CavySanctuary

FishMaster · Sun Feb 05, 2006 3:52 pm Not just fish, but pets.

I got started keeping fish because as a kid my parents had several tanks and I though fish were cool. I started with an acrylic 10 gallon tank. It had an UGF (under gravel filter), very large gravel from the beach, plastic plants and A LOT of fish. I had a Firemouth, Oscar, Jack Dempsey, Red Tailed Shark and a Bala Shark in it. The tank was WAY overstocked and the fish I had were not compatable in any way. All of them with the exception of the Bala and Oscar are very territorial and mean. The Oscar was dead in a day. The Bala Shark I took back for credit and the Dempsey died a few days later. I had got very poor advice about the fish I had been buying. After that experience I went to the library and took every book I could find about tropical fish and keeping home aquariums. I read all of them. Eventually I went to a 33 gallon tank, one 27 gallon and two 10 gallon tanks. I kept a lot of different fish over the next few years. All of them outgrew my tanks and I knew it would happen. I gave them away to bigger homes and people I knew I could trust. Fish don't grow to the size of their aquarium. This is a myth. The body stops growing, but the organs don't. Eventually the fish dies of internal injuries after enduring extreme pain due to the crushing of the organs.

Before buying fish you should always know what you want. Research it before buying it. Make sure it will get along with your other fish. Make sure you can provide the best home for it. Be prepared to get a larger tank if you need it. If you can't get a larger tank be prepared to give it away if you can't sell it. If you can't meet the requirements of the fish DON'T BUY IT! Imagine if you only had a room with a bed, blanket, pillow, a bucket for a bathroom and minimal heating. Would you be happy? That's what a fish in an aquarium not set up for it is feeling too.

In the last few years I've had a few ropefish. One died early on and I was fortunate enough to find another. I had her (she was female) for several months before finding another one. Now I had two of them in a 33 gallon tank. They were only a few inches long and the only inhabitants of the tank. Over the next year they grew to 12 and 14 inches long. I needed a bigger tank. I bought a 55 gallon tank, quick cycled it and moved them in. They seemed to love it. That week the smaller one died and two days later the larger one got out. My wife found her and put her (the ropefish) back in. In the morning I found her (the ropefish) dead on the floor. I was heartbroken. I couldn't even dispose of the body. A few days later I bought a couple of new fish. Now the tank is stocked to where I'm happy with it.

Right now I have:

3 Pictus Cats
2 Spotted Weather Loaches
1 Horsefaced Loach
1 Farlowella Acus
5 Brilliant Rasboras
7 Bloodfin Tetras
1 Marbled Hatchetfish
2 Mystery Snails

I feed them all kinds of different foods. They get freeze dried tubifex, frozen blood worms, frozen plankton, frozen brine shrimp, staple flakes, zuchinni and shrimp pellets. I feed them at different times and not every day. I try to mimic their eating habits in the wild. In the wild they may not eat for several days. They also wouldn't eat at the same time every day either. By feeding them this way I get a more natural behaviour. If they see me walk by they don't assume they are getting fed and go to the top. They continue to swim about the tank.

Home aquaria is not about HAVING fish, but KEEPING fish. It's not easy and it's not always cheap either, but it's VERY REWARDING.

antipodi · Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:37 pm

Excellent artical and yes when buying fish we must realise the myths and misinformation out there ..sometimes even aquarium sellers give out strange info ...Keep em comming FishMaster

Antipodi