing interest in some of the mmorpgs I play and then remembered about my father's poor 10g with just a single zebra danios, silver tip tetras and two panda cories. I took it over and within a week wanted to start a tank from scrach myself - by the time that tank was cycled I was cleaning up an old 10g and looking for a new tank stand to hold both 10g tanks. I see MTS as a realistic solution to my gaming addiction Its only been about seven months since the take over but I'm glad I enjoy fishkeeping as much as I do considering it started out of bordom.

And of course I needed to have a tank in my room but the largest I can have up there is a 5g but I'm trying to see if I can get a few of my cousins to let me help them start up so I can have some tanks to work with when I visit

0morrokh

Mine started back when I was a kid and was trying to keep goldies in a 10gal...didn't work too well but later I started missing having a tank to watch. Set up the 10gal again, tropical this time...had livebearers and otos but the otos weren't getting enough food so I had to set up another tank for them....you all know how it goes from there.

KittieKat

umm i started out by going over to my friends house to see his goldies in his 55 gal.. i couldnt help but buy fish constantly for his tank so finally he set up others and again with a short period of time he said enough was enough and we went to the store and he bought me a boy (Boyfish) and a girl (Girlfish) bettas..

of course we had no idea how to care for them and sadly Girlfish died after about a week but i took Boyfish home in a 1 gal..

went to the store saw another betta i thought was cute, bought another tank... etc etc have 8 random sized tanks running right now and a couple not..

most recently bought a 5 gal for the last 2 male bettas but the divider didnt hold up and they fought so i had to split them into 2 tanks again.... ugh!

i heart fishies!!!

MissMTS

I have always been fascinated with underwater life. I always dragged my husbands to aqariums, tidepools, etc. Finally I decided to buy myself a 10 gallon tank in October. Like most newbies, I got a bunch of fish that would get way to big for a 10 gallon, and that weren't compatible. I took them back to the store and got fish that would work better (a dwarf gourami and a few platies). I started reading books on aquariums and did a LOT of research. I realized how many possibilities there were and I was addicted! I live in a 1 bedroom apt. right now while we are saving to buy a house. I don't have any space for one huge tank, like I wanted, so....... I started adding one small tank here, and one small tank there. My biggest tank (40 gallon) was my Christmas present from my hubby. He made me promise no more tanks.....yeah right Right now we have four 29 gallons, two 10 gallons, one 40 gallon, one 3 gallon. I honestly don't know where I would put another one. Seriously though, I love the idea of creating different biotypes with different unique combinations of fish and decor. It amazes me and it truly is an art.

HatchetHaven