Member Spotlight on TheEssigs
Online Aquarium Fish Magazine | Member Spotlight - TheEssigs
Introduction

Don and I began fish keeping Easter weekend of 2007. We thought that getting our children a pet for Easter would be much better than just 3 baskets of candy. We decided on a fish tank. (12 Tanks later - I'd say the joke is on us!)
So, off to pet store we went and picked up our first tank, a Marineland Eclipse Hex Five fish tank. On the box it pictured 6 fancy goldfish, so we thought "Great! We can get three goldfish, one for each kid and have room to spare." Little did we know (literally)... and boy, were we about to find out.
Since then it has been a whirlwind of experiences. Everything from beginner mishaps to full blown multiple tank syndrome. It has been quite an adventure. Finding FishLore was a great discovery. Not only did we find a community of fish lovers, that didn't think we were totally nuts, but we found an immense resource of information and advice.
Aquariums
- 2 Gallon Eclipse Acrylic Explorer
- 2.5 Gallon All Glass QT (empty)
- 5 Gallon Eclipse Acrylic Corner
- 6 Gallon Eclipse Acrylic Bow Front
- 10 Gallon All Glass
- 20 Gallon All Glass (to be replaced with a 30 gallon or so corner tank)
- 26 Gallon All Glass Bow Front
- 40 Gallon Wide Breeder
- 45 Gallon Tall All Glass
- 46 Gallon All Glass Bow Front
- 65 Gallon All Glass
- 125 Gallon All Glass (work in progress)
Recently we had an issue with our 26 gallon. In early December we did major reconstruction. We removed the fish, added new decor, did a 50% gravel vac and the tank mini-cycled. Since then, we have had a bacterial bloom that had morphed into unsightly green water. We believe it was a combination of the bloom, overfeeding and too much light. Since the water parameters, according to our API master test kit, were all in the normal range, to remedy the problem, we had lessened the light by few hours, did small, but frequent, water changes and had added a phosphate filter pad. The situation improved, but it was a slow process. We finally have a clear tank. Fish
The Fish
- Barbs: Tiger Barbs
- Bettas: Crowntail & Splendens
- Catfish: Asian Bumblebee, Corydora, Glass, Otocinclus, Plecos, Raphael & Spotted Pictus
- Cichlids: Acei, Angelfish, Convict Cichlids, German Blue Ram, Jack Dempsey & Oscar
- Characins: Silver Dollar
- Eels: Striped Peacock
- Goldfish: Comet, Ryunkin & Shubunkin
- Labyrinth: Blue Dwarf Gourami, Gold Gourami & Opaline Gourami
- Livebearers: Endlers, Mollys, Platys, Swordtails & Varitus
- Loaches: Clown Loaches & Golden Dojos
- Oddball Fish: Banded Leporinus
- Sharks: Bala sharks & Columbian shark
- Snails: Mystery Snails
- Tetras: Bloodfin tetras, Head and Tail Light tetra, Neon tetras & Pristella tetras
Future Plans
Fish and Aquarium Photos
Acknowledgements
I would also like to thank FishLore. This site has been an invaluable resource. Kudos to the Administration (Mike) and the Moderators for creating and maintaining such an enjoyable, safe environment to obtain information, exchange ideas and to give or get advice.
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