New fish tank.

[Kev]

Just bought a new 75 gallon tank to house some big fishies. This will be my second fish tank, with my other tank being 125 gallon. I actually bought 2 75 gallon tanks over the past week, but the first one has me worried about the way it was constructed, so I'm afraid to fill it up completely with water for fear that it might bow out and explode water, fish, and poop all over the living room floor. I'll prolly use this tank later on to make a terrarium or something like that.

Anyway, back to the new fish tank. This one will have just 2 or 3 big fish in it (around 12-15" long each). I've already bought two of the fish, which are in a small quarantine tank right now. They are still young and about 1.5" long. Supposedly, these fish grow about an inch per month, so I may post pics in the future to show how they are progressing. Here's a pic of what they look like right now:



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These fish are called Green Terrors, and are South American cichlids. Hopefully they won't live up to their name too much to the point that I end up with just one fish in my new tank. I'm also planning to add an Oscar later on, and will post a pic of it too along with the new tank once it's all set up.

Any other fishkeepers here?

that's awesome! aquariums have always been an interest of mine. when i was little my mom bought me some goldfish. they ended up growing to over a foot long (in a 30 gallon tank) and lasted for 6 years! lol, she now forbids me having any more fish in the house.

[Kev]

Sounds like you need to sweet talk your mother a bit so you can get more fish.

BTW, here's a link to a pic of what my little baby fish will end up looking like when they get bigger: http://www.centralpets.com/pages/xFileD ... 8&in=17577

[Kev]

A couple more pics from my 125 gallon tank:



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The last one you posted looks pissed, lol. So are you going to name them?

Remember when we had a large fishtank, my brother keep the fish alive for years surprisingly, he barely took care of them. Now he has a japanese fighting fish in his bathroom as decoration lol

[Kev]

Originally posted by rctycoon112

The last one you posted looks pissed, lol. So are you going to name them?

Nah, she's not pissed. That's her breeding colors. She looks like that when the male in the tank flirts with her. She's normally just a bluish green color. I probably won't be naming them...I tried doing that in the beginning, but forgot their names about a year later. Most of the fish in my 125 gallon tank are about 6-7 years old.

Awesome thread!

I just purchased a 55 gallon aquarium. I'm very much into aquaria keeping. I'm looking to get some Convict Cichlids and maybe a fire eel, but I have to purchase some hardware first

Glad to see your terrors are doing good! Have you had any territorial problems with em? I'm almost afraid to get con's because they are super easy to breed and once they have young, they are fiercely territorial.

once i get my tank up, i'll send you some pics.

check out this awesome site though, if you havent already. lots of great info in to read...

www.fishforums.net

[coolbeans326]

how bout adding a shark? I've only seen one shark sold at a pet shop in my life, so I'm guessing that maybe you might have to order them specially?

[Kev]

Hey Judd,
thanks for the link. I will check it out. Here's a link for you of a site I found yesterday: www.aquariumadvice.com . It appears to be a very active and friendly site. Actually, I guess you are partially to blame for my renewed interest in fishkeeping. I was perfectly content with my one tank until you started talking about your new 55 gallon at CS. Between you and a guy I work with, I caught the fish bug again. Good luck with your convicts, and be ready to have lots of baby convicts. From what I hear about them and their breeding habits, all of your friends and family members will soon have convict tanks. [:P] My green terrors haven't become aggressive yet. They are supposed to stay fairly tame until they get about 3-4". I'm hoping that the aggression doesn't turn out to be too bad, but I am prepared to shuffle fish around between the two tanks that I have just in case. I look forward to seeing some pics of your tanks.

thecool326 - are you talking about the black finned shark catfish? I would love to have some of these because they are big and graceful swimmers. Unfortunately, they require near saltwater conditions when they get bigger.

[coolbeans326]

^ yup, that's probably the thing I'm thinking of.

Thanks Kev, I've saved it to my favorites

I have a ways to go yet before my tank will be up. So far I only have the tank, I still have to buy ALL of the supplies (thankfully, Christmas is on the way) and then I still have to cycle it.

Did you cycle your tank before adding your fish? I've never fully cycled a tank before, and I'm still a little nervous about the process involved, especially since I'm not home all the time with school and all. Hopefully its not too bad.

And I'm still not dead set on convicts, I'm still going to take a look around at what the LFS has to offer

I am pretty set on a sand substrate though, and I am keen on live plants, but I read that convicts (and cichlids in general) like to eat/uproot them. We'll see what happens though

Can you take any pics of your entire tank(s)?

Edit: And sorry about the costly influence

[Oscar]

I have a fish tank to, I think it's 35 gallons? like 1 foot deep, 2.4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, dunno how that translates to gallons [:D] I have only a male and female betta there now. ALl the other ones I had there were slain by the male betta, inckuding the 13 inch long algea eater I had. [:(] I put it in a box and buried it. I miss that big stinky fish

cool pics, I have a 55 gallon and many many 10 gallons tanks myself... successfully breeding angelfishes! (got around 130 already... I started doing selective breeding now (playing with heritage, trying to get color patterns and stuff)

[Kev]

I have a ways to go yet before my tank will be up. So far I only have the tank, I still have to buy ALL of the supplies (thankfully, Christmas is on the way) and then I still have to cycle it.

Did you cycle your tank before adding your fish? I've never fully cycled a tank before, and I'm still a little nervous about the process involved, especially since I'm not home all the time with school and all. Hopefully its not too bad.

Can you take any pics of your entire tank(s)?

Here's a tip on the supplies...buy them online! It's downright shocking how much pet stores mark up the supplies. I was going to buy some filter media at the pet store the other day, which was basically a 1 liter box of ceramic rings. They were wanting $35 for it, but I can buy the same box online for about $17....really sad, huh? Anyway, check out www.petsolutions.com or www.bigalsonline.com for some better deals than what the pet stores will give you.

I haven't set up my new tank yet as I am still waiting for my supplies to arrive from UPS. I will probably do the fishless cycle method again like I had mentioned to you before. Without any extra help, this method took about a week of adding ammonia to the tank daily. This time around, I plan on adding filter media from my other tank, so it should be a little quicker than that.

I've never been able to get a decent shot of the entire tank, but I will try again.

have a fish tank to, I think it's 35 gallons? like 1 foot deep, 2.4 feet tall and 3 feet wide, dunno how that translates to gallons I have only a male and female betta there now. ALl the other ones I had there were slain by the male betta, inckuding the 13 inch long algea eater I had. I put it in a box and buried it. I miss that big stinky fish

[:(] That sucks! You must have a really mean betta if it killed one of those algea eaters. Those things are usually indestructable. Sounds like your betta needs to be taught a lesson. Maybe Judd can give you one of his many future convicts to take care of it. lol at big stinky fish. [:P]

cool pics, I have a 55 gallon and many many 10 gallons tanks myself... successfully breeding angelfishes! (got around 130 already... I started doing selective breeding now (playing with heritage, trying to get color patterns and stuff)

Angelfish are cool. I've known several people who've had them, but I've never been able to keep them since they weren't compatible with my other fish. 130 fish! Wow...i've never been 100% successful in getting my fish to breed. I have three severums in my tank. Two of them try to breed all of the time, but the other one in the tank usually break them up before they get too serious. I did have an african cichlid tank once, and they were breeding like crazy...but then they would get eaten up just as fast by the other tankmates. Can you post some pics of your fish?


I'm glad to see that others here enjoy my hobby. It gives us something else to talk about when we get tired of talking about rollercoasters.

Thanks for the tips Kev. I spent the morning (well, not all of it lol) looking at those sites and I definitely think I'll buy online! The prices are ALOT cheaper than my local store. I'm still gonna get my fish at the local store though, obviously.

Edit: Hey kev, do you know if pet stores would buy fry? If i do get convicts and i end up with bunches of em, and the store could buy em, that'd be great. Any idea if they would do such a thing, in general?

Edit Again: Back to your original post, if you decide to use that 75 to make a herp set up, let me know. I've kept bunches of various reptiles and amphibians over the last five years or so, and if you need any help, I'd be glad to lend you a hand

[Oscar]

The local pet shops here do buy the fry, though not like completely ne wborn, must give them a week or two so they are just a bit bigger than at birth.

My Dad used to own a huge fish tank, im not quite sure on the size but it was about 6 foot long and 2.5 ft wide and what not, anyway it was huge. We used to have a (no idea on the spelling, so ill spell as it sounds) 'Pleck' big algae feeder which we measured at just under 2 foot long. We also kept freshwater crabs in the tank which bred like wildfire, which were quite handy as they would eat any fish that would die or were killed by this huge black fish. I really have no idea on the names, it kinda looked like a shark. We also kept several 'SIlver Dollas' in there which i beleive are photographed in your second picture Mr. Kev. However the upkeep of the tank towards the end was getting too much so we plain sold it off. Now we dont have to put up with the humming of the filters and everything else [pshades]

[Kev]

Edit: Hey kev, do you know if pet stores would buy fry? If i do get convicts and i end up with bunches of em, and the store could buy em, that'd be great. Any idea if they would do such a thing, in general?

Edit Again: Back to your original post, if you decide to use that 75 to make a herp set up, let me know. I've kept bunches of various reptiles and amphibians over the last five years or so, and if you need any help, I'd be glad to lend you a hand

You may have mixed luck with the convicts. Being that they breed so often, you may end up with more fish than your local pet stores will be willing to buy. It certainly wouldn't hurt to ask though. As another alternative, although maybe a bit morbid, I have a friend who has a convict tank that he uses to raise feeders from the fry for his larger fish. I know it sounds awful, but it's actually a lot safer than buying those nasty goldfish at the pet stores. You could also buy fish to put in your tank with the convicts that are accomplished egg eaters. Loaches and some catfish are usually pretty good at this, since they are still fairly active after the lights are out.

I'll definitely keep you in mind when/if I decide to do the terrarium setup. I've never dealt with reptiles before, so I probably will need to talk with somebody that has knowledge about it.

Plecostamus, i think

Anyways, I know what kind of fish you're talking about, yes they do get HUGE lol

I hope at least one of the stores around here would buy the young fish, that'd be quite a deal haha.

[Dirk_Ermen]

i've used to had a goldfish. I dunno what happned with it anymore. I'm happy with my pc[:)]

[Kev]

Getting a little bit bigger, and a little more colorful...also getting more of a bad attitude. [:(!]

[coolbeans326]

ooh, pretty

Lookin good Kev! Very nice coloration. I like the orange on the dorsal and tail fins.

It ALMOST looks like a pumpkinseed. I think bluegills and their variations are related to the cichlid family, though, so that'd explain it

Glad to see they're doing well!

VERY nice kev, the coloring is tremendous, those are some real beauties you got there!

[Kev]

Thanks!