Hey all,
Want to say a hello to all you fish keepers out there. I am quite new to the hobby having just purchased my 4th fish, and first tank yesterday.
I got into aquariums many years ago. I used to sit and watch the dolphins at Seaworld for hours on end. One visit I wandered over to the stingray area and did not move for a long time. Immediately after arriving near an internet comp, I started looking into these amazing creatures.
Found little and misleading information at the time, and went back to look a few years later (two yrs ago now) and found that many people started posting better websites with info and pics.
Now that I have decided to get many many Rays (and some small sharks too) it became important that I learn how to keep tanks. So I started small. I got a male betta (blue), named Vincent, and a small bowl about three months ago. Last Sunday my gf, emily, and I came home from a weekend trip and he was gone. Absolutely missing. There was only enough water missing for the volume of a fish and some evaporation (so no paws got stuck in) nothing on my dresser was disturbed, and nothing in the department was disturbed.
So now I say, he didn't die, he wasn't eaten. So I start looking around the floor...all week. I pulled apart furniture, moved everything around, swept and got very confused. An 8 foot radius around his bowl has been deemed fish free.
Needless to say, I felt it was time to get more fish. As I was contemplating getting a tank to move my Betta over, it was a fairly quick and easy decision. So I went down to the fish store and started looking around.
I decided on a 10G tank with a common Pleco and two bala Sharks and we spent the evening getting their tank ready. The Pleco seemed quite upset until he found a rock to hide behind, and the sharks quickly found joy in exploring every corner.
We went to sleep.
This morning my Pleco was nowhere to be found. Shuffling around in the dark I kicked something and looked down to see a dark spot about the size and shape of my brand new fish. He had apparently come up for air and popped right out of my tank. There is an inch or so on either side of my filter that I was going to plug with some mesh netting today. Guess I waited too long.
I think I may go to another store today (my reg one is closed Sundays) and pick up a new Pleco. The tank looks so empty with just the two fish.
So that's my fishy background so far. I look forward to talking with all of you. Thanks for listening to my story.
-Adam S.-
Want to say a hello to all you fish keepers out there. I am quite new to the hobby having just purchased my 4th fish, and first tank yesterday.
I got into aquariums many years ago. I used to sit and watch the dolphins at Seaworld for hours on end. One visit I wandered over to the stingray area and did not move for a long time. Immediately after arriving near an internet comp, I started looking into these amazing creatures.
Found little and misleading information at the time, and went back to look a few years later (two yrs ago now) and found that many people started posting better websites with info and pics.
Now that I have decided to get many many Rays (and some small sharks too) it became important that I learn how to keep tanks. So I started small. I got a male betta (blue), named Vincent, and a small bowl about three months ago. Last Sunday my gf, emily, and I came home from a weekend trip and he was gone. Absolutely missing. There was only enough water missing for the volume of a fish and some evaporation (so no paws got stuck in) nothing on my dresser was disturbed, and nothing in the department was disturbed.
So now I say, he didn't die, he wasn't eaten. So I start looking around the floor...all week. I pulled apart furniture, moved everything around, swept and got very confused. An 8 foot radius around his bowl has been deemed fish free.
Needless to say, I felt it was time to get more fish. As I was contemplating getting a tank to move my Betta over, it was a fairly quick and easy decision. So I went down to the fish store and started looking around.
I decided on a 10G tank with a common Pleco and two bala Sharks and we spent the evening getting their tank ready. The Pleco seemed quite upset until he found a rock to hide behind, and the sharks quickly found joy in exploring every corner.
We went to sleep.
This morning my Pleco was nowhere to be found. Shuffling around in the dark I kicked something and looked down to see a dark spot about the size and shape of my brand new fish. He had apparently come up for air and popped right out of my tank. There is an inch or so on either side of my filter that I was going to plug with some mesh netting today. Guess I waited too long.
I think I may go to another store today (my reg one is closed Sundays) and pick up a new Pleco. The tank looks so empty with just the two fish.
So that's my fishy background so far. I look forward to talking with all of you. Thanks for listening to my story.
-Adam S.-
