# My tanks in greece



## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Hello people, these were my tanks in Greece. I don't have any of them anymore but each one gave me many different experiences, positive or negative and I thought to share the pictures with you. I hope you like them

600 liters with goldfish
A very big tank up on the wall. Very difficult to maintain because of its position and size. Had many problems when I found it (I didn't buy it, it came with the house) and since it was my first tank I didn't have the experience to maintain it properly. It accommodated more than 22 goldfish (different kinds) and it was decorated with plastic stuff (not mine either). I never tried to change it or set it up from the beginning for many reasons. Most of the goldfish are now in a very nice pet shop in Athens and hopefully taken care.


































200 liters with labidochromis
maybe my favourite tank although I don't like picking sides! It accommodated 8 of these wonderful fish. We had 3-4 pregnancies but never saw any babies for unknown reasons. All of them are now (hopefully) with a nice guy from the Greek forum.










































some more pictures for the 2-3 days that I kept some haps from a friend


















120 liters with cribensis
This one was in my room so I fell asleep with it and in general it was the one that I looked at the most. Creating the background myself and planting it without actually having much experience were two very challenging missions for me. The cribs are now with a guy that hopefully will take care of them as I did. We had two births from them.


































120 liters with convicts
Just a pair of convicts with their babies. The babies grew up at some point and since they gave birth again (the parents) i removed the old babies and gave them to their initial owner. they gave birth twice in 3 months!


























That's it. i hoped you liked it and I hope I find the same support and friends I had in Greece, here so I can continue with the hobby I love.


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

Welcome to Canada and to GTA Aquaria.

Very nice tanks and pictures. Thanks for sharing them and I am looking forward to seeing some of your Canadian tank pictures in the future.

Greg


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## Zidartha (Nov 16, 2012)

Yassou! Absolutely beautiful tanks!


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Thank you guys. Now here I have a dilemma. Start again a freshwater tank or try my luck with saltwater. The truth is that after a visit to a known fish store in toronto I got very disappointed for various reasons and I am still thinking of it!


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

I agree that if you are looking for a single source for everything in the GTA you will be disappointed. However, I think you can get everything you need for salt or fresh, if you're willing to do the searching. There are lots of stores in the GTA, many with unique items. There are online stores in Canada and the U.S. Trading with other GTA Aquaria members is also possible.

As an example, my tanks are planted and its hard to find the plants I desire. I have managed however to find almost all the plants on my list through three sources: Angelfins, Menagerie Pet Shop and from GTA Aquaria members.

Greg


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Thanks for the info man. The truth is that I wasn't disappointed with the variety of items I found. Other things made me reconsider restarting the hobby. Anyway, if you have any big/good/friendly etc stores to suggest near willowdale north york I would be happy to pay them a visit. The thing is that because I don't drive I cannot go around dmuch


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## greg (Apr 29, 2012)

I'm in Mississauga, however three stores I've visited in your area are:

Lucky Aquarium, Pacific Mall - lots of unique fish, particularly arowanas - many close to $1000

Aqua Inspirations - have very nice planted tanks displayed

Big Al's in Scarborough - more typical aquarium store in GTA since Big Al's dominates the scene

These are all fun places to visit on a day off.

There are also lots of GTA members in the area of Kennedy and Steeles selling aquatic plants from their homes.

Greg


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Unfortunately they are all far from me and without a car I will not be able to be visiting them easily and even buying stuff.

I guess for now I will have to settle for big al's in north york and used items from the ads!


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tanks*

wow awesome tanks i think if u look hard u will find the perfect tank to start again .there are many helpful people on this site , as u know .have u decided what u are gonna start on yet or are u still in limbo.
cheers 
tom


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

tom g said:


> wow awesome tanks i think if u look hard u will find the perfect tank to start again .there are many helpful people on this site , as u know .have u decided what u are gonna start on yet or are u still in limbo.
> cheers
> tom


thanks for the nice words. Yeah, in my few days here I found several helpful guys and a couple of attention seeking teens but it's all in the game!

i haven't decided yet but the sure thing is that I have to reprogram myself into thinking in a more canadian way. prices here are waaaaay more expensive than in europe and especially used items. So i have to be careful and research a lot!

Maybe until I am very comfortable with finances, a marine tank is not the solution for me. Surely, if I go marine it will be with a small 10g tank.

I have many bad memories from the goldfish so I don't think I will be returning to them. If I go back to fresh water it will either be a full of stones tank with african cichlids or a planted one with a type of african or american cichlids that like plants


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*tanks*

completly understood , deff u should get yourself to aqua inspiration it is located inthe kenndy and steeles area .if u take a bus along steeles it would be no prob getting there .u will love there small planted tanks and they could give u that passion back on a smaller scale u will see what u can do with plants .the ttc can get u to lots of places .


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

yes it is in the plans! now that you said that, how do i go to petsmart that's in richmond hill? oh man i will never learn toronto and the areas around!


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Richmond Hill Petsmart is located at highway 7 and young st. If you take the Viva blue from Finch station (i assume you're downtown) then you'll just have to walk for like 10 minutes. If you're driving, just go to young and 7 lol


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Ryan.Wilton said:


> Richmond Hill Petsmart is located at highway 7 and young st. If you take the Viva blue from Finch station (i assume you're downtown) then you'll just have to walk for like 10 minutes. If you're driving, just go to young and 7 lol


thank you pal. I am higher than finch so i am between walking to steels and taking a bus or going down to finch and taking it.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

If you're on young near steeles then just take the Viva blue on young, you dont have to hike down to finch station to catch it. In fact theres a Viva stop right at young and steeles. Beyond that, Big Al's is right up the road on Steeles, west of young street. It's in the Pizza Pizza plaza across from Center Point Mall.


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Ryan.Wilton said:


> If you're on young near steeles then just take the Viva blue on young, you dont have to hike down to finch station to catch it. In fact theres a Viva stop right at young and steeles. Beyond that, Big Al's is right up the road on Steeles, west of young street. It's in the Pizza Pizza plaza across from Center Point Mall.


yeah i went to big al's but i was disappointed for various reasons. I am actually on drewry and yonge do I guess it is better to go north than south.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

I'll be honest you'll be wasting money taking the bus to petsmart it's the worst store for fish. 

NY big Al's is ok just depends on what you're looking for and you can always cut deals with them for fish. 

You can take the drewry bus to finch station get on the steels east and it will take you to pacific mall a few Lfs over in that area with in walking distance


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## monk21 (Dec 5, 2012)

Jackson said:


> I'll be honest you'll be wasting money taking the bus to petsmart it's the worst store for fish.
> 
> NY big Al's is ok just depends on what you're looking for and you can always cut deals with them for fish.
> 
> You can take the drewry bus to finch station get on the steels east and it will take you to pacific mall a few Lfs over in that area with in walking distance


I am going to petsmart for several reasons so not a big deal. The truth is that i expected more from big al's north york store but only thing I saw was employees that didn't know about fish, employees that didn't try to service you, high prices and many many many many many many sick or dead fish.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

BA's or petsmart all depends on the location and who runs/works there. My local petsmart is mostly pretty good.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Petsmart offers nothing but your basic over priced bread and butter fish.
If you thought the kids at big als know nothing you'll be shocked when you go to petsmart. 
Oh and don't trust any advice about any other pet products there. they're just trying to push products on people like they're told to do. 
Or they'll bring a rep over who just so happens to be it from company insert name who will feed you all the bull they can to convince you to buy their product. 
Always research pet products they sell here in Canada before you buy them. They all claim all natural, holistic or organic when it's just garbage in fancy packaging. Many pet owners visit the vet because of some stupid chew treat or snack they thought was good for their dog, cat ..... when it's actually harmful to them. 

NY big al's has some really good guys working there who know a lot you just have to know who to talk to. 
The kids that work there know nothing same with some of the older guys.
It's just a job here for these people it's easy and close to home.
They don't care if it's the first time you've seen a fish they'll hire you as long as you seem presentable same with other big box pet stores/Lfs.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

That's not true Jackson.

As with anywhere it depends on the staff. When I worked at Petsmart I was the only one in the store who new things about SW aquariums. I also was the only employee who went outside of the box, taught customers some DIY to save cash... and hey wait a minute, I never get that treatment...

Crap I guess since I left ALL petsmart failed


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## xriddler (Feb 16, 2012)

I frequent the big als in scarborough and i find them to be helpful and knowledgeable. They're tanks are quite clean and i always see them cleaning the tanks in the morning when i go.


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