Aquarium keeping experience in years?

Mike

Mike

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I think it would be neat to see the experience levels of the members posting these days...
 

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I've been keeping fish for around eight years, and snails for just over nine.
 
1967 - 1977
1983 - 1993
1998 - present
First time I've ever totaled up the fish keeping years. More years than I thought.
 
I've had aquariums for yrs but im not sure how experienced I am, Im always learning something new.
 
I have been keeping fish since a young age but a year or two ago was when I really got into it.
 

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İt's been 40 years since I officially owned my first tank. Learning was slow in the pre-internet years (dark ages). İt has become exponential after dedicated sites, forums and clubs were established. I have met so many extremely (first-hand) knowledgable people, so I think my 40 years doesn't equate to pure experience and knowledge, but I get by.
 
I think I have been keeping fish for at least 13 years, not counting the years my parents had a fish tank when I was young, haha.
 
My step father kept Angels for awhile when I was a kid (early to mid 90s) and I helped with the maintenance, but that mostly consisted of carrying buckets of water. I don't really count that other than I knew what all went into keeping fish alive from watching him. I got my first set up (the classic Petco Oscar in a 29G) around 2000, and he lived for 5 years, I did upgrade him to a 55 after the first year. Keeping him gave me the experience that I base a lot of my habits off of today... keeping the water clean and avoiding fixes that come in a bottle. After I lost him, I took a break till around 2010, then went hard and heavy into blackwater biotopes (Rio Negro & SE Asia) for a few years, until I moved into a townhouse that wouldn't let us keep tanks. I got back into it last year, riiiight before Covid locked everything down. This time has seemed so much easier and enjoyable. Between modern aquarium tech, and not holding myself to strict biotope rules, I've really been able to just roll with it. All totaled, I'm right around 10 / 11 years.
 

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I got my first fish as a carnival goldfish in 2015... I kept other fish after that, but I didn't really start to learn about them and actually give proper care for them until 2017ish, so I don't consider what came before that as experience. I'm still a newb to a lot of concepts and there's a lot to learn here
 
I got into this hobby later in life than a lot of y'all. I got my first 10 gallon tank mid '85. That one grew to 3-10 gallon, 1-5.5 gallon plus storage tote breeding tanks. Eventually I broke down the 5.5 and breeding totes and combined all the 10 gallons into one 55 gallon. I broke the 55 down in 2009 after a heater failure. I set the 55 back up 2015 and the 5.5 soon after.

Right now I have the 55, the 5.5, a 12 gallon storage tote for baby plecos, 2.5 gallon snail jar and 2.5 gallon shrimp bowl. Eventually I will break down the storage tote.
 
I first had fish in 1996. I was 14 and given bad advice so they were not kept in good conditions. I had the fish for 5 years and then rehomed them. I then got a betta in 2020. Sadly he was poorly and only lived 2 weeks. I now have a betta that came with a ramshorn snail. I got them both from Gumtree. My betta attacked the snail so she has her own tank along with some offspring I was not quick enough to find when they were eggs.
 
We had a tank for a bit growing up. When I was in my early 20's we had a tank in our apartment, we just filled it up when it got down. We didn't know about water changes. You had to buy books or go to the library. They eventually died of course.

Fast forward to 1999 when a co- worker gave me a 20g tank. I got my 55g for Christmas the next year. We didn't have internet, so same situation. I knew a little more about water changes because I actually went to the library and got books. They are confusing when you don't know what you are doing. They both ran for a few years then I tore the 55 down and kept the 20 going. They were doing much better. Then we had internet and better yet!

Fast forward to 2018 when I was constantly googling things and kept coming to Fishlore so I joined because everything led me here anyway! I set my 55 back up. Just like others have said I learn new things every day here......still.

Anyway so you could say 21 years of having fish "survive" but only knowing and learning how to do it correctly for 3 years.
 
My hobby offers a big thanks to Mr. William T. Innes. Does anyone else get that reference, or am I old?
 
3.5 years but I would consider the last 2.5 years as actually fish keeping experience. Before that was just fish abuse. Then it was making a lot of mistakes and learning from that. I didn't even know about nitrogen cycle when I started this hobby.
 
1967 - 1977
1983 - 1993
1998 - present
First time I've ever totaled up the fish keeping years. More years than I thought.
Click to expand...

Kind of similar here:

1973 - 1982
1992 - 2000
2005 - present
 
For me it was brief periods around 1980 and again around 2000, but now only since September of 2019. Like others have mentioned, I'm much better informed now. Previously I was not only uninformed, but I wasn't even aware of it.
 
I had a large 40 gallon tank growing up that my dad primarily cared for but I helped all the time. Definitely wasn't as aware of the nitrogen cycle or tank cycling, we just had an established one we cared for together for 3 years. I also had a 5 gallon betta tank during that time. Since then, no fish! Now I'm getting back into it, and am excited because the company I work for wants a large display tank for the office and would love if I could help with that. Not there yet, but maybe by September!
 
My hobby offers a big thanks to Mr. William T. Innes. Does anyone else get that reference, or am I old?
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This? 54C4156F-6605-43B7-B907-7B38DEA124F8.jpegI had a first edition but threw it away when my wife gave me this .

Started in 72 with a 10g and a small corner filter with floss and carbon run by an air pump. Had an electric heater that was full of sand . Than a 35g with a slate bottom (still have it). Sometime in the late 70s I bought an all new type of filter the hob. And yes an aquaclear. Than an ehime canister. Than in 88 I got into discus. They were new than. Had an 80g show tank with a wet/dry filter. The filter cost the same than as it does now! That’s how expensive they were. Stayed with discus till 04 running a 200g with that same ehime and wet/dry and a new fluval canister. Unfortunately that 200 broke and I stepped back for a while. Always had tanks but nothing crazy. Finding this place got me back into it again. Yes I blame fishlore . And thanks .
 

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This?View attachment 765136
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Only select bookstores had these books where I grew up and they were very expensive, at least for my junior high stipend. I used go to the store and flip through them while I was there and try to memorize as much as I could and enjoy the fascinating pictures.
 
Only select bookstores had these books where I grew up and they were very expensive, at least for my junior high stipend. I used go to the store and flip through them while I was there and try to memorize as much as I could and enjoy the fascinating pictures.
Click to expand...
6 years. Do you know where I can get his book. I can never find it on Amazon, and from what I've read on here and in reviews it's really good. By the way I just wanted to put it out there that the best selling Amazon fish book is about dog training.
 
6 years. Do you know where I can get his book. I can never find it on Amazon, and from what I've read on here and in reviews it's really good. By the way I just wanted to put it out there that the best selling Amazon fish book is about dog training.
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Not sure. I don't collect books anymore. The only one I flip through occasionally is the Baensch Aq. Atlas, and that is for the pictures.
 
4 years this month and counting.
Still consider myself a "Novice" compared to most, but...
learning everyday.
As mentioned, searching the internet kept bringing me to "Fishlore". Decided to join to ask specific questions. My son could not believe I joined a "Forum" and also a "Fish" club.
 
I love this thread! I also had some fish keeping experience in the 80s and 90s, and am appalled in hindsight in terms of how terrible I was. I’m glad I am not alone. In my 10 gallon tank, I committed pretty much every offense:
* way overstocked
* I mixed barbs in with peaceful fish
* I had a common pleco
* my cleaning routine consisted of netting out all the fish, emptying and replacing ALL the water
* I can’t recall having a filter - what was even used back then?
* no clue about the nitrogen cycle

I remember killing quite a few fish!

I’m about 18 months in this time around, and it’s so much better having resources like fishlore to help!
 
I can't remember exactly when I started but I searched my old Yahoo email and found orders of fish stuff from 2002. I found pictures of fish I still have from 2003 so some are at least 18 years old.

More fish died in the first 8 months than the last 8 years.
 
It's interesting to see how the experience is so evenly spread out. I was definitely expecting newer members (below the 2 year range)
 
I'm just a newbie in fishkeeping. The reason why I join this forum is to learn a lot from this hobby
 
43 years. My father built a 20 gallon tank into the wall of my bedroom.

Really had no idea what I was doing but I learned quick.
I remember going to the library to get books on keeping tropical fish.
 
This is the book I had before I started actually keeping fish. It was relatively cheap, yet quite inclusive of every aspect of freshwater fishkeeping. It sold for $3 at the local aquarium shop. That was 1966, and it took another year before I got an actual aquarium. I don't measure my fishkeeping time in years, I count decades - five of them.
Innes 19th.JPG
 

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I've been in it for about 3 years, ever since I joined the forum more or less. There's SO much to learn here and I look forward to learning from you guys more through the years.
 
This is the book I had before I started actually keeping fish. It was relatively cheap, yet quite inclusive of every aspect of freshwater fishkeeping. It sold for $3 at the local aquarium shop. That was 1966, and it took another year before I got an actual aquarium. I don't measure my fishkeeping time in years, I count decades - five of them.
View attachment 766500
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So you are 55+ I have trouble believing that.
 
Well I’ve been keeping fish for almost five years now but I only gained real interest in the hobby about two to three years ago. My first tank wasn’t well maintained but I upgraded it and started caring more diligently upon gaining an interest in fish.
 
I had my first fish, a carnival goldie, when I was 10 years old. That is 47 years ago and I still have not found the cure to having too many aquariums
 

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