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Barnyard Buddies:  Aquariums  |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
 Posted - Jan 03 2011 : 06:09:28 AM
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I love having aquariums in the house. I love the sound of the bubbler or air filter and I love watching fish swim around.
About a year or more ago, Nora saw a beautiful betta at Wal-Mart and determined that she HAD to have him. So we brought him home and slowly his him was upgraded from a one gallon to a 5 gallon.
"No Touch" as he was named has had a few brushes with death but he is a strong little fish and quite funny too. He "begs" for food by swimming back and forth quickly at the front of the tank. He comes up and watches me when I am looking into the aquarium and he loves to sleep in his little house.
I think I like Nora's fish more than she does!
Any one else have fish that they love?
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1152 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1152 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 08:00:54 AM
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Alee,
We have 4 bettas. 3 males and one female. If you've never had a female, they are much more active and pugnacious than the males. My favorite tank that I've ever had was a 30 gallon with about 8 females. It has to be heavily planted or they'll fight like the males. I never had any aggression issues that I saw for myself, anyway.
They are great fish!
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 10:28:15 AM
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We have seven tanks and plan to put up a 55 gallon in the next few months.
We have salt and fresh. Most of the fresh tanks have a betta. Great kids fish.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 11:01:14 AM
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Wow ladies! The biggest tank I have ever had was a 20 that I had a goldfish in. He got so big that he could barely turn around in it and I had to release him into the river. His tank was so dirty- I had to clean it almost every day when he got that big.
I keep thinking I want to get some more fish for Nora. but I haven't yet. We'll see. Last few times I have tried to get anything they have died so I am not sure I want to try again.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1152 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1152 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 1:31:14 PM
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I used to have a 55 gal up and the 30 long.
Some of best advice I have, Alee, is not to start too small. You want to start with at least a 10 gallon, better yet, a 20. In small tanks, when things go bad, they go bad quickly, so it's best to have a larger tank. The water quality is much easier to regulate.
Also, while you start off with a bigger tank, you still want to 'start small' by only adding a couple of small fish that will not outgrow the tank size. The most important thing to learn about setting up a new tank is the nitrogen cycle. Not understanding this natural cycle kills off most beginner's fish. This alone has discouraged people from aquariumkeeping! It's too bad, because if they would have started off correctly, they probably would have had a gorgeous tank.
Here's my own list of tank-keeping no-no's:
1. Buying a small tank
2. Not using a power filter, which does all 3 types of filtration: Mechanical, chemical,and biological
3. Not understanding the nitrogen cycle...thus, starting a new tank off far too fast (adding waaay too many fish to a new tank before it cycles)
4. Mixing inappropriate species (i.e. coldwater with tropical fish, aggressive with non-aggressive, etc.)
5. Buying fish that will outgrow the tank (top offenders? Goldfish, oscars, pacu, bala sharks, Plecostomus (so-called algae eaters; HA! Yeah, right.), tinfoil barbs, pangasius catfish AKA iridescent sharks) There are a GREAT MANY fish who should never be owned by about 95% of aquarium keepers. Don't ask me why they still persist in stores!
6. Not doing frequent water changes OR changing ALL of the water! In a properly filtered tank, it is only really necessary to remove 20-25% of the water once a week. Unless you are talking about an unfiltered tank, you should never replace all of the water at once.
Well, that's all I can think of for now, lol. :0)
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Jan 04 2011 : 4:40:16 PM
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Thanks for the tips! I am looking forward to the day I can get a larger aquarium. Its one of those relaxing hobbies that everyone can enjoy. I love seeing a well kept tank and only ever didn't like one fish- a greyish pink eel in a hospital tank. I thought he looked like a piece of intestine :(
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1152 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1152 Posts |
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MrsRooster
True Blue Farmgirl
1168 Posts
Amy
Seabrook
TX
USA
1168 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2011 : 07:18:31 AM
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LOL Yes, they are kind of gross. We have a few bristle worms in the salt tank and they are gross too. But keep the tank really clean.
www.mrsrooster.blogspot.com
Farmgirl #1259
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msdoolittle
True Blue Farmgirl
1152 Posts
Amanda
East Texas
USA
1152 Posts |
Posted - Jan 05 2011 : 1:38:23 PM
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I love salt tanks, but after keeping up the ones at Petco a zillion years ago, I knew I didn't have the discipline to keep them, lol!
FarmGirl #1390
www.mylittlecountry.wordpress.com |
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Annab
True Blue Farmgirl
2900 Posts
Anna
Seagrove
NC
USA
2900 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2011 : 09:53:31 AM
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I used to be into fish big time. Started in college when that was about the only real acceptable pet for dorm rooms.
A buddy and I would visit the pet store at elast 3 times a month to see what other types of fish we "needed".
I started out with just a teensy 2 1/2 gallon and eventually graduated to just a 15 high. I didn't have a lot of spare change, so under gravel filers were about as high tech as it got.
After moving 3 times after college and never beinga able to find a really great reputable fish/pet store, I ended up GIVING all my stuff away. It breaks my heart now.
If I could start all over again, I'd get a 25 or 30 gallon with suitable filter and then go crazy.
I love the live bearing fish and always had great success breeding them.
The coolest fish I ever had was called a cooli loach. It looked like a sea snake, but was only about 2 inches long and was grey and black striped.
Betas are so fun. So I'd probably have to get some of those too |
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Barnyard Buddies: Aquariums |
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Aquariums
