Fish keeping longevity and why

[pacu mom]

I had an elderly cat who would doze off at her water dish. I thought I would get a gold fish to liven up her day. LFS said that bettas could live in a fish bowl, so got a betta and named him Fredrick Franklin. Put his bowl on the floor to amuse the cat. She didn't notice him. He became my fish. I had bettas on my kitchen counter and at work for many years. One day in the summer of 2005 I came home to the sound of running water in the living room. My husband had come across the mother of yard sale finds and had brought home a 55 gallon tank with four 8" oscars, two 15" pacu and two 12" plecos. One oscar was already dying of HITH, and the others had shortened life spans. Only the pacu survived the horrific conditions they were raised in. When the last betta died, no consideration was given to replace him. When the pacu came into our lives, we catapulted into a completely different dimension of fish keeping.

 

[Jamesrazel]

I was hanging around in my lfs with some buddies. And their a saw it, a beautiful moray eel with a head bigger than my fist. It's beady eyes must have hypnotized me because ever since I've been keeping eels and polys. Hopefully getting a dragon eel in the near future.

 

[tlindsey]

My Mother brung home a gallon bowl home with a couple pairs of guppies in the early 70's been involved in Fishkeeping ever since with an break when I went into the Army.

 

[skjl47]

I had an elderly cat who would doze off at her water dish. I thought I would get a gold fish to liven up her day. LFS said that bettas could live in a fish bowl, so got a betta and named him Fredrick Franklin. Put his bowl on the floor to amuse the cat. She didn't notice him. He became my fish. I had bettas on my kitchen counter and at work for many years. One day in the summer of 2005 I came home to the sound of running water in the living room. My husband had come across the mother of yard sale finds and had brought home a 55 gallon tank with four 8" oscars, two 15" pacu and two 12" plecos. One oscar was already dying of HITH, and the others had shortened life spans. Only the pacu survived the horrific conditions they were raised in. When the last betta died, no consideration was given to replace him. When the pacu came into our lives, we catapulted into a completely different dimension of fish keeping.

Hello; I like this. I imagine this is a faulty interpertation and not what you intended. Almost sounds like you started keeping fish when the cat did not eat the goldfish you got for it. Sorry if I have misrepresented.

 

[pacu mom]

I did not expect the cat to eat the fish, but had hoped she would show an interest in it. I mean, it's pretty bad dozing off in front of your water dish. Two cats later, I did have a cat I would catch on the kitchen counter.

She would stick her head in the jar to drink the water.

 

[Wailua Boy]

My first tank was a goldfish bowl my neighbor gave me for my birthday it was 1st or 2nd grade. It was maybe 3g included blue gravel and 3 comets. I don't remember what happened to them(I blocked out the trauma lol), I'm sure I killed them shortly after. Soon after I bought a 10g, our LFS(the only one on the island at the time) closed and had to resort to collecting wild swordtails, guppies, dojo loachs, clarias catfish and a few cichlids but they turned out to be interesting tanks.

I got out of fishkeeping in my early teenage years and then returned in my late 20's and have been hopelessly addicted ever since.

 

[tomojsg]

I did not expect the cat to eat the fish, but had hoped she would show an interest in it. I mean, it's pretty bad dozing off in front of your water dish. Two cats later, I did have a cat I would catch on the kitchen counter.

She would stick her head in the jar to drink the water.

so flufffyyy...just wanna smoosh it lol haha too adorable

 

[pacu mom]

The difference between the pacu and the betta--is that my current cat will not even make eye contact with the pacu when I hold her up to see them. Both cats run out of the living room when a pacu slams into a tank lid.

 

[Wailua Boy]

I bought a aquarium a while back that had been stocked with 4 pacu, they had cracked the glass lid also

 

[pacu mom]

I believe that they can break glass. It sounds like an explosion when they crash into our acrylic lids. My boys have a somersault/death roll maneuver where they slam into the lid several times until they knock the freaked out/spook right out of themselves. They are placid, mellow fellows until their vivid imaginations freak them out. I was standing by their tank when one of them went off.....it scared me too. The freak outs are extremely violent with water landing on the floor up to 10' away. When the fish are moved, the wood floor will have to refinished.