Anyone else into aquariums? [Disclaimer: If you answer "no" to this question, you may not want to read on since it will only bore you and solidify that I, Bols, have reached uber nerd status.] I know, it is kind of a nerdy hobby but I use to be engrossed in my fish tank when I was younger. Now that I have kids, and my oldest son happen to win goldfish at the carnival this past summer, I decided to upgrade their 5 gallon slum for the 28 gallon hotel. I am close to finishing off the cycling process and hopefully the fish hang on. Nitrite and Nitrate levels are high but I am hoping biofilter builds here soon and engulfs the rest of the Nitrites floating around. One problem with this tank upgrade is, I have the urge to try out cichlids or maybe a tropical community but without buying another tank I don't really care to mix goldfish with other species. Either way I have enjoyed the aquarium experience again. Okay, call me a nerd all you want now.
OK ill say it,, NERD BOY :d Did you use that crispy $100.00 you accidently won to buy the new aquarium?
Bols, looks like we're cut from the same cloth. I'm in the exact same situation. My kid won a goldfish 5 yrs ago, and we still have it. Now my son has a Beta, and a 10gal tank. As for your question about cichlids. They are a very aggressive fish and won't mix w/other community fish. You'll have to buy other similar fish like tiger barbs, swordfish, etc. Cichids are cool, because there is such a variety. As for nitrates and nitrites, they definitely kill fish. We have to buy reverse osmostic water because our well water has too much of nitrites. We eventually will get a system in our house, for our health. I've tried the chemcial treatment routine, lost too many fish.
Number one, I'm glad you are thinking about doing something for the family. Nitrites definitely mean something is leaked into your well. Yeah, at first I thought I could put a tropical fish in with the goldies, but after I started reading I decided to stay away from it. It is possible, but I am just going to let these goldies run their course and then switch over to a tropical community. Cichlids would indeed require another tank, so in the future I might have the 28 gallon tank as a tropical community, then get a bigger tank, maybe a 75 gallon, for the Cichlids. Gosh those things are cool and your have so many varieties within a species to choose from. My water is good, zero on everything. I take the chlorine and chloramine out with a Tap Water Conditioner. The only issue I am running into now is the cycling process. I am at zero for ammonia which is positive, but Nitrites are spiking just as Nitrates are starting to build. I did a water change last week, roughly 8 gallons. I am thinking about doing another 3-5 gallons today to try and cut the Nitrite PPM in half. It worked last week but once again, the biofilter isn't established enough yet so the Nitrites levels escalated. Glad to have another aquarium nut here. P.S. Thanks for the bad news on your kid's goldfish living 5 years. My wife wouldn't let me buy another goldfish for fear that we might never get rid of the goldfish community if I keep buying them. I guess she wants to move onto something cooler as well. :d
I'm not an aquarium "nerd" but I have always wanted a salt-water aquarium. I think it would make a perfect addition to our home. At least your boy won a goldfish and not an iguana or a rabbit. :D
Yeah, out of all the things he could have won, or picked as a first pet, a goldfish is pretty tame. We would have went dog but the kid has massive allergies/asthma. I guess I gave him poor eyesight and my asthma. What a lucky kid. Anyway, the salt-water aquariums are sweet, but be ready. They take a lot of desire to get one up and running. No doubt though, they are some of the coolest things to look at when you walk into a darkened room. P.S. Why does salt-water = saltwater if you don't put the hyphen in? :computer:
"My wife wouldn't let me buy another goldfish for fear that we might never get rid of the goldfish community if I keep buying them. I guess she wants to move onto something cooler as well. " I have the answer. Pirhanas. They are cool, and they will get rid of your goldfish problem. Nitrites can be controlled by adding live plants, or at least I have been told that.
I don't have the time to mess with a really big aquarium (though I hear they're easier to maintain than our 10-gallon in my son's room), but I think they're beautiful. Back when I was a sports writer for the largest daily independent in Arkansas, we had a HUGE one in the front lobby -- and it was salt water. The coolest thing was a big red octopus that hid out most of the time but would come out at night to play. We live right next to the 16th green, and it's got a nice water hazard in front of it. It holds some small bluegill and bass (not to mention the two 7-lb. catfish I dumped into it last summer... shhh), and my boy and I were fishing it late one night when I caught a little four-inch long largemouth. We ran him back home and put him in the aquarium, and surprisingly enough we've managed to keep him alive since then. He's doubled in size already, and he's the coolest thing to feed. In the summertime, I can find enough worms or crickets or things like that to feed him. Since it got cold, I stop at the bait shop and buy a half-dozen small minnows once a week. THAT'S cool watching him gobble them all up in about a minute and a half.
Greg, thanks for sharing. Gosh, that has got to be pretty cool to watch the largemouth engulf those minnows. Indeed, you are correct. Large tanks are somewhat easier to maintain. If you are a nut and keep up on the water changes, a large tank is not nearly as hard to keep. This is provided you aren't overstocking and overfeeding the fish in either a 28 gallon or a large 75+ gallon tank. All else equal, they say when starting an aquarium go with the biggest you can buy for two simple reasons; one, it is easier to manage and secondly, you'll want a bigger tank in the long run anyways. Guess who already wants a bigger tank and I have only had the 28 gallon running for about three weeks now. Anyways, back to the bass. Thought you might appreciate these videos from YouTube. Not a largemouth, but impressive nonetheless: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dONqcKWYPpk&feature=channel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC3zINXZNfg&feature=related
I answered the question and I didn't even have to open the thread :d :d :d Maybe I'll put a fishbowl in front of my Bud Light neon in your room when you get here... that'll help you sleep at night.
Not a nerd. Some people just don't understand. They don't understand the tranquility, the joys of watching such a peaceful array of colors, flowing through their own little community. Okay, now that that is done. I vote you get many cichlids, and show your kid the joys of having them. Introduce the cichlids to their new "best friend" Mr. goldfish . In High school, I got into this rather expensive hobby of "cichliding". I had a 55 gallon aquarium from a previous pet. And I seemed to have too much money at the time. So, I set it up, and got an assortment of Jack Dempseys, Zebra cichlids, and A Red devil. I put them in about two weeks after letting the tank run without them guys. The best thing I did for that tank was put in two plecos (plecostamus <spl?). They were about an inch long when I put them in (circa 2000). In 2003, the last time I saw them before my sister took possetion (Marines.) they were about 9-10 inches long. Yes, they were well fed. They were probably the best fish I had in that tank. Never got sick, never got beat on by the others. And they were productive. The Jack Dempseys, they were territorial, but for the most part they stuck together. The red devil, was a demon. He would go invade the other side of the tank. and the zebras... well, they would have to fend for themselves. They kind of stuck to the middle of the tank. Live food. Feeder fish, that was probably the most entertaining thing. I would go out with my friends, get drunk, have them take me to the Petco, and I would get the FF on the way home. then sit, drunk, in my room, and watch the carnage. I felt like the raptor guy on Jurassic Park. So, yes. Introduce your son to the joys of predator fish. You will not regret it.
