Kevin Bush

Over the past nine months, I picked up the interesting hobby of fish keeping. In March, I purchased my first 10 gallon aquarium, jumping into a hobby that I knew very little about. After a plethora of reading, asking the experts for advice, and learning from mistakes, I decided to either go big or go home. That meant getting a bigger tank, which would allow for more options (more fish, bigger fish, more plants, different aqua-scaping, etc. So, I opted for a 75 gallon tank. Not the biggest tank in the world, but certainly nothing to smirk at. In fact, I’ve never had a friend or family member with a tank bigger than about 40 gallons. Regardless, it’s big to me.

I’ve had the 75 gallon tank for about four months now and I’ve truly enjoyed it. It brought the hobby from just keeping fish to keeping fish and improving their home to make it mimic a natural habitat and comfortable and livable ecosystem. I won’t lie – it’s been a tumultuous journey to say the least. I’ve had my fair share of fish-related deaths, but all-in-all, becoming an aquarist has been very rewarding. Not only does it present something challenging for me to do, while I’m at home, but it’s often relaxing. I’ve often compared it to keeping a Bonzai Tree. I’ve never done it, but I imagine it feels the same way. You yearn for acquiring perfection for your ecosystem, and while it may never be obtainable, it’s continuously sought after, giving you purpose, more knowledge, and on the journey to enlightenment. Very “zen”-like.

Since jumping into my 75 gallon tank, I’ve had a second calling. Fish keeping is one thing, but what about breeding? I decided to take one of the most useful snails (the Nerite snail) and one of the more interesting fresh water snails (the Rabbit snail) and attempt breeding them for two purposes: 1. so that I can enjoy them and obtain the knowledge of breeding them and prove to myself that I can do it, and 2. so that I can sell them and possibly pay, in part, for my hobby. if things go well, perhaps I’ll entertain other ideas.

Now I have 4 fish tanks: three 10 gallon tanks and one 75 gallon tank. You might say that I was struck with MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). It’s funny, because you might think that you always want to get a bigger tank… but that’s not always what happens and not always what’s necessary.

My first 10 gallon tank I transformed into a Betta + algae eating system. I have 4 Otocinclus Catfish, 1 Horned Nerite Snail, 1 Orange Rabbit Snail, and of course, 1 Crowntail Betta.
My 75 gallon tank is a community tank. I have 12 Serpae Tetras, 2 German Blue Rams, 3 Golden Wonder Killifish, 1 Opaline Gourami, and 1 Striped Raphael Catfish.
My second 10 gallon tank is a Rabbit Snail breeding tank (still deciding on species).
Finally, my third 10 gallon tank is a Nerite Snail breeding tank (also still deciding on species).

This blog will serve two purposes… well, perhaps three. First, I intend to use it to host and showcase my tank videos. I would also like to write down my experiences in the way of writing a tutorial of some sort, so that others might learn from my mistakes/accomplishments. Thirdly, it gives me an outlet in regards to expression.

I hope you enjoy this journey, as much as I do. If you have any questions, concerns or pointers about fish, fish-keeping, or anything else, please let me know via the contact form.

Thanks for dropping by!

-Kevin