Hi, I'm Fishy Dave.

I've kept fish on and off since 2002, mostly freshwater. "Off and on" covers the stretches where I swore I was done, followed by the day I walked past a fish store and came home with a bucket and a new plan.

These days there's also a saltwater tank in the house, run by a blue tang (yes, a Dory) who has strong opinions about where the rock work belongs and rearranges it whenever I get it wrong.

The street incident

Years ago I moved across the state with a car full of fish. Bags in coolers, a battery air pump, heaters on the passenger seat, and a lot of checking the rearview mirror at red lights. Hours of careful driving, and everybody arrived alive.

Then, in the last thirty feet, I dropped them in the street.

What followed was a scramble with a net, a bucket, and a neighbor who didn't ask questions. Every fish made it. I didn't sleep that night, and I've packed for every move since like I'm transporting organs.

What this site is

I'm not a shop, a breeder, or a marine biologist. I'm a hobbyist who learned most of this the hard way and wrote it down so you can learn it the cheap way. Swimming Fishies covers species care, tank setup, and gear I'd actually put in my own tanks.

The jokes stay up here. The steps for dosing, temperatures, and cycling are straight, because your fish deserve better than my sense of humor.

Swimming Fishies has one goal: keep your fishies swimming. If something here saves you one dead fish or one wasted trip to the store, we're even.

Fishy Dave