Tropical Fish keepers of AH

[NINaudio]

Due to popular demand, I figured I'd start this thread. I don't currently have any tanks going, but I've had many in the past. Grew up with tanks at home, and worked in a tropical fish store as an intern (Bio major with a focus in Marine Bio) during my first time through college where I gained lots of info and experience from the owner. My niche eventually came to be high tech, heavily planted, dutch style, community tanks.

Edit: This is a pic from my 40 Breeder that I had in NJ

 

[slipperybidness]

Nothing that fancy for me. I have a 30 gallon tank with a plecostomus, molly, a couple guppies, 2 frogs, and about 10 hybrids of some sort. The froggies are my favorites.

When the hybrids showed up, I did not have 2 of the same species in the tank. Scandalous! I'm pretty sure they are half molly due to the pot-bellies. I'm not sure if the other half is guppy or platie.

I also have a 5 gallon with a large African Cichlid only. He is too agressive with other fish, so has to be solo. But, he has a lot of character! More attitude and character than I ever expected from a fish.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Due to popular demand, I figured I'd start this thread. I don't currently have any tanks going, but I've had many in the past. Grew up with tanks at home, and worked in a tropical fish store as an intern (Bio major with a focus in Marine Bio) during my first time through college where I gained lots of info and experience from the owner. My niche eventually came to be high tech, heavily planted, dutch style, community tanks.

Is that yours, or a stock photo? I’ve always been intrigued by heavily planted tanks. Too busy all the time to do one. Same reason I haven’t gone salt or brackish etc.

Btw. Thanks for starting this thread. I’ve been threatening to, but you know…
I’ll share mine later.

 

[NINaudio]

Is that yours, or a stock photo? I’ve always been intrigued by heavily planted tanks. Too busy all the time to do one. Same reason I haven’t gone salt or brackish etc.

Btw. Thanks for starting this thread. I’ve been threatening to, but you know…
I’ll share mine later.

That was the 40 gallon tank I had set up back in NJ

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

That was the 40 gallon tank I had set up back in NJ

Wow. Very well done. I like it.

 

[NINaudio]

Thanks, here are a few more shots of it from various times: one over head, one over grown, and one of Ludwigia sp. Rubin that won me a new tank in our fish club photo competition...

As you can see from the overgrown shot, stem plants can get away from you very quickly. I used to trim my plants weekly, but like I said, I was high tech: lots of light, CO2 injection, liquid and dry fertilizers, etc. etc.

 

[davidscott]

38 gallon with 2 small firemouths, 5 cherry barbs, and a black racer nerite snail. I may have to return the slightly bigger firemouth to the pet store because he picks on the smaller one. I had 3 but he picked on the other one so I returned it and now he picks on the remaining one. Also a 2.5 betta tank with a male betta and a ramshorn snail.

 

[slipperybidness]

38 gallon with 2 small firemouths, 5 cherry barbs, and a black racer nerite snail. I may have to return the slightly bigger firemouth to the pet store because he picks on the smaller one. I had 3 but he picked on the other one so I returned it and now he picks on the remaining one. Also a 2.5 betta tank with a male betta and a ramshorn snail.

yeah, that's how I ended up with a smaller tank that houses "Bob the Bastid"

 

[Pogre]

I've eaten some tropical fish, does that count?

Actually I'm not sure that's even true. Most eating fish tend to be more cold water type fish, but I've had Mahi Mahi (it's actually Dahl-Fin but they don't call it that for obvious reasons. It sounds like you're saying you eat "dolphin", lol) so I think that counts! Shark too.

In all seriousness that's a gorgeous tank NIN. I could just sit and stare for hours at a tank like that with how crystal clear it is and all of those beautiful colors and scenery. Very nice! A buddy of mine had a salt water coral tank with a pretty big black and white striped eel in it. Feeding day was always an event. He'd buy live feeder fish and toss 'em in there every few days or a week or so.

 

[davidscott]

yeah, that's how I ended up with a smaller tank that houses "Bob the Bastid"

I had an African cichlid (a Kenyi I believe) in a 29 gallon with 5 tiger barbs. It was ok with them for about a month then started killing them. I managed to return it to the pet store after it only killed 2. I replaced it with a small firemouth who was fine with the remaining barbs.

 

[NINaudio]

Cichlids in general do not play well with others. Africans even less so than most of the central and south american cichlids.

 

[TheWarrior]

My kids all have four legs but I have known many people with salt and fresh water tanks - none of which had plant life that looked as healthy as this. If that's overgrown, they've done so, beautifully!

 

[davidscott]

Cichlids in general do not play well with others. Africans even less so than most of the central and south american cichlids.

Agreed and the Kenyi cichlids are nasty even for Africans. I thought adding a very small one to a 29 with 5 full grown tiger barbs would work but nada. She was a female with a gorgeous sky blue color but could probably only be kept with other Africans.

 

[davidscott]

So lets do a poll on this thread. Which foods are in your rotation?
I have quite a few and usually trash them when they hit their use by date.
My rotation :
San Fran Bay frozen brine shrimp
Aqueon freeze dried bloodworms
Aqueon tropical pellets
API algae wafers
Fluval bug bite flakes with spirolina
Tetra Min tropical crisps.
Seems like a good mix for my fish.

 

[NINaudio]

My go to was New Life Spectrum pellets. I'd supplement with OSI flakes of various types, Hikari algae wafers, and shrimp pellets.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So here’s our 75gal freshwater tank. Definitely pedestrian compared to others, but it keeps me sane during long winters.
Currently houses:
5 albino Cory’s
5 peppered Cory’s
2 panda Cory’s
15 neons
4 black neons
2 glo light neons
1 albino bristlenose pleco
2 swordtail guppies
1 glofish tetra
1 Dalmatian
2 black/gold mollie mutts lol
1 black racer(turbo)
1 blue and yellow half moon betta
All the singles are leftovers from past schools.
Filter is a Fluval FX-4
All live plants, Amazon sword, ozelot sword, crested Java fern, various Anubius, and 4 marimo moss balls. Tried various grasses and mosses, but the damn mollies pluck them out of everywhere I planted them.
Fertilize column feeders twice a week, and root feeders as needed. Driftwood collected from various states, and locally, as well as Lake Superior, and the Mississippi River.
Biweekly water changes, canister tear down and clean at 60 days. Nitrates usually in the 20’s. Water treatment is Fluid filter medium. Used to use top fin stuff but FFM is sooo good. Clean glass with mr clean magic eraser. Feed with tetra min tropical crisps, various shrimp and blood worms, and hikari algae wafers(the best). Probably other details I can’t remember lol.
Not totally current(no pun) pics, but tank is in a transition state.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Also a couple old favorites, no longer with us.
I love red tail black sharks(balas too).
This is Finderella. She was seven inches when she just suddenly died.

This was Koons. Named after my sons friend. He came to visit for my sons birthday, and wanted to buy a fish to put in our tank. I bought one instead and named it after him.
Glofish rainbow shark. 5” when he died. He was a little aggressive.

 

[davidscott]

That is one pretty setup.

 

[Pogre]

Also a couple old favorites, no longer with us.
I love red tail black sharks(balas too).
This is Finderella. She was seven inches when she just suddenly died.

This was Koons. Named after my sons friend. He came to visit for my sons birthday, and wanted to buy a fish to put in our tank. I bought one instead and named it after him.
Glofish rainbow shark. 5” when he died. He was a little aggressive.

More beautiful tank pics! I'm enjoying this thread and I don't even have any fish. I love looking at the pics tho.

 

[Eppie]

That red tail was lovely. We had a 60 gallon tank in a previous home which also was home to a red tail shark that grew to be 7". Rare for them to get that large. I also had a Bristle Nose Pleco that must have been 7 or 8 years old. Damn thing looked prehistoric. We had a lot of the typical red tail sword fish, fan tail guppies, zebras and neons. I loved getting tropical Puffer fish.

I had a pair of Angels that grew quite large in that tank. Didn't know they were so aggressive at the time. They picked on the other fish so much that I had to sell them, but they had grown so large that I made good money. Wish I had some photos of that tank, but that was almost 30 years ago. Dreamed of getting a salt water tank some day but that's a serious investment and takes special care.