What Kind of Fish do you have?

[SeeinRed]

I thought it would be interesting to start a thread on all of us who have aquariums. First off, I'll admidt to being a newbie. I just started keeping fish a few months ago. I did however reasearch it deeply before starting so I knew what I was getting into before choosing the hobby. I decieded on a 55 gallon tank and on getting a couple oscars. I also purchased a 29 gallon tank and decided to go saltwater with it. I have a canister filter with skimmer and got a clownfish, valentini puffer, and a coral beauty angel for it. The coral beauty is a very accurate name, its a really good looking purple and yellow fish. The puffer is my favorite of the saltwater though.

The oscars are my absolute favorites though. They really are like underwater dogs in that they beg for food and will eat like crazy. The cool thing is you can teach them to let you pet them. I recently change the decorations of the oscar tank from a natual looking creek setting to an asian type theme. Red rocks and a couple dragon decorations. Really cool. I just put in a red light for nightime effect. Here are a few crappy cell phone pics:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm62/linkworld852002/attachment3.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm62/linkworld852002/attachment2.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm62/linkworld852002/attachment.jpg



Any who, I just came across another 55 gallon aquarium, so I'm looking for some ideas. I also just thought it would be fun to see what everyone else had.

[15fan]

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

We also have a ton of Nemo stuff.

That's pretty much the extent of fish stuff at our house. ;)

[GAC]

sticks. :lol:

[Ravenlord]

a Tiger Oscar and Albino Oscar in 92 gallon tank with a Pleco.

two Black Moors and two gold Ryukins in a 29 gallontank with a bunch of snails and live plants. I have the ecosystem in that tank so precise That I don't have the give the fish any food and I only have the clean that tank about twice a year.

[Ravenlord]

The oscars are my absolute favorites though. They really are like underwater dogs in that they beg for food and will eat like crazy. The cool thing is you can teach them to let you pet them. I recently change the decorations of the oscar tank from a natual looking creek setting to an asian type theme. Red rocks and a couple dragon decorations.

Oscars will actually get bored and inactive if you don't change the decorations every few weeks or so. Not neccessarily switch things out, but move stuff around. In the wild their diet is mostly insects that have fallen onto the surface of the water, so you can throw cicadas, june bugs, spiders and the like into the tank. I also use my minnow trap to bring them creek chubs. ever since they got pinched by a crawdad, they won't eat those anymore, so the pleco waits til they're soft and sucks the insideds out through their backs.

[SeeinRed]

Oscars will actually get bored and inactive if you don't change the decorations every few weeks or so. Not neccessarily switch things out, but move stuff around. In the wild their diet is mostly insects that have fallen onto the surface of the water, so you can throw cicadas, june bugs, spiders and the like into the tank. I also use my minnow trap to bring them creek chubs. ever since they got pinched by a crawdad, they won't eat those anymore, so the pleco waits til they're soft and sucks the insideds out through their backs.


I change up the aquarium at least once every couple weeks. Usually small changes, but every now an then I do a complete overhaul. One of the funnest parts about watching oscars is watching them learn the new surrounding and each time they will claim the part of the tank they like. I also hear they like "toys." Watching them move rocks is very entertaining. The personalities these fish have are absolutely astonishing. For those looking to start an aquarium, I highly suggest Oscars. They grow to recognize their owners and beg for food. You can teach them tricks or get them to let you pet them. Mine are just now letting me start to touch them. Very cool.

[sonny]

sticks. :lol:

Oh, GAC, you slay me.:beerme:

[OUReds]

One thing to note for beginners though, Oscars get BIG. They need a large (50+) gallon tank. They'll also eat any other fish they can fit into their very large mouths, so they obviously aren't for those who want a mixed species tank.

My last tank was a 29 gallon salty mini-reef. It was absolutely gorgeous, but it was a serious pain in the neck to maintain. With such small water volumes, when things go south they crash in a hurry. Even short power outages had the potential to wreck the tank. You really have to keep on top of the temp/salinity/water changes.

Depending on what you plan on doing with your salt water tank, (fish only, fish and invertebrate, reef) a larger tank is actually much more forgiving.

For any tank, especially a saltwater one, the best advise is to have patience and stock s l o w l y .

[Raisor]

I had a Beta fish.

He exploded.

[SeeinRed]

OK, I'm gonna pick the brains of some of the fish lovers on here. I recently just bought a 20 gallon Hexagon acrylic aquarium with stand filter light and other goodies for 100 bucks (an absolute steal). The person who had the tank before me had some guppies and a plecostomus. I'm getting rid of the guppies, but want to keep the algae eater. He is about 5 inches long and I don't want to put him in with my Oscars until he is big enough that the oscars won't bother him. The oscars are only about 6 inches, but I'm worried about putting him in there right now. My first question is would you go ahead and put him in there, or would you let him grow or possibly not even attempt it. I have another 20 gallon tank I am thinking about putting the plecostomus in until he grows a little. The second question is, if I wanted to put something besides guppies in with the pleco, what would be your suggestions. I have a lot of ideas that would work, but I'm not to crazy about the types of fish I've thought of so far.

Maybe I should just stick with the guppies for now, but I have been very tempted to feed them to the oscars. :D Thoughts?

[Ravenlord]

the oscars will likely grow faster than the pleco, so putting them together at the current size is a good idea, because they'll gt used to it being there as they get larger.

is it a tall 20 gallon?

and i luck the guppies and mollies, ebcause they're an easy and efficent source of oscar treats. :)

[SeeinRed]

the oscars will likely grow faster than the pleco, so putting them together at the current size is a good idea, because they'll gt used to it being there as they get larger.

is it a tall 20 gallon?

and i luck the guppies and mollies, ebcause they're an easy and efficent source of oscar treats. :)


Yep, its a 20 gallon tall. I keep thinking about breeding the guppies and feeding them to the oscars, but I don't know. There are 3 different types in the aquarium I just bought that I am transfering into the 20 tall. I might just give the fish to someone else, but if I can't think of anything better to put in the other 20 I guess I might as well keep them. I even thought about getting a freshwater puffer to put in there because I have a lot of snails. I'm turning that 20 gallon hex into a saltwater with some clownfish and maybe some live coral. We'll see. I think the 20 hex acrylic will really look sweet with some saltwater though.

[Ravenlord]

saltwater i don't have the patience for, but they do look great.

that style of tall tank is actually designed mostly for angelfish, which like oscars, are a cichlid.

[Spring~Fields]

Mostly fried fish, sometimes baked or micro waved. :KoolAid:

[RichRed]

I had a Beta fish.

He exploded.

Should've gone with the more popular VHS fish.

[Roy Tucker]

2 goldfish in an outside pond.

I think we're on about v4 of the fish. Cats got some and the last pair didn't make it over the winter (I put a cattle trough heater in the pond to keep an air hole during Dec.-Feb.).

Come to think of it, we haven't named this pair. Before them was Flash and Dipstick, Jimi and Cleopatra, and Wally and Fiona. Alcohol is usually involved in the naming.

[OesterPoster]

I'd really like to switch to a saltwater tank, but they seem to be a lot more work and costly to stock. Any truth to that?

Right now, we have a 20 gallon freshwater tank with a gold molly, silver molly, tinfoil barb, angelfish, 2 cory catfish, 2 striped danios, a blue gourami, and a red neon danio. The tank is dirty with algae, because our two Plectos died a month or two ago, and I haven't found the urge to buy more of them yet. I dread cleaning that thing, so if a salt tank takes more work...I'm not on that boat.

[OldRightHander]

I went to Red Lobster the other night...wait a minute...never mind.

[SeeinRed]

I'd really like to switch to a saltwater tank, but they seem to be a lot more work and costly to stock. Any truth to that?

Right now, we have a 20 gallon freshwater tank with a gold molly, silver molly, tinfoil barb, angelfish, 2 cory catfish, 2 striped danios, a blue gourami, and a red neon danio. The tank is dirty with algae, because our two Plectos died a month or two ago, and I haven't found the urge to buy more of them yet. I dread cleaning that thing, so if a salt tank takes more work...I'm not on that boat.

Saltwater is extremely expensive and very hard to keep up on in small tanks. I enjoy the upkeep, but some people think it is too much of a chore. Saltwater is definately not for you if you dread cleaning freshwater tanks. I will tell you that I have some snails in a 20 gallon of mine and the keep the thing really clean so that might be something you want to try. They asexually reproduce, so prepare to have a lot of them in there if you put one in. I have some if you want a couple to try. PM me if interested, although they are really inexpensive to buy if you do get charged for them at a pet store. I know a lot of people who got one in the bag they recieved their fish in. Some people don't like them, I don't mind them because the ones I have are small, and they clean the tank really well.

[OesterPoster]

I've bought a few snails, but I can't keep 'em alive. I can't figure out why either. Even with a good pH level, good nitrite and nitrate levels, and water that tests well, I've killed off 3 seemingly healthy snails. I keep reading horror stories from tank owners who get overrun by snails and snails and snails...but the little buggers don't like me for some reason.

[SeeinRed]

I've bought a few snails, but I can't keep 'em alive. I can't figure out why either. Even with a good pH level, good nitrite and nitrate levels, and water that tests well, I've killed off 3 seemingly healthy snails. I keep reading horror stories from tank owners who get overrun by snails and snails and snails...but the little buggers don't like me for some reason.

What kind of snails did you buy?

[Highlifeman21]

Swedish Fish

[OesterPoster]

What kind of snails did you buy?

Whatever they have at Wal-Mart and Jack's Aquarium. I think we've had two snails from Wal-Mart, one from Jack's, and one from a local pet store.

[Spitball]

I have two small goldfish in a 29 gallon tank. I have had fancy tropical fish before but have found that the more I pay for fish, the quicker they die.

[SeeinRed]

Well, I've decided to go full out on my 55 Gallon aquarium and go saltwater with reef and fish. I've had it running for about 6-7 months with metal halide lighting, but have decided to go T5 instead. So far, I have two black line ocellarius clowns, a 3 stripe damsel and a yellow tang. I also have 3 Nassarius snails, 5 Cerith snails, 6-8 Margarita snails, A sand sifting starfish, Tiger Pistol Shrimp and a Long Tenacle anemone.

I do have some questions for any reefers on here. I'm going to start with some soft corals, maybe some polyps. First I want to make sure I have the lighting right. I have more than enough lighting, in fact I'm worried about having too much. I have a 432 watt T5 system with LED moon lighting. My main question is how you would set up the timers for the lights. The Actinic lights are on a seperate cord as well as the 10K day lighting and LEDs.

There is so much information on the internet, but its all so different. What have the reefers on here had success with?

[oneupper]

I love grouper, snapper, hake, cod, salmon. Love 'em all.

If I have to choose I'll have the monkfish.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Monkfish.jpg

I swear, it's delicious!

[moewan]

monkfish the poor mans lobster

[Jerry]

My 5 year old daughter just got hermit crabs for her birthday. She named hers "Heartberry"

She let her 7 year old brother name the other one "Total Explosion"

[Roy Tucker]

2 koi in an outside pond, Boo and Scout.

I've managed to keep them alive for 2 years now. I put a little trough heater in the pond over the winter to keep them from getting frozen in solid.