[Killietalk] first killies.....

[BigJohnW at webtv_net (John Wubbolt)]

Well after hearing alot the stories of how ppl got hooked on this hobby
makes me feel young and i thought i was starting to get older...  Guess
almost 45 is kind of young!   

My first time exposed to Killies was when Tom Grady showed some of us
trying to start a small aquarium club in the northern part of NY some of
his slides of the killies he was keeping and had kept in the past...
And up to that point I thought guppies were colorful for small fish, boy
did i want some killies.    

I ended up starting with Fp Gardneri Nsukka and Aphyosemion Striatum
from my regular fish club in Syracuse.   Jeff Bilbrough then introduced
me to the AKA and UNYKA.  After that i went bonkers for a few years...
What ever i could get my hands on that was non annuals i had to try...
Some i was successful with and others i wasnt.    Having pretty soft and
slightly acid water made things easier for me in the beginning until i
learned some did better in slightly alkaline water for me.   At one
point i was keeping about 40 or so species... Now that ive cut back on
the species Im keeping I am enjoying the fish more... less work makes me
appreciate them more, also ive found i appreciate the colors and thier
behavior better in larger tanks.    At one time i kept mostly 2.5 and 5
gallon tanks for my killies, now its more like 10 gallon and 20 gallon
longs for my fish, with a few in larger 29 gallon tanks.   I still want
to set up some blue gularis in 55 gallon tank that i have empty..   but
we'll see how that goes ( i still havent gotten over keeping chicklets
yet 8-) )    

My first AKA Convention in '96 in Milwaukee cemented my desires for
keeping killies and completely hooked me in this hobby, the ppl i met,
the fish i saw and the knowledge i gained from all the more experienced
killie keepers made me a killie person forever.    

I did find it amazing that even after keeping regular aquarium fish it
took me a few years to find killies.   We really need more exposure
somehow to attract ppl to this hobby.   I've found that once i've shown
a fish keeper some killies for the first time how they want to try them
and once they're successfull how they come back for more.   Im fortunate
that My present aquarium club in Montreal has some really excellent
killie keepers.   At almost every meeting, there are about 5 or 6 or
maybe more species of Killies for sale at the mini auction at the end of
the meeting.   Now that im under 100 tanks for first time in almost 10
years its nice to play in my tanks and really appreciate the fish i
have..   

Tundra Johnny is back
( 8+ inches of snow today )


Join the AKA at http://aka.org/modules/tinycontent0/index.php?id=9
Archives are at http://fins.actwin.com/killietalk/
Modify your subscription at http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/killietalk