Topic: Caught by the wrong fish

[Essabee]

Starting in the hobby, some of us get carried away by beauty of a fish at the LFS and bring it home to our tank. The few questions on suitability that you might have asked at the LFS could have convinced you that you could care for the fish in your tank. That always is not the case.

Lets take a common mistake, you see a young gold fish that you like, and ask the person at the LFS –“ Will gold fish and angels fight among themselves?”  -- At the answer ‘no’ you would proudly carry a pair of gold fish to join the pair of angels you have in your 20G tank.

Or it could be a 2” pleco baby which caught your fancy. You ask the LFS guy – “ Can I keep this fish with my platies” – A proud aquarist carries off the pleco baby to the 10G aquarium at home.

Please use a little patience when you wish to acquire a fish for your tank. Find out what the fish you like needs in terms of water condition, its size at maturity, its nature- very active- moderately so- passive, carnivorous-omnivorous-herbivore, compatibility with other fishes.

If you don’t research the fish before acquiring it, you are sure to bring the wrong fish home. Your entire success in the aquarium hobby will be caught up looking after an incompatible fish in your collection, and neither you nor your fish will enjoy your hobby.

Every aquarist knows the two simple and common rules:-

1.   You cannot keep cold water fishes with tropical fishes. The solubility of gasses in water decreases with rise in temperature. A cold water fish is neither used to, nor can adapt for long the low oxygen level water of tropical temperature. Metabolism in fish is dependant upon the water temperature and the metabolism of tropical fishes will slow down in cold water making them susceptible to various diseases and parasites.

2.   You cannot keep a fish which grows to a large size in a small tank. Some would survive but in the manner a child with a strong will to live survives in a small cell in which he is imprisoned, and with the same result--- abnormality. I hope no aquarist would cause that willingly and knowingly.

So don’t get caught by the wrong fish.   

[LittlePuff]

Very nice.

[Tropical Dude]

Very nice advice.  I hope everyone new here reads it.  Another thing, NO you cannot keep a goldfish in a 10 gal. tank.

[Cholly]

Common plecostomus- there actual a few species sometimes labeled "common", but both can reach over 2' in length

Oscars- the tiny oscar you see at the pet store is a BABY and they grow fast. They can reach one foot in their first year, I have had one that was 16".

Pacus, red or black. Sometimes sold as "vegetarian piranhas". Can reach 3 feet and weigh 30 pounds.

Clown Knife- Absolutely gorgeous, I understand wanting to keep them, I want one myself, but they get over 3 feet long and require a minimum of 500 gallons.

Angelfish- They only get about 6 inches long, but get 12 inches tall. 29 gallons minimum for one. A 55 can house a same sex trio or a breeding pair, but most people start with 10 or 20 gallon tanks or want more than one fish.

Silver dollars- They need a school(no less than 5 fish) and they do NOT stay silver dollar size, mine reached 4+ inches and all lived 10 to 12 years.

Tinfoil barbs- another schooling fish but get over 6 inches. With the schooling fish, it's not so much their size as how many you need to keep them stress free and their activity level. Even tiny neon tetras or harlequin rasboras are best off in a 20 gallon or larger.

Number one most common tankbuster? Common or "carnival" goldfish. Get 18 inches long or longer. Can live 20+ years with proper care. The reason "everybody knows" the have short lives is they are usually kept by people that don't know about what is required to keep them properly and for the ones that research AFTER they get it, think about this; if you got it as a cheap prize at a carnival, are you going to want to buy well over $100(even used!) worth of equipment to keep one properly? Since they can reach 18'", even a 55 gallon, which has enough water volume to support one is really too small. The standard 55 gallon tank is less than 13 inches front-to-back, inside measurement. A pond or at least a 75 gallon tank is much better.

One last thing to think about, it is better to have the bigger tank to start with rather than planning to upgrade as the fish needs it. Not only will they grow faster in the bigger tank, sometimes life happens and you might not be able to get that bigger tank when it's needed(experience talking!) You'll enjoy the hobby a lot more if it doesn't stress you out!

[Mollielover]

Thanks Cholly this is great stuff!