Anybody here have a fish tank?
- Thread starter stosh
- Start date
I kept freshwater years ago, but have been strictly salt for the past 10 years or so. Fresh is pretty simple... often times the hardest part is getting healthy livestock.
Hey Jackson! Long time no see!!!
Most of the friends I know who have tanks have Saltwater. I like the affordability of freshwater. I just set up a 30gal 2 weeks ago with some Cichilids and 4 other fish. Now there one Cichilid and one 1/2 dead Cory catfish. The small Cichilid ran all the fish to death. Realized I didn't have enough nooks and hiding places for the Cichilids and other fish.
no pictures right now, but i've had a cichilid tank for almost 10 years now. along with cichilids being territorial and killing fish, a few weeks after the initial setup, the tank will "spike" as the bacteria(amongst other things) levels even out to the proper levels to support aquatic life. which could very well also be another reson a few of them have died off...
i went gung-ho when i set mine up as i didn't know about the spiking. after the spike, i only had two fishes left...
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I do, its a 30 gal that has been going strong for almost three years now. Initial setup is everything, if you get it balanced right they almost take care of themselves.
I have two opaline gouramis, seven colored skirts, seven harliquin rasboras, one black moly, two black phantoms, three khali loached,three algae eaters<Not pleco's> one bamboo shrimp and about two to three dozen ghost shrimp...
Seriously easy to maintain, I change out about 5 gallons a month and that is it.... Used a product called start right to get it going an the tank was ready for fish in about 30 second. Other than an occasional wipe of the glass the only maintaining I do is keeping the water level right, and swap out a cart filter about once a month.....
I have two opaline gouramis, seven colored skirts, seven harliquin rasboras, one black moly, two black phantoms, three khali loached,three algae eaters<Not pleco's> one bamboo shrimp and about two to three dozen ghost shrimp...
Seriously easy to maintain, I change out about 5 gallons a month and that is it.... Used a product called start right to get it going an the tank was ready for fish in about 30 second. Other than an occasional wipe of the glass the only maintaining I do is keeping the water level right, and swap out a cart filter about once a month.....
The cichlids have chewed up the fins of the other fish so obviously they are pushing them around.
It's cool though the remaining cichilid made a nice burrow but moving the gravel out from under one of the plants I have.
yeah, chewed up fins are an obvious tell-tale sign of them getting rowdy with each other...
my guys move their rocks around all the time. you can even hear them spitting them against the glass all day long. this is their natural way of attracting a mate. the males build their nest and the female chooses the nest she likes the most. i actually have to push all the rocks back down about once a week...
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Yeah Stosh I have 2 set up right now a 30 and a 10 . angels andtinfoil Bards , in the 30 , Crednsia's that My wife is Breeding are going into the 10 ( I wanted to make it a guppy tank) .
I have a 75 in the garage we need to setup one of these days .
I have a 75 in the garage we need to setup one of these days .
lol
Cichlids are not communal fish.
You can either have non-aggressive fish like your Cory Cats or Cichlids. Not both.
My wife is a manager at a local pet shop and she spends a lot of time convincing people that what they want to do with their fish tank is dumb. Most places just sell fish without bothering to ask about tank size, tank mates, etc. Find a good pet store with knowledgeable staff or a specialty aquatics store and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. Ask a lot of questions. Keeping fish is more complicated than most people think.
The hard part is usually getting a good ecosystem started. I recommend Microbe-Lift to help cycle the tank. Just don't use it when you are planning on being in the room, it stinks like a thousand burning dog farts. In larger tanks once everything is stable you shouldn't have to do too much maintenance as long as you don't over feed your friends (this is one of the biggest problems for fish noobs).
Here's our 16" Pleco. He's about 2.5 yrs old.
Cichlids are not communal fish.
You can either have non-aggressive fish like your Cory Cats or Cichlids. Not both.
My wife is a manager at a local pet shop and she spends a lot of time convincing people that what they want to do with their fish tank is dumb. Most places just sell fish without bothering to ask about tank size, tank mates, etc. Find a good pet store with knowledgeable staff or a specialty aquatics store and you will save yourself a lot of trouble. Ask a lot of questions. Keeping fish is more complicated than most people think.
The hard part is usually getting a good ecosystem started. I recommend Microbe-Lift to help cycle the tank. Just don't use it when you are planning on being in the room, it stinks like a thousand burning dog farts. In larger tanks once everything is stable you shouldn't have to do too much maintenance as long as you don't over feed your friends (this is one of the biggest problems for fish noobs).
Here's our 16" Pleco. He's about 2.5 yrs old.
i got rid of my 125g reef tank and replaced it with a 30g nano tank. ive been reef keeping for about 11 years now and can tell you that it can be a ton of money..especially if you get a nice sized tank.
i think freshwater tanks are pretty boring and the colors arent nearly as pretty imo
i think freshwater tanks are pretty boring and the colors arent nearly as pretty imo
We have a small salt tank and a large fresh water tank. I agree that the colors in the fresh water tank are not as bright but I like that when I buy a fish and it pops off I'm out $5 and not $40. Due to the price difference I suggest that people start with fresh water fish.
We bought that big a$$ pleco for something like $2 at WallyWorld when it was a little guy.
Ya think!
What you can Over feed them ?
Bingo ! hence why I do Fresh water , did marine way too much work and too much $$$$
dont kill the fish and you wont have a problem. i had a priceless clam just die on me and was super bummed about it. ive only seen one about half the size of mine and was selling for $600+
my 14inch Paco killed a 12inch Pleco
flipped him over and chewed a hole in the belly
I had the Paco for about 10 years in a 65 gallon tank
he killed everything including 3 heaters
was a cool fish as fish go
got him for free because everyone else thought he was ugly
flipped him over and chewed a hole in the belly
I had the Paco for about 10 years in a 65 gallon tank
he killed everything including 3 heaters
was a cool fish as fish go
got him for free because everyone else thought he was ugly
I had a 125 salt tank set up out in our pool house for about a year.
Before that I had a 90 gallon salt tank in my apartment.
Reef set up was a lot better/easier to maintain. On the 90 gallon I was running a Fluval FX5 and a skimmer, but it was a bitch to keep that thing clean and flowing at the rate it was supposed to. It might have been that I had some big eating fish, which meant big pooping fish, but I was spraying tons of fish crap out of the canister every week.
Allegedly this is why canisters have high concentrations of toxins in the water.
I switched to the 125 tank with the over flows, a much bigger skimmer and a lot more carbon, along with more life rock, and the fish were as happy as can be. The downside was that the skimmer didn't have a lid on it, so the entire pool house stunk of fish ****. This didn't bother me, which is odd because I am super allergic to fish, but my ex-girlfriend couldn't run on the treadmill in there due to the smell.
I've since sold both tanks, and have an empty 50 gallon corner tank sitting in my guest room. Been in the house for two months, don't really want to set it up again. Just too much of a PITA, even though the fish were almost zen-like for me.
Before that I had a 90 gallon salt tank in my apartment.
Reef set up was a lot better/easier to maintain. On the 90 gallon I was running a Fluval FX5 and a skimmer, but it was a bitch to keep that thing clean and flowing at the rate it was supposed to. It might have been that I had some big eating fish, which meant big pooping fish, but I was spraying tons of fish crap out of the canister every week.
Allegedly this is why canisters have high concentrations of toxins in the water.
I switched to the 125 tank with the over flows, a much bigger skimmer and a lot more carbon, along with more life rock, and the fish were as happy as can be. The downside was that the skimmer didn't have a lid on it, so the entire pool house stunk of fish ****. This didn't bother me, which is odd because I am super allergic to fish, but my ex-girlfriend couldn't run on the treadmill in there due to the smell.
I've since sold both tanks, and have an empty 50 gallon corner tank sitting in my guest room. Been in the house for two months, don't really want to set it up again. Just too much of a PITA, even though the fish were almost zen-like for me.
Nice! I just found someone in town downsizing their breeding operation so I'm looking at picking up a couple angle fish.
I knew it was a risk with the Cichilids but I thought the bottom feeders would be ok. I'm going to get rid of the last cichlid before I put the angel fish in.
At the moment I'm between tanks... Kind of. Just moved (MV to MV) and my big tank is still at the old house. hope to get back it in the next few days. Right now all my livestock is in a temporary 60g tank (main tank is 150g)
Here are some pics from when it was set up.
Wow, what amazing color you have in there!!!! One of the most colorful tanks I've ever seen.At the moment I'm between tanks... Kind of. Just moved (MV to MV) and my big tank is still at the old house. hope to get back it in the next few days. Right now all my livestock is in a temporary 60g tank (main tank is 150g)
Here are some pics from when it was set up.
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Couldn't agree more!!!
And despite what some people say, Saltwater is NOT that tough. If you set up your tank right you will create a bio filter that negates the need for constant water changes. Just top it off every once in a while for evaporation. I went a year w/o water changes and nothing died.
Balance is the key. When we were kids, remember how you could take a 2L bottle, put in some dirt and rocks, a plant, a few snails and a small fish... Then seal the whole thing and it would create a small biotope? Well same thing with a larger tank. In saltwater we use live-rock (rock that has "junk" all over it like bacteria and worms and sponges and stuff) and sand beds to maintain a population of denitrifying bacteria. Ammonia turns into nitrites which turn into nitrates which then either turn into Nitrogen gas or are used by plants (or corals and algae in my case). Hakuma Matata... Circk of life sheet.
thanks... Not cheap, but then again you don't have to go for the full 150g size and you don't have to go ape on coral and what not. Most of the coral in there is "intense" "Yeti" and "Santa Cruz" coral (ie, high end limited eidtion stuff). But you can get just as much color with cheaper ones as well. Like bikes... If you are just getting into it, a Schwinn will suffice at 1/10th the price.
Oh absolutely, salt or fresh setup is the only real hassle..... I was in charge of a 200 gal salt setup were I was in school many years ago...... Easy breezy
This is a freshwater tank I saw online. I really like it and I think it's the look I'm going to try and go for in mine. I actually prefer the muted natural colors of a freshwater tank. For now anyway.......
