I just set up a small 10 gallon tank for my 3 year old son. Freshwater, simple filtration, blue and purple gravel, a heater and a thermometer. The only living inhabitant is a blue and red Beta that we gave my son for his birthday, and which he named after himself. I figured I’d let him pick out the other embellishments to the tank gradually. Of course his younger brother will get to add another fish sometime soon himself.
This 10 gallon tank used to be my quarantine tank when I had a larger saltwater tank set up. I haven’t had any aquariums set up for about 5 years now. What I remembered when I set this tank back up was that I love having aquariums. So, i have a feeling that the boys will have their tank, and Daddy will soon be setting his own tank back up.
What do you have in your aquarium? Is it freshwater or salt? Lots of fish or a prized specimen? I’m not necessarily looking for ideas on what to put in mine, just curious what others find enjoyable to watch.
I have 91 gallons of saltwater. That’s it. I have 2 tanks (37 & 54) but the fish died. I haven’t bothered replacing them yet so I have 2 saltwater tanks running with nothing in them.
55 gallon freshwater tank. One adult Discus, about 25 Cardinal Tetras, a few Corys and three of the small type Plecos.
Several species of live plants top it off.
Our water here, straight from a well, seems to suit the South American species to a T, so I pick fish that are suited to the water, rather than attempting to doctor on the water to suit fish that have different requirements.
I hadn’t had fish since I was about six years old. Until last week.
My SO decided we had to have fish, seeing as he had disowned the cat.
So he did some research and we shopped around.
We now have:
A 10 gallon tank with white, black and blue gravel (done in a cool pattern by me), a couple cool rock formations, and some plastic plants. It is freshwater, filter, heater, and all. There is nothing else in the tank at this time. This may change this weekend.
A red beta in a little fishbowl, high on a shelf where the cat cannot see. We may integrate him into the tank with other fish once we get them, but we’ve heard so many mixed reviews on whether or not it’s okay, so we’re waiting.
Buncha air. I bought a big tank (don’t know how much it holds; it’s about four feet long and a foot and half high) and a rack for it for my wife in a garage sale a couple years ago; it came with a buncha rocks and gravel and some stuff I don’t know about. She looked at it and said, “Yay. Now I have to spend a crapload more money buying more equipment and a smaller tank and a bunch of fish.”
12 gallon freshwater, with heater/thermometer. River gravel, 5 plants and a rock “house” for the inhabitants to hide in.
One blue/purple Betta, one Serpae Tetra and one largish catfish (about 4 inches). I wish I could find what kind he is, but all my searches haven’t turned up anything that looks remotely like him-- he’s black with white, lengthwise stripes and a white belly. Anyway.
The most agreesive fish, by far, is the Tetra. It’s the weirdest thing, especially because Tetras are supposed to be good companion fish. But he’s killed two other Serpae tetras and three neon tetras, so I gave up on those and went for the big guys that can stand up for themselves. I won’t get rid of him, but I won’t be sorry when he dies, either.
I am a catfish collector. In my eyes, catfish are vastly superior to all fish. Swimming tongues.
My tank is a 55 gallon freshwater. It contains:
[ul]one glass catfish (definately need to get more, they are schooling fish)
one white-line pim
one pictus cat
three upside-down catfish (the spotty kind)
three asian upside-down catfish (the black kind)
two lace catfish (one recently aquired, one three years old)[/ul]
Natural pebble gravel, whole buncha silk plants, a terra cotta pot and a piece of driftwood that I need to get out because it’s messing up my pH.
I have two neon tetras. They have a five gallon apartment, so they could have more roommates (and probably would like them given their nature) but one of them has a large, relatively speaking, white sore on the base of his tail that I hope to sucessfully treat before adding more fish; the other hasn’t caught it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not contagious. It’s been two months and it’s not improving (or getting worse) despite having tried treating him for ick and fungal infections:(
All this fish live together in a 55 gallon talk with undergravel and over the back filtration. I treat my water with 7.0 buffering solution that also adds a bit of salt to the water for optimum health. I really wish I could add some angels to the tank, but last time I did that the tinfoil barbs killed them. I’m debating getting very large angels and hoping they would be OK.
One 35 gallon tank with a big, mean, old (8 years +) Red Terror named Fin who hates everyone, and sulks in the corner, except when someone comes into HIS room, when he flares his gills and tries to look mean. But we love him/her anyway. Undergravel filter, and one small mechanical filter. The UG filter has been running for years and years, so the tank really takes care of itself, just needs a water change once every three weeks or so.
One 90 gallon with 14 Frontosas, including one breeding pair. My Fronts rule! I run this tank off one simple canister filter, and the fish are very happy.
I’m a fan of synodontis cats as well. I don’t do it purposefully, but seem to end up with a tank full of cats and just a few free swimmers if I’m not careful. The synodontis are great, because I enjoy keeping cichlids and they go well together.
Other favorites of mine are usually botias. Though they’re fairly common, I still think there’s nothing like a school of clown loaches. My SO and I agree on the cichlids, but that’s about it which is reflected in the number of aquariums we currently have running (13). To be fair, a large part of that number is smaller tanks used for breeding.
Oh wow. I am such an amateur here!! We have a little plastic five gallon tank that came with its own filter. We are now on our sixth (or seventh) goldfish. The damned things keep dying!! My husband just HAD to have fish (or was it me?), but we don’t have room in our little place for a big tank. Maybe next house we will.
I don’t have one now as I’m a deployed soldier. In my last aquarium I had a Blue-eyed plecostomus. I think plecos are just the coolest. I also had a Synodontus and 1 or 2 less memorable fish.
I helped my mom pick fish for hers and convinced her to get an albino clawed frog. That little guy was hilarious. He would eat anything he could stuff into his mouth. It was a riot watching him stuff giant earthworms in his mouth using his front legs. Mom was not so amused when he bagan eating her fish…hehehe
I just bought my sister’s aquarium for a great price. It’s a 110 gallon glass tank complete with everything but fish and water. I got it all for 200 bucks! I plan to get another blue-eyed pleco and maybe a couple of gold nugget plecos too. Maybe a school of tetras for companions??
Odd that this thread should come up now – I’m in the middle of assembling my own do-it-yourself aquarium. I’m making it to fit in the “window” between my kitchen and dining room. By my calculations it’s 35 gallons or so: 9.5" wide, 39" long, and 16" deep. I decided against glass and instead went with 3/8" acrylic.
This is replacing the 10 gallon glass aquarium that has been passed down since the 1970’s. The 5 goldfish are new, but the filter, gravel, and decorations (bunch of seashells from the beach – yeah saltwater I know – and a “no fishing” sign) are just about 30 years old now. Everything works and looks just fine, except the filter is looking pretty decrepid.
But with the new one, I’ve decided to start fresh. MAYBE transfer the goldfish, but that’s it. Everything else new. I have no idea what kind of fish to get yet. So keep posting! I’m quite interested.
NardoPolo, 5 goldfish is WAY too many for a 10 gallon. Goldfish are very messy fish and require about ten gallons each, bare minimum, to thrive, and can easily outgrow even that. I’d look into getting another, bigger tank for them, or putting 2 or 3 into the tank that you’re building and giving the rest to the fish store.
2 home-bred lemon labidochromis/electric yellows
1 electric blue
1 brichardi
1 kuhli loach
1 African butterfly fish (one of my favs)
1 featherfin synodonis catfish
In my 10 gallon tank, here in the office:
1 blue male Betta
5 glass catfish (sooooooo cool…shimmy shimmy shimmy…)
2 corydoras–1 green, 1 albino
Yeah, I have a pet addiction. 2 tanks, 2 snakes, 2 cats, and a horse.
