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Yo I'm Boscobear, and I'm back into fish keeping, again

2K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  fish monger 
#1 ·
Here is my confession, fish loving people, It's been 30 years since my last aquarium. A lot has happened since then, a career, a big section of my life ran on by. I am so glad I took the dive again into aquarium life.
I have started with a 20 gallon tank, the round ball type. In it, two fancy gold fish, a black fancy goldfish with hammerhead like eyes, another goldfish type with a big orange spot on his head, his name is Big Tuna. An a red/black platy. 6 plants, and, all is cool, and clear, after 3 weeks.

I have no job, don't need one, retired, and have a pension that has no worry. I worked hard for this, school, and career.
I have a huge aquarium in my back yard, over 50 acres, a lake, called Elizabeth, and a giant saltwater aquarium 1200 feet away, called the Atlantic Ocean. From our pier there are some big sharks rolling in the surf this time of the year. 4, and 6 footers, mostly bull sharks, from what I see.
I have 3 dogs, all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Real lovers, 2 boys, and one girl. They are all whole too, so when Roxie has her heat she moves to my daughter for a few weeks.

Fish keeping, as y'all know, is highly addicting. I know this, and I got it again. I'm just taking this slow now until the tank is completely cycled. I'm already scanning the web for a big tank for some saltwater, or cichlids. The real thing is the fish can really have this calming effect on your mind, so good for all of us. Much better than a chemical medicine.
On the equipment front, wow has all the stuff become so much better too. I remember back in the late 60's we didn't have under gravel filtration, and there was no one thinking about biological filtration. That all started in the mid 70's , but today it's a whole new world.
The name Boscobear was given to me back in grade school by friends that I still communicate with 55 years later. I use to drink a lot of chocolate milk, all the time, and the syrup was made by Bosco, and the TV commercial had a bear in it, so there it is.
I love Photography too, so as soon as I learn to post pictures, I will.

I have been reading on this web site for two days straight. There is more information here than there ever was before in fish keeping. I am totally amazed. There use to be like a dozen books you could read to learn why you had problems, and the correct way. Today it is an established science, and how much I can learn is up to me now, there is so much my head is spinning. I need to learn some of the acronyms used quickly too.
Thanks for letting me join this special place, which will help me enjoy this cool hobby
Boscobear
 
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#2 ·
Here is my confession, fish loving people, It's been 30 years since my last aquarium. A lot has happened since then, a career, a big section of my life ran on by. I am so glad I took the dive again into aquarium life.
I have started with a 20 gallon tank, the round ball type. In it, two fancy gold fish, a black fancy goldfish with hammerhead like eyes, another goldfish type with a big orange spot on his head, his name is Big Tuna. An a red/black platy. 6 plants, and, all is cool, and clear, after 3 weeks.

I have no job, don't need one, retired, and have a pension that has no worry. I worked hard for this, school, and career.
I have a huge aquarium in my back yard, over 50 acres, a lake, called Elizabeth, and a giant saltwater aquarium 1200 feet away, called the Atlantic Ocean. From our pier there are some big sharks rolling in the surf this time of the year. 4, and 6 footers, mostly bull sharks, from what I see.
I have 3 dogs, all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. Real lovers, 2 boys, and one girl. They are all whole too, so when Roxie has her heat she moves to my daughter for a few weeks.

Fish keeping, as y'all know, is highly addicting. I know this, and I got it again. I'm just taking this slow now until the tank is completely cycled. I'm already scanning the web for a big tank for some saltwater, or cichlids. The real thing is the fish can really have this calming effect on your mind, so good for all of us. Much better than a chemical medicine.
On the equipment front, wow has all the stuff become so much better too. I remember back in the late 60's we didn't have under gravel filtration, and there was no one thinking about biological filtration. That all started in the mid 70's , but today it's a whole new world.
The name Boscobear was given to me back in grade school by friends that I still communicate with 55 years later. I use to drink a lot of chocolate milk, all the time, and the syrup was made by Bosco, and the TV commercial had a bear in it, so there it is.
I love Photography too, so as soon as I learn to post pictures, I will.

I have been reading on this web site for two days straight. There is more information here than there ever was before in fish keeping. I am totally amazed. There use to be like a dozen books you could read to learn why you had problems, and the correct way. Today it is an established science, and how much I can learn is up to me now, there is so much my head is spinning. I need to learn some of the acronyms used quickly too.
Thanks for letting me join this special place, which will help me enjoy this cool hobby
Boscobear
Hi Boscobear, I am new to this site as well.
I got into the planted aquarium about a year ago and it's highly addictive, a hundred dollar tank set up has now ended up to be about $500. At times it seems like so much work, but at the end of the day when you sit back and look at your tank it's worth it. Welcome, I am happy for you and hope you enjoy your new aquarium adventure!!!:lol:
 
#3 ·
Hello Boscobear and welcome to TFK :wave:

Fishkeeping sure is different these days meaning the amount of information available to us now. I remember the days when my parents would buy some fish, throw them in a tank full of water and then we would have the horror of watching them all die within a few weeks.

Rinse - repeat.
 
#4 ·
Romad you just described my life with fish as a child!!

Welcome Boscobear! You will fit very well in here!! There seems to be a predominant split in the ages. Some one did a survey one time, you might be able to look it up.... lots of under 20's and lots of over 50's. I'm in the latter. There is also a thread where we posted a picture of ourselves to introduce ourselves.

We hope to see you posting on the threads! Our chat room is not very active but pop in once in awhile in the evenings to see if any one is in there... you need to have posted I think about 15 times to get into the room. Sometimes members will sign in and sit in there hoping someone else will show up. I do that once in awhile. lol It's not all fish talk... gets off topic but that's ok we get to know each other that way, as well as help each other.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of your tank some day.
Don't worry about the accronyms... Local Fish Store... RES Red Eared Slider... its when they use them for a specific species it takes me awhile... I wonder if anyone ever wrote them all out and posted a sticky in here?
Anyway... glad you found us!!!
 
#6 ·
Welcome! This is the best fish forum community I've found. I hope you enjoy it here!

Just a friendly note about your current aquarium: you might want to think of upgrading to a larger tank. 20 gal is just a little small for two goldfish. Orandas (red thing on head) and Moors (hammerhead eyes) can get rather large and produce a lot of waste. In fact, I think the largest goldfish on record was an oranda (14 inches long :shock: but they commonly get about 6 inches). Upgrading them to a 55 gal would be the best idea. Or you could go crazy and get a 75-100 gal tank and get another 3 or 4 goldfish. Either way, they will grow and appreciate more room.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the replies, and Izzy I appreciate the ID for my fish, really. You have enlightened me, Oh no too small.
As for the note about red eared sliders, I have them in our lake that are as big as hub caps. 12 inchers. For the spring breeding season, I leave a section of the back fence open for them to come on my land to dig holes, and lay their eggs. They were here long before we were.
I remember when I was little, the local Woolworth 5&10 had these turtles for sale as pets. You could buy a cheap dish with a plastic palm tree to keep them in. Sad I wonder how many of those little turtles lived more than a month or two. How many were found all dried up in the cheap dish. I was very surprised to realize that these huge reptiles in the backyard lake were in fact the same species.
Back to my fish keeping hobby, I thought that by chance the goldfish would only grow to the size of their environment , guessed wrong Huh.
I named that Orandas correctly too, "Big Tuna". My LPS told me that the 5 fish would do just fine in the 20 gallon. Technically they are correct, they did not say for how long.
Yes, I have been looking at larger tanks, 150 gallon would make it happen / happy for me. I have been reading all the pros & cons for glass & acrylic. Just need to negotiate a location in the house for the larger tank. The wife likes the fish too. That is how I ended up marrying her. She came to visit my neighbor, and I invited her in my house 31 years ago to see my 55 gallon fish tank, she never left.
 
#8 ·
Your goldfish would be extremely happy in a 150 gal. They'll be monsters! You could even add a few more friends. Big Tuna is a very appropriate name for a goldfish. Unfortunately, you'll find that many pet store employees don't know what they are talking about with fish. Don't get me wrong, some are on top of the game, but most sadly aren't.

Turtle eggs in your backyard? That sounds like an awesome sight. Do you have any pictures? Especially of the eggs hatching? I once saw turtle eggs hatching on a beach in North Carolina. It was really a treat to see.

It's good that your wife is on board with your hobby. Some of us have significant others that greatly oppose the adding of new tanks. You're a lucky one!
 
#11 ·
Welcome ! I've never really completely left the hobby; however, I go back and forth between having something in a tank and having nice aquariums. Old Dr. Axelrod's books were my source of info when I started. I'm currently in the nice aquarium mode...live plants, varied diets, etc. Applying those old principles and picking and choosing from the new according to expense and effort have served me well. A lot of the "new" information is re-stating the old with new technology. Have fun ! It really is a great hobby !
 
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