My First Real Aquarium

Well, here goes a shot at creating my first blog ever. This web log (Blog) is about my experiences with freshwater aquariums. I will tell you all of the joys and headaches that I have come to know as routine. I am sure I will go off on tangents about certain aspects of fish keeping that I am passionate about, in the hope of sharing some knowledge with my readers.

About a week back i purchased my first real freshwater aquarium set-up. I say real, because I don't believe that the feeder fish that I won at my elementary school fair counts. I purchased a 10 gallon half moon tank that came with a light, heater, and filter for a hundred bucks. What's a hundred bucks right? After I had picked out my tank, the employee notified me that everything else I purchased would be 20% off for the day. What a great marketing technique. I quickly find myself looking at hundreds of dollars worth of equipment to supplement my existing set-up. Apparently, the aquarium set-up comes with everything I need to get started... except for a gravel cleaner, better fish food, another heater because the one I just bought isn't very good, substrate (gravel or sand to put on the bottom of the aquarium), an ornament so the fish have a place to hide, well you get the point. I will make a list of things that you do and don't need later. Anyway i let the guy talk me into a little bit of the extra stuff I needed, and a lot of the extra stuff that I didn't need. Do not buy fish the same day you buy your tank like I did! I took the tank home put gravel and water in the tank, then ran it for a while to see how it looked. I had rainbow colored gravel/substrate, a castle that I thought the fish would be able to hide in and swim through, a heater, filter, and light. I put all of the chemicals into the water as directed by the fish shop. Then i slowly acclimated my new tetras to the water temperature. I was told not to put the water from the bag into my aquarium's water. It was when I got out my net and tried scooping out one of the fish when I realize they make different size nets for a reason. The one i had bought works great in the tank, but not for introducing new fish to their new ecosystem. I ended up having to cut open the sides of the bag to squeeze my net in. When all the fish were in their new home, I fed them, watched them for a while, then went to bed. The next morning I woke up and went out to the living room for breakfast. I checked in on my fish and they were all dead! Ahhh! I had a lot of "why's" racing in my head. I had to figure out why my first attempt was a total disaster. It is 5:36 AM right now and im about to pass out from exhaustion, but my next post will be about all of the reasons why I failed and how to avoid making the same mistakes I did. I may even talk briefly about some of the simple science involved. Anyway, Gnite!