Fish talk

[TNHawke]

Yeah that's what I was talking about

Darn spellcheck

Peter the mini cori has vanished and I can't find him but the problem is that there are so many places he could have gone e.o

Giant danio

It's amazing how well fish can hide. I lost a baby dragonfish (aka violet goby, aka a bazillion other names, lol) under the gravel of my tank. I found him three months later while cleaning - and I'd cleaned the tank multiple times and not found him! He was in really bad shape, emaciated and sick. He didn't live much longer after I found him. Poor guy. I had a Kuhli loach who lived in my filter until he died. I'd take him out ever time I cleaned and within 24 hours, he was back in it.


Giant Danios I give about a 7 of 10. And only that low because of their size, they get to be 3 to 4 inches. But they are very docile fish, just like their smaller brethren and do well in community tanks of other larger fish if you have a tank big enough for them all. I kept mine with various forms of Rainbows and congo tetras and a few angelfish.

My favorite fish I've owned were my three hatchetfish. They are so cute and look like cartoon baby whales. They were also surprisingly hardy and lived long past their expectancy. But even though we were careful about having gaps at the top of the tank (since those suckers can propel themselves right out), one eventually did.I was so bummed out! We thought he'd gotten eaten by another fish or something until we moved the tank for cleaning and found him on the ground. It was super weird that my cats didn't find him.

Also our glass catfish lived a really long time too. We weren't super knowledgeable about fish care, but our tank did pretty well for about 5 years before we moved. We lost some here and there but the hatchetfish fish and glass catfish survived until the end.

I've actually never kept hatchetfish. I never cared for the shape of them, and they're just plain silver, and I like more color in my tanks. That's amazing that you did so well with the glass cat. They aren't the most hardy of fish and do best in schools.

[Nikanika]

Hmmmm, I can't seem to find peter and I'm getting worried, any thing that you can think of?

Rainbow guppy

[TNHawke]

I would do a thorough tank cleaning, remove everything, vacuum the gravel, clean out your filter. If there are any kind of decorations that he could get inside, make sure to shake them out really well, in case he's hiding or stuck inside one. There is always the unfortunate chance that he died and his remains were eaten by the other fish. I almost never see dead fish in my tank unless I catch it right away because of that.

Hmmm... not so sure about "rainbow" guppies specifically, but at the stores I've seen in recent years it's hard to get anything that isn't just "assorted guppies", even though every color morph has a name, or is a hybrid of them.

Guppies in general... Yes, I've kept them. but... I only give them a 5 of 10. I have more trouble with guppies than with any other small, tropical fish. They are pretty to look at, come in tons of colors and several fin types, they don't bother anybody (I didn't even have them eating their own fry very often, but I gave fry lots of hiding places and gave the parents a high protein diet), they don't have special water conditions... they should be super easy! The problem is that guppies have been so inbred, for so long to get those amazing color morphs and giant tails that they are not very hardy at all. I've tried them in community and pure guppy tanks. I've acquired them from different sources (though never mail order). It seems that whenever I buy them, I always loose a bunch right away, often more than 50%! And even when they don't die off immediately, they do die not too long after. The last time I had guppies, I started with a 10 gallon dedicated tank, then moved them into my 50, still dedicated, and then they all died off, despite my best efforts to save them. All together, I probably had guppies for about a year and a half. And I was replacing adult stock periodically to go with the fry they were having. My intention had been to use them as feeders, but in all that time, I only had a few that lived long enough to grow large enough to be fed.
I kind of feel about them the same way I do cichlids. Pretty to look at... in someone else's tank.

[Moeru]

I have to disagree with Neon Tetra being a good 'beginner fish'--I've only had them once, with a mixed tank, and the Neons quickly succumbed to Neon Tetra Disease while the Red-Eye tetra and a couple of other assorted fish lasted nearly 6 years beyond the death of the Neons. Neon Tetra Disease is no joke, it can wipe out a whole colony and it's a bit hard to prevent or even treat... plus all the other nonsense you have to put up with when you have fish tanks. :/

[HerpLuvin]

I own one fish right now, a 5 inch long Senegal bichir. my mom owns a 13 inch Oscar and an 18 inch pleco.

the plan is to set my baby bichir free into the big(75 gallon) tank with the Oscar and pleco, once the bichir is of proper size first(a 5 inch fish is a tasty snack for a big Oscar) adult bichirs are about 12-18 inches long, so I don't have to worry about one being eaten alive by the fish eating Oscar, who can down 45-60 one to two inch fish in an hour...

I have also owned bettas and many types of exotic fish. If you have any questions PM me and I am more than happy to help.

[TNHawke]

Bichers are awesome. But... I've never seen one more than 6 inches. Everything I've read or heard says their max size is around 5 to 6 inches. Are you sure you have a bicher? Sometimes also known as dinosaur fish/ eels.

[Elbombats]

Don't get platys unless you want five generations of inbred fish like I have :-(

[HerpLuvin]

Bichers are awesome. But... I've never seen one more than 6 inches. Everything I've read or heard says their max size is around 5 to 6 inches. Are you sure you have a bicher? Sometimes also known as dinosaur fish/ eels.

One bichir species stays that small but is rare in the hobby. The next smallest and most common is the senegal bichir, sold as dinosaur eel, senegal eel, or dragon fish, which get to be 18 or so inches long. I have seen several adult senegals of this size. Most other species get around three to four feet long. Some places will try to con you into them with the whole "they only get this big in a big tank but in this size tank they stay small" thing. While most fish of any sort sold like that they either get stunted growth and die young, or just not stop growing and released or go back to the pet store. Bichirs on the other hand, will grow until the tank is too small, then escape and roam around looking for a new water source.

Please excuse any typos I typed this on my phone lol.

[TNHawke]

Don't get platys unless you want five generations of inbred fish like I have :-(

Lol, it happens.

Some places will try to con you into them with the whole "they only get this big in a big tank but in this size tank they stay small" thing. While most fish of any sort sold like that they either get stunted growth and die young, or just not stop growing and released or go back to the pet store. Bichirs on the other hand, will grow until the tank is too small, then escape and roam around looking for a new water source.

There is that... I'll have to look into them again, it's been a few years since I had them. Although every time I had them, it was in 50+ gallons and my largest was 5 inches and 3 years old before I had a biosystem crash that killed everything. I suppose it's possible that my local stores accidentally got the smaller variety and didn't realize it?
The crawling around thing does make a friend's experience make more sense. They have (had?) a bicher in a desk top tank, and it keeps bashing into the lid, apparently trying to escape. Knowing this, it probably IS trying to escape and desires a much larger tank.

[Elbombats]

Ahhhh crap. We got one fish like that, thankfully plecos (I think they are, otherwise they are called suckermouth catfish) grow slowly.
He is my families favorite fishy, so the thought of him being stunted and dying young makes me sad :-(