Fish Aquariums are a NIGHTMARE!

Oh look honey! Another fish stuck to the filter. Can you get it for me?

I have a 10 gallon fish tank and it's set up every couple of years when I have the extra money (and creativity) to throw together a decent looking tank with a nice community of fish. Sometimes I go with a small school of fish and other times I go for the larger colorful fish. But every time I do, no matter what I do and hundreds of dollars I spend my fish are all dead within a year. In the past three years I've had the tank taken down and set back up again for three different trials.

- First Attempt. All natural tank with live plants and hardy fish. Did regular scheduled cleanings and water changes and even tested my tank for pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia and all the other goodies to keep your fish 'alive'. If the water didn't meet the requirements I made proper arrangements with chemicals to fix that. My water was always in it's ideal range with it's ideal temperature, and fish were fed nothing but top of the quality food.. YOU name it! Within 3 months.. fish were dead. All but my Chinese algae eater. (These things are immortal) Funny part? My boyfriends tank that he cleans when he "feels like it" and is growing algae so thick you can't see inside the tank with rocks that are covered in fish waste is doing just fine. In fact he didn't lose a single fish! He recommends I stop with the panicky water testing and adding all the chemicals "next time" i set up a tank.

- Second Attempt. New Fish, FAKE plants and a few different ornaments. A few weeks and....DEATH

- Third Attempt. Screw these chemicals they must not be working! I set up a whole new aquarium to mimic a beautiful "Lost city of Atlantis" type of theme. New fish, (all female this time) new food and new decor. I change the water monthly instead of weekly and i add no chemicals to alter the water, other than the "yellow" bottle that you add to break down ammonia. Ohhhh yes.. Within a few weeks fish one had died. "Big Blue" was what I called her.. She was wedged between a decoration and the glass of the aquarium. What was so awesome to check out in the back of the tank I don't know.. What she died of.. hrmm, being stuck? That one I diagnosed death from being squeezed :( The other fish? Oh yes.. today they are all dead but 1 and the ever immortal Chinese algae eater.

My boyfriends tank? All alive. Every so often one goes "missing" but we haven't once found any dead.

I love fish.