How old were you when you started keeping fish?

Just wondering  ;D I was 14.

Gwenz

 

I was 3 I think. Me and my sister have always had goldfish. but unfortualtely we never took good care of them. its just in the past 2 years I have become really interested in fish.

 

I was about 17 years old, and had a 30 gallon tank, tropical fish swordtails and angel fish.

 

I think I started around 12 when I got my own room. I didnt know much, neither did my parents so I spent many years not taking very good care..didnt know about the nitrogen cycle and had many deaths. Although some how by accident I managed to have a bala shark in a 5 gallon for like 5 years with 4 other fish. Then they all got fungus and died. But now I know a lot more and my fish are MUCH happier for it.

 

my fish did not die often in my 30 gallon tank , I has some live plants 2 angels 1 pleco and 2 swords
they did fine. I had no cue eather about cycling. until now.

 

probably about 12.I haven't been keeping them since then.I just started back in the past 3 years or so.

 

I started when I was about 21 - 22 I'm 24 now - so that hasn't been so long ... but still, I feel like I have learned so much during such a short period of time. Most of the learning can be attributed to this wonderful forum

 

I started at 13 when my grandpa died and somebody had to take his fish tanks so I got one. Didn't know much about cycling but didn't kill any fish.

 

15 after annoying dad, as he used to have one!

 

I used 2 hav goldfish when I was like 5 but then fulltime when I was 16/17

C W

 

Okay I will admit to being ancient. I was 55 when I bought my first fish from my cousin for my 56th birthday. It was a Beautiful Blue Betta and of course I made the horrible mistake of putting him in a BETTA BOWL. I took him out of the thing within a week and gave him a 5 gallon tank as I couldn't stand to see him in that tiny thing. I have literally learned everything I know about keeping fish from the wonderful people I have met here and the information they have steered me to. I do love this site.

Rose

 

I was 7 when my sister and I got our goldfish. After that, we were addicted. When I was 10, Dad bought me a 10 gallon tank and some guppys. I loved them, but if I had known about Bettas back then, I would have had one of them.

S.

 

I was about 7ish.
I always had siamese fighting fish in a ½gallon tank now i'm up to a 10 gallon tank with almost 20 mollies iin it

 

I started with a 10G when I was about 22. I've always loved cichlids as my grandma who lived near Chicago bread them and had two houses full of tanks!!!

 

I used to have goldfish in a bowl in my room when I was 5 or 6 then aged 11 I got my first like 7gallon tank with coldwater fish which I kept for years until they got too big and went into my neighbours massive pond, then about 2 months ago I went tropical and it is one of the best investments I have ever made!
I love my tank!
-My parents didnt get it until I got the new light which showed up the smaller fish to perfection and now they understand how beautiful a tank can be!

-But there is always room for more....

 

Well, I killed who knows how many Goldfish and a few other fish between the ages of like 6 and 11. :'( When I was I think 13 I decided to keep tropicals, but I actually did a bunch of research and found this site so I know how to keep fish properly now.

 

I got my tank 1 day before my 13th B-day, so it could get cycled, and then 2-3 weeks (how am I supposed to remember? ???) I got my first fish! (Orion, who's still going strong!) I'm still 13

 

I actually started when I was around 8. One of my neighbours gave away his guppy fries. And I had the chance to have one. I kept it in a 1/2 litre bottle without knowing much about the conditions fishes require. It died soon after.

I still remember those days..

 

I had 2 goldfish at about 6 in a plastic tank - if I could call it that

My first fish though where 2 tiger oscars Balloo an Chico

They lived for about 5 years from when I was 9 to 14

 

I was 8 for my first gold fish tank, and then 15 when I started getting other type of fish. (mostly betas)

 

I got started about 2 months ago, I'm 13 years old.

 

I'm the same as Lokky.Funky...when I was 4 we moved into a house that had a pond full of wild guppies in africa. I used to catch them in tubs and sit and watch them for hours and then my dad bought us a big tank for the house so we had some guppies, a khulI loach, some angels and a few others that I don't remember. I used to catch tadpoles and put them in the tank too and when they grew legs I would put some lillies in the water so they could sit on them until they were TEEENY frogs and then we would put them outside When we moved to Singapore we had to leave the tank but Dad bought us a small tank for our flat and he also bought us a terrapin! I had numerous fish there but because I had such a small tank and very little knowledge they died off until I started reading. Some of the pet stores in singapore were appalling > Then we moved to England and my first pet was a black moor who lived about 7 years - he was cool

 

iv had some goldfish, and bettas at different times when I was little... I just started my first "real" (according to my mom its only a real fish tank if its tropical fish with a heater...) fish tank a few weeks ago (I'm 14)

 

My family moved into a house when I was 10 that had a 50 gallon tank installed into the wall with the open end in my bedroom. The fish were included. My father knew nothing about keeping tropical fish and the tank was overstocked with Gouramis, tetras, Angel fish, Mollys, Swordtails, Tiger Barbs, Algae eaters and more. We knew nothing about testing water or anything. My father cleaned the filter when needed and that was about it. Occasional gravel vacumning and new water was added right from the tap, no water conditioning. (This was in the early 70's) We rarely had fish deaths and many of the fish lived a LONG time. One of our Kissing Gouramis lived about 12 years and it was enormous and fully grown when we got it!

I bought myself a 5 gallon tank with my allowance and two goldfish (a fantail and a black moor). I had a filter in the tank and used plain tap water. When I needed to clean the tank I just filled the bathroom sink (clean) up with water and put the fish in there while I cleaned the tank. I knew nothing about cycling a tank or that you shouldn't wash the gravel etc. My goldfish lived at least 10 years. Considering what I know now about caring for fish it makes me wonder how our tropical fish and my goldfish survived! 

 

I was only 3....But, I'm pretty sure most of the looking after was done by my dad ;D

 

I got started when I was 6. I got those feeder goldfishes. Back then, I was a little dumb. I started researching for 3 months since I was 11. I got an aquarium and got 2 mollies and 3 guppies. All died except for 1 guppy from ich. Then I stopped being a fish fanatic for a while. Then 2 months later I did more research and now have a lot of tanks. The surviving guppy is still alive right now.

 

Started in college because I liked my buddie's fish and wanted to have some of my own. We were originally going to get hermit crabs, but fish are cooler looking and more active!

 

I had them since I was 2.

 

i've started 6 months ago!!!

 

I kept a piranha when I was in college at about age 18. Got him when he was a baby and had him for quite a long time. He was about the size of my hand when he died. My wife and I were dating at the time and she does NOT miss the piranha. Too much of a messy eater for her!

 

28!!!! bit late eh!!! not as late as rose though hehehe!!!!
we always had dogs, cats, rabbits etc, loads of animals but never fish (except pond fish like golden orf and koi carp etc) when I was growing up. then when I got a place with my husband we had chinchillas and a dog. the dog died a couple of yrs ago, so to console our son (who was besotted with her - we all were) we got some guinea pigs. then my son had an anaphylactic (life threatening allergic reaction) reaction to our guinea pig last october, so we had to re-home all of our animals, then after xmas we got some fish as its the only pet we can have now. I never thought i'd enjoy it this much and I certainly didnt realise how much there was to learn!! furry pets are certainly more straightforward!!! its very odd not having furry pets anymore my mum and my dad (divorced) both have farms and my friends all had farms, so I was brought up with having animals and pets around. I think its important for children to understand how to respect animals and how they depend on you and how to care for them etc. shame that won't be quite the same for my kids as it was for me, but the risk is too high to even consider it. :'( so tanks will take over our house instead to make up for it!! if it wasn't for my sons anaphylaxis I really don't think i'd ever have considered fish! I used to watch my grandfathers tank for hours when I was younger, but didnt have a clue about fish and how to look after them! thank goodness I found this site!!!
Tan

 

When I was about 12 my parents bought a 10 gallon tank for my younger brother and I watched a lot of fish die. So I was never allowed to have my own tank because my parents decided it was just too much work. I had hamsters, guinea pig, dogs, a cat and iguanas. Well around 13-14 I won a little goldfish at a carnival and I had no where to keep it so I filled a plastic shoebox with some water and kept it in there. I got a small bottle of goldfish flakes and fed it. I changed the water except a very small amount whenever it looked bad or smalled bad. My little Tiger lasted almost 2 years although he never grew very big.

I bought my son a betta fish when he was about 5 after an unfortunate accident with a very nippy hamster. I didn't take very good care of the little guy and was very, very amazed it lived 1 1/2 yrs in a little hex shaped tank that was maybe a liter in size.

So now here I am 30 yrs old and I finally got my first real tank =) I have 6 Danios so far and once the cycling is totally complete and stable I'll get more fishies, but every day I change my mind of what type as I get more and more information and education.

 

Curious to see what your age was when you started your first aquarium? I'm guessing that most start their first tank in their teens... we shall see when the very scientific fishlore poll results roll in....

 

I got my first when I was 18. But my family had a tank of goldfish when I was around 8 I think, so I guess that would technically be my first. That tank makes me cringe now.

 

My family and I used to keep fish when I was young, probably when I was around the ages of 10-13. Of course, I didn't know a thing about fishkeeping and kept actual koi fish in a 29 gallon thinking it was okay. After I graduated from middle school, I took a hiatus from aquariums. However, the age where I started to take fishkeeping seriously was when I was 17, when I got inspired by watching aquarium videos.

 

We had a small goldfish tank when I was young but Mom took care of maintenance so I don't count that. I think I had another small tank in my early teens but I really got the bug when I was 24.

 

We had a tank when I was in Jr high and I really don't remember my parents ever changing water. There was a goldfish and a common pleco in there for a long time. They ended up being around 6-7 inches long each and I think my stepdad put them in our creek out front. So sad. My tanks started in the 90's and I had no idea how to do them. Fish died you went and got more. My current 55 gallon I got about 10 yrs ago and had issues and took it down and went back to my 20 gallon nightmare of Cyano. In May of 2018 I put my 55 back up and joined Fishlore. It has been a MUCH better experienced owning my current "second job my husband calls it"

 

Not sure how old I was but given that I had it for several years and dismantled it the year before we moved, and we moved when I was 12. Uhh, probably when I was 7 or 8?
Multiple tanks actually, I bred guppies aside from the "main" tank with "fancy fish" like a totally inappropriately housed pleco ("black algae eater"), two black mollies that I thought were egglayers from an aquarium book I had misidentified them in, a school of 6 neons or so and at some point a goldfish as well. Did I mention this tank was 12 gallons?
Yup.
Looking back most (aside from the goldfish) actually lasted bizarrely long. The mollies and neons and pleco lived at least 2-3 years, considering that I "vacation fed" them a fistful of flakes when I went away and wouldn't have known what a cycle was if you had made me drink all the tank water in search of it.

I still have that 12 gallon btw, up and running.

 

My parents always had 2 tanks. When I turned 12 they bought me my 1st 20 gallon long.

 

My first "aquarium" was when I was probably around 9 and gotten a triop growing kit. It was just a shallow container with some sand in it.