Fishies :)

[blinc]

I'm taking care of my in-laws pets while they're away for a few days. Two dogs, two finches and a fish tank full of different fish. Which got me to thinking, a loooong time ago I used to have a 90 gallon aquarium. Had silver dollars, angelfish, fancy guppies, bottom cleaners, etc. Always wanted a salt water aquarium... has anyone had one? Are they hard to keep up? Have you had any kind of aquarium? What are your favorite fish to keep?

[kezzer]

Boy, we have had sooo many different aquariums. Never salt water though. I want a salt water tank with clownfish!! We have had oscars, angels, catfish,goldfish, danios, guppies, convicts,swordtails, mollies, platties, plekos, loaches, irredescent sharks, lotus sharks, rainbow sharks, ciclids,bornio suckers, gobies. Just to name a few.

[Karenluvs6]

I have had that nightmare too!
seriously, I used to fish sit for my sister all the time...until her fish ate one another...then she never asked me again.
She had oscars, catfish and some sharks....

[kezzer]

We had a ciclid that lived through everything! The kids pouring milk in the tank, cereal, popcorn, markers! She killed all the other fish we had including her mate while she was guarding her eggs then she kept killing off her babies after they hatched! She finally died, we're not sure why, she may have been bored because we stopped buying her fish to kill!

[jamesglewisf]

Anybody got any fishies?

Are they good pets? Do they live very long? Or are they just a good object lesson in death for your children?

[kezzer]

We're down to 2 betta's. We had a one time 5 , but these 2 seem to be the ones determined to live.

[Noseypoo]

I have a 40 Gallon with 2 Plecos, 1 Goldfish and 1 Neon Tetra right now. Have to get them a couple new friends soon, before they die of boredom ... {toothy}

[CuriousG]

I had a saltwater aquarium for awhile. They're tough to keep up with. A lot of fish are very sensitive and everything has to be perfect. Even after you get the water and temperature and lighting just right, you have to be careful with the fish you put in there. Some of them will fight. A lot of saltwater fish are aggressive, and some of the ones that aren't are so skittish, they're afraid to eat around the other fish. If you put live sand in the bottom, watch your ammonia levels, too. The tanks can be beautiful, but you have to invest a lot of time and money. Just to start up a simple 55 gallon saltwater tank costs hundreds of dollars. Once you buy the tank, stand, special bio filter, special lights, salt, substrate, trace elements, heater, thermometer, etc. You're looking at at least $500 just to put water in the tank. Then you have to let the tank run for about 3 weeks before even putting fish in, just to make sure the water is ok. Start out with some cheap damsels at first to make sure everything is ok with your ecosystem. I know a lot of people who bought very expensive fish right away and didn't have them too long because of too much chlorine in the water, or some other problem.

[Noseypoo]

Sounds like a big headache :(

[EmBee]

I have a 105 gallon Cichlid tank. We traded in our 55 gallon show tank at Dallas North Aquarium for this tank. The 55 was a community tetra tank having anything from dwarf gouramis to swordtail and neons...
The 55 also housed many Oscars and a few Jack Dempseys.

We have:

Matched-one of each (http://cichlids.com/gallery/malawi/Labidochromis_caeruleus_yellow_female)
Matched-one of each (http://cichlids.com/gallery/malawi/icyblue_2001)
Male-just one (http://www.amateurcichlids.com/fish/pseudo_redtop.shtml)
Male-yellow and just one (http://www.tjorvar.is/html/bumble_bee_cichlid.html)
Male-just one (http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/allpets/fish/cobaltzebra.htm)
Adult male and juvenile female (http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gredzebra.html)
Female-just one (http://www.aquazoo.co.uk/page.cfm/Type=Fish/ID=133)
Female-just one (http://species.fishindex.com/photo_3048pseudotropheus_socolofi_eduards_mbuna.html)
Male-just one (http://interpac.net/~kazuor/BIAS/images/shows/2003/HCF_2003_10.jpg) This is not my picture but it's the closest one I could find to do this breed justice and Mondo is almost identical to this fish. Mondo is by far the biggest fish in the tank being at least 5 times bigger than the others but yet he's younger than most of them. He's a Flowerhorn and if you ever get the chance, search on Google for the story and beliefs behind this fish. The fish store that we got him from (we bought him at 1 inch long for $9.99) said that if he reaches adulthood, we can get up to $1200.00 for him. I really didn't care for him in the beginning because he looked like something you could catch at the end of a pole...all plain and greenish. Now he has reds, pinks, yellows and green and turquoise. He has double rows of black spots like the fish in the pic. He quickly became my favorite and now will only eat when I feed the tank. The picture belongs to Rick Ogata.

I have two matched pairs of young adults. I'm not sure what they are so I couldn't find pictures to post. One pair is blue and black with yellow fins and tails and the other pair is silver with red fins and black spots. The male from the silver pair will turn a bright red.

And let's not forget the Pleco....Sucker Bob.

[Justawoman]

We have two aquariums. One is strictly for our oldest daughters betta. The other has guppies in it. Our 5th grader won them at school. This will be my second time to have guppies. Bring on the babies. *L*

[Justawoman]

I went and looked at your pictures EmBee. How beautiful. I bet your aquarium is an eye stopper. thanks for sharing.

[Justawoman]

The Babies have arrived and arrived and arrived.

[OnceByten]

We are talking about getting a small aquarium for the kids. We can't have a cat (Dh is allergic) and my oldest is allergic to dogs.

Do guppies mutiply alot??

What is the best fish for begginers?

[Justawoman]

I would ask a pet store the question about the first fish. And yes guppies do multiply.