What got you hooked?

[RichWise73]

What got you hooked on the reef hobby? Was it a trip to a public aquarium? Was it a friend or family member? Was it a documentary about natural reefs?

We all got hooked somehow. What was for you?

 

[smitten with ocean life]

my brother- sigh. ive always had freshwater and he had the salt. he kept at me until i finally caved and jumped into it! it always looked way too complicated to me. he'd make a great salesman!! i usually call him after a shipment of corals(or something else expensive) and whine about what hes gotten me in to. but im loving it!

 

[Reefing102]

Finding Nemo. I started researching shortly after seeing it in theaters in May 2003 and then first salt tank started back in October of 2003. I was a poor 13 year old then. Now I’m a poor 33 year old lol

 

[crazyfishmom]

I was supposed to get a fish tank for my kiddos to help soothe them and I figured fresh water would be the right way to go but then I saw a picture of a reef tank and said to myself “wouldn’t that be cool”… now I have 3 reef tanks and a fresh water tank. It’s addicting for sure. And I love love love it!

 

[metro6775]

I had freshwater since I was a kid. I knew about saltwater but it was expensive and complicated with those weird wet/dry filters. Then one day I'm in the pet store and see a tank filled with rock, gsp, and a six line wrasse gliding around the tank. The way the GSP waved in the current and the wrasse effortlessly gliding around is what set me on this money pit of a journey. I guess it is cheaper than buying a boat.

 

[Peair]

What got you hooked on the reef hobby? Was it a trip to a public aquarium? Was it a friend or family member? Was it a documentary about natural reefs?

We all got hooked somehow. What was for you?

I got hooked on freshwater in the mid 60's when my parents bought me a 50 gallon, and then when saltwater finally came around it was almost natural for me to get that way again.

 

[kindafun]

When I was a kid there was a local "tropical fish store" that had fresh and salt water fish. The spectacular colors of the salt water fish were highly desired, but I just had a freshwater tank.

Years later, while in college, I ended up in a building looking for a classroom. I came across coral reef tank, fish and corals. It was fascinating! I stayed and looked and watched what was going on in there. I went back again and again. I was hooked.

 

[danenelsen]

Snorkeling in the Caribbean! After seeing all those amazing fish, I knew I wanted to try a saltwater aquarium! Never looked back!

 

[BrokenReefer]

My Dad had several tanks when we were kids, I liked to watch the fish swim around; never liked any of the other bits back then. Now I realize just how much work it is. Still worth it though.

Except now my daughter is asking me why I killed all my fish “because daddy is goofy boots sometimes.”

 

[jimfish98]

After freshwater tanks for 20 years, I honestly was bored and needed a change. SW and Reefs were something new, a challenge, and very different. It refreshed my joy of fish keeping.

 

[littlefoxx]

What got you hooked on the reef hobby? Was it a trip to a public aquarium? Was it a friend or family member? Was it a documentary about natural reefs?

We all got hooked somehow. What was for you?

My dwarf fuzzy lionfish and my eels always had fish tanks but those fish are what have me hooked on saltwater! Love interacting with them. Especially the eels! They recognize me and come out to see me

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Seeing all the colorful livestock you can put in a tank is what got me hooked

 

[Serpentman2024]

I've been hooked since I was a young kid visiting the ocean. Even took my obsession to get a worthless undergrad degree in Marine Biology lol. Useless because I didn't want to go for an advanced degree.

Anyway, rather than play in the ocean (I live in Ohio), I brought the ocean to me.

 

[Doctorgori]

Always had SW fish so in the 80’s Gulf of California stuff started showing up in Phoenix area fish stores and I got started on rock flower anemones and caulerpa, it only got more expensive from there

 

[AlyciaMarie Verified Admin]

For my family, it was Finding Nemo that got the ball rolling. For me as an adult, the nostalgia is what keeps me hooked. There was always a tank in my home since I was about 4 years old. Having one now is like having a piece of my childhood in my living room. There's something comforting about it!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I grew up around fresh water tanks that my mother always had. She had always wanted a salt tank, but costs and availability ( mid 1980's) made that very tough, so I guess I did it mostly in her honor. But I absolutely fell in love with the hobby.

 

[Keywest99]

What got you hooked on the reef hobby? Was it a trip to a public aquarium? Was it a friend or family member? Was it a documentary about natural reefs?

We all got hooked somehow. What was for you?

What got me hooked was my first vacation after I got married...Destination Bahia Honda Key at the end of the Seven Mile Bridge. This was back in 1976 when a campsite was $6 a night. The entire island is a state park and our first night there we were the only ones on the island. Now you have to book close to a year in advance. We went snorkeling every day on a beautiful white sand beach with palm trees. I got hooked the first day of snorkeling, brought home some urchins hermit crabs and some type of blenny and a sargent major. Thinking back I'm sure that isn't legal, but hey, I was a young kid. Doughnuts and beer for breakfast. Bought a cooler and a battery operated air pump and brought them home in a 1969 Volkswagon bus with almost no heat. They survived in a brand new 55 gallon tank. Been into salt ever since!