The Beginning
I got interested in fish by going to my local county fair. At the fair there's a game where you throw a ping pong ball and try to get it to land on top of a glass bottle top. It's simple but tricky — sea of bottles, bouncy balls. But as a kid, winning was everything.
🏈 Fair tip: Every corn dog is better when you're winning a goldfish between bites. I'm pretty sure the judges favored the contestants who smelled like mustard and triumph.
Winning a small fish in a bag full of life was exciting. That goldfish was probably my first ever fish-keeping experience. Being an only kid, that fish was basically mine and mine alone — whether the rest of the house cared or not. My relatives had tanks though, and I'd always stare at their fish on visits. Grandma had a fancy goldfish for many years. Uncle too.
Safe to say my prize goldfish did not last very long in the care of a young boy who didn't know any better.
The Comeback
I got back into the hobby once I moved "for the last time" — this feels like home, so I'm settling in and setting up some beautiful tanks to care for.
Living in Yachats means stormy, ugly weather half the year. When you're stuck inside more than you'd like, you need hobbies. So I started exploring what I call "inside hobbies."
One of those was setting up a fish tank. And honestly? I fell in love. There's so much to watch and learn about. Some days it beats anything Netflix can offer. These fish are my pets now, and I take that seriously.
The Tanks
Easy to kill tanks when you're a kid and nobody teaches you the basics. You throw it together fast, figure it'll work, and — spoiler — it doesn't. Not gonna work! Takes patience and insider know-how.
Now I've got 10 tanks going:
My favorite is one of my 20gal long tanks. That size is pretty ideal — aesthetically it's looking the best, and the way I use plants... its layout might be changing soon!
The Mission
"If maintenance was easy, keeping a beautiful tank is easy."
I want people to feel like someone who's been there has their back. The guide gives free knowledge. The app makes maintenance less overwhelming. That's Yachats Aqua in a nutshell.
The Vision
In 1 Year
Launch the app, get 1,000+ users. Build the foundation.
In 5 Years
Change the trajectory for beginners in this hobby. Higher success rates. More happy tanks.
Long Term
Build something I'm proud of — maybe breeding fish, growing bucephalandra and anubias, or even 3D printed accessories.
Fun Facts
Besides fish keeping (about 3 years steady now), my other passion is growing bonsai trees — with some trees under my care for 20 years!
At 33, this feels like a win. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring in this newly refound passion for fish and aquatic plants.
Next quest: Saltwater tank! Need to get my girlfriend interested... she's been bugging me to do it. 😄