Anyone here an amateur ichthyologist ?
 

Ok well if not do any of you enjoy setting up fish tanks or any other aquatic setups. I personally love to study fish and setup many habitats including, freshwater tanks, freshwater ponds, and saltwater tanks. By the time I was 15 I had a $5,000 125 gallon saltwater habitat setup in my bedroom as well as a 125 gallon reef tank in the family room. My father and I also dug a 50 foot by 50 foot 15 foot deep koi pond in the back yard.

It all started when I was about 7 years old and I got a 10g fish tank for my birthday. Ever since then I have been hooked. LOL, I even received a fine when I was 15 for ordering an illegal amazonian cat fish over the internet. Granted I didnt know it was an endangered species, so I got off cheap. I remember it clearly being a 500$ fine, trust me it could have been much worse.

I have owned a variety of fresh and saltwater fish, but one of the most memorable was the alligator gar, man was it mean and did it ever grow fast.
However my most memorable setup was my 125g saltwater tank, which consisted of 2 panther grouper, a porcupine puffer, a few types of wrass, a snowflake eel, and a volitian lion fish. Unfortunately my fish were not properly taken care of by my parents when I went to school my first semester and I came home to an empty tank.

As of right now my two 125 gallon tanks consist of bacteria, lol, however now that I commute to school I will rebuild my former setup. The only set up I have as of right now is a 35g hex with a few percula and an anemone, which is fascinating. It is just cool to watch the symbiotic relationship of the two.

For those of you who have never owned a saltwater setup you should try it because it is fun, but can be stressful. However be careful as many saltwater fish are lethal(poisonous). Oh ya and it can get pricey!!

I built a 30 foot deep pond in my backyard, and man it has been a nightmare. It will not hold water. Twice we have cut the back off of the dam, and dug a new core. Packed it with red Carolina clay, and it still doesn't hold water. We hit hard rock on one side, and cut a cliff straight down. Now we think it is losing water through the rock veins, which can't be fixed unless the sides are lined with concrete. I have more money invested than I will never admit. Such a mess, it is hard to believe. Now it has been almost 10 years, and it is still only about 2/3 full, even after pumping it full twice, and with this rainy spring, every pond in my area is full. Not mine, lol.

Have had aquariums in the past and even dabbled in a salt water effort for almost two years....... never again! I really wouldn't mind having another oscar or two, mainly because they are more like having a pet dog, cat or snake, but as far as the rest go, I already have too many hobbies that are money pits. :186:

I have a small pond out back. About 6 years old. It is 9x7x3. Contains 16 goldfish.

Saltwater does not have to be expensive, just get a small tank with a few fish.
Clown fish and damsels are extremely cheap and very hard to kill, lol.
I am just fascinated by having an entire ecosystem at my disposal to study.
Sometimes I get lost in my imagination while staring into my fish tank.
I have depression issues and building new habitats allows me to forget about that depression, its kind of like my medicine.

I don't know much about aquariums. I like to watch the fish, they're a lot of fun. We took our niece to the NC Aquarium when we were down at the beach last year. I enjoyed it a lot. There are some strange looking creatures in the ocean. Thanks for teaching me a new word Travis. I had no idea what an ichthyologist was. I would have guessed it was first kin to a proctologist.

73

Chris

PS- Buddy can I go fishing in your pond?

I love studying fish, dont really know why, but I always have.
As for learning a new word, thats always good.
Aquariums are fun, you should set one up if you dont already have one.

I am only posting because I am curious, will this thread show back up after I post in it?

It brought it right back up to the top.

If the post are not showing up then you need to click in the box on bottom left to show post from the beginning.

Thank you.