I started in the aquarist hobby when I was a kid – as I imagine I have in common with many in the Akron club, my first tank was a gift from a family member, filled with mismatched species and, unfortunately, possessing no knowledge of cycling. Needless to say, I would quickly find myself frustrated.
It wasn’t until my post-college years that I would try again, given the green light to keep a 20 gallon tank in the office, and this time willing to do some research into the subject. I credit a lot of my knowledge and success on the website Wetwebmedia with hundreds of articles on just about every family of fish you would likely come across (I’m pretty sure I’ve read them all over years of lunch breaks!). It was also here that I learned about brackish fish keeping – a niche section of the aquarium trade. The fact that there wasn’t as much established guidance for brackish fish as freshwater or saltwater immediately drew my interest.
After a few successful brackish tanks and years of research, I started up a tumblr blog, “TheBrackishTank”, in late 2014 aimed at sharing my experiences and catalouging things I would find online that would be helpful for others. Eventually, I wrote 192 caresheets on various brackish fishes and 24 articles on brackish-related topics. Later, I would find interest in another niche corner of the hobby, this time keeping North American Native Fish biotopes. I would later add “TheNativeTank” and to the list of pages I upkeep and moderate the blog “FishCommunity”.
These days I am not as active on “Thebrackishtank” as I met my goal of one caresheet for most any brackish-tolerant fish you’d find in the trade (but if you find one I missed, let me know!), however I still update “TheNativeTank” daily with photos and regular results on my exploration of Virginia waterways. Not every trip is a win, but I love finding something new!
I keep three tanks currently (minus some holding tanks for plants) — a 55 gallon biotope for Virginia Fishes, a 125 gallon Saltwater FOWLR, and a 29 gallon low-end brackish tank I hope to convert to another native biotope – with a little luck fishing!
