Fish: Re: [tropical fish club] How we got into this

John,
Its great to hear your going again!
May your tanks be full!! Donna

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From: J. C. <hillbillynursery@yahoo.com>

Since the list has been a bit quiet, why not tell what got you started in
this wonderful hobby. My mother got into fish for the kids way before my time.
It started with goldfish from a fair as I was told. As a young child we had a
goldfish tank and a tropical community tank. Yes the poor goldies never made it
to full size yet they lived long lives. One goldy was made it to 15 years old.
They were housed in a 30 gallon tank. The tropical tank was neon tetras, cory
cats, and all the common livebearers. Dad retired in '81 and moved back to his
hometown. With a 500 mile move all fish were sold/given away. After we got
settled the love of fish keeping made its way back into my life. I had the tanks
we had up north. In fall of '84 I set up a tank in the cold unfinished basement
of our home. Within a year I had 6 ten gallon tanks along the wall that were set
on 2x6s(lumber) laid across concrete blocks that was not very level as our
basement was just gravel
for a floor. And yes livebearers were what got me started. By '85 I was selling
a thousand livebearers a year. Then came my BIG idea. It was a big idea as I
never heard of anyone doing this before. My uncle used my dad's farm as a
dumping grounds for used bath tubs(old cast iron). Many of them where cracked,
ect... My idea was to place them above ground so they would get warmer early in
the year and move many of my fish outdoors. The sun gives the fish more color
and the large "tanks" with few fish made them reach their full potential. Then
one of the pet store owners I sold to introduced me to show guppies and later
sailfin mollies that reach 4 inches with large sails.

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