Pet Fish: fresh water, salt water and everything in between

@nchorman

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Just reading through this thread gets me all giddy.
I love my Tank. Started this year at work with my Boss.

140l Tank, I think its about 4ft - fresh water tropical.
Got a fair few in there now, but I'll tell you what i used to have (before my boss did a water change and lowered to pH to about 1.8 and left the fish)
- 14 Harlequin Rasboras. Very Hardy fish and they swim in schools and are just really cool in general
- 1 Red Tailed Black Shark. This one was incredibly aggressive. Would attack any other fish that came near it
- 2 Clown Loaches. Named them Surf and Turf, Loved these little dudes, but seriously! DO NOT have ornaments that have little intricate holes in them. They get lodged up and can't get out. These pricks love to hide and then just end up getting stuck in little nooks and crannies. Had to break away little castles and towers so these guys could live.

We also had freshwater snails. 1 shows up, my work colleague and I think its cute...a week later and theres like 10. So we lured them into Jars with lettuce and then put them in the lake near our office. Good times

After the fiasco with my boss, i decided to take charge of the tank, cleaned it all up, added new water and then let the water sit for 2 weeks, checking the pH and nitrate levels. once it was good. we started small.
- 7 Harlequin Rasboras - Just loved them so thought why not
- 2 Guppies - Beautiful fish, relatively cheap and they were small so we could try to look after them.
After these guys survived a month, decided to get some friends
- 1 Brisslenose Pleco - This mofo is one of my favorites, very very shy at first. Was always hidden and just scavenging when we weren't looking. Eventually came onto his own and is basically the king of the bottom of our tank. Roams around freely and just does not care about anyones feelings. "That rock looks good, That rocks mine, Don't touch my rock" It's a tad weird looking (i find him beautiful) but thats part of his charm.
- 1 Albino Rainbow Shark - An absolute beauty of a fish, very placid, swims around well with the guppies and is just very cool.
- 4 new guppies - Just good looking fish that are easy to maintain. p.s the previous guppies gave birth and we now have 8 guppies in total.
- 1 Gold Gourami - The King of the top of our tank, this fish is probably my favorite (aside from the pleco) absolutely beautiful, very easy to look after and is very placid, the little ones try to russle his jimmies, but Gourami has none of it, powerful swimmer, does olympic laps at the top of our tank. very beautiful, very active and lets you pet it when he is feeling good. takes food out of my hands and gets super excited to see me
- 3 Red Jewel Cichlids - Got them when they were 1 week old, looked like half eaten jellybeans (so we named them jellybeans), now in about 2 months, they are much bigger than the guppies and are about half the size of the gourami. They are extremely playful, if sometimes aggressive. The most fearless fishes in my tank. They nibble at my fingers anytime i feed them. These gems vary in color, mine are quite pinkish instead of red. They love attention and the lot.
- 1 Rainbow Shark - Newest addition to our tank, only about 3weeks into it, second largest fish in our tank, took a while for him to get used to the albino, but they seem to be getting along well now. beautiful, but very strange. Loves to be upside down near our heater and then swim around terrorizing the plants that we have.

Sorry for the long post guys, I just recently got into this craze and am really enjoying it.
 

Wahesh

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My mate had a fish tank back in the days and he was really into it. He had 2 sharks (the really small ones) and they used to chase each other around all day. He also had a ghost knife, and, believe it or not, a half-dead Siamese fighting fish the refused to give in to death lol. This thing fought with the other SFF he had for about 4 hours, eventually winning, then refusing to die from his wounds afterwards. Tough little bugger it was.

Has anyone here seen SFF in action?

 

Mr Beast

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I had Red Chilli Arowana a few years back and sold him for $4k 6x2x2 tank and custom reef

Loved my tank but after awhile I couldn't be fkd cleaning it all the time.

Sold the whole set up for dirt cheap
 

Boxer

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I had Red Chilli Arowana a few years back and sold him for $4k 6x2x2 tank and custom reef
You **** lol I always wanted to get one but the price is just to much.

Heard you can import them from China but very risky and if you get busted your going to jail.
 

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I was also into Flowerhorns, they're a very aggressive fish and cross bred. With some say Chinese characters written on the side or their bodies
 

Mr Beast

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You **** lol I always wanted to get one but the price is just to much.

Heard you can import them from China but very risky and if you get busted your going to jail.
You just gotta know people, usually out west, I have no idea their market value now.

Look up Flowerhorns, they're sick as well.
 

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I was also into Flowerhorns, they're a very aggressive fish and cross bred. With some say Chinese characters written on the side or their bodies
Majority of cichlids are aggressive if you want a fish that funny to watch get a parrot cichlid
 

Boxer

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You just gotta know people, usually out west, I have no idea their market value now.

Look up Flowerhorns, they're sick as well.
Last one I saw about 2 years ago it was gold and about 70cm long went for 6k
 
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@nchorman

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I had Red Chilli Arowana a few years back and sold him for $4k 6x2x2 tank and custom reef

Loved my tank but after awhile I couldn't be fkd cleaning it all the time.

Sold the whole set up for dirt cheap
That's an incredibly beautiful fish.
 

Indiandog

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As an added bonus, you can put two males together and watch them fight eachother to the death.
My mate put a mirror up against one wall of the tank, and the fish went nuts !
So they actually fight? that's fucking awesome
My mate had a fish tank back in the days and he was really into it. He had 2 sharks (the really small ones) and they used to chase each other around all day. He also had a ghost knife, and, believe it or not, a half-dead Siamese fighting fish the refused to give in to death lol. This thing fought with the other SFF he had for about 4 hours, eventually winning, then refusing to die from his wounds afterwards. Tough little bugger it was.

Has anyone here seen SFF in action?

Fighter Fish looks absolutely beautiful when it is in fighting mode, the hairs on the body pop up, the gills come out and the colors of the fish are really on display.

In Philippines, the locals put money on this game where they bring their on fighters and put them in a tank, and who ever wins , wins the money.

At the end of a fight both the fish die, it all depends on who dies first.

Personally I dont like this game. people usually put mirrors on tanks to make the fish believe there is another fish in the tank and he goes all hektik.

obviously only the males fight and females dont, females are also dull with no colors.
 

Wahesh

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Fighter Fish looks absolutely beautiful when it is in fighting mode, the hairs on the body pop up, the gills come out and the colors of the fish are really on display.

In Philippines, the locals put money on this game where they bring their on fighters and put them in a tank, and who ever wins , wins the money.

At the end of a fight both the fish die, it all depends on who dies first.

Personally I dont like this game. people usually put mirrors on tanks to make the fish believe there is another fish in the tank and he goes all hektik.

obviously only the males fight and females dont, females are also dull with no colors.
Some of the females fight other females, as both of them are territorial, but they don't fight the opposite sex.

They were causing problems in Adelaide a few years ago and becoming a pest and killing many of the local fish and marine life down there.
 

Indiandog

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Some of the females fight other females, as both of them are territorial, but they don't fight the opposite sex.

They were causing problems in Adelaide a few years ago and becoming a pest and killing many of the local fish and marine life down there.

really females fight too??

also how can they become a pest when they dont fight another kind?
 

Wahesh

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really females fight too??

also how can they become a pest when they dont fight another kind?
Females fight, but it's not as common as the males - both are territorial creatures:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_fighting_fish

They are a very territorial fish and it is unwise to house two males together. Even the females may become territorial towards each other if not housed in a large enough tank.
*Sorry I said Adelaide, I meant Adelaide River up north. They are a threat to our native animals as they are invasive. They swim into our waters from South-East Asia (where they are native) and become invasive:

In January 2014 a large population of the fish was discovered in the Adelaide River Floodplain in the Northern Territory, Australia. As an invasive species they pose a threat to native fish, frogs and other wildlife in the wetlands.
 

The DoggFather

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Man when I get better I'm bumping this thread because you guys know everything.

I love everything marine but have no fucking idea about nothing.
 

Wahesh

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Man when I get better I'm bumping this thread because you guys know everything.

I love everything marine but have no fucking idea about nothing.
Bro marine life can be so complex and complicated. People think fish are the easiest pets to maintain. They are the exact opposite. You need to change the water in the tank every month, make sure the filter is working and clean, have an air pump in there, have a fluro light fixed (to keep the fish active), and all these other little things, but perhaps the most complex of all is knowing which fish to have. You can't just have a bunch of different fish and other marine creatures mixed together in the same tank because they look good - you need to have a good balance otherwise they'll all kill each other lol. Circle of life brother, circle of life.
 

@nchorman

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Bro marine life can be so complex and complicated. People think fish are the easiest pets to maintain. They are the exact opposite. You need to change the water in the tank every month, make sure the filter is working and clean, have an air pump in there, have a fluro light fixed (to keep the fish active), and all these other little things, but perhaps the most complex of all is knowing which fish to have. You can't just have a bunch of different fish and other marine creatures mixed together in the same tank because they look good - you need to have a good balance otherwise they'll all kill each other lol. Circle of life brother, circle of life.
So dang true! I was so tempted to get Angelfish, but then I knew that those mofos grow quite big, and are natural predators to tetras and many different smaller fish. With my guppies and harlequins in the tank, it was a no no.
Did some research and realized that gouramis can get quite big, but not be aggressive, they have more of a sucking mouth to get food rather than a nipping one.
The waterchange and pH testing is a pain at times, took us a few goes to get the balance going, but ever since then i dont think i can stop.
Sitting in front of that tank at lunch time, the most relaxing thing you can do.
 

Wahesh

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So dang true! I was so tempted to get Angelfish, but then I knew that those mofos grow quite big, and are natural predators to tetras and many different smaller fish. With my guppies and harlequins in the tank, it was a no no.
Did some research and realized that gouramis can get quite big, but not be aggressive, they have more of a sucking mouth to get food rather than a nipping one.
The waterchange and pH testing is a pain at times, took us a few goes to get the balance going, but ever since then i dont think i can stop.
Sitting in front of that tank at lunch time, the most relaxing thing you can do.
That's the thing mate. I would LOVE to have an array of creatures in one tank, but know it can't happen. I'd love to have:

  • Small sharks
  • Clown Fish
  • Angel/Rainbow fish
  • Blue mud crab
  • Yabby
  • Sea Horses
  • Glofish
I know that combination (plus more) won't work though lol.
 

Bad Billy

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That's the thing mate. I would LOVE to have an array of creatures in one tank, but know it can't happen. I'd love to have:

  • Small sharks
  • Clown Fish
  • Angel/Rainbow fish
  • Blue mud crab
  • Yabby
  • Sea Horses
  • Glofish
I know that combination (plus more) won't work though lol.
Well, at least your Sharks would be well fed.
 

@nchorman

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That's the thing mate. I would LOVE to have an array of creatures in one tank, but know it can't happen. I'd love to have:

  • Small sharks
  • Clown Fish
  • Angel/Rainbow fish
  • Blue mud crab
  • Yabby
  • Sea Horses
  • Glofish
I know that combination (plus more) won't work though lol.
Learning to compromise is how we get through life. Man I wanted nothing more than to have clown fish and pet turtles. But I realised that the perfect stepping stone would be a freshwater tropical environment. boom no clown fish.

Then I was like ok I'll get huge fish and have smaller schools so it looks cool. boom small fish will get eaten and the big ones will act like they know nothing.

Plus African fish do not go well with Asian fish. Aggressive nature, bad hormones released and the fishes just stay in one spot and not thrive. My Albino Rainbow was bullied by my normal rainbow for a bit. But somehow they are buds now, the occasional chase here and there.
It's my red jewel Cichlids that i'm worried about. These guys are getting quite adventurous in the tank. they are beautiful and just growing day by day. worried they might start to kill our baby guppies
 
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