anyone into salt water aquariums?

[Pete M]

I learned the hard way about starting a tank and limiting the number of fish in it. :( My ignorance left a steady stream of fish carcasses going down the toilet (along with my money). And that doesn't even include the fish lost to conflicting personalities (can sometimes be a big issue when mixing semi-aggressive with community fish). Thank goodness I didn't have the nerve to get any that could eat each other. The big killer in my tanks back in the day was the wild fluctuations in levels of ammonia. Rules of thumb to limit that:

-The bigger the tank, the slower any changes will be.

-The fewer the fish, th slower any changes will be.

Now-a-days the biggest killer in my 30 gallon fresh water tank has been old age and only one fish has died in the last couple years. :D

 

This is an old pic of my 30 gal tank. Since then I've learned about the dangers of leaving metals in the tank, as well as how much of a pain in the butt complex decorations and tons of fake plants are over time. Simpler is better. :D Easier to find the fish, easier to maintain, etc.

 

[mjdoa]

Pete,pretty tank,what's in it?

(Psssst,hide the bobbers,no fishing in

aquariums)

[Pete M]

Right now I have a red tailed shark, an upside down catfish, 2 silver colored tetra, an algae eater, and my new loach (Botia kubotai I think). The fish store was selling him for $20. I was fascinated by this outrageous price and asked the lady what makes that little fish worth $20. Does he do any tricks? She didn't have a clue. Nor did the manager. So a few weeks later I went back to buy a $20 fish as my graduation present and he was on sale for $10. :D He and the shark are my favorite fish of all time. Full of personality (although the shark's personality isn't always a pleasant personality as they are quite territorial). That shark is the only fish I've ever had that doesn't fear tapping on the glass. He doesn't even flinch. It's his tank. 8)

 

Oh, and all the non-store metal and plastic "decorations" have been removed. Nothing but rocks (cool rocks though) and a couple tops of broken bottles. The theme I'm going for is a "pond". Something you might be able to find around my neck of the woods. And there is most definitely trash in the waters in my neck of the woods (or at least what woods are left). :roll:

[possum]

I have a little five gallon tank with 2 pink fatheads 1 black fathead 2 aquatic frogs 1 albino and 1 black. A large snail and a green corey cat. We originally bought the fatheads to feed to my girlfriend's water dragon. They kinda freaked him out so we took them out of there and bought them their own space. My girl wanted to just flush them but I have a problem with killing anything. I even put spiders outside when I find them some place other than the basement.

[jtdesigns]

I have a little five gallon tank with 2 pink fatheads 1 black fathead 2 aquatic frogs 1 albino and 1 black. A large snail and a green corey cat. We originally bought the fatheads to feed to my girlfriend's water dragon. They kinda freaked him out so we took them out of there and bought them their own space. My girl wanted to just flush them but I have a problem with killing anything. I even put spiders outside when I find them some place other than the basement.

I have a few fatheads in this tank too.... Oh wait your talking about fishy's

[JeepcoMJ]

just posting up the pics of my tank. finally replaced the bulbs in the 30" light...they're now blue and geared towards invert and plant/reef life, with one white light for the fish themselves.

 

here is the tank itself...37 gallon but ordering a 60 gallon in the same lengthXwidth dimensions as the current tank, just 1/3 times taller

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side view showing some of the fish...stupid blue damsel moved...

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I have 17 anemone in the tank...they bred or split from one I had bought that died. pink bubble tips pictured here

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clowns and urchin

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cleaner shrimp

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scooter blenny eating copepods from the live rock. look hard, he's the same color as the rock

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currently I have;

2 pajama cardinaals

2 clownfish (one ocelleris, one percula)

1 blue chromis damsel

1 yellow-tailed black chromis damsel

1 grey/yellow crest damsel

1 firefish

1 scooter blenny

1 cleaner shrimp

17 anemone (tank bred in my tank)

24 mini hermit crabs (they have also bred in the tank)

1 arrow crab

1 green bristle star fish (large sized...11" diameter)

1 black bristle star (medium sized...7" diameter)

1 tan serpent star (small sized...5" diameter)

1 long-spined sea urchin

1 pencil urchin

3 mexican turbo snails

2 black turbo snails

(total cost is probably under $1000...i hope)

there may yet be a sixline wrasse in the tank, but I haven't seen him in months. I had a lawnmower blenny up to a few weeks ago, but he got sick and the longspine urchin ate him. despite the amount of fish, nothing is bigger than 2.5" in length, fishwise, and with the 10 gallon refugium, prizm backpack protien skimmer, emperor 400, and two powerheads, the filtration is AMAZING in the tank. everything reads perfectly chemical-wise.

I believe that the tank will currently alot me one more fish and several inverts, but the tank upgrade will be nice especially when the fluval arrives