Any aquarium enthusiasts out there?

[Apple_Acres]

I've been putting together aquariums and taking care of fish since I was about 5 or so! While I'm in school I also work at an aquarium centered pet store, which is basically the best job ever.

At any given point I've had between 2-5 aquariums running in my house! Currently I'm down to just two, a 29 gallon Biocube (saltwater, reef), and a 8 gallon with a betta (freshwater). I'm about to set up my 75 gallon that will be for predatory freshwater fish in the next month.

Anyone else on this forum share the love of raising fish? Or am I just a weirdo? Haha

[Guest]

I'm an enthusiast!

I got a 29-gallon fresh water community tank that used to be a discus tank, a 2-gallon beta tank, a 40 gallon turtle tank.

I am in the process of building a 300-gallon tilapia tank for an aquaponics system. I had success running my 29-gallon tank to get a whole bunch of lettuce so I'm ready for a bigger system to grow most of my veggies and harvest tilapia with it.

How's that for wierdo? :)

[Apple_Acres]

Whatcha' got in the community tank?

What species of turtle?

Haha that sounds awesome! We get a lot of people in my store as of late asking about aquaponics! I'm not sure about the laws where you're at, but where I am you need a permit to keep Tilapia, or else you can be heavily fined! Make sure you're up to date on all the laws regarding keeping Tilapia. Other than that they are extremely easy to raise, can tolerate the worst water conditions, and are delicious! Though they aren't the prettiest members of the Cichlid family.

[BadWolf]

I consider it an addiction that I must avoid at all costs

I grew up with Koi.

And on boats / diving reefs / etc.

My problem, is that as soon as I bring stuff indoors ... I end up digging pools, trying to figure out how to glass wall a room, figuring out how to finance a pump, etc.

I'm not reeeeeeally joking about the addiction, aspect. Its an entire ecosystem/space station/ etc. And I start bleeding money. The last go-round were some "feeder goldfish" that turned out to be 1" koi. Headsmack! Nooooooooo. All I wanted was some 'apartment fish' for my toddler (also a "real" nightlight, instead of a fake plastic fish one). So I koi'd up, had a 3'x4'x6' trough on our deck... Had to arrange "fish sitters"... And when tragedy struck a couple years later... Bought our dog and vowed to stick to mammals.

I've been debating about "just a beta".

Nooooooooooooooo.

Don't. Do. It. Self!!

You had your chance to study marine biology, or become a dolphin trainer, or a fish diver. You didn't take them. Back away. Buy. A. Boat. Less expensive, that.

[Apple_Acres]

Badwolf, you are preaching to the choir! It is absolutely an addiction!

Every time I tell myself "no more tanks" I end up buying a co-worker's 75 gallon set up... Or my Biocube... I'm making headway, I guess. I DID take down two other tanks I had set up...

Boats and aquariums are exactly the same. They are both black holes for money. You might as well throw your wallet in and give it one final salute! Lol

My problem is I can't stick with one group of animals either... At this moment I have a dog, 2 cats (inherited from my sister when she moved over seas), 2 lovebirds (inherited from the same sister), almost 3 fish tanks, a leopard gecko, and a leopard frog.

The ridiculousness of it knows no bounds!

[Guest]

Whatcha' got in the community tank?

We got these fish as a "water cycler" to prepare the tank for another pair of discus. Our old pair of discus passed away at 6 years old - well, we had them for 6 years, they were already 5 inches big when we got them. Yes, yes, we needed a 40-gallon tank but we were newbs. But, the pair seemed to do okay in the 29-gallon tank.

Anyway, these "temporary" PetSmart fish has been here for going on 5 years in June! There used to be 10 of them but now there are only 6 left. We never did get new discus because we got attached to the temporary fish. Hah.

What species of turtle?

A pair of map turtles that we inherited from my husband's boss. They bought the turtle when they were an inch big and they put them in this 10-gallon tank. The turtles got big, the tank got smelly and he offered to pay anybody to just take the things. LOL. My husband brought them home, plopped them in one of our empty snake tanks and that was that. We've had them for about 3 years now.

Haha that sounds awesome! We get a lot of people in my store as of late asking about aquaponics! I'm not sure about the laws where you're at, but where I am you need a permit to keep Tilapia, or else you can be heavily fined! Make sure you're up to date on all the laws regarding keeping Tilapia. Other than that they are extremely easy to raise, can tolerate the worst water conditions, and are delicious! Though they aren't the prettiest members of the Cichlid family.

Lucky to be in Florida. We can have non-hybrid blue tilapias in our area without a permit. Some areas in Florida require the permit. We can also have the nile and mozambiques without a permit for personal use only if we buy them from a breeder in Florida. We can't import those into Florida without a license.

The blues are swamp monster looking . But the reds are quite pretty!

Anyway, my husband has a bet with my sons going... he thinks that "when the time comes", we'll end up with pet tilapias because he thinks I won't have the guts to put them in ice. He points to the community tank that never got new discus...

[Guest]

I can't find a picture of my discus... but I did find my failed attempt at a biocube:

This lasted less than 2 years. I got algae bloom and I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. The system went out of whack and the poor fish did not make it.

[Apple_Acres]

Wow!! Nice pictures!!

Looks like a Gold Gourami, either two Giant Danios or possibly Australian Rainbows, two Blue/Opaline/Three Spot (more or less all the same fish) Gouramis, and a Leporinus! (How'd you keep him in there? Normally they are EXTREMELY aggressive and can reach a foot long!)

I'm a big fan of Map and Softshell turtles myself! Never took to the Sliders... And yes, turtles, unfortunately, live to make clean water dirty. Most turtles get much larger than most people give them credit for. :) Sneaky little devils.

I'm in Utah and all species have been outlawed from private owners.. It kind of stinks. Granted, they're worried about them being released into the native environment, and that makes sense, but our winters are more than capable of wiping them out.

I'm torn on an issue like that... I love my pet fish... and I love to eat fish.

[Apple_Acres]

I'm sorry to hear that with the Biocube...

Mine is doing fairly great so far, but I've got a bit of Saltwater experience, and I work with guys that know it better than their own family (I wish I was kidding... haha), so if I ever have any problems, I have any and all answers I could ever have. So I guess I lucked out? lol

[Guest]

Wow!! Nice pictures!!

Looks like a Gold Gourami, either two Giant Danios or possibly Australian Rainbows, two Blue/Opaline/Three Spot (more or less all the same fish) Gouramis, and a Leporinus! (How'd you keep him in there? Normally they are EXTREMELY aggressive and can reach a foot long!)

There's something about this 29-gallon fish tank that is miraculous... seriously. I get these exclamations of wonder all the time...

"How did you manage to grow 2 discus in that small tank for 6 years?". No idea. I just put them there, kept the temps at 82, fed them beef hearts twice a day, and wave to them everytime I pass by (they recognize me - they would make kissy-faces when I pass by!)

"How did you manage to grow 2 leporinus in a 29-gallon community tank (yes, there are 2 in there - one is hiding in the roman ruins) with 8 other fish?". No idea. We just drop pellets and flakes twice a day. This is how we picked the fish out - my 3-year-old pointed to the fish he wants and we took them home.

"How did you manage to keep PetSmart gouramis alive for over 5 years?". No idea.

"How did you manage to keep Rainbow fish alive on a diet of pellets and flakes with plastic plants?" No idea.

"How did you manage to keep all the fish alive when you only clean the tank twice a year?" No idea. I literally do not touch the fish tank except for twice a year. Yes, that includes the foam filters! I don't rinse them, replace them, do anything to them except Christmas and when the school lets out in the summer. I don't do water changes - nothing. I just tap off the tank with food storage water when the water level gets low enough that I can see the water line below the hood. This was supposed to be just to cycle the water while we find the right discus!

I'm a big fan of Map and Softshell turtles myself! Never took to the Sliders... And yes, turtles, unfortunately, live to make clean water dirty. Most turtles get much larger than most people give them credit for. :) Sneaky little devils.

I'm in Utah and all species have been outlawed from private owners.. It kind of stinks. Granted, they're worried about them being released into the native environment, and that makes sense, but our winters are more than capable of wiping them out.

My husband takes care of the turtles. He built this screen floor using pvc and hardware cloth and put the intake of the cannister filter (for 75 gallon tanks) through the PVC so it sucks water from under the screen. Then he put gravel on top of that. So, when the turtle poops, it gets buried in the gravel and eventually drops through the screen and into the filter. The water is always crystal clear in that tank!

I'm torn on an issue like that... I love my pet fish... and I love to eat fish.

I am confident that as long as I don't name the tilapias, I will be able to ice them!

[Guest]

P.S. You should see our ball python tanks. They're miraculous too. LOL.

[Anddenex]

I am currently making plans, seeking to save up for 10' x 10', or 10' x 14' small pond (8 feet deep) in my backyard...does this count?

According to the numbers I have been given, I should be able to house 150 small sized trout (10-12 in.), or if I want bigger fish it will hold up to 40 fish.

I would love the Jaguar Cichlid, however not sure if they are legal in Utah, however I hear they are an excellent tasty fish.

[Apple_Acres]

Well all I can say is my hat is off to you! That's some good fish keeping, even if you aren't doing much!

And only two cleanings a year? Wow! I do a 20 percent water change once a week on all my fresh tanks, and a change every 2-4 weeks on my Biocube. I'm going to dread water changes on my new 75 once it's finished being set up... My plan so far is to fill it with a hose through the window and when I need to syphon water out, just aim the tube back out the window!

I'm surprised too that Petsmart fish have lasted so long! I can't go in there anymore, I usually want to adopt many of the fish I see... lol

Your husband knows his stuff! I couldn't make a better recommendation myself for filtration for a turtle tank! I normally tell customers to avoid turtles if they aren't ready to shell out money on good filtration or devote considerable amounts of time to changing out water.

Haha yeah... Don't name 'em. That'll just be awkward dinner conversation when you say you grilled up "Bob" or "Fin" or heaven forbid "Nemo."

[Apple_Acres]

I am currently making plans, seeking to save up for 10' x 10', or 10' x 14' small pond (8 feet deep) in my backyard...does this count?

According to the numbers I have been given, I should be able to house 150 small sized trout (10-12 in.), or if I want bigger fish it will hold up to 40 fish.

I would love the Jaguar Cichlid, however not sure if they are legal in Utah, however I hear they are an excellent tasty fish.

This totally counts! That's AWESOME! I've always wanted to do a pond in a big green house so I could raise Pacu as a food item.

If you need any advice or recommendations, I'm your guy!

The trout generally require a permit I hear (I'm not for sure on that one..), but as for Jaguars, you might be out of luck already. On my order list they are flagged and listed as "restricted" lately because they've become invasive in Southern Utah. Some guy apparently decided letting them go in a backwater pond near the Virgin River system to use for fishing would be a good idea... Until the pond flooded into a nearby stream and the fish spread. So they might already be illegal. :\

[Anddenex]

This totally counts! That's AWESOME! I've always wanted to do a pond in a big green house so I could raise Pacu as a food item.

If you need any advice or recommendations, I'm your guy!

The trout generally require a permit I hear (I'm not for sure on that one..), but as for Jaguars, you might be out of luck already. On my order list they are flagged and listed as "restricted" lately because they've become invasive in Southern Utah. Some guy apparently decided letting them go in a backwater pond near the Virgin River system to use for fishing would be a good idea... Until the pond flooded into a nearby stream and the fish spread. So they might already be illegal. :\

Well, I will probably need some advice, seeing I am a novice. Yes, trout needs a permit, however when I contacted the Fish & Game they mentioned I may not need one because my home is not even close to any water outlets.

Also, if I decide to only do sterile trout, I won't need a permit, because they can't reproduce. If you have any good information as to filtration systems for this type of pond, or any other information please share.

[Apple_Acres]

Well, I will probably need some advice, seeing I am a novice. Yes, trout needs a permit, however when I contacted the Fish & Game they mentioned I may not need one because my home is not even close to any water outlets.

Also, if I decide to only do sterile trout, I won't need a permit, because they can't reproduce. If you have any good information as to filtration systems for this type of pond, or any other information please share.

Filtration for a pond THAT big might be tough... The biggest filters we sell only go up to like 1,400 gallons I believe... I mean, that'd be a start, but... I would look into creating a pump fed bio-filtered "sump." A fountain or waterfall would be helpful, too. Current will help keep that water fresh. Keep it under a shaded area as well or you will forever be at war with algae! If you need advice feel free to message me anytime. Ponds aren't my strong point, but I know a little, and could definitely look into it! :)

[Echo2002]

I've been eyeing the Biocubes the past couple of weeks. I would love to start a saltwater tank with fish and coral, but from what I've read it's harder to keep a smaller saltwater tank.

Several years ago I had a 100 gallon freshwater tank that had Cichlids (sp?) I kept it for about 2 years. One of them actually had babies. When I moved 3hrs away the fish didn't survive the ride very well. I also didn't have a very good spot to put the tank in my new place. They lasted several months then I just got rid of the tank.

Apple, do you think I could keep a 29-30 gallon saltwater tank without a lot of problems? There's one corner of my living room that doesn't get a lot of sun and would be a perfect spot for a small tank. Did you buy one of those all-in-one biocubes, or just piece one together?

[pam]

This whole thread sounds rather fishy to me.

[Guest]

Well all I can say is my hat is off to you! That's some good fish keeping, even if you aren't doing much!

And only two cleanings a year? Wow! I do a 20 percent water change once a week on all my fresh tanks, and a change every 2-4 weeks on my Biocube. I'm going to dread water changes on my new 75 once it's finished being set up... My plan so far is to fill it with a hose through the window and when I need to syphon water out, just aim the tube back out the window!

I'm surprised too that Petsmart fish have lasted so long! I can't go in there anymore, I usually want to adopt many of the fish I see... lol

Your husband knows his stuff! I couldn't make a better recommendation myself for filtration for a turtle tank! I normally tell customers to avoid turtles if they aren't ready to shell out money on good filtration or devote considerable amounts of time to changing out water.

Haha yeah... Don't name 'em. That'll just be awkward dinner conversation when you say you grilled up "Bob" or "Fin" or heaven forbid "Nemo."

My husband got this thingamajig that you attach to the kitchen faucet on one end, run the 25-foot hose to the tank, then turn on the faucet and you can either vacuum out the water straight into the kitchen sink or refill the tank with kitchen faucet water. No buckets or anything else needed. I like it except we don't use kitchen water for the tanks because it is too chlorinated.

[Apple_Acres]

I've been eyeing the Biocubes the past couple of weeks. I would love to start a saltwater tank with fish and coral, but from what I've read it's harder to keep a smaller saltwater tank.

Several years ago I had a 100 gallon freshwater tank that had Cichlids (sp?) I kept it for about 2 years. One of them actually had babies. When I moved 3hrs away the fish didn't survive the ride very well. I also didn't have a very good spot to put the tank in my new place. They lasted several months then I just got rid of the tank.

Apple, do you think I could keep a 29-30 gallon saltwater tank without a lot of problems? There's one corner of my living room that doesn't get a lot of sun and would be a perfect spot for a small tank. Did you buy one of those all-in-one biocubes, or just piece one together?

100 gallons is a great size for a Cichlids! (yep, correct spelling :) ) Though I'm sorry to hear about the tanks not making it.

I think that's very doable, and would be the only saltwater set up I'd recommend for a beginner below 55 gallons! :)

My saltwater tank is a standard 29 gallon Biocube kit made by Coralife that you see in your local pet store. As it comes is fine for saltwater, though just be careful about how many animals you stock in the tank. I wouldn't recommend the 14 gallon set up though. I completely altered the filtration in mine, and am working on the lighting, but for 3 fish and some clean up crew (hermit crabs, snails), the standard filtration is just fine! Most importantly, because it is a smaller tank you will need to do more frequent water changes. Generally salt water aquariums 55 and over only need to get a 20-25 percent change once a month, but anything smaller should be every 2-3 weeks, ideally. If you decide to set one up, let me know and I can send you an outline of how I personally would set up the tank! :)

[Apple_Acres]

My husband got this thingamajig that you attach to the kitchen faucet on one end, run the 25-foot hose to the tank, then turn on the faucet and you can either vacuum out the water straight into the kitchen sink or refill the tank with kitchen faucet water. No buckets or anything else needed. I like it except we don't use kitchen water for the tanks because it is too chlorinated.

Haha yes, I've seen those before and they're extremely handy for large aquariums. Little tip, if you don't want to spend money on de-chlorinators, letting tap water sit in a covered bucket for 24-48 hours works just the same. The cover will protect it from dust and dirt, and the chlorine dissipates after about that long. At least, that's how it is here where I live in Utah. As far as I know there isn't much chlorine in the water here.

[Anddenex]

This totally counts! That's AWESOME! I've always wanted to do a pond in a big green house so I could raise Pacu as a food item.

If you need any advice or recommendations, I'm your guy!

The trout generally require a permit I hear (I'm not for sure on that one..), but as for Jaguars, you might be out of luck already. On my order list they are flagged and listed as "restricted" lately because they've become invasive in Southern Utah. Some guy apparently decided letting them go in a backwater pond near the Virgin River system to use for fishing would be a good idea... Until the pond flooded into a nearby stream and the fish spread. So they might already be illegal. :\

Yes, unfortunately the two fish I was really hoping for are illegal: Jaguar and Tilapia... darn Utah.

I really wish they wouldn't make these laws. However, I plan on trout, sunfish, possible perch, bluegill type fish.

Pacu, are they good eating then?

[Apple_Acres]

Yes, unfortunately the two fish I was really hoping for are illegal: Jaguar and Tilapia... darn Utah.

I really wish they wouldn't make these laws. However, I plan on trout, sunfish, possible perch, bluegill type fish.

Pacu, are they good eating then?

Unfortunately that is the case... Those are probably the easiest of all to raise as well.

Sunfish are very hardy generally, and beautiful little fish to boot!

Pacu are delicious! Just make sure you give them their proper diet though... They're a cousin of the Piranha, but get MUCH LARGER. I've heard rumors of individual fish getting 4 feet long and 20+ lbs. Considering their relation people assume a meaty diet is needed, but they're actually herbivores by nature. They'll eat nuts, fruits, and green vegetation, and, from what I understand, that's how you'll get the best flavor from them. Whatever you decide on getting, in my own opinion, do NOT use feeder goldfish as a food source. They aren't healthy for your fish, and you won't get the best flavor out of them either. Feeders are riddled with parasites and bacteria (flukes, water lice, and even tapeworms I hear), and have almost no nutritional value (they're mostly fat...).

[Echo2002]

Do you think I could keep some coral or anemones and just 2 or 3 fish plus a small clean up crew in a 29 gallon biocube? I know I would have to have special lighting and I wondered if any of those set ups came with better lighting, or I would have to customize it.

[Vort]

I'm a Capricorn and my wife is a Virgo. Our second son is an Aquarium. I think Aquariums are great. Not sure if I'd classify myself as an enthusiast, exactly.