#Neptunes tropical fish tv#

I picked out an undergravel filter, power heads, high power pump, dual lighting.

The tank had a nice laminate wood trim, and the stand was black with matching trim. I had been saving money from my paper route and, after my 16th birthday, bought a brand new 55-gallon system. The 30 was good, but it just didn't have that show quality. I took my birthday money and bought a filter and heater and a couple of Angel fish. It wasn't very pretty and had to be 20 years old, but at least I had some room to work. The tank had lots of silicon oozing from the seams, the hood was made of chrome and the stand was wrought iron. I think they bought the tank at a yard sale or took it off the hands of a friend. At 14, I wasn't ready to have a family.įor my 15th birthday my parents gave me a 30-gallon tank, hood and stand.

However, my euphoria turned into horror the next day when the fry had been consumed by their ravenous tank mates or sucked into the filter. I remember experiencing great joy one morning when I noticed a pair of black Mollies had produced a brood. I soon found I enjoyed the beauty and serenity of tropical fish, and derived pride and satisfaction from my aquatic ecology. So I settled on a used 10-gallon freshwater tropical fish tank and created my first underwater garden.

Owning spiders or reptiles seemed a little bizarre to me, and besides I didn't have much in common with other teenagers who worshiped these creatures. Unfortunately, various members of my family had allergies to dogs, cats, rabbits, goats, and just about any other mammal walking the Earth. Tropical fish were never my first choice for a pet. I woke up one morning to find 10 gallons of tropical fish soup. She dumped a can of food into the tank and cranked up the heater. Things were going well until my two-year old took a little too much interest in the fish. There were boxes everywhere in our house. We bought a house in the next town, and I spent the next two months packing up our Chevy Suburban with anything that weighed less than 100 lbs., driving six miles to our new home, and unloading everything into the basement. The family continued to grow with a son a year later, at which point my wife and I decided to move again. My weekly cleaning regiment now included scraping the algae off the inside of the tank and the dried drool and crusted food off the outside of the tank. Once she started walking, she invariably banged her hands against the tank to show her pleasure with the fish. She loved to crawl over to the tank and try to stand up to see the fish. Compared with her two older sisters, she had a natural interest in the fish. I kept the tank going for several years, during which time we had another child.

#Neptunes tropical fish tv#

Water changes and replacing old filter pads didn't interest them, and they soon reverted to watching TV - the Web not having yet become a mainstream fixture in the home. They were very excited at first and wanted to help feed the fish. I thought my kids might take an interest and follow my path. It felt good to be taking care of a new underwater garden. I found an old wooden end table and fired up a 10-gallon tank with an assortment of danios, gouramis, catfish and a regal Angel. My wife and I had moved into a new house that my brother in-law built, and there was a perfect spot in the kitchen for a small tank. Several years after being married and having two children, I got the itch again.