All about aquariums. Looky here!

[Monster2]

One of those looks like a Lion Fish

True, but lions don't have stripes. Once upon a time they were more commonly known as zebra fish, and still come up as zebra fish on google search. They are also saltwater fish, so don't go getting any crazy ideas! (although they are pretty hardy as far as saltwater fish go). Also, they have spines that are toxic. There are no recorded deaths by lionfish, however, if you get stung it will be pretty painful. In an article I read a while ago, the author described the feeling like having his hand smashed by a large hammer. There are also several smaller varieties available.
..........
Okay, Sunflower,... back to the subject at hand, that common names do change, and even vary between store to store in some of the less common fish. Example: I was just doing a bit of fish shopping... and....There's a fish known as bichir. The other day I noticed that one chain pet store colorfully labeled this fish as a "dinosaur fish" because of it's unchanging evolutionary history. The other store, a small specialty store has the same fish listed as "Senegal Polypterus" after it's location of habitat, and genus name. Senegal Polypterus is more descriptively accurate, bichir is still a more universally common name (also it's species name), dinosaur fish is probably best from a marketing point of view. So all three have merit, but "dinosaur fish" is also the most likely to change, and in this case it is the equivalent to calling San's fish a zebra fish.
I hope that made sense.

 

[San2]

Right, I had a look around on google, and the fish my parents had (amongst others) were these:

Which are apparently the Zebra Danios that you were talking about earlier. They were about....uhm....2 inches long, something like that. So those would be a good choice for a beginner?

They also used to have neons (Tetras I think is the proper name)

Would they be okay to be paired with the Danios? We had an incident where my father bought a fish that was quite aggressive, and ended up eating, or at least biting and killing a lot of the smaller ones, and I don't really want anything like that to happen. It was....bad. I'm sure you've seen things like that.

Oh, and I love Plecos - the one we had grew to a rather amazing size though. Is it really true that they can adjust their size to the size of the aquarium (meaning, the smaller the aquarium, the smaller the Pleco will stay), or is that just a myth? And would one of those be okay to keep with the little fish like tetras etc? I remember my parents needing to 'evacuate' the tetras at some point, but can't remember who was to blame.

I was about 10 when we had that aquarium, so that's 26 years ago, that's why I can't really remember much of it.

 

[Monster2]

They also used to have neons (Tetras I think is the proper name)

Would they be okay to be paired with the Danios? We had an incident where my father bought a fish that was quite aggressive, and ended up eating, or at least biting and killing a lot of the smaller ones, and I don't really want anything like that to happen. It was....bad. I'm sure you've seen things like that.

Oh, and I love Plecos - the one we had grew to a rather amazing size though. Is it really true that they can adjust their size to the size of the aquarium (meaning, the smaller the aquarium, the smaller the Pleco will stay), or is that just a myth? And would one of those be okay to keep with the little fish like tetras etc? I remember my parents needing to 'evacuate' the tetras at some point, but can't remember who was to blame.

Good questions!
1) Yeah, neons and danios will get along fine, in fact, you can get ANY species of danios (except giant danios) that will get along fine with neon tetras. Let me also recommend CARDINAL tetras, which are just like neons, but with even more color! The danios might chase the tetras around a bit, so you'll want to make sure you have more tetras than danios. Also, make sure you have some plastic plants for the neons to hide in if they need to. Danios tend to stay swimming toward the top of the aquarium.

2) Fish aggression. Yup, it happens. Sometimes unexpectedly, but you'll be okay with neons and danios. The rule of thumb is this. IF a fish can fit another fish in it's mouth, it will probably try to do so! Even plecos.

3) Fish growth can be stunted, BUT ONLY TO CERTAIN EXTENT! A foot long fish might have it's growth stunted down to 8 inches, but that's all it is, a stunting of growth. Don't worry, it's perfectly healthy. Fish excrete hormones that will stunt their growth a bit, but don't expect a 2" full size pleco.
HOWEVER..... there are species of plecos that are much more interesting than the common pleco, that stay much smaller. Most of these are quite peaceful too.
But... if you're looking for a catfish, I'd really recommend corydoras catfish, they're small, active, and very, very cute!
However, they do not eat algae.

IF you're looking for an algae eater, you don't really want to get a pleco. You'd be better with an otocinclus, regular or giant variety (still stay small) Another option are smaller varieties of plecos. Not all plecos eat algae. Rubbernose plecos are usually pretty easy to find, as well as otocinclus. Peckolita catfish (close relative of a pleco) is another small pleco like catfish.
Here's a great article!
What Kind Of Algae Eater Should I Get? - Tropical Fish Forums

 

[Monster2]

Last but NOT least. If you get a pleco, any kind of pleco, you'll need to put a piece of soft driftwood in the tank. I'm not sure why, but it aids in the digestion of food for plecos. Some people have had luck without driftwood, but I've had a few plecos die, then after I added driftwood they did much better, thrived in fact. You want to make sure it's a softer wood. It is typically sold in pet stores drilled to a slate base. If you're not sure if the wood is the right kind, see if you can make an indentation with your finger nail, or be able to easily break off a sliver.

 

[Monster2]

San, let me also say that most fish that you see in your local chain pet stores will probably do pretty well in your aquarium. Most chain pet stores don't do anything special to their water, and their water should be pretty much the same as your tap water (except treated with chlorine remover). While it is good to be aware that fish might be from water different from yours, it still might do well in your aquarium. The best thing to do really is to check the care sheets online and see how hardy they are. If you need help, or just want to ask here, I'll be glad to help!
One good example of this is that neon tetra can do well in our water, which is hard and alkaline. Now you might want to be extra cautious, and do more frequent water changes and keep carbon in your tank to make sure the water quality is really good, but I've heard of people keeping neons, other tetras and even angel fish in our water. But these fish do not fare as well if the water goes bad, which means they really can't survive if your water quality drops a bit. So.. take it all with a grain of salt, and ask your local pet shops how the fish do.
ALSO, it's best NOT to buy fish after they've just arrived to the pet store, many often die from stress. Shipping fish is pretty traumatic because the temperature and water quality change quite a bit in those little bags, not to mention all of the movement, AND, fish wholesalers will starve fish for 2-3 days before shipping so they don't spoil the water during shipping. Minimum recommended time is a week.

 

[Monster2]

If you decide on some kind of predatory fish (probably cichlids) be aware that if you buy feeder fish you could be bringing in a host of problems from diseases to parasites. There's nothing wrong with certain predatory fish, they can be smart, colorful and/or interesting. But many, if not most predatory fish don't actually need to eat live fish. I think that most people tend to buy feeder fish as a form of entertainment. I will buy feeder fish on occasion to watch my fish do what nature made them to. I don't enjoy the deaths of small fish, but I do enjoy watching my predator's instincts kick in and hunting for food. This is a behavior that you can't really stimulate any other way, and some fish have some very interesting hunting habits. Please note that many predatory fish are actually NOT aggressive. Most of these fish will simply eat whatever they can fit in their mouths and leave anything of relative size alone (around 1/3 their size or smaller).
Some of my fish recently acquired parasites from feeder fish. I could tell because they rubbing their sides (specifically their gills) against the decorations. This is a SURE sign that your fish have a disease and you need to treat your aquarium immediate with a parasite killer. The good news is that parasites die easily, and you should never encounter a fatality from parasites unless you are lazy and don't treat as soon as you see the obvious symptom.

 

[Monster2]

One more note about bottom feeders, mainly catfish. Sometimes beginners assume or are even told that catfish will be okay eating fish detritus (fish waste, mostly poop). This really isn't true. If you do get catfish for the bottom of your tank, make sure your catfish are getting fed. This can be tough to do sometimes because some species of catfish won't come out during the day. You can either avoid these fish altogether or drop in a little bit of sinking food on occasion before you go to bed. (twice a week should be okay, because they can digest some detritus). Make sure you understand the dietary needs of your catfish, because some will only eat vegetable matter, and others will only eat animal matter.
I personally enjoy filling my aquarium with a few bottom feeders, mid-level swimmer and some top swimmers so that my aquarium will seem a bit more full. With smaller fish, danios are perfect for filling the top level space. With larger fish, giant danios do a great job. Giant danios are great swimmers that excel at not getting eaten. I've kept them with predatory fish several times, and they usually end up okay.

 

[Monster2]

About hiding fish. Certain types of fish, especially catfish, but others as well, enjoy finding their own little nook to hide in, for protection from predators. In your aquarium, this probably translates to hiding in one of your decorations.
Since this happened to me today, I thought I'd pass along this next aquarium tip.
When you clean up your aquarium, or are taking out or even just moving decorations, take a minute to count your fish, if you don't it could turn out bad. On more than one occasion I've had fish that were hiding in the decoration stay in their hiding spot, even after I took it out of the tank. Pretty soon they will flop out, but keep your eyes open, because a fish out of water is like ... well... a fish out of water.

 

[San2]

Sorry about going quiet, I really appreciate all the hints and tips - some of it was stuff I never really thought about and which probably wouldn't have occured to me until it was too late.

I won't be getting an aquarium right away, because I want to do it properly, and the 29.99 starter set from the supermarket is most likely not going to do the trick - it looks so cheap that I would be afraid to even fill it with water. I want to get something proper, and a quality 'interior' as well, so in plain terms, I'll have to save up some money.

That said, I had a look around in places that sell fish here. Our big 'pet supermarket' has some, but the person I talked to couldn't really tell me anything about them, had to read the labels to tell me what they were, and couldn't tell me how long they had been in the shop, or if they were okay to keep together (I knew that it would be from this thread, but I wanted to see what the dude knew). So I didn't really feel that that's where I want to get my fish from.

After loads of searching, I found a smaller shop with aquariums and snakes only, and the guy kind of did 20 questions with me on the phone - what type of aquarium are you thinking about getting, what kind of water do you have, what kind of fish do you want, what kind of deco are you thinking about, how much time do you have and so on. I'm gonna go there and have a chat with him next week. He seemed to know what he was talking about, unlike the guy in the pet store.

That reminds me, something I was wondering about (and forgot to ask the guy)...what's better, real plants or plastic. From all I understand, real ones need more care and attention, and some people say that plastic ones are perfectly fine, but somehow I feel like I'm cheating the fish with plastic ones. I mean, there's no plastic plants in the ocean after all...

 

[Monster2]

That reminds me, something I was wondering about (and forgot to ask the guy)...what's better, real plants or plastic. From all I understand, real ones need more care and attention, and some people say that plastic ones are perfectly fine, but somehow I feel like I'm cheating the fish with plastic ones. I mean, there's no plastic plants in the ocean after all...

I'm going go on the record as saying.. SKIP THE PLANTS! You can try one or two, if you like, but every plant I've ever had died pretty quickly. And YES, definitely go to a specialty store if you have one around. There's nothing wrong with buying fish from a "supermarket store". One thing you can do, is ask if there is a fish specialist on duty. (if not, ask when will he be there) There's usually at least one guy, in most stores who know their stuff about fish, since someone has to take care of the filters, and unpacking and feeding the fish. But again, always confirm your information with some source, like a book, or a reputable website.
is a good place to start!

 

[Monster2]

Here's one more tidbit of info, just for you, SAN!
Familiarize yourself with general groups of aquarium fish. Even if you don't what a particular name of fish is, (or the common name doesn't match up with a picture) you'll be able to speed up the identification process quickly.
[added] SOONER or later you'll see an interesting fish in a store, and you'll want to find out more about it. That's why this stuff is good to know. Even the most veteran fishkeeper gets a surprise from a newly discovered or newly popularized import.
Here's the basics:
characins: includes a wide variety of fish, including tetras, but also larger fish, like silver dollars, piranhas, and many others. Be careful, some of these get BIG.
tetras: This is more like a subfamily of characins, but there's a lot of tetras in the aquarium trade. Most of these are small and harmless, but NOT all! The bucktooth tetra looks small and harmless, but is pretty nasty. This includes the very popular neon tetra. Most are pretty hardy, even though most are from soft water environments.
cypranids: These contain some of the easiest community fish to care for. This group includes several small species of happy, easy going fish, that can do fairly well with many different kinds of fish! Rosy barbs are great beginner fish, so are gold barbs and cherry barbs. Tiger Barbs are interesting schooling fish, but they are notorious fin-nippers, so keep only with larger or fast-swimming fish. AVOID tinfoil barb, bala sharks, as they both get pretty big. (research the size on the ones you're not sure about). Harlequin rasboras are another very popular fish that are good for beginners as well.
Livebearers hardwater fish! Easy to keep too! These fish don't lay eggs, they just pop out the babies. Most popular include: Mollies, playies, guppies, and swordtails. There's a few oddball livebearers out there, but avoid the oddities until you find out how to care for them.
anabatoids This group includes gouramis and bettas. I don't recommend keeping bettas with anything other than very small fish, since their flowing fins look sort of like algae to other fish, and it will get bitten up! Gouramis (pretty much all of them, EXCEPT the giant gourami) get decent sized, but really can be trusted with smaller fish. The Kissing fish is a gourami, but they do get to be about 6 inches long, not big, but too big for a 10 gallon aquarium.
Cichlids: These guys contain fish that can survive in hard or soft water, since they originate from different parts of the world. There's so many different kinds that no rule applies to all of them. Even within closely related species habits can vary wildly. Some are gentle and easy going, and some are just evil! One very popular cichlid that gets to be about 4", and is not mean is the Kribensis. Note: Only ONE male Krib will ever attain nice coloring in your tank, the other males will only show submissive (duller) coloring, and the females are a bit dull as well.
Raibowfish These are REALLY great fish to start out with as well, but they should only be kept in 30 gal or larger (with a couple exceptions that stay pretty small) These fish swim around a lot, and may bother very small or shy fish, but only because they are constant swimmers. And just like the name implies, can be very colorful. The dwarf rainbow fish will go great with smaller community fish.
Danios: These might fit into another group... but... whatever. These are great small fish that only get to be around 2.5 inches long. These are easily one of most commonly kept fish, since they're fast enough to not get eaten, and small enough to not bother smaller fish. Giant Danios can go in with almost any larger fish, even though they only get to be 4", they are very active, and very fast.
Catfish These come in many shapes and sizes. Some will hide 100% of the time during daylight, and you'll never see them. Some swim around a lot. While you don't strictly need any catfish in your aquarium, I usually think that no aquarium is home without a few! Cory catfish stay very small, and are really cute, and good beginner fish. Some catfish get VERY, VERY large, so again, be careful.
(I might add more groups to this later if I find any)

 

[Monster2]

San.. this one is for you, SAN:.... smallest catfish you can get: otocinclus! It will eat algae and it stays very small. It is perfect for a tanks with small fish, like neons, and guppies, and other stuff. It's not colorful, but it does it's job well. Peckoltia pulcher is one of the smallest plecos you can buy, and is also very peaceful. The rubber lipped pleco gets to be only 5" long, and also very peaceful.

 

[Monster2]

GOOD NEWS! One of my fish is preggers! It is very interesting (to me anyway). Many African cichlids are mouth brooders, that is... they become MOUTH-PREGNANT. They don't eat much during this time, and when they babies hatch, the mother releases them. In some species, the mother actually keeps the babies in her mouth for another month until they get bigger.
.....added:
You can tell if your mouth-brooder is pregnant because she looks like she has a mouth full of food all the time. Most fish will look like this right after meal time. It is usually the underside of the mouth, or "throat" area that is swollen.

 

[Monster2]

Hello, again....
Next tip:
Don't underestimate the power of cheap, fresh food! Most fish aren't picky eaters, bigger ones can eat everything from feeder crickets (for lizards at pets stores), earth worms, to octopus!
You can go to your local supermarket and buy almost anything from the seafood dept., and feed it to your fish. Just chop it up. To be on the safe side, you may wish to microwave it a bit, to kill any potential parasites, and this is true of pretty much any fresh food. If you feed your fish live worms, or live feed fish, make sure you keep parasite medicine on hand!
----------Don't forget the greens!
Most fishkeepers tend to forget many, many types of fish appreciate green matter in their diet. Besides the dry algae flakes, or pellets, you can feed them pretty much anything you eat. Fish especially like zucchini, and leafy greens, like spinach or any dark green lettuce or other "greens". Bigger fish may eat peas whole as well.
Personally, I often feed my fish dandelion greens, picked straight out of my lawn or flowerbeds. (of course, these are weeds, and best of all FREE!).
One thing to note: Most fish will not eat FRESH greens, either because they can't tear them apart or they just don't find it appealing. You can boil them for a bit to soften them up, or just throw them in your tank (under a rock or with a fastener) and they will soften on their own after a couple of days.
........
Becoming a fish gourmet: I've done this a few times, but it works great!!!!!
Buy a mixture of uncooked fish, shrimp, octopus, squid, any shellfish, or any combination of the above and blend. Really. Don't forget to throw in some greens for good measure, Then.. once you've got a liquidy mess, you'll need to add some flavorless gelatin powder! Buy Knox blox or whatever, and add to mix, stir.
Pour mixture into ice cube trays for easy portioning.
Then.. refrigerate to allow gelatin to set. This is important so your aquarium doesn't become a big mess!
THEN, freeze to kill any possible parasites.
Your fish will absolutely go bananas over this fresh food!
Here's a link to a specific recipe that I used a while ago. I basically just look at it to help me figure out how much gelatin I need to use.

NOTE: Fresh food isn't like dry food, you have feed them significantly more, because there's a lot more water in it. (duh.. because it's not dehydrated).
So be prepared for your fish to eat more than usual.
IN conclusion..... Feeding your fish healthy fresh foods, is just like feeding yourself, it's WAY better as far as nutrition goes. Whether it's just chopped up bits of shrimp or fish, or the homemade recipe... this is a GREAT idea!
Also, you'll REALLY notice a big change in the enthusiasm in which your fish eat. They'll smell the fresh food instantly, and eat much more ravenously as well!
Personally, I think this is a really nice reward for the bit of extra effort!
Bon Appetite, fishies!