To young and old

[Joshuakahan]

I came back into the hobby in 2015 after an absence of about 20 years away from it. I've never spoken about my first stint in the hobby (from about 1985 to 1994), but I was thinking about it the other day and i'll be honest with you, I haven't got a clue how I got by back then.

No Internet back then so no fishkeeping forum to guide me, no you tube for tutorials and no googling fish species. Any info you needed on fish was by relying on and trusting the guys at the LFS, and we know how hit and miss that can be, or by books.

And this lack of vital information that is at the tips of our fingers nowadays, that wasn't there for me back then, occasionally manifested itself during my attempts to keep fish. I did have some success, it wasn't all failure otherwise I would have just packed it in completely never to return.

That brief trip down memory lane has made me realise just how fortunate we are nowadays.

I'm 52 but I know there are older members on the forum. How did you guys get by compared to the simplicity of modern day?

And you young pups, do you actually ever wonder what it was like in the hobby before the days of fish forums, you tube tutorials, on line purchasing or researching fish, all at the simple press of a keyboard button?

My first real tank was in 1886 when I was 12, I had a few fish bowls and amphibian tanks prior to that, and my only source of info was from the “ sales people” at various lsf.
So I ended up having
1 oscar
1 clown knife
I African brown knife
2 Dempseys
1 convict
1 blue gourami
1 common pleco
1 pacu
There were a couple more fish I can’t remember too
In a 20 gallom
All were bought at around 2” and it actually sorta worked longer than I would think, then i up graded to a 60 when most were in the 4”-6” range and the “sales person” said I have room for more fish with the 60 and I added a green terror. That tank actually worled like that for about 6 or so more months. Then I traded everything back to the lsf for 1/4 credit after I found a book and realized how big they were all gonna get. I only lost the African knife out of all that. But I used the credit to go salt and I read a 300 page book prior to going salt and that’s when I actually learned about fish keeping and learned about the cycle, BB etc... and learned it’s more than stuffing fish into a box and keeping water clear and glass wiped down. New hobbyists really should have success with sites like this and the web in general. Now you don’t have to ask the lsf employees anything, just google the fish you’re interested in.

 

[Joshuakahan]

I was 7 with a five gallon, drooling over my big brothers huge 20 that you could fit a whale in. The swamp behind our house provided a variety of experiences and I dreamed of a six foot tank

Now I must stay content with my tiny 450 and live vicariously through so many of my MFK brethren

Damn, I’ll live vicariously thru you with a 450, I had a hookup for a nice acrylic 220 with stand for around $250 and my wife nixed it since my tanks have to fit in way that doesn’t interfere with decorating, so my biggest is a 120... for now. Still negotiating lol

 

[fishhead0103666]

My first real tank was in 1886 when I was 12

Hmm, 2020 - (1886-12) = 146

“The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment(1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days”

List of the verified oldest people - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Apply to set or break a record

Here you will find all the information you need to help you through the process of setting or breaking a record title.

www.guinnessworldrecords.com

 

[Joshuakahan]

Hmm, 2020 - (1886-12) = 146

“The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment(1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days”

List of the verified oldest people - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Apply to set or break a record

Here you will find all the information you need to help you through the process of setting or breaking a record title.

www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Lol oops on that one

 

[FESHMAN]

Hmm, 2020 - (1886-12) = 146

“The oldest person ever whose age has been independently verified is Jeanne Calment(1875–1997) of France, who lived to the age of 122 years, 164 days”

List of the verified oldest people - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Apply to set or break a record

Here you will find all the information you need to help you through the process of setting or breaking a record title.

www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Shhh... He's secretly a vampire.

 

[FJB]

I was born in 1958, and my mother was an avid aquarist, and had many metal frame, slate bottom, tar-jointed aquaria, as well as above ground cement-sided small 'ponds'. She was into breeding many fish, but mainly danios, goldfish, gouramis, paradise fish, guppies and mollies, but also had some success with angels, at a time when this was considered a major feat.
The first tank called my own was a 29g (I assess from memory), about the time my mom was quitting fish; I may have been 10 or so. There was no use of dechlorinator, water was just 'aired' overnight. I don't believe there was chloramine in Colombia at the time. Most filters were air driven, ugf, and in-tank box filters, as well as some HOB air-driven contraptions. However, there were some motorized Supreme and something(?_-King, which were major innovations and relatively expensive. Aireator noise was music you just had to have, and air pumps (mostly Metaframe) were the standard. Water changes, salt and methylene blue were the most common medicines employed. No heaters were used where I grew up, but my aunt in Bogota did have inmersion heathers (lower glass part) that screwed secure to the aquarium rim (again, mostly Metaframe). Few lights were used, mostly you lit the rooms instead, or fish were in open areas of the otherwise open homes possible in warm climate. Among the best lessons I learned from my mom were 'never buy fish at night' ('cause you could't see them well to assess their health; she also practiced the 'if in doubt, do a water change'. All information came from books and from the experience of other fish keepers, which helped each other as much as today. Some of that wisdom (not all) is still sound.

 

[skjl47]

lessons I learned from my mom were 'never buy fish at night' ('cause you could't see them well to assess their health; she also practiced the 'if in doubt, do a water change'.

Hello; Sound advice both. Let me add one of my own lessons. I now look at all tanks on display in a shop. If is see ich in any of them I generally do not buy anything from that shop. It can however depend on the answer I get from the clerk. I will usually point out that I spotted ich in a tank and watch and listen for the reaction. If it has been a good shop and they tell me they already know about the outbreak, I may buy if the QT procedures seem proper.
Regardless all new fish go into a long QT at my home.

 

[BigBeardDaHuZi]

My first real tank was in 1886 when I was 12,

The things we do in the dark fishroom

 

[The Masked Shadow]

Apply to set or break a record

Here you will find all the information you need to help you through the process of setting or breaking a record title.

www.guinnessworldrecords.com

Haha!!

These threads are cool, because you can learn the history of mods and people who have been on MFK forever. Very cool thread. Love it!

I also have a question. Who has the largest tank (besides A arapaimag 's 50,000 g)?

 

[JAYBIRD1011]

This was my main source of information and woe for years and years. Lots of good information and some wildly outdated and inaccurate information also. I still have it and treasure it for sentimental reasons. However I have learned more on this forum and experienced better success than I ever did in the years before. Water changes are the biggest difference in my methods. And canister filters replacing the HOB type was a game changer.