 Good Morning and Hello
Hi All,
I am excited to be part of a collective of active thought and information. I have been involved in this grand hobby for 25 years yet to be honest was mostly clueless for the first 20 of them. After the loss of a favorite fish I decided to learn how to keep them alive and happy. I am not in any way an expert or a "know it all" in this field, I just figured that in order to keep fish you must understand what they are and how they need to operate. This led to a wonderous world of beauty and mystery.
My pop was a comercial fisherman, growing up on a fishing boat brought me into contact with many cold water species and a healthy understanding of the complications involved with keeping anything alive that lives in large bodies of water. Our attempts at recreating these enviroments are noble but often futile in the long run. Those who learn to unlock the complicated cycle of the biological process's involved will have years of enjoyment and success.
All this to say one thing, it is not that complicated and there are no shortcuts. The main biological good guys are those that you can't see (most of the time!!). Bacteria can make or break a tank depending on what kind it is and where it is growing. With the huge advances and selection of filters and other equipment available our hobby is starting to make it possible for many people to have both salt and fresh water set ups that don't require a second mortgage and a degree in Marine Biology. This has led many to start and then fail due to improper follow through (water changes and media cleaning/replacing). Compound this with tank mate incompatability, and possible food/lighting issues and you can end up looking at an expensive failure. I have only bought one tank set up new. The other 8 have been failure tanks other people sold cheap to make room for some "easy hobby". While I have made out well I am worried that our conservation efforts are falling short due to the scores of people who give up due to the stress of watching stuff die. Every one who has a tank, collects critters and keeps them alive is a conservationist. There are some species that only exist now is aquariums through out the world. Our efforts to mimmic nature can keep them alive but rarely to breed and raise the young to maturity. For this we still need nature for the most part. There are lots of "farm raised" fish and inverts but this represents only a fraction of collectable species.
I hope that I can be of assistance and that I can use this group a a resourse when I am stumped. Please forgive my spelling, spell check is my savior.
Pat  | 
03-20-2007, 09:06 AM
Enjoy your stay. 
