Why'd/How'd you get into the hobby, cichlids in particular?

[emartin]

Why'd/How'd you get into the hobby, cichlids in particular?

I started with a 10gal petsmart tank that was eventually a failure. I then, after reading about cichlids, got a 120g and it took off from there... I decided I liked Malawi Haplochromines and Peacocks best and worked on getting a lot of them, particularly the less common ones and even some rare ones...

Now I've been in the Hobby for over two years now, with one active breeding colony and one large tank with almost no fish in it now...

Hopefully I'll find a way to keep running these tanks when I'm off to college in a year. I've invested too much time, money, and blood and sweat working with all of these tanks... Not to mention a few scares where I dropped a 70lb boulder in my 265g last Spring...luckily the eggcrate saved the glass...

So how did all you guys get into the hobby?

~Ed

[DNICE]

When I was younger I dabbled with alot of different fish, reptiles, etc. Nothing fancy, honestly nothing lived very long. I had been thinking of setting up a tank for awhile, and a guy I work w/ was selling his 46g bow. Bought it, started w/ tropical barbs, gourami, etc. Kept looking at the cichlids, and finally took the plunge. First common labs and the such. Then met a few people, discovered Atlantis was 20 miles away, and the rest is history. 3 tanks, Tropheus, Compressiceps, mixed malawi, not so much of the "common" types anymore. Plan on getting a 75g soon. Aquarium Adventure is having a sale, they're 10 minutes from my in-laws. Think my wife knows why I want to go visit next weekend?

[joe_jaskot]

Won a goldfish at a carnival and the rest is history. No, not really. As a kid I started off with guppies, mollies, plattys and swordtails. Moved on to spawning danios, tetras and dwarf gouramis. Next up were some angelfish, keyhole cichlids and buffalo heads. Tried a few other South American cichlids. In the late 60's african cichlids started to show up in fish stores. I was hooked for life. Still keep guppies, mollies, swordtails, other wild livebearers, killies, catfish, discus and some other community fish. Have a few tanks with malawians and victorians. Most of my tanks are dedicated to tanganyikans (my favorites).The interesting behavior and parental care of the young is probably why I keep mostly cichlids.

[DJRansome]

I DID win a goldfish at a carnival. But many years passed without fish. I was trying to convince my son, who was working at Wal Mart, NOT to get an ocsar, but TO get an aquarium. I convinced myself instead. And it was Demasoni that got me into cichlids, that blue is incredible, HAD to have them.