Any Fish Lovers Out There?

Jay · 06-10-11, 05:16 PM

I'm looking for any fish lovers I just bought a 55g Aquarium with 2 filters, bubble thing and a heater. I was very exited to get a few Piranhas but after some extensive research keeping fish looks more complicated then I thought.
Any tips for some nice fresh water fish for a beginner. Note: Money is not an issue.

stephanbakir · 06-10-11, 05:33 PM

placos (Plecostomus) are always easy, when I was younger I used to breed them. They are awesome because they help keep the tank clean and 1-2 of them in the tank means that you only need to scrub it once every week or so and the water stays really clean. Kribs need clean water so this again helps.
Pleco

I also used to breed Kribensis, Pet stores love these things, so if you breed them you can almost guarantee being able to either sell babies to the pet shop or trade for credit.
If you plan on breeding them keep in mind that they are omnivorous and right before breeding and right after laying the mother is going to need as much protein as you can push into her. I find mosquito larvae and brine shrimp to be the easiest food to get them that fits this requirement.
Facts about the Kribensis - Pelvicachromis Pulcher

Careful if you plan to breed them as they get territorial and for the first few weeks you MIGHT need to put in a divider so the placo doesn't get bitten.

Jay · 06-10-11, 05:42 PM

Cool I really want to go put a minnow trap in my creek and catch like 20 - 30 raise them and feed them to chomper?

stephanbakir · 06-10-11, 05:47 PM

The only problem with raising canadian fish is they require cooler water.
What I have done is raised crayfish, they breed FAST in the spring and if you feed them enough (I fed them meat from animals I trapped, brine shrimp and the odd soup bone) they make crunchy food that runs away slowly, we fed them to my friends asian water monitor in the bathtub with a few inches of water and he chased them for a good 2 hours:P great exercise. (crayfish do not require cooler water but do prefer dark/cool water so basements are preferred)

Jay · 06-10-11, 05:53 PM

I love crayfish. I always find lots when im fishing back home. Do you Think 30 assorted minnows would be fine in a 55g tank with a few crayfish (I would assume the crays will eat a few fish.) Native species in my creek are: Sun Fish, Blue Gill, Bull Head, Carp and "suckers" (They look like a cat fish and a carp.)

stephanbakir · 06-10-11, 05:57 PM

Sunfish are good, so are blue gill. Carp have HUGE bones regardless of size so they are good calcium but whatever you catch will need to eat and I have no idea what carp eat.
I would stay away from anything in the "catfish" area because of the venomous spines and the fact that they are one of the hardest things I know of to kill.

The bluegill and sunfish would go after crayfish for sure, but if you put some material on the bottom they will blend in with and give them a few hides they will assist in keeping the terrarium clean and should survive. Its been a while but if I remember correctly placos can live in cooler water, tossing in a few of those would help aswel considering the way they can clean a tank.

I'm not sure but I think sunfish and bluegill would be ok in room temperature, dont see why not.

Jay · 06-10-11, 06:03 PM

I never thought of the carps bones thanks. I did know about the catfish, just slipped my mind. I'm going to be putting live plants in there along with real rocks and drift wood I would like it to look as natural as possible. Hypothetically speaking if I were to raise the minnows until I could properly identify the species could I put them back in the creek. As for temperatures I live in Ontario.

stephanbakir · 06-10-11, 06:07 PM

If they were native to there I don't see why not, assuming you feed them live, like worm bits and brine shrimp (brine shrimp are insanely easy to breed).
If you are raising these fish within your home you have nothing to worry about.
Keep in mind that whatever toxins that are in the lake you get them from will be in the fish. The younger the fish when you capture them, the less they should have in their systems.

Do you know how to identify fish with worms?

stephanbakir · 06-10-11, 06:11 PM

I'll toss in 2 pics. Both the black spots in the second pic and the white cysts in the first pic should be seriously avoided.
I was told that they got them by eating the feces of the kingfisher but I don't know the validity of that statement.

Aaran · 06-10-11, 08:41 PM

When in doubt raise a shark:P