Hello, please allow me to introduce myself...

My name is Dan and my fish keeping experience has been an unfortunate meander leading to where I am now. I've made many mistakes and harmed many fish for which I am now reconciling by providing great care while helping others avoid my mistakes.

Growing up we often had a fish tank in the house although it was rather neglected. Once living on my own I set up a tank, and knowing absolutely nothing, quickly loaded it beyond capacity with a wide assortment of fish... which all promptly died; I had never heard of cycling. I quickly re-stocked, but in moderation, and the fish seemed to do OK but the tank was neglected. My zebra danios soldiered on for a few years but eventually began to pass away from a lack of water changes and regular maintenance.

Then I met a friend who ignited a passion for fish keeping. Unfortunately I still knew very little and my first new batch of fish were poor choices for my 25G tank at the time. After getting home I began to read about these new fish and realized that my tank was too small for most, there were too many, and some needed to be in schools. Thank you Mr. Salesman.

My first step to rectify the problem was a used 55G long set-up, courtesy of Kijiji. Then a battle with internal parasites and the re-homing of certain fish helped correct some of the poorer choices (new owners were aware of the parasite history). I'm now understocked with fish that will grow into the tank, although several will still need bigger homes in the coming years. I've kicked the poor maintenance habit and water changes are regularly done once or twice a week which gets me great water and happy fish.

I strive for a natural look, and my tank features gravel I collected from the shoreline, a 40 inch hollow driftwood log, rocks, and fake plants. Someday I will venture into real plants but given my track record, I am taking things one step at a time. The gang currently consists of 10 black phantom tetras, 2 quickly-growing bala sharks, a chinese algae eater that was brown, then turned gold, and might be changing back to brown again, plus a pleco that's getting quite large and eats from my hand. I keep things simple with just an Aquaclear 110 filter and a Fluval 200W heater. The final touch is the deep blue lighting which is timed to come on a couple hours before and after the main lights to simulate dusk and dawn.

Anyhow I'm looking forward to getting to know everybody here, learning a ton, and hopefully meeting some of you in person.

Dan

Hi Dan and welcome. This place is a great place to help learn from other fish keepers. Chat with people who have the obsession or the fish keeping addiction bug, known as MTS (multiple tank syndrome) LOL!
We all start out somewhere and learn the hard way.
My big learning lesson of all is to have an extra tank to quarantine new fish for a least a month before adding them to the tank you want them to live in.
Oh and not all cichlids go together for one reason or another...learned that the hard way too.
I hope you enjoy it here. Don't hesitate to ask questions, someone around here will most likely be able to help you out. :)

Nice to meet you!
You tank sounds verry interesting! I cant wait till you start posting pictures.

Good to "meet" you, Dan! I'm sure everyone learns something the hard way. I had fish for about 14 years before I started learning a bit about them! I hope you enjoy your time with us.

ps... we love seeing pictures!

Hi! TACONS is a great place to chat with others in your area who share the same passion for fish keeping! Also a great place to ask questions- if you have some- go ahead and ask them! There might be someone else wondering the same thing! :)

Oh, and welcome to TACONS!!

Welcome to the club Dan! There's lots of great stuff here, and great folks. We also seem to have some great "friendly banter" on the board :lol: I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself here. Sounds like you have a great tank there :)

Welcome, Dan. Bet you you will find TACONS not only useful, informative and fun and full of people with MTS (as Allie - JessiesFish said)

Looking forward to seeing some pictures!

Everyone at TACONS is kind and helpful. Even when I ask a newbie question hehe.
I think you should try plants. You might surprise yourself! There is a wealth of information on this site about plant keeping.

Happy reading and welcome :)

hello dan glad you joined up all of us will help in any way we can
cant wait to see pics of you tank

Sounds like an interesting setup can't wait to see a few pics. Welcome and we hope you enjoy the site as much as we all do. :)

Welcome aboard, Dan!
We all started and made mistakes along the way.
With the technology these days, it's easier to find/ask for help especially now that you are on the forum.
If you have any questions even doubts, don't hesitate to ask on here. We are always here for you (might not be me but some people here :D)..

Also, we are having Friday Chat Nights here from 8-10pm so feel free to stop by in the Chat Room.
Hope to see you there.

Hi Dan!!


Welcome to TACONS!!!