The Fish (fishkeepers, breeders, fish lovers)

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the experiences and challenges of fishkeeping, particularly focusing on Betta fish and other aquatic pets. Participants share personal stories, insights into tank maintenance, breeding, and the emotional connections formed with their fish. The conversation includes both technical aspects and personal anecdotes related to the hobby.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Personal anecdotes

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express their emotional attachment to fish and the impact of losing them, highlighting the challenges of fishkeeping.
  • One participant recounts their experience with an uncycled tank and the subsequent loss of fish, raising concerns about Iridovirus affecting gouramis.
  • Another participant shares their journey of learning about fishkeeping, including the necessary equipment and chemicals that were initially unknown to them.
  • Some participants discuss the dynamics between their Betta fish, including the competition for dominance.
  • There are mentions of other aquatic pets, such as piranhas and turtles, and inquiries about their care and behavior.
  • Several participants reflect on their past experiences with breeding fish and the complexities involved, particularly with species like octopuses and sea horses.
  • One participant humorously notes the addictive nature of fishkeeping, comparing it to a childhood experience with free goldfish.
  • There are light-hearted exchanges about the challenges of maintaining fish tanks and the unexpected responsibilities that come with the hobby.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a common appreciation for fishkeeping and the emotional connections it fosters. However, there are varying experiences regarding the challenges faced, particularly in terms of tank maintenance and fish health, indicating that multiple competing views and experiences remain in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention various factors that affect fishkeeping success, including tank cycling, bioload management, and the emotional toll of losing fish. There are also references to specific diseases and the need for proper equipment, which may not be universally applicable to all fishkeeping situations.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for current or prospective fishkeepers, particularly those interested in Betta fish, as well as individuals looking for community support and shared experiences in the hobby.

Lacy33
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Who are the Fish lovers here. I am finding a few fellow Betta servents.
Who here is keeping a fish tank?

We currently have two Betta boys. :!) They just had their one year birthday with us.
 
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I love your fishy avatar Lacy! :biggrin:
 
We got a tank for my dad for his birthday last year. We didn't know anything about fishkeeping, and I was really busy, so I left it to my mom and girlfriend to take care of. We, unfortunately, listened to the staff at one of the pet stores around here and wound up losing most of our fish within a couple of weeks (they sold us 13 fish to dump into an uncycled tank). One tough little dwarf gourami made it through the cycling period and all seemed to go pretty decent from there. We tried to re-stock but I was, once again, busy and left it to my dad and girlfriend to take care of. They went out and bought a bunch of fish at once and we lost many of them again. Then the gourami (we called him Napoleon because he was small but a tough/mean little bastard) passed away for no real reason at all (I now suspect Iridovirus which is supposedly rampant amongst gourami's nowadays).

We left the tank empty for a while and just about two weeks ago got ourselves another gourami. She seems to be doing well for now but supposedly this virus may take months to kill the fish. I'll be handling all of the stocking and maintenance from now on so we're taking it slow and trying not to cause too much bioload on the tank at once.

At the moment I'm fighting some pretty incessant algal blooms. Its a really addicting hobby and I never thought I'd be attached to fish as much as I am. I really do get depressed when we lose a fish and really come down hard on myself. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well this time around.

What kind of tank do you have?
 
Lacy33 said:
Who are the Fish lovers here. I am finding a few fellow Betta servents.
Who here is keeping a fish tank?

We currently have two Betta boys. :!) They just had their one year birthday with us.


Which one is the alpha?
 
Thank you Drizzle.
Yanick,
Thank you for sharing all this. I know how fish love can sneak up on you and there you are. But just like you experienced, there we were, with the wrong information, equiptment and eventually dead fish, one right after the next. I think the worse burial in the park was our second when I passed out coming home. The emotional attachment to these little aquatic personalities is so strong. Who would have guessed.
We now have two tanks and they are too small.
I admit.
But now we have all the chemicals, heaters, filters and meds that we did not know we needed when beginning our fishkeeping experience a few years ago.
If it were not for a website that would be to fishkeepers what PF is to science students, we would have lost our boys now living with us long ago.
I wish you much luck and happiness with your fish and hope you increase your population and with that your family.
 
lisab said:
Which one is the alpha?

LOL, :smile: And now you know THE biggest secret in the universe!
They are betta boys and are fighting over that right now.
One of them WILL be Alpha! :devil:

Until that is decided, they are Goldie.. (he hates that) and Rocky "da shark" Balboa.
 
Love your new avatar lacy!

I used to raise fish when I was younger, it was a lot of fun, but a lot of work.
 
i kept fish for years and years. even tried breeding bettas once and actually managed to get one fry into adolescence.

eventually, you find that it's pretty simple for the most part. de-chlorinate and don't kill your biofilter. keep temps stable (including air temps for bettas) and do regular water changes.

the best thing about bettas is their complete fearlessness, nibbling on your fingers and such. if you're good, you can even net one in your hand (just be careful, they jump).
 
I have 3 piranhas, and 2 turtles (not in the same tank).
 
  • #10
NeoDevin said:
I have 3 piranhas, and 2 turtles (not in the same tank).

What's it like being the pet of piranhas? And do turtles communicate?
We here are so use to the betta boys pretty much running the home, I was wondering if other marine family members are so take charge.
 
  • #11
Evo said:
Love your new avatar lacy!

I used to raise fish when I was younger, it was a lot of fun, but a lot of work.

Thank you.
Yeah, what started off as a dainty little "hobby" has turned into buckets, hoses, chemicals, marine medicine and the study of alian behavior.
 
  • #12
I never raised fish, but had a college buddy (fellow musician) who did. He and his wife had salt-water tanks and some of the typical pretty reef-dwellers, but the ones that intrigued me were the octopuses and sea-horses. We mostly talked music and guitar-technique when I visited, but I got the overall impression that breeding and raising octopuses (his favorite) was pretty tricky and labor-intensive. Lots of observation, installing barriers and providing lots of crevices of various sizes to minimize cannibalism...
 
  • #13
My brother had an incredible salt water aquarium, but there ws a fire. :cry:
 
  • #14
Evo said:
My brother had an incredible salt water aquarium, but there ws a fire. :cry:

Evo, I know I don't have saltwater fish. And they must take a different kind of care, but, but a fire? You really can start a fire in salt water?
I really should be spending some time upstairs here learning. :-p
 
  • #15
I love finnin haddie, but cod is almost as good. It all depends, of course, upon the batter.
Never tried Betta, but that seems a little less than bite-sized.
 
  • #16
Danger said:
I love finnin haddie, but cod is almost as good. It all depends, of course, upon the batter.
Never tried Betta, but that seems a little less than bite-sized.

have you ever? ya, have you ever been feeling so sick and some smart a** comes along and says something that hits you so funny that you laugh and laugh, pityfully laughing over the pain. You wish you could stop but you just can't?
aaha...aaha...ooo...ahaaa ... no more please.

note:
never have a whole jar of cookies for dinner and a pot of coffee.
 
  • #18
Lacy33 said:
They think they are going to need a bigger bowl for the fish!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor...-Biagini-catches-massive-30lbs-goldfish.html"

Wow. Never seen one that big.

I got addicted to fish as an 8 year old. The local department store was giving away free comet goldfish. Just like drug dealers, they knew that once I was addicted, there was no turning back. My most exotic fish were a pair of Mozambique Tilapia. They are mouth brooders. Always fun to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkmmpSrbbjM

If only human children were so easy to get to bed. :smile:
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #19
Wow! That's a lot of kids. Are they Hasidish? :biggrin:
 
  • #20
Been there too, but moving a lot wasn't helping, so I stopped fish tanks a couple of years ago.

I bred several species for fun, favorites were the Ram, who seemed to have traveled around in about all genera of chiclids and the Bivittatum who doesn't even have a wiki page.

Breeding was most successful with the Blue acara until I could not find anymore fish dealers around who were interested in it.
 
  • #21
I would love to learn breeding. And even learn more fish. Right now we are kinda in the hospice phase with our little betta boys.
Some day we will invest in a larger tank.

I just noticed how close the toilet thread is to this fish thread.
 
  • #22
Lacy33 said:
II just noticed how close the toilet thread is to this fish thread.
Keep swimming boys! Don't even take a nap!


(flush)
 
  • #23
turbo-1 said:
Keep swimming boys! Don't even take a nap!


(flush)


LOL! :eek:
 
  • #24
My favorite to watch was my lochikens (kuhliloach)they eat the algae off the sides of the aquarium.
 

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  • #25
What a cute kid you had there. I wonder if it would eat my cooking if it eats algae?
Our betta boy are encouraging us to look at other fish. They use to get jealous.
Was this a fresh water? I would look it up but have to make a cake before the sun crashes on my cooking party. :wink:
 
  • #26
Lacy33 said:
What a cute kid you had there. I wonder if it would eat my cooking if it eats algae?
Our betta boy are encouraging us to look at other fish. They use to get jealous.
Was this a fresh water? I would look it up but have to make a cake before the sun crashes on my cooking party. :wink:
Yes, they're fresh water, and they do a great job keeping the aquarium clean.
 
  • #27
I've only got three tanks right now.

- a 5gal. custom wall hung "picture frame" tank of my own design (only 4" deep) with some danios
- a 2gal. custom "office desk" tank of my own design (fully self-contained) with a betta
- a 50gal. "gift" with a fat goldfish and a half dozen serpaes (I gave the giant pl*cos away to a friend with a pond)
 
  • #28
Evo said:
My favorite to watch was my lochikens (kuhliloach)they eat the algae off the sides of the aquarium.

I love Kuhlis but, consistently, after a few months of them burying themselves in the sand where I can't see them, I assume they've perished, stop leaving bottom food, and they get emaciated.
 
  • #29
DaveC426913 said:
I love Kuhlis but, consistently, after a few months of them burying themselves in the sand where I can't see them, I assume they've perished, stop leaving bottom food, and they get emaciated.
:frown:
 
  • #30
kuhli are a bit crepuscular. more active at twilight.
 

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