PlanetCatfish.com

I've been on this forum for a while now. I've posted a few times. I'm not shy about expressing my opinion, but I also know I'm NOT an expert on much compared to folk around here.

My passion is corydoras, aspidoras, scleromystax, and hoplosternum. I have not yet owned the last two, but WILL this year. I also enjoy Ancistrous & Farlowella and have a few.

Long story follows:

My first aquarium was a 10 gallon with steel frame in the 1960s. After my army service, I bought a new aquarium - 1980. I soon bought another and another and another until I had 30 aquariums in a 1000 sq ft house with a wife and two toddlers. They lined the outside walls because the interior walls didn't have much support underneath the house. They literally took almost every inch of the common areas with one in the bathroom, 2 in the children's bedroom, 3 in our bedroom, and one on an enclosed, unheated porch.

I kept mostly corydoras, but had a variety of other fish. My favorite corys were in the porch tank. One day, as I stuck the hose in to add water, one of the children fell and took a serious cut. When I finally remembered my fish, I literally cried. The tank had overflowed, big time. The temp had dropped from 78 to 55 (or something close). I assumed I had killed them all. The next morning I found all of the fish alive and eggs covering most of the 29 gallon high aquarium walls. I did not know that is how to encourage corys to breed although that big a drop is NOT recommended.

Left the hobby in 1987 because my vocation required frequent moves (11 moves since 1987). Now that I am retired, my wife and daughter and son-in-law bought me a 125 gallon for Christmas 2014. I have since added 5 55 gallon, a 50 gallon, 2 29 gallon, a 20 gallon, and 2 10 gallon tanks.

Hi VelcroWY,

Lots of details in it, and yet the part I fixated on most... the most enlightening detail you provided... is that Wyoming is not a suburb of Denver. Who knew?

Sincerely, though, thanks for sharing your story!

Cheers, Eric

Those tanks do multiply fast and or get bigger and bigger, I started off with a very small tank and, it wasn't even mine. I bought it as a gift for my brother as while he was working away, it was his birthday. By the time he got home I'd already upgraded the tank twice and named all of his fish, you can probably work out he wasn't very impressed at this, so to put his mark on the tank he went and got a common pleco- I named chunky. The pleco obviously meant another upgrade, and you can probably gather by this time it had become my hobby, I now have a fish room with 4 4 ft tanks so far and a few tanks elsewhere at home. As for my brother he now moans at me for not getting him a Playstation! Just to share my fishkeeping story so far.

I feel rather small compared to all of your grand tanks. I only have 1 14.6 gallon, 1 6 gallon and 2 5 gallon tanks. Plus most species of non cory catfish (except like common ones) cannot be found here. But, still i have to remember Im only 13!

shrimpkeeper222 wrote:still i have to remember Im only 13!

Only 13?! Be proud, shrimpkeeper222, that you've got what you have at your age. You're doing great, keep up the good work. Everybody starts somewhere, and your aquarium hobby today may stick with you for the rest of your life (like it has for VelcroWY... And it has for me too!).

Cheers, Eric

Me also, I was keeping fish when I was younger.

Thanks for the supportive comments guys! And I do hope fishkeeping does stick with me!

bekateen wrote:Hi VelcroWY,

Lots of details in it, and yet the part I fixated on most... the most enlightening detail you provided... is that Wyoming is not a suburb of Denver. Who knew?

Sincerely, though, thanks for sharing your story!

Cheers, Eric

Thanks Eric, funny story there. I was working in Denver and told a friend back east that I was moving to Wyoming. You gotta understand, I worked in a field where EVERYONE had a bachelors degree or better. I was in the field before there was a degree for the field and just never bothered to go get one. He made a BIG deal about that. When I told him I was moving to Wyoming, he asked what state that was in. I told him it's a northern suburb of Denver.

He told some colleagues at lunch and they laughed at him. He called me up, literally screaming mad. I told him maybe he should worry less about his degree and more about the world. He never spoke to me again. ROFL

shrimpkeeper222 wrote:Don't worry about what you have, make the most of it. Think of it this way, at your age I had one ten gallon and it was not until I was 28 that I was in a position to finally buy another tank.

pleconut wrote:Too bad, so sad for your brother. LOL Cool story.

He was even more upset, after he moved out, now that his old room is a fishroom.

pleconut wrote:He was even more upset, after he moved out, now that his old room is a fishroom.

It is just wrong to have an unused room and the highest calling for any room is to be a fish room!!!

What I thought exactly.

shrimpkeeper222 wrote:I feel rather small compared to all of your grand tanks. I only have 1 14.6 gallon, 1 6 gallon and 2 5 gallon tanks. Plus most species of non cory catfish (except like common ones) cannot be found here. But, still i have to remember Im only 13!

Good to know there are other teens on here! I'm 15 and I think my max was around 24 tanks, I currently have 17 going, all of which have plecos. I currently have 6xL128, 12xL134, 6xL182, 2xL270, 3xL333, 2xL104, lots of standard and long find super reds. I really got into it a little younger than you, around 11, when I got my 3rd- 5th tanks, it just escalated from there.

17 is more than I have going.

Forester wrote:I'm 15 and I think my max was around 24 tanks, I currently have 17 going, all of which have plecos. I currently have 6xL128, 12xL134, 6xL182, 2xL270, 3xL333, 2xL104, lots of standard and long find super reds. I really got into it a little younger than you, around 11, when I got my 3rd- 5th tanks, it just escalated from there.

Cool! And keep up the good work. With that many tanks, you're ahead of a lot of people!

Cheers, Eric

bekateen wrote:

Forester wrote:I'm 15 and I think my max was around 24 tanks, I currently have 17 going, all of which have plecos. I currently have 6xL128, 12xL134, 6xL182, 2xL270, 3xL333, 2xL104, lots of standard and long find super reds. I really got into it a little younger than you, around 11, when I got my 3rd- 5th tanks, it just escalated from there.

Cool! And keep up the good work. With that many tanks, you're ahead of a lot of people!

Cheers, Eric

Thanks! I still have a lot I'd like to do and a lot to learn to get there. I can't wait tI'll catch to meet some of you great catfish keepers. Eric, will you be there?

Forester wrote: Eric, will you be there?

Where do you mean? CatCon?

Yeah

Sadly, no. I won't be able to make it.

shrimpkeeper222 wrote:Thanks for the supportive comments guys! And I do hope fishkeeping does stick with me!

If old folk give you grief, remind them that any young people with multiple fish tanks won't ever have enough money to do drugs and that's the truth.

That oughta' keep them off your back. ROFL

So excited - someone I met online had a lot of young plecos of various types. She and her husband were driving 60 miles one way to Cheyenne and they brought me some fish before conducting their business here.

I am now the proud owner of 5 very young brown, long fin Ancistrous to add to 3 very traditional Ancistrous and 2 Farlowella and 13 Brochis and 18 Corydoras of 4 species and 4 Aspidoras plus a bunch of non-catfish occupants that better be nice to my cats!

VelcroWY wrote:

shrimpkeeper222 wrote:Thanks for the supportive comments guys! And I do hope fishkeeping does stick with me!

If old folk give you grief, remind them that any young people with multiple fish tanks won't ever have enough money to do drugs and that's the truth.

That oughta' keep them off your back. ROFL

That is an excellent response, and deserves a big thumbs up!

It also keeps you from "keeping up with the Kardashians" because you're too busy doing water changes haha!

LOL!

Yes, but you can become a fishaholic (tipping my hat to Barbie, here).

Howdy, VelcroWY. What part of town do you live in?

Hey Wyomingite - I might be a child whose parents said "DO NOT ANSWER THAT QUeSTION" or I could be a fat old man that nobody wants to attack. LOL I vote for the later.

I live up by Four Mile & College. I have limited mobility but welcome visitors and I don't mind going out to eat once or twice a week. Fish & TV & Computer with a great family - I LOVE MY LIFE!!!

LOL. I looked at your picture, so I know ya aren't the former, unless you're a hairy little guy with a hormone disorder severely in need of a shave. I live out by Archer overpass. I'm always looking for someone local to talk fish with. I'm actually looking at starting an aquarium club in Cheyenne if I can get 15-20 people who would regularly participate.

I'll send ya a PM.

Ivan