Suda and I went to the Chattanooga aquarium two weeks ago and had a great time. It was mainly a fresh water aquarium which is unusual. But man.. I had never seen these kinds of fish as they had representatives from the fresh water rivers around the world. The fish from the rivers of the Nile, Amazon, Ganges etc.. all around the world. Fish I had never seen before in my life. As well as the other inhabitants of the rivers like turtles and crocodiles. I highly recommend it but your feet *do** tired after hours of viewing.
You're on my page! I love the water, ocean, and aquariums, in general. Monterey Aquarium is few hours south of us - incredible place. Both my wife and I love the ocean and things in it.
I believe there's a few tankers here at GS. Tom S has some serious water, if I recollect right.
I started with a 10 gallon tank a few years ago. Got a 36 gallon this last Christmas. Right now I have Tiger Barbs (3), and a Raphael catfish in the 10 gallon, and 4 Gold Severums, 2 Silver Dollars and a Chinese Algae Eater in the 36 gallon tank. The Severums and Dollars are getting big - they've gone from the 10 gallon tank, babies, to big boys and girls in the last few months since I moved them over.
I'm looking at expanding within the next year. I've got the basics of a woodshop now and am working on plans for a base and stand - maybe a 75-100 gallon tank.
I had salt for about ten years ... real nice, but I got tired of buying $25 little fish ... about half the time the died in a month. Those carpet anemones are neat till they die and rot ... what a smelly mess ... LOL Clowns and damsels are pretty easy, with maybe an angel and some hermit crabs. Lionfish are cool. Any Florida divers wanna ship me some fish cheap? :) Yellow tangs I mean, not redfish.
I still have the 90 and 110 tank ... time to set them back up ... maybe just some koi or something low maintenance. I had African cichlids in one for a couple years, watched them have the little babies. Kinda neat.
I LOVE fish!!! Snorkeling in Carribean waters is my favorite vacation activity. Even though I don't have any tanks, I enjoy seeing nice ones. I especially enjoy the salt water ones.
My oldest loves it whenever we go over to someone's house and they have a big fish tank - he pulls up a chair and acts like he's in front of a TV...
Someone gave us a little aquarium last fall. I know nothing about fish. All my pets have been furry ones.
How could I get him started with it? What do I need to do to prepare it for fish?
Depends upon what fish you want to keep? Stick to freshwater to start. Find out if your tap water is hard or soft (bring a sample to your local pet store). Then get a fish that matches those conditions. Stability is the key. If you understand people don't like stress (constant change), then you'll understand fish.
The best care is changing the water in a way that the conditions in the tank are constant (temperature, hardness, pH, etc) Feeder Goldfish are good to start. Mollies, guppies, swordtails may also work. Siamese fighting fish can tolerate poor conditions. The feeder goldfish run about $0.25 a piece. Whatever filters you buy, water changes are the best. Choose a location in the house that remains constant in temp. Google the fish you want to care for. Pet stores a lot of times just want to sell fish, filters and equipment. Although some privately owned stores can be very helpful.
I have a 60 gallon tank with one Oscar in it. He is a very dirty fish but I think at the same time he is really cool. I have no real love for water, can't really swim and don't really want to learn. I used to like to watch Baywatch does that count?
Since my Oscar is around 3 pounds (His mate died last year and thats what he weighed in at post mortem) he is tough to keep clean, feed, If I had to do it all over again I would do just a simple community tank.
Oh man! I have the priviledge of watching over and over-seeing and maintaining a 5000 gallon aquarium at the Douglas Island Pink And Chum salmon hatchery, among many other duties. And, as of today, we have released 20 million one inch Chum (Dog) salmon into the salt water into our remote net pens for further release when they are bigger. When I was a kid, I had multiple aquariums with tropicals, as well as local reptiles and amphibians. And, God hads blessed me with a cool job at this hatchery:
Yup, you can even see my name (Kevin Nye) at the "employee page" as the #2 maintenance guy. Sadly, this website does not do the hatchery justice. Especially the photo section. The aquarium photos are lousy, and we have a brand new cylindricall aquarium as opposed to the hexagonal aquarium in the photos. But, the job is great, and now that all of the "wee fishies" are "out to sea" (yet still in the "net pens" where we feed them for three months), we are looking forward to a wonderful "return" of the "wee fishies" released four years ago. They will be between 8 and ten pounds. It's an exciting job, and I am proud to be a part of something that contributes to something as basic as "feeding the world", because up here in Alaska, we do just that and with some very healthy "eatins". Protein is good, especially when it is as tasty as salmon.....
And hey, in some of our smaller aquariums which we use to educate the kids in the grade schools, we have four little "North Pacific Spiny Lump Suckers". And every morning at 0600, I always make sure to count them to make sure that "all are present". They look like this: And the four that we have are only about an inch long. We used to have five, but one of the evil starfish ate him much to my dismay one morning! Yeah, I showed up, turned on the lights, looked for my favorite little guys, and whoa! A starfifish was eating my half eaten litttle friend! And so, that's life in the Jungle I guess...
Anyway, I think that God has blessed me with this job......
Jonny Lingo, is that really you? I thought you had sworn off of Grease Spot since making at least a gajillion dollars on oil profits and that you did not have any more time for us slobs? Wha happened?
For a child's starter aquarium I would recommend a 20 gallon tall frresh water aquarium. ( the tall takes up less counter space and provides better water depth. under gravel filters are better for children since they require less changing of the filter medium. select rocks for the bottom-- I lean toward natural colors tans, whites, browns, blacks-- but enough to cover the filter system about 2 inches. Some people prefer Live plants but they require work to maintain so select from some of the fabric/plastic varieties. you want ones that have dense leaves in a feather design which provides various levels for the fish to hide and rest in. then pick out a couple of real rocks FROM The PEt Store -(rocks you pick up from outside are covered with disease and will kill your fish) set up the aquarium. turn it on filter, light, thermometer. put a pince of fish food in. every day for a week a\add a pince of fish food. this builds the bacteria level in your aquarium which is necesary for healty fish.
For a 20 gallon tank I would buy a male sword tail and three female swords, three members of the Cory family (there are several varieties and you pet shop should have a fair selection) who will help keep the bottom clean and five neon or cardinal tetras. Swords are live bearers so in a very short time you should have baby fish that you can watch grow.
DO NOT let the pet shop talk you into a plecostemus. they are cute at 1 inch but they grow like weeds and will eat anything they can suction into their mouths
They have cute and endearing little eyes, these Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers. And none of our four are bigger than one inch long. Amazing little critturs!
I had salt for about ten years ... real nice, but I got tired of buying $25 little fish ... about half the time the died in a month. Those carpet anemones are neat till they die and rot ... what a smelly mess ... LOL Clowns and damsels are pretty easy, with maybe an angel and some hermit crabs. Lionfish are cool. Any Florida divers wanna ship me some fish cheap? :) Yellow tangs I mean, not redfish.
I still have the 90 and 110 tank ... time to set them back up ... maybe just some koi or something low maintenance. I had African cichlids in one for a couple years, watched them have the little babies. Kinda neat.
Yeah, I know the hearbreak well, but a lot can be learned in the school of hard knocks
I got a 37 gallon salt. Just a couple fish right now damsel and pseudochromis. And no filters. I clean the tank just once a month. I've had them for a few years now. I trying to learn how to balance the bacteria, water current, lighting and other parameters so the tank is as independent as possible. (and use a little less electricity) Not everyone likes this part of fish keeping, (the balancing) but I do. I did have a yellow tang in there too but I fed it improperly. Should have known better. I plan to upgrade to a tank your size in a few years when life's a little more settled. Got the stand already. For now I just try to enjoy a few fish in a big tank to ease the maintenance and avoid fish death. Not everyone likes an empty-looking tank. Marines can be very involved. But hey, that's why I do it.
They have cute and endearing little eyes, these Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers. And none of our four are bigger than one inch long. Amazing little critturs!
Never heard of those,
Awesome!!
I've heard starfish do that. Sorry to hear that, Mr. Lingo.
I had a hermit crab I had to get rid of. took out about five damsels before I figured it out.
I got a 37 gallon salt. Just a couple fish right now damsel and pseudochromis. And no filters. I clean the tank just once a month. .... Not everyone likes this part of fish keeping, (the balancing) but I do. I did have a yellow tang in there too but I fed it improperly. Should have known better. I plan to upgrade to a tank your size in a few years when life's a little more settled.
I've heard starfish do that. Sorry to hear that, Mr. Lingo.
I had a hermit crab I had to get rid of. took out about five damsels before I figured it out.
That must be a "ninja" hermit crab ... LOL I liked the little hermit crabs running around, but they never got any of my damsels. I did catch one walking out my front door once though ... Starfish are cool ... the hard ones you normally think of just kinda sit there or wander a little, but the ones with the long legs are pretty neat to watch.
Yellow tangs seems hard to keep very long. I'd try to give them a piece of romaine lettuce to nibble at, algae was probably better.
Does your water get a little dingy with no filters? I always had lotsa filters and used charcoal ... it gives it that perfectly clear look. Other than scraping the sides of the tank, there wasn't much maintenance.
FISH...That sounds like a safe enough subject, especially as I have no “fishy” videos with me! This one takes place in Saudi.
My little fish story is the aquarium called the Red Sea. Several years ago I was dropped in there for a month or so, but nobody in the business checked the calendar to know it was going to be during the crazy month of Ramadan! As no day time meetings took place (obviously), the day could be spent most of the time diving in the sea!
My hotel was about 15 km outside of Jeddah on the Corniche, right on the beach. So everyday my partner and I would get in our tennis shoes and diving equipment and hit the water. The beach stretches out to the water which is about one meter deep for about the first 200 meters, then it drops off like a cliff to various depths.
The beauty of the plateau cannot be overstated. It is the most beautiful salt water aquarium you can imagine, with all sorts of coloured fish and coral imaginable. Lots of star fish and white waving fan coral, but a variety of fish you can only imagine. Thousand of clusters of coral each teeming with a variety of beautifully striped and coloured fish, crustaceans and creatures all moving at different speeds and all looking for food and safety. It is one of those experiences you never forget. I think the closest most people get, is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia?
My other “fish” story is African. Red Tuna off the barbecue last night. The whole fish weighs in at 5 kilos (12lb), approximately because nobody has a scale. Price Cfa. 3.500 or about $US 6 Dollars.
That must be a "ninja" hermit crab ... LOL I liked the little hermit crabs running around, but they never got any of my damsels. I did catch one walking out my front door once though ... Starfish are cool ... the hard ones you normally think of just kinda sit there or wander a little, but the ones with the long legs are pretty neat to watch.
Yellow tangs seems hard to keep very long. I'd try to give them a piece of romaine lettuce to nibble at, algae was probably better.
Does your water get a little dingy with no filters? I always had lotsa filters and used charcoal ... it gives it that perfectly clear look. Other than scraping the sides of the tank, there wasn't much maintenance.
I had a crawdad do that once too. No the water isn't dingy, I didn't mention that I've removed the lighting (compact flourescents) for now to prevent algae. I got a few snails and hermit crabs to finish off whatever grows. I prefer a protein skimmer when I do use filters. I'm trying to avoid any chemical filters (charcoal, phosphater removers etc.)
I want to focus on water circulation, bacteria, lighting, and of course a balanced fauna that completment the needs of the tank. Can't say I've accomplished this yet. But I'm trying to learn now, practicing with a 37 gallon, so in a few years I can confidently invest in a nice set-up. I'm more concerned with nitrogen removal for now.
Rhino, that was a nice photo. I've never had a fish tank, too many moves around the planet to carry one with me. But maybe one day I will retire and enjoy the hobby. I hear some of those Japanese fish can get real expensive?
I have a salt water swimming pool and the water comes from my wells. Some big bugs live in the rocks, but I think it might also support fish as well, but I haven't tried! Best from Senegal, Bump
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Sudo
Bolshevik,
Suda and I went to the Chattanooga aquarium two weeks ago and had a great time. It was mainly a fresh water aquarium which is unusual. But man.. I had never seen these kinds of fish as they had representatives from the fresh water rivers around the world. The fish from the rivers of the Nile, Amazon, Ganges etc.. all around the world. Fish I had never seen before in my life. As well as the other inhabitants of the rivers like turtles and crocodiles. I highly recommend it but your feet *do** tired after hours of viewing.
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socks
You're on my page! I love the water, ocean, and aquariums, in general. Monterey Aquarium is few hours south of us - incredible place. Both my wife and I love the ocean and things in it.
I believe there's a few tankers here at GS. Tom S has some serious water, if I recollect right.
I started with a 10 gallon tank a few years ago. Got a 36 gallon this last Christmas. Right now I have Tiger Barbs (3), and a Raphael catfish in the 10 gallon, and 4 Gold Severums, 2 Silver Dollars and a Chinese Algae Eater in the 36 gallon tank. The Severums and Dollars are getting big - they've gone from the 10 gallon tank, babies, to big boys and girls in the last few months since I moved them over.
I'm looking at expanding within the next year. I've got the basics of a woodshop now and am working on plans for a base and stand - maybe a 75-100 gallon tank.
Feeding is great fish time - love to watch them.
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Bolshevik
Another year or two and you'll be craving marine.
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rhino
I had salt for about ten years ... real nice, but I got tired of buying $25 little fish ... about half the time the died in a month. Those carpet anemones are neat till they die and rot ... what a smelly mess ... LOL Clowns and damsels are pretty easy, with maybe an angel and some hermit crabs. Lionfish are cool. Any Florida divers wanna ship me some fish cheap? :) Yellow tangs I mean, not redfish.
I still have the 90 and 110 tank ... time to set them back up ... maybe just some koi or something low maintenance. I had African cichlids in one for a couple years, watched them have the little babies. Kinda neat.
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ChasUFarley
My oldest loves it whenever we go over to someone's house and they have a big fish tank - he pulls up a chair and acts like he's in front of a TV...
Someone gave us a little aquarium last fall. I know nothing about fish. All my pets have been furry ones.
How could I get him started with it? What do I need to do to prepare it for fish?
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Nottawayfer
I LOVE fish!!! Snorkeling in Carribean waters is my favorite vacation activity. Even though I don't have any tanks, I enjoy seeing nice ones. I especially enjoy the salt water ones.
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polar bear
The ocean is my aquarium. I love it.
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Bolshevik
Depends upon what fish you want to keep? Stick to freshwater to start. Find out if your tap water is hard or soft (bring a sample to your local pet store). Then get a fish that matches those conditions. Stability is the key. If you understand people don't like stress (constant change), then you'll understand fish.
The best care is changing the water in a way that the conditions in the tank are constant (temperature, hardness, pH, etc) Feeder Goldfish are good to start. Mollies, guppies, swordtails may also work. Siamese fighting fish can tolerate poor conditions. The feeder goldfish run about $0.25 a piece. Whatever filters you buy, water changes are the best. Choose a location in the house that remains constant in temp. Google the fish you want to care for. Pet stores a lot of times just want to sell fish, filters and equipment. Although some privately owned stores can be very helpful.
Do your homework. Be prepared to flush a few.
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Out There
I have a 60 gallon tank with one Oscar in it. He is a very dirty fish but I think at the same time he is really cool. I have no real love for water, can't really swim and don't really want to learn. I used to like to watch Baywatch does that count?
Since my Oscar is around 3 pounds (His mate died last year and thats what he weighed in at post mortem) he is tough to keep clean, feed, If I had to do it all over again I would do just a simple community tank.
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Bolshevik
Do you mean, more than corn and soybean fields?
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FullCircle
I always wanted a Jack Dempsey fish. I saw one once and fell in love with it.
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J0nny Ling0
Oh man! I have the priviledge of watching over and over-seeing and maintaining a 5000 gallon aquarium at the Douglas Island Pink And Chum salmon hatchery, among many other duties. And, as of today, we have released 20 million one inch Chum (Dog) salmon into the salt water into our remote net pens for further release when they are bigger. When I was a kid, I had multiple aquariums with tropicals, as well as local reptiles and amphibians. And, God hads blessed me with a cool job at this hatchery:
http://www.dipac.net/
Yup, you can even see my name (Kevin Nye) at the "employee page" as the #2 maintenance guy. Sadly, this website does not do the hatchery justice. Especially the photo section. The aquarium photos are lousy, and we have a brand new cylindricall aquarium as opposed to the hexagonal aquarium in the photos. But, the job is great, and now that all of the "wee fishies" are "out to sea" (yet still in the "net pens" where we feed them for three months), we are looking forward to a wonderful "return" of the "wee fishies" released four years ago. They will be between 8 and ten pounds. It's an exciting job, and I am proud to be a part of something that contributes to something as basic as "feeding the world", because up here in Alaska, we do just that and with some very healthy "eatins". Protein is good, especially when it is as tasty as salmon.....
And hey, in some of our smaller aquariums which we use to educate the kids in the grade schools, we have four little "North Pacific Spiny Lump Suckers". And every morning at 0600, I always make sure to count them to make sure that "all are present". They look like this:
And the four that we have are only about an inch long. We used to have five, but one of the evil starfish ate him much to my dismay one morning! Yeah, I showed up, turned on the lights, looked for my favorite little guys, and whoa! A starfifish was eating my half eaten litttle friend! And so, that's life in the Jungle I guess...
Anyway, I think that God has blessed me with this job......
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Mark Sanguinetti
Jonny Lingo, is that really you? I thought you had sworn off of Grease Spot since making at least a gajillion dollars on oil profits and that you did not have any more time for us slobs? Wha happened?
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J0nny Ling0
I missed you
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likeaneagle
Hey John~ we missed you too!!!!!!
Yes, sounds and looks like the perfect place for you..
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templelady
For a child's starter aquarium I would recommend a 20 gallon tall frresh water aquarium. ( the tall takes up less counter space and provides better water depth. under gravel filters are better for children since they require less changing of the filter medium. select rocks for the bottom-- I lean toward natural colors tans, whites, browns, blacks-- but enough to cover the filter system about 2 inches. Some people prefer Live plants but they require work to maintain so select from some of the fabric/plastic varieties. you want ones that have dense leaves in a feather design which provides various levels for the fish to hide and rest in. then pick out a couple of real rocks FROM The PEt Store -(rocks you pick up from outside are covered with disease and will kill your fish) set up the aquarium. turn it on filter, light, thermometer. put a pince of fish food in. every day for a week a\add a pince of fish food. this builds the bacteria level in your aquarium which is necesary for healty fish.
For a 20 gallon tank I would buy a male sword tail and three female swords, three members of the Cory family (there are several varieties and you pet shop should have a fair selection) who will help keep the bottom clean and five neon or cardinal tetras. Swords are live bearers so in a very short time you should have baby fish that you can watch grow.
DO NOT let the pet shop talk you into a plecostemus. they are cute at 1 inch but they grow like weeds and will eat anything they can suction into their mouths
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J0nny Ling0
They have cute and endearing little eyes, these Pacific Spiny Lumpsuckers. And none of our four are bigger than one inch long. Amazing little critturs!
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Bolshevik
Yeah, I know the hearbreak well, but a lot can be learned in the school of hard knocks
I got a 37 gallon salt. Just a couple fish right now damsel and pseudochromis. And no filters. I clean the tank just once a month. I've had them for a few years now. I trying to learn how to balance the bacteria, water current, lighting and other parameters so the tank is as independent as possible. (and use a little less electricity) Not everyone likes this part of fish keeping, (the balancing) but I do. I did have a yellow tang in there too but I fed it improperly. Should have known better. I plan to upgrade to a tank your size in a few years when life's a little more settled. Got the stand already. For now I just try to enjoy a few fish in a big tank to ease the maintenance and avoid fish death. Not everyone likes an empty-looking tank. Marines can be very involved. But hey, that's why I do it.
Never heard of those,
Awesome!!
I've heard starfish do that. Sorry to hear that, Mr. Lingo.
I had a hermit crab I had to get rid of. took out about five damsels before I figured it out.
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rhino
Yellow tangs seems hard to keep very long. I'd try to give them a piece of romaine lettuce to nibble at, algae was probably better.
Does your water get a little dingy with no filters? I always had lotsa filters and used charcoal ... it gives it that perfectly clear look. Other than scraping the sides of the tank, there wasn't much maintenance.
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Bumpy
FISH...That sounds like a safe enough subject, especially as I have no “fishy” videos with me! This one takes place in Saudi.
My little fish story is the aquarium called the Red Sea. Several years ago I was dropped in there for a month or so, but nobody in the business checked the calendar to know it was going to be during the crazy month of Ramadan! As no day time meetings took place (obviously), the day could be spent most of the time diving in the sea!
My hotel was about 15 km outside of Jeddah on the Corniche, right on the beach. So everyday my partner and I would get in our tennis shoes and diving equipment and hit the water. The beach stretches out to the water which is about one meter deep for about the first 200 meters, then it drops off like a cliff to various depths.
The beauty of the plateau cannot be overstated. It is the most beautiful salt water aquarium you can imagine, with all sorts of coloured fish and coral imaginable. Lots of star fish and white waving fan coral, but a variety of fish you can only imagine. Thousand of clusters of coral each teeming with a variety of beautifully striped and coloured fish, crustaceans and creatures all moving at different speeds and all looking for food and safety. It is one of those experiences you never forget. I think the closest most people get, is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia?
My other “fish” story is African. Red Tuna off the barbecue last night. The whole fish weighs in at 5 kilos (12lb), approximately because nobody has a scale. Price Cfa. 3.500 or about $US 6 Dollars.
And that’s no Fish Story!
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rhino
neat bumpy ...
it does seem that going to their home is the preferred way to view them ...
Sounds like a nice price on that tuna ... so much better than 75 cents a little brown stuff in a can. Do they deliver to Illinois?
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Bolshevik
I want to focus on water circulation, bacteria, lighting, and of course a balanced fauna that completment the needs of the tank. Can't say I've accomplished this yet. But I'm trying to learn now, practicing with a 37 gallon, so in a few years I can confidently invest in a nice set-up. I'm more concerned with nitrogen removal for now.
Oh, and nice pic rhino! :)
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Bumpy
Rhino, that was a nice photo. I've never had a fish tank, too many moves around the planet to carry one with me. But maybe one day I will retire and enjoy the hobby. I hear some of those Japanese fish can get real expensive?
I have a salt water swimming pool and the water comes from my wells. Some big bugs live in the rocks, but I think it might also support fish as well, but I haven't tried! Best from Senegal, Bump
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ChasUFarley
Thanks for the advice that those of you gave here earlier - sorry I'm just now getting back to you...
If someone gives you a used bowl and accessories, should you clean them with bleachwater or something first?
Just wondering...
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