Any fishkeepers here? Saltwater or freshwater

[Silock]

I'm looking at starting up a saltwater tank. Is there a good fish store in the KC area without driving out to Lawrence?

[Fish]

I've got baby peacock cichlids in my tank. Surprised for as mixed as this tank is. Not quite sure how that happened...



Not sure what it might look like. Going to be a cross between one of the colorful males posted above, and a female German Red Peacock(brown, but males look like THIS). Potentially awesome...

[booger]

been about 10 years since my 55G sprung a leak. Luckily a local pet shop took my 2 red belly pacu ( a little bigger than softball sized ), red devil that was about 4-5" and 4 columbian sharks (catfish with black fins) that were about 7" long each. Had done tanks off and on since I was a kid and really like the oscar, pirahnna, pacu, peacock bass and those types. Tankbusters and oddballs. Had an alligator gar once too.

Sooner or later I'm gonna get back into it again. Got to be the right timing though as tanks are a real MFer to move when you relocate. Fun hobby. Theraputic. Good thread!

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Fish

I've got baby peacock cichlids in my tank. Surprised for as mixed as this tank is. Not quite sure how that happened...



Not sure what it might look like. Going to be a cross between one of the colorful males posted above, and a female German Red Peacock(brown, but males look like THIS). Potentially awesome...

Nature... finds... a way

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Fish

Recent video of my tank...

I'm surprised those cichlids aren't nipping at the angel.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Fish

I've got baby peacock cichlids in my tank. Surprised for as mixed as this tank is. Not quite sure how that happened...



Not sure what it might look like. Going to be a cross between one of the colorful males posted above, and a female German Red Peacock(brown, but males look like THIS). Potentially awesome...

That's awesome. I'm hoping to get a batch of goldfish out in the new water garden I built last year at our new house. My mom always has really good luck getting huge spawns with hundreds of babies and usually about 10 living past the season in the pond I built for her a while back. It's cool because there are many varieties and the colors that come out are very unique.

When we finish the basement eventually I will be looking forward to setting up my 65 gallon tank.

[Lprechaun]

I build, maintain, sell and aquaculture live corals. Also keep some of the toughest fish alive no problem. An Eheim filter is honestly a joke in advanced reef keepers world. A sump system with a protein skimmer, possibly a media reactor and the biggest must is GOOD, CURED, live rock. Not crap from the Gulf of Mexico but stuff from Fiji, Tonga, Haiti, etc.
Ive built and set up stuff for ATM in Vegas, work with Mote Marine in Sarasota and several other large public aquariums.
Its not all that hard at all if it is started out correctly. If it isnt done right from the beginning you might as well kiss your money and livestock goodbye.

[Silock]

Do you keep seahorses? I've always wanted to keep them, but I hear they are ridiculously difficult to keep alive. And expensive as hell to replace.

[Lprechaun]

Originally Posted by Silock

Do you keep seahorses? I've always wanted to keep them, but I hear they are ridiculously difficult to keep alive. And expensive as hell to replace.

In Bradenton, Fl there is actually a captive bred breeding and rearing facility. They are extremely easy if they are tank bred, wild caught ones are often doomed from the time they leave the grass beds. They are use to a certain type and style of food in the wild. The captive bred ones are fed from the start a prepared food.
One thing people trying sea horses dont realize is they need a species specific tank, they arent fast enough to go get their own food so they rely on food coming to them so to speak. If there is other fish in there that will quickly gobble up all the food they basically starve to death. Ive kept them and had little to no trouble.
The captive bred ones run about 35-50 bucks here.
Here are a couple of pics of my old ones (I sold them to a breeder)

[Easy 6]

Very cool, what a strange animal.

[Rain Man]

We're pondering getting an aquarium for the office. I'd like to do something big, but I suspect that the 29 gallon size is the biggest we'll be able to go. How many hours a week is required for maintenance? I've never had an aquarium.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

We're pondering getting an aquarium for the office. I'd like to do something big, but I suspect that the 29 gallon size is the biggest we'll be able to go. How many hours a week is required for maintenance? I've never had an aquarium.

If its freshwater you're looking at a half hour a week tops, a partial water change and vaccuming of about half the gravel... its a piece of cake.

[Lprechaun]

On the maintenance of 29 gallon tanks I suggest a 1.5-2 gallon water change each week. Run a simple mag float every day (about 1 minute) and every other week rinse out the sponges in saltwater. Maintenance on a tank boils down to two things, how many fish and how much food you have... too much of either is a bad thing. In saltwater its all about balance. (salt tank)

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

We're pondering getting an aquarium for the office. I'd like to do something big, but I suspect that the 29 gallon size is the biggest we'll be able to go. How many hours a week is required for maintenance? I've never had an aquarium.

The bigger the tank, the easier the maintenance. It depends on what kind of fish you have, and how many of those fish recycle. Lots of fish live on other fish's byproducts. So you get a natural vacuum cleaning service. It's best to do a water change every 2 weeks or so, but that only takes 30 minutes maybe.

You need to feed once/twice daily. You can get autofeeders.

Freshwater requires much less maintenance. It varies a lot by setup.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

We're pondering getting an aquarium for the office. I'd like to do something big, but I suspect that the 29 gallon size is the biggest we'll be able to go. How many hours a week is required for maintenance? I've never had an aquarium.

If you have live plants, it's way easier. The plants suck up bad stuff and keep it from harming the fish. I generally do maybe one water change a month on my planted tanks. They just don't need as much maintenance. They're a bit more expensive to get going, though, as the plants require a specific amount of light (not too much, not too little) and a specific wavelength (6500k bulbs are a must).

But really, as long as you limit the fish in the tank, use a product like Seachem Stability to help get the aquarium going, and do a regular water change, you shouldn't have any problems.

But I must warn you that many people just get tired of taking care of tanks, even when they are extremely low maintenance. So what seems like a good idea now may not be so in three months.

[Mr_Tomahawk]

Anyone have any sharks?