gnatster

Heidisue writes that it would be a good thing to have a thread dedicated as to why we as individuals keep planted tanks. Not the common “how” we keep them but an exploration as to why, or maybe the origins of your desire to keep a planted tank. Thinking this is a good idea I’ll take the lead and at least expound on why I have a desire to keep a planted tank.

At about age 12 the kid my age across the street from me started an aquarium. Thinking this was about the coolest thing I had seen in my short life I began to lobby my parents for one myself. At first it was much like they quest for a motorcycle, fallen on deaf ears. Months and months of near constant annoyance and one evening as my 13th birthday approached I was told that after dinner we would go to the Fish Store and take a look around. My first task was to find the address and hours of the shop. Now this particular shop at the time had 2 locations both on the same road separated by about 10 miles. One in the city, the smaller, older place, and out in suburbia was the newer, larger location. I knew we wanted to go to the newer place but I wrote down the address for the older one. After what seemed to be an interminable dinner we ventured into cold rainy dark December night with my friend from across the street. We had an idea where the new shop was as my friend had been there before yet I had the address for the older location. We drove up and down that road 2 or 3 times, my father considerable ire rising with each U turn. Finally we enter the old location, my spirits dampened as I know this is not the Valhalla that had been reported to me. When queried, a friendly clerk told us of the mistake we made and explained exactly where the new shop was. Off again back into the cold rainy night we again made the trip back out to suburbia this time to find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

My obsession with planted aquaria started when I walked in the front door. There, placed at the perfect viewing height for this 12 year old was a magnificent tank, fully planted with live plants. Against a verdant backdrop full grown Angels gracefully glided along, while a shoal of Cardinals darted hither and yon. Marbled Hatchetfish hovered at the surface, Cory’s playfully flirted along the substrate, I was in awe. We left the shop that evening with a new 20 long and all the hardware needed to get it running. My enthusiasm could hardly be contained and the next day I was starting to set up the tank even though a few days later we were to be off on a family vacation and was told it all must sit until we returned. It was many years, tanks and diversions in the hobby before I set up my own planted tank, but I don’t think I’ll ever be without live plants again.