Thanks for the warm welcomes! I'll tell you the story...
For 6 years I have desperately wanted to keep fish. However, my biggest fear was the kids smashing a tank and having time to take care of the fish and even more time to actually enjoy them. So I never sought out the equipment to do it. I just thought 'It's not time for a tank, maybe when the kids are older.'
Well, my wife knew I wanted one so, while I was asleep (I work nights) she rounded up our kids and went to the pet store. Upon waking up I found a 10 gallon tank already stocked with 5 platy fish. (I don't blame her, she didn't know about the first cycle or how to do it. She just wanted me to have fish to enjoy when I woke.)
I was excited but also fear stricken. I have never had a tank. I have only ever talked with 2 friends of mine about setting up a new tank. (One owns a salt water fish store and the other is a salt water keeper) Luckily, they had shared enough information to give me a clue as to what to do. Reading on the internet filled in the missing information.
Out of the 5 starting fish, I found one dead the next day. The move to a new home and unfavorable water conditions was just too much for her. :-( The other 4 were doing great until last week. One of them had some kind of deformity that I noticed when I got her. She had, what looked like a very sharp hump on her back and didn't grow any larger in the months she was with us.
After she passed I was left with 2 males and one female. The males would just not stop harassing the female. Not wanting to add more fish just yet I purchased a few more fake plants, in hopes, this would give her more hiding places so she could get some peace. After 2 days, the males would just not stop harassing the female, even with the new hiding places for her. So I went to the pet shop and found 3 more female Platies. So as of this moment, I have 2 handsome males and 4 beautiful females.
Other than currently shopping Craigslist, eBay, and the local pet stores for a good deal on a 30 gallon tank, thats the story.
Hope you enjoyed it, and thanks for reading! See ya around!
