Does anyone have any good setups?
I used to be big into aquariums but gave it all up, and my stuff away, when I moved to the mountains.
I'm thinking to get back into it. Yeah.... Perhaps I shouldn't think of such a stupid thought being I've got a foot in poor house.
The best fish I ever had was my little buddy "Buster". "Little" is funny. He was about the size of a dinner plate. He lived a long time. He was about 5 years old when I got him and lived with me about another 10. About the meanest SOB this side of he!!. My brother, Wild Bill, brought him to me and I had a tank already setup - basically. We got him in the tank and I proceeded to move stuff around. Wild says "Big [short for Big E] don't bother. He's going to move stuff wherever he wants it." He was right. A couple hours later I'm sitting on the couch watching tv with a beer and am hearing some odd noise. Kind of a "ssshhhh ssshhh" best I could I write it. I look over and there's Buster picking up mouth-fulls of gravel and spitting at the glass. He had piled up all the gravel up to one side. Another hour later and he had it all piled against the other side. Another hour later he it all layed out the way he wanted it and I never bothered with it again. I ask Wild what other kind of fish I might could put in with him. He says none. "He'll kill anything and attack anything you put in there - including your own hand." Right again! I had to do some maintenance one day and had my hand and arm in there. He kept wanting to charge at me so me, trying to think like him, spread my hand out to make it look big. Yeah, nice idea. All that was make for a better target and he latched on me and wouldn't let go until I took my hand out of the water with him holding on and then he let go. And, yes he drew blood on me.
He destroyed two water heaters before I figured out a way to hang one in an external filter. Every time I tried to put some plants in, he just tear them up. I came home from work a couple times and he had knocked the hood and light off the tank. What did he eat? Everything and anything! Raw hamburger, june bugs, me, etc. Walk by the tank and he'd follow you. "Gods what a monster"!!
I used to play games with him. Mostly it was me taunting him and him trying to get me. Thank God he didn't have teeth like a piranha or shark lest I might be missing some flesh to this day. Some times he would just entertain himself by going back and forth really fast. Of course that made for some wet walls and carpet.
I had to go out of town for a couple weeks and asked the neighbor's boy could he come over and feed him and stuff. "Mess with him all you want but don't stick your hand in the tank. He DOES bite!" The kid thought I was joking until I showed him. When I got back home news had spread through the neighborhood kids about this fish Eric has at his house. Now they all want to see. Gees, I should have charged admission!! Some kids would ask if he did tricks. I'd just tell them to put their face up the glass and watch what happens. He would try to get all big and flair up his gills and attack the glass. That scared the crap out of most of them. The I would open up the hood and point my finger at him and he would try jump and grab me. That dam sure scared the crap out them then. Funny I didn't have any other takers willing to try. 🙂
The tank was a 35 [gal] long but in hindsight I wish I had a 50 or maybe a 100. Maybe something that big and he wouldn't try to destroy everything.
What a guy! I stayed up with him the night he died. I buried him and came in and woke up my girlfriend balling like a baby. We had something of a pre pre-nup written up and was taped to the underside of his tank knowing no one would dare mess it.
Oh... last thought... he was a red devil cichlid. "red devil" was so appropriate. "cichlosoma aeratheum" (sp? probably way wrong) is the scientific name. Cichlids are the most interesting fish.
Years later I put a 55 long in my living wall into the kitchen. I put tiger Oscars in that. They were happy and got along fine with other fish and plants. By then I had married and my step-daughters were amazed how that ghost knife could find his way back into his little tube - being blind and all.
Who needs TV or radio when you have something cool like that to watch.
Just thought I'd share that. Perhaps I should call my buddy who I gave my other tanks to and see if he still has any. I wouldn't mind having a 55 long again. The bigger the tank the much more forgiving it is on Ph and ammonia tolerances.
E.
Oscars
Oh, boy, is that a familiar story. I'd always wanted a large pet fish in a beautifully planted aquarium. At the time, much younger, I had a knack with aquarium plants.
We got Oscar as a little guy, maybe an inch long. As he got bigger we collected minnows from the Plantation canals and dumped them in his tank. He also loved the cockroaches from the patio, as in, "Crunch, crunch, crunch."
That nicely planted aquarium didn't last long. He tore out every plant and made it clear he didn't want them, period (they are fearless and will remove any possible hiding place for enemies). Then he collected the gravel and piled it up high in one corner until I got the message and removed both plants and gravel. Now he was happy in his bare aquarium.
One morning we were having breakfast and getting ready for church when I heard a loud "Craaack" and a gush of water. Yes indeed, he had battered his way out. The carpet in the living room was wall to wall shag. He survived and lived for years after. That was my last fish.
Oscars
What sort of Oscars did you have. Mine were never near that aggressive. Docile I would say. Maybe you had the solid gray ones. Those jokes are mean.
Oscars
I don't know now what kind he was. I just remembered another housekeeping quirk of his. In addition to the plants and gravel he didn't want, I had a large flat stone in the tank for decoration. He managed to drag that to the end of the tank.
Very interesting article on Oscar aquariums: http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/oscars/153-setting-up-your-new-oscar-tank.html
Oscars
> I don't know now what kind he was. I just remembered another housekeeping quirk of his. In addition to the plants and gravel he didn't want, I had a large flat stone in the tank for decoration. He managed to drag that to the end of the tank.
>
> Very interesting article on Oscar aquariums: http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/oscars/153-setting-up-your-new-oscar-tank.htmlbr >
Sounds just like my big boy. Should I get another tank setup I sure would want some sort of cichlid. They are a most interesting, and fun to watch, fish. super territorial at the least.
Far better than some little betta in a bitty glass bowl.
I always love your reminesences, Eric.
If you got time on your hands, you should write a book.
Don
Aloha, Eric:
I just setup this 20 gallons tank in my office couple months ago. It is community tank.
Me!! (Pics! Including me at age 8!) ?
I have been into aquariums and fish since I was 8 years old and won one of those goldfish at a carnival. :-$
When I was 12, I acquired an aquarium thanks to an abandoned house in the neighborhood. The people left everything in the backyard, including an aquarium full of fish! I found it when there was about 2 inches of water left in it and was amazed that there were fish still alive!! (It was the middle of summer!!) So I dragged this aquarium and fish home and gave them a total "reset". I had them fish for years!! 🙂
My best aquarium was a TruVu 55 gallon bowfront acrylic that I scored big time on. For $150, I got the tank, the custom stand and cover, and tons of fish!! The lady was moving and just wanted everything to go to a good home. I loved watching the pleco I had in there grow from an itty bitty thing to a HUGE boy! I named him "Brownie". I had that tank for years until we were poor as dirt and had to sell it to eat. :-/
Right now I just have an 8 gallon all in one acrylic tank that W got for me for my birthday a year ago. It's the perfect size for my desk and it's easy maintenance. I have an albino Corydora in there and some fancy guppies. The guppies keep it stocked so I don't have to ever by fish ever again. 😛
Me!! (Pics! Including me at age 8!) ?
That tank in your 2nd pic is about identical to one we had in an office I worked in during the late 80s. Out tank was HUGE. About 300 gallons I'd reckon. You couldn't reach the bottom with your arm. It was a salt water rig. They had a guy who was a pro at this stuff come by a couple times a week. I got to know him pretty good. That was all he did. Just go service tanks in offices and high dollar residences. He told me one day he couldn't ever take vacations for any "real" time on account of his work. I told him he could go ahead and I'd tend to our tank and maybe a few others if he wanted. He took me up on it and took his wife and kids to Disney for a couple weeks. I'd never dealt with a salt water setup before. It's a whole different world. The fish varieties are gorgeous but super picky. The only one that had anything close to the personality of Buster was this one puffer blow-fish. He was about the size of a golf ball but when he got ill or excited about anything he got to be about the size of a baseball and then he couldn't swim worth a dam. It was funny to watch and usually got a small crowd when I'd feed them in the morning.
> I always love your reminesences, Eric.
> If you got time on your hands, you should write a book.
>
> Don
Yeah Don. I've been accused of being a good story-teller before. The good thing is they are all real so I don't have to embellish any of it. I have no clue how this thing about aquariums came to me this go-round.
I do have some good rat stories from 8th grade biology that Angel might enjoy. Got a few hilarious snake stories as well. Wish I had a USB plug-in to my brain so I could just push play. You all would be laughing on the floor.
Our 11 year old son's big "Santa" gift this past Christmas was an aquarium set for his room. He has to maintain the tank, do water samples,feed and clean etc.
We thought it was better than some electronic screen to occupy his time.
It is located near the foot of his bed on his project work bench. SWMBO does help him when he has a lot going on. It gives them a shared interest.
He designed the motif and selected the fish by doing research and talking to the folks at the fish store.
