Archivarium 2004

[RedMenace]

Greetings all,

I'm a complete newbie to fishkeeping, but let me tell you, I'm hooked!

I bought my first tank nearly two months ago, it's a little 7 gallon (or so I believe), but I think I'm doing pretty well. The first few weeks were a real learning experience, I had to learn the hard way about cycling, but everything seems okay now.

I'm from because, Canada, but now I've been living and working in Taiwan for over 5 years. I've always thought aquariums were cool, but never been stable enough or motivated enough to actually go out and buy a setup. I finally did it, and now I want more!

It's been a little difficult for me figuring it all out, mostly because I'm a foreigner living in Taiwan. I went to a big fish shop near my house, and basically trusted that they would guide me through the process. Big mistake! They sold me nearly 20 fish for a little, uncycled tank! Over the next couple of weeks I recieved a crash course in the Nitrogen Cycle, larglely from this site that I just happened to stumble upon. I'm sure no one will be surprised that I had to deal with a few dead fish.

Communication with the fish shops has been difficult. I can speak Chinese quite well, but my vocabulary is pretty limited when it comes to water chemistry and such. When I tried to explain my problems and what l had just learned about cycling from the internet, they just chuckled and told me that information on the internet was for "professionals" and I shouldn't worry about it too much. Morons! Try telling that to all my dead fish!
Because of this ineptitude (it seems endemic in this country), the internet has been my only source of info, and this site has been the best I've found. Thanks a lot!

One good thing about Taiwan is fish here are really cheap, especially marine fish. I live about an hours drive to the Tropic of Cancer, so the fish don't have to come far to the LFS.

Anyways, the cycle is finished and my tank seems to be thriving. I've got it pretty heavily planted and my fish and shrimp seem to be doing fine. I've been changing the aquascaping pretty often, but now I'm pretty happy with it. I don't watch TV anymore, I'm more interested in my fish. The wife finds it quite amusing, and she's happy I've found a hobby to keep me busy (we'll see if she's still amused when she finds out what the marine setup I'm dreaming of costs!). I'd been feeling pretty depressed and frustrated about living in a polluted and overcrowded country, but my new hobby has really perked me up. I've even quit drinking on weeknights!

I've rambled on long enough, so now I'll start thinking of questions to ask about planning my next tank. I believe this site can help a beginner out immensely, it has me.

Cheers!

[Josh Hansen]

Weclome to the age of aquarium site and people here are extremely helpful. If you have any problems do not be afraid to email and I will help you the best I can.

from Josh