What is your favorite thing about this hobby?

I was wondering......what is your favorite thing about this hobby and how did you get started? We have all came from very diverse backgrounds and eventually ran into this hobby some how.

Me? My science teacher had a reef tank and he brought his shipment of fish of fish he ordered to our school. Pretty awesome! He ordered quite a bit and I promised myself i would not get addicted. Too late, here i am!

Favorite thing? To see that "I" am actually growing corals in my own house and the complements that i get when people walk in my front door.

Well, lets here your story! Karma for answering! (If that is allowed :)

 

there are so many of these threads what got me started, i walked through a pet store getting food for my chameleons, when i saw a yellow watchman goby and fell in love.

whats most rewarding, is the interaction with the animals, the knowledge i've gained and how i can use it in the real world, and the feeling that not many people i know have reef tanks near me so i can brag oh and teaching other people too

 

I think my favorite thing is mastering the challenge of a difficult situation and watching every thing grow and get more colorful.

I started in fresh water when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade and had tanks off and on for years. I always saw the beautiful salt water fish and finally gave into the desire to have them.

 

I have basically the same story as 2in10. Freshwater and brackish with the desire to go into salt. Mine hold back was that I thought it was a "rich persons" hobby. Found out it basically is but am hopelessly addicted now.

My favorite part of it is the building. I love to create and watch it grow. I get a sense of emptiness when I don't have a project under way.

The best part is exposing people to our worlds oceans and natural reefs through my little window. Hopefully they will take an interest and do something to help preserve them.

 

my favorite thing is my tank...


I got started bc my buddy had a tank he put stuff in from the beach. I was over one day and he had put in a portuguese man o war he got off the beach (washed up) and we were watching it eat all his damsels (the clowns stayed away).

I'd never recommend doing that; but I found it fascinating watching that man o war. Next thing I know I have a tank and I'm on 3reef.

 

almost the same story as 2in10 and reefmonkey. I have always admired SW tanks and wanted to have them, I had freshwater for years and finally made the jump this christmas. My favorite thing about the hobby is actually being able to successfully house and care for creatures deemed difficult by most and being able to view them in the comfort of my own home

 

the thing i like most about my tank is that it is continously changing. Either the fish and corals i add are growing or i find something living and growing in there that i didn't add.

how i got started isn't very interesting. I always wanted to try a saltwater aquarium so i bought some books and gave it a try.

 

I have always had this strange facination with the ocean. We had a zoo about 2 hours from where I lived and would go there just to see the dolphins and the fish. I always wanted to have a SW setup but no one supported me. Finally got married and hubby told me to do it. =D My fave thing is watching it evolve slowly and having my peeps look into it then asking questions. Maybe I can snag someone else into this hobby. =D

 

I never really had fish as a kid. my buddy had a 2 1/2 gal with some mollies in it and it had babies and i was like hells yea ill take them! i went from a 10 gal freshwater to a 55 gal fresh that i had for 3 years. simple community fish. After visiting a friends house whos dad had a biocube i fell in love. i mean come on! purple algae? lol! i love being able to harbor my own little slice of the ocean in the house. watching clownfish smother themselves in a creature that would eat any other fish. a shrimp and a fish that live together? it just doesnt get any cooler! plus they are just so vibrant and beautiful.
Reef addict lol.

 

When I was young my mom had an in-home daycare, and some of the kids she had were my best friends and I would go to their house and stay the night. Their dad, Gary, had a saltwater tank...He had a clownfish pair and an Anemone, I was hooked (mind you this was probably 1989-90 when I was 5-6). Now I'm going to be 27 on Tuesday, and Gary still has the same Anemone, and I have a bigger tank than him! But his tank is what orginally inspired me.

The thing I love most is my wife's face when i tell her how much i paid for a fish/coral....lol jk... I love watching all my fish and coral live and grow (and how they think i'm the "food god" when i walk by)