Origins, How did you get started in this hobby?

[cranberry]

There was a little boy from deep in the Valley, who was in hospital waiting for his kidney transplant. Going home was not an option because there were no pediatric hemodialysis services anywhere near him.
His mom had other children and would have to leave for a few days a week and go tend to them.... we arranged this with my schedule so I could go be with him on my days off. It was a lovely 3 months of this routine.
He never had much growing up and every day we had a new thing to do... the volcano in the picture, all the different science "tricks" like sucking an egg into a bottle... pop rocks, he thought they were a riot. So then I bought him a Betta to look after.
Well, then one day he got the call and had to be rushed to another city for his long awaited kidney.... I got left with the fish.
Long story short.... from the Betta fish I went to setting up a 44g seahorses tank. Darn Betta fish.
I grew up on an island and my peeps were fisherman. I stayed on very small fishing islands during summer breaks, going out with my uncle on calm days while he taught me all about fish and respect for the sea. Man those were good ole days.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3172348
There was a little boy from deep in the Valley, who was in hospital waiting for his kidney transplant. Going home was not an option because there were no pediatric hemodialysis services anywhere near him.
His mom had other children and would have to leave for a few days a week and go tend to them.... we arranged this with my schedule so I could go be with him on my days off. It was a lovely 3 months of this routine.
He never had much growing up and every day we had a new thing to do... the volcano in the picture, all the different science "tricks" like sucking an egg into a bottle... pop rocks, he thought they were a riot. So then I bought him a Betta to look after.

Well, then one day he got the call and had to be rushed to another city for his long awaited kidney.... I got left with the fish.
Long story short.... from the Betta fish I went to setting up a 44g seahorses tank. Darn Betta fish.
I grew up on an island and my peeps were fisherman. I stayed on very small fishing islands during summer breaks, going out with my uncle on calm days while he taught me all about fish and respect for the sea. Man those were good ole days.
Great story and great pic. I even noticed the little boy and volcano I pray he is doing well

Note to Henry. Aren't you always looking for ways to erupt your own volcano

 

[cranberry]

Aw Dood, you quoted the pic.... I was gonna remove it later. LOL.

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3172359
Aw Dood, you quoted the pic.... I was gonna remove it later. LOL.
Yes cranberry...very nice pic...for a while I thought you were just a set of hands with clean fingernails

 

[cranberry]

Bahahahahahaha!

 

[spanko]

You know I would normally succumb to Joe's lead in. However this story touches me so much as I have had a cancerous tumor in my left kidney and have had the kidney removed. All is well except I only have one kidney now and always think about what is to become of me if this one fails as I age.
Renee that is a beautiful story. I know you talk once in a while about your work but I never would have guessed the level of your committment. ******bows*******

 

[cranberry]

The kids make it easy man. If you can live with the sad moments of the population I work with... the rewards are HUGE!
The best times were our Day Passes. When I applied for them I told him I wasn't sure we were going to get them. We did. To make it fun, I told him we didn't but that we were going to be all Mission Impossible like and sneak out. His giggles bouncing off the back stairway.... I can't say enough. Him telling his adventures to his mom at the end of the night as I tucked him in.... OMG Henry, it's really a moment to treasure.
I'm a fun nurse.... I'm the one that makes faces behind the doctor to make a kid smile. That breaks into the kitchen and waves to the camera to get a kid his Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. But I'm also the one left with a broken heart when things don't go as I want them to.......
OMG! I could babble on forever... My mind is racing with all my old memories.

 

[nysharkbait]

My father is retired Air Force. We spent 6 years in Hawaii from '85-'91. He was an avid diver and one day decided to bring the ocean home. He started a 30g saltwater tank, complete with seahorses (loved watching them bob around). Well time past and we moved and he got rid of the tank. Fast forward 13 years. I was stationed in Guam from '04-'06. Followed my father's lead and became an avid diver. Loved swimming around the spotted eagle rays and parrot fish and groupers. There is just something to be said for the serenity of the ocean. So, once I moved back to NY and bought a perminent house, I decided it was time to bring the ocean back home. So here I am, preparing to start on this endevour. Hopefully I'll be able to show my progress and learn from the wealth of knowledge this site has to offer.

 

[socalnano24]

I've had freshwater tanks since I was five. Started with a few goldfish, and after a few fair visits (and playing lots of those ping pong ball games with the little fish bowls) ended up with like 20 feeder gold fish.
This progressed to amazon fish by the time I was 12, mainly tetras, scissors and plecos.
I kept to the community tank until about a a year ago.
Then I got my scuba lisence and went to visit my friend at the Cook islands who collects wild saltwaterfish and exports them internationally.
This got my spark started.
Then a former coworker bought an 8 gallon salt water tank at work and that kind of sealed the deal.
He made fun of the fact that he always knew it was 3 pm because I'd stop by to look at his tank.
Anyways now I have my 24 nano, and a 40 gallon waiting to be setup. I love this hobby, just wish I had more real life friends that keep fish. This is my only source for reef aquarists!

 

[spanko]

Great stuff. Thanx for sharing Renee!!!!
On the other side..............................Hey Joe.......didya feel that tremor!!!!!!!!!!

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/3172451
Great stuff. Thanx for sharing Renee!!!!
On the other side..............................Hey Joe.......didya feel that tremor!!!!!!!!!!

In my heart I just knew you could not resist

 

[richl]

My start is interesting. Shortly after I got married, my wife wanted me to take her to a store to buy a fish tank. Looked in the yellow pages and found a LFS not far from home. Assumed we would get something about one square foot. Ended up buying a 6 foot long 125 gal tank and beautiful cherry wood cabinetry. Money was no object. Started out with freshwater fish for about 6 months, but she killed them off shortly after she added 12 fish in one day. We separated and divorced about 16 months ago and I was left with the fish tank. I always admired the saltwater fish in the LFS, so I decided to start fresh on my own. I've learned a lot since then and I really enjoy the hobby. My fish are beautiful. They take a lot of my time and cost a lot to maintain, but they don't talk back. Ha Ha.

 

[novahobbies]

Good thread! It's really interesting to see how everybody wound up with this little addiction of ours.
For my part, I blame my wife. When I was a kid I kept freshwater fish. I had a 10 gallon aquarium when I was in elementary school, probably between grades three through six. I remember slogging through the creeks by my house with a dipnet in hand, going after any moving object I could find. I think I raised a dozen frogs from tadpole stage over the years. I learned a few things back in those gilded days of youth.....first, tadpoles don't change as fast when they're in a stable amount of water (true story) and second, crawfish love tadpole snacks.

Whenever we went to the fish store, I would often stop at the saltwater fish, only to be gently but firmly pushed along by my well-meaning parents. "Too much money," they'd mutter. Oh, how right they were. By the time I was in Jr. High I "upgraded" to a 25 -ish gallon tank and did the whole angelfish/swordfish/neon tetra thing. By the time I was 14, however, I was pretty much out of the hobby. Other extracurricular activities had captured my attention, and as many of those activities wore skirts, I found my funds diverted.....elsewhere.
Fast forward 15 years or so, and you'll find me cleaning out a family member's storage space one hot summer Florida afternoon. Amid the piles of old clothes, worn-out records, and moldering magazines, I spotted a dusty old 55-gallon aquarium, complete with stand, light fixture, and various frighteningly old powerheads aand heaters. The inside of the tank had evolved its own macabre ecosystem over the years. Evidence of life included the dessicated remains of countless insects, lizards of unidentifiable species, and one unfortunate toad. Somehow I was able to see past this grisly scene, and instead I thought to myself "I wonder if I should try saltwater....?" I looked over to my wife, who took one look at me, another look at the tank, and said "That thing is NOT coming in the house."
Two days later it was in the house.

Fully cleaned, vinegared, and with all the mummified corpses properly disposed of, it wound up looking pretty darned good! My wife saw the cleaned tank outside in the garage, gave her blessing, and then admitted to me that she'd always wanted a saltwater tank! Not only was she on board with the whole idea of the tank, but it was something we could do together. This heartwarming little sentiment came with an unforseen bonus -- she didn't mind when I bought fish-related equipment! She even decided that she wanted a fish of her own, and we wound up with a betta fish in a 2.5g tank by her nightstand as well. The addiction started to take hold.
It's been 3 years or so since that day in the storage unit. The 55 has been upgraded to a 110, and a 37 g seahorse tank has been added to the mix. A 5.5 gallon nano takes up most of the space on my nightstand, and the beta fish tank is still on my wife's side of the room. A 45 gallon tank is in our garage, the product of a late-night roadside pickup. Don't know what I'm going to do with it, but hey -- it was free!! The original 55 gallon has been donated to a friend in central florida, and lately I've started to think about what I consider to be my final tank......something in the 240-300 gallon range. I've long since admited that I have "a problem," but I don't plan on doing much about it. My wife's inital zeal for the hobby has cooled a little, but I'm grateful that she still enjoys the hobby enough that we can both mess around with it. As long as I don't wind up with an aquarium in every room (what? like that's a problem??) then she's fine with my spending money on the tanks.
So how, you may ask, is this my wife's fault??? Simple:
I don't wanna blame myself.