# does anybody keep anything interesting any more?



## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

I no longer keep fish after working in aquatic retial for ten years now, but when i did i had tanks everywhere full off interesting oddballs and tank busters. The hobbiest portion of my customer base have unfortunately long gone which means i dont get to stock the fun things i used to. It seems nowadays that fish keeping has gotten really boring, does anyone keep anything fun? for the record, nothing under 6" can be fun, cichlids are out oft he running too unless they are large pike cichlids. I know this is totally relative and everyone has different tastes but even though i no longer keep them i miss the fish i loved. In the past ive had many snake head types, gars, nile perch, gobies, all sorts of big cats, particualry pimelodids,favourites being juruense and planiceps, arrowanas, rays, eels, puffers and god knows what else.


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Are Polypterus interesting enough?

I have 1 Ornatipinnis, 1 Senegalus and 2 Delhezi. May be on the lookout for an Endlicheri soon.

I kept snakeheads for a while, had a group of 8 young Pulchra but when it came to selling them on and keeping 2 I decided to sell them all on. Wouldn't mind another actually.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

do Apteronotus albifrons count?
snakeheads are gorgeous.. i'd love one if i could get a pond.. 
actually, i am gonna when i move out hopefully


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

_simon_ said:


> Are Polypterus interesting enough?
> 
> I have 1 Ornatipinnis, 1 Senegalus and 2 Delhezi. May be on the lookout for an Endlicheri soon.
> 
> I kept snakeheads for a while, had a group of 8 young Pulchra but when it came to selling them on and keeping 2 I decided to sell them all on. Wouldn't mind another actually.


yeh, loving polypterus too, had some big endlicheri's so prehistoric, like crocodiles!


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

Interesting. !!

I'm not too sure I would agree with anything under 6 inches not being fun, but I'm wondering do you mean that maybe an onslaught of Malawi cichlid, Discus and Marine mania has taken hold.

I'm not sure if you'll find these fish of mine interesting....but I do (but maybe the end of the list of more interest to some people):

Chocolate Gouramis....superb little creatures.
Croaking gouramis, true Honey Gourami, Lace Gourami....all great and underrated.

Steatocranus tinanti etc....so much better than a Malawi cichlid
Pumpkinseed bass.
Crenuchus spilurus (sailfin tetra....amazing).

if they are not the sort of fish of interest then maybe the other parts of the collection are:
African Lungfish;
Silver Arowana;
Australian Sarotga (australian arowana)
Polypterus delhzi;
Polypterus edhlicheri

Personally, the monster fish are just yet another fish in my collection...all get equal status (although some are more pet-like than others).

ian


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

spinnin_tom said:


> do Apteronotus albifrons count?
> snakeheads are gorgeous.. i'd love one if i could get a pond..
> actually, i am gonna when i move out hopefully


i remeber when i first saw black ghost knives when i was about 13, i was blown away, they were like nothing i'd ever seen! my tastes are more along the clown or royal knives.


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

igmillichip said:


> Interesting. !!
> 
> I'm not too sure I would agree with anything under 6 inches not being fun, but I'm wondering do you mean that maybe an onslaught of Malawi cichlid, Discus and Marine mania has taken hold.
> 
> ...


the top bunch are cute but not my thing although i can appreciate them, the second lot are more like it, i loved the lung fish i had, an annectens, he was amazing, always wanted an eathiopicus just for size! the south americans are good too, better behaved!


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

i had a clown.. didn't like it an awful lot.
i was captivated by them at the sea life centre, in weymouth.. i was set on one


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

but when i move out... i'm hoping to get an extra room or 3 for my inverts/fish etc..


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Wooohooo bout bloody time someone with taste and similar ideas to me posted!! 

I was considering becoming a 'guppy' specialist shop!! Got 370 tanks, sod everything else! Guppies and goldfish! yay....

LOL

Big fish are great but then again, im sick of those not being looked after properly as well!! You know how many Pangasius get killed all the time because certain chain petshops sell cute little 'shark cats/irridescent cats' that as a dwarf species hit 4ft? LOTS!

Lots of fish under 6" can be fun but tbh most over 12" are better!

I have to say, in terms of behaviour, my shoal of Etroplus Canarensis were fascinating, was trying to get em to breed but still have like 2-3 years before they mature, will get themback off my ex before then  LOL but as a shoaling cichlid not many keep (and those that do keep come from the 150 i imported into the country and sold onto the EACG for their auction!).

I desperately want my Zebrasnout Seahorses and Ghost Pipefish if that counts (just practise as id LOVE to have a native british seahorse breeding project!) yer like that will ever get accepted....

I LOVE my freshwater gobies, just dont see much of them... non seller.... i had a really unusual and unclassified species of 'tiger' gobies that no one could classify and they were all in the store for 2.5 years until i left and nodoubt they died in the end.... sad!

Oooh i friggin hate livebearers but just to say i had some and becuase they do look cool.... i'd love the Montezuma Swords....nearly got some but i so wasnt paying £50 for a pair!

I've kept both motoro and reticulatus stingrays (love!) and silver and pearl aros (pearls hold the soft spot! far more stunning, even if they are messed up angry little fish!)

LOVE shovelnose but who the heck has the space longterm? Have kept them to 2ft (here or there) same wit Red Tailed Cats and Sorubim Limias.

Boring as heck but loved my Crysichthys Ornatus (sp) catfish just purely because none else had one!!


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

nearly every time i go to a small chain shop.. such as swallow aquatics, with numerous very large, bleached out big oscars, pacu and arowana..
people think that it will stay a baby fish forever.. i made this mistake once, but made sure it had a good home.
i don't even thing shops should sell these types of fish, unless you can prove you can care for them.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Had a nice Hemibagrus Wyckioides

_It jumped out me tank though and found it dead begind the tank. Must have not put the cover glass on properly._

_I agree with what your saying._

_I used to have bays off fish dedicated to oddballs for sale, Tiger fish, pike characins (odo's) big guatope cichlids like the nasty and the wolf etc._

_As well as clown snakeheads which I always loved._

_People dont seem to do that anymore._


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Has anyone got pictures or videos of these fish? Would love to see how the lung fish are being kept. Our local aquatics shop had one in for ages, amazing looking creature but from what I've read they'd need a mammoth sized tank/pond to live in long term.

Can see my polypterus's in this video: YouTube - ‪My 120 Gallon‬‏

They'll be going into a 350g indoor pond next week if all goes to plan.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I had a lung fish in the shop for a while as no one wanted him.

Was a bit like a garbage disposal unit. I didnt like them at first but got used to having it there and dont mind them now.

Someone EVENTUALLY bought her.

Longest fish I had in teh shop was a Wyckii cat fish.

Had him in for about 18 months. Suppose people didnt want a catfish that was going to attack everything in its tank.

He was a lovely fish. Stunning eyes on them, but you just cant trust them at all.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/hemibagrus_wyckii.php


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

All my marine's are interesting enough for me, I've been keeping fish for well over 20 Years

I prefer fish _under_ 6" much easier to give them enough room that way. I think tankbusters should be banned unless you can prove you have the tank for them!


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

I reckon shops have become a lot more responsible these days in terms of selling large predatory/aggressive fish and tankbusters. Also after working in aquatics shops for 4 years oddballs just don't sell. People like to come in and look at a stingray or whatever but will then make a b-line for the guppy and neon tetra section lol which is where you make your money.
To be honest, if I walk in to a shop now that has tank loads of tankbusters with out decent labelling I regard them as a crap shop. When you see tanks of 20 red tails and 20 shuvelnoses for sale that will all eventually reach a metre in length, I always think to myself as if there are 40 people in the local vicinty who have the facilities to house these fish correctly as adults. It's just irresponsible stocking by the shop manager/owner. I do love going in to shops who do things properly and offer good advice/labelling when stocking oddballs and tankbusters though. 
Anyway enough ranting, I love oddballs. Puffers and rays are definately my favourite but unfortuantely my fish collection now only consists of one Tetraodon nigroviridis.


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## Malymaz (Oct 11, 2010)

I've just got the one "interesting" fish a nice giraffe nosed catfish! Other than that I love the different L number plecs


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I agree with what your saying. But I always had a healthy selection of oddballs available and they would sell. I would always quiz people on care etc first and had a colour coding system on my tanks. Just a big red dot which meant angry fish lol

I got people coming in from a fair distance because I had good stock in.

I agree though that the Tetra, platy etc is the bread and butter of every shop, but I made a large profits on golden red tails and other odd balls.

I agree that too many people come in and buy fish that are not suitable, but any time someone wanted something like a large cat etc then I would put them off unless I felt that they had researched properly.

Used to also sell 600 litre + tanks as well and had a few set up with some large cichlids etc and a nice shoal of Caribe's. I sold a lot of tanks on that alone with people wanting what I had set up.

With the increase off online shops now i think its FAR too easy to get in anything you want and no one can check.

When I ordered my Dovii in there were no questions asked over the phone so I could have been putting them in with some nice mollies and platy's etc. Im sure the wolfs would love it but dont think the other fish would.


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

I used to work in and ended up running an aquatics deptartment in Jersey C.I. I liked to keep smaller oddballs in and we had a display with a stingray and these both brought in customers. Smaller, easier to keep oddballs sold well but because I was always honest with the bigger or hard to look after stuff most customers wouldn't buy them. It really shows though that if you offer the right advice most customers realise they can't actually manage that red tail cat, pacu or probably the most common 'tank buster' the common plec. If all shops did this there wouldn't be all these poor fish chucked in to rivers or given to rescue centres.

The second shop I worked in has a reputation of offering good quality beginner stuff (which is where 90% of the market is). We would get a few oddballs in now and again but to be honest most of the big stuff we kept came from customers who's tanks they had out grown. There is definately a market for oddballs and people will travel long distances to a shop that stocks high quality unusual and rare fish with good knowledgeable staff (me included) but for every one of these there is probably about 10 shops that stock tank busters and don't care who they sell what to.


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

The tank-buster debate is an interesting one. There is no simple answer to should they be kept or sold etc etc. 

One of the things that I keep seeing that is a bit of an obstacle to proper keeping of the monster fish is the size of tank being quoted and left at that.
It _almost seems_ as if that is the only requisite for keeping these fish (ie “you need a big tank and good filtration for these”)…..it is not the only serious consideration.

It takes more than money to buy a home for these guys. 

Handling these creatures does require some special care…..and not only because they are big (and pretty powerful). 
Stress when being handled needs some careful consideration….and possibly even more so than many smaller fish. 

They are, in general, surprisingly tough, but there are also surprising weaknesses….. eg kidneys may succumb to stress quite readily.

The other thing with handling them is obvious when it comes to large Colosomma type Pacus…..a 2 foot power-swimming fish……full pelt into the side of the tank when attempting to catch is not a good thing. 

And then there is the hazards to the owner……a lungfish has a powerful bite (my fingers go nowhere near mind), a full sized australian arowana suddenly (and they are fast and, even more importantly, have high acceleration) taking a lunge out of the tank and pelting the head of the owner is a hazard to be considered. 
A 3 foot dog is nothing by comparison when it comes to power (well….I’ve not actually tested being hit on the head by all 3 foot dogs, and neither have I tried to get the arowanas to do the same).

I noted an interesting note about only people who can prove they can keep these types of fish should be sold them. 
That’s not a bad theory……but to whom should the proof be made? 
Would all chain or local pet shops actually have the necessary skills to identify who meets the requirements needed for keeping these fish? I don’t know every shop, but my guess is that many would not have a clue.

On many occasions in the distant past I have been asked to help aquatic shops move an over-grown large monster fish when they found that moving it was not as easy as when they first put it in the tank as a wriggler.!! (Surprise. Surprise)

I’ll hunt down some pictures of a few of my fish (I did put them on a thread somewhere….but that may have been on another forum).

ian


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

Good points igmillichip. However I have always found that by just mentioning that a particular type of fish will require a 5', 6', 8' tank or a public aquarium to house them in when they are adults will put most people off plus, a large tank and good filtration is the starting point for keeping monster fish. Without those two things you shouldn't even considering buying a tank buster so that's why they are the most talked about factors.
Highlighting how potentially dangerous a fish can be can work in reverse to the message you are trying to give in some cases. Telling someone a shoal of pirahnas will eventually require a 6' tank puts most people off. Telling a customer that a pirahna could do some serious damage to you often makes them think ''cool, an 'ard fish just like me, cus I'm 'ard'' lol.


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## Corsetts (Dec 8, 2008)

igmillichip said:


> The tank-buster debate is an interesting one. There is no simple answer to should they be kept or sold etc etc.
> 
> One of the things that I keep seeing that is a bit of an obstacle to proper keeping of the monster fish is the size of tank being quoted and left at that.
> It _almost seems_ as if that is the only requisite for keeping these fish (ie “you need a big tank and good filtration for these”)…..it is not the only serious consideration.
> ...


A great post, to be honest I was typing faster than I was thinking where I said people should be able to prove they'e capable of housing these fish. I don't know how that would be done and, in reality, I don't think it ever would. We can't even sort out dog ownership and it's not as if a Redtail is going to run up and bother you in the park 

Your handling comments are fair, but in all honesty, I think that would be a smaller consideration than the housing, I don't think people appreciate the costs and logistics of running a really large tank.


My marine tank is 5x2x2 and draws about 1KW of power yet I consider that a small tank (just look at the size of the ocean) and limit myself to smaller species that are "content" to not roam far.


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## callum b (Sep 8, 2008)

To be honest, if I could I would ban the import of most tropical and marine fish that grow over 2 feet. Even in 6' tanks these fish look cramped. If we kept a 2cm neon in a tank that was 6cm x 3cm x 3cm we would be labelled as cruel but it is generally accepted that a 2' pacu can be kept in a 6'x3'x3' tank. Why is this? Both fish are fairly active swimmers and would range over a fairly large area in relation to their size.
Anyway apologies to the OP. It's all gone a bit off topic lol. I will try and find some pics of my old tanks.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

that's why we have public collections all around the country.
like i was saying, if you can house it and know you will be able to support it for its whole life, then go for it.


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

I had a needle nose gar once thats about as odd and different as I have kept, I'm a sucker for oscars so don't keep anything interesting now ,well they are interesting to me but common as muck.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

does a 9.5" oranda count :lol2: well i think they are interesting!


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

Moogloo said:


> Wooohooo bout bloody time someone with taste and similar ideas to me posted!!
> 
> I was considering becoming a 'guppy' specialist shop!! Got 370 tanks, sod everything else! Guppies and goldfish! yay....
> 
> ...


we used to have orange chromides in work, they would breed all the time on the systems, cute little things, we recently had paraetroplus menarambos, a very nice fish! but I said no cichlids:lol2: any one got any nice pikes? i used to have a stunning acutirostris.
I love gobies too, i used to have a foot long pair of kade gobies, theyr were amazing!


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I had a nice Hepesetus Odoe (or how ever you spell it) Pike characin, had some in the shop for a bit. Loved them to pieces. Right little psycho's though.

I had a male Dormitator maculatus Goby in with adult scats and mono's. They look nicer when they are younger cause they look a bit out of proportion when they mature. Still a really nice fish none the less.


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Haha we had a Wykii in the store for 9 years. He came in as a little sprat of a thing long before i joined (he was an accidental import, ironically he came in with a batch of neons  ).

I sold him recently as we were moving the store and werent keeping a tank big enough for him, he was in 5.5 x 3 x 2 i think (it was 980L capacity but on a 5000 liter system).

He was the first beast i got to deal with when i joined LOL they told me to go algae scrub his sump tank and handed my a scrubbing pad and off i went.... needless to say the poor fish got a good bash on the nose when he went for me, he was so inactive and hadnt moved much in days so i wasnt too worried but good god could that fish move when he wanted to!

He was so popular with the kids.... all the little kids with their faces pressed against the glass and you could see him thinking "i would so eat you if that glass wasnt there!", i wrotye a sign on his tank along the lines of "I am Buster the Mystus Wykii (yer i know it changed) catfish and I am a very grumpy fish. Just look at the mess I have made of my tank! I dont like to tidy my room either!"

It was funny, still have kids coming in to see 'the grumpy fish" lol


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## Blurboy (Feb 9, 2007)

I kept a nice Dovii a long time ago - now that was an "interesting" fish to say the least.


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

caribe said:


> I had a nice Hepesetus Odoe (or how ever you spell it) Pike characin, had some in the shop for a bit. Loved them to pieces. Right little psycho's though.
> 
> I had a male Dormitator maculatus Goby in with adult scats and mono's. They look nicer when they are younger cause they look a bit out of proportion when they mature. Still a really nice fish none the less.


i would have loved a giant sleeper goby, though i think my personal favourite and one which i never owned was a marbled sleeper, oxyeleotris marmoratus


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

I have a gorgeous Nandopsis Istlanum who is a total psycho! No idea what im going to do with him, he is seriously insane though and no one is ever going to want him *sigh*.

I got him from a breeder and member of the EACG not realising how nasty he was going to be, my fault completely... he killed his siblings lol, he is a stunner, F1 and about 6-7" at least!


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

In addition to the present fish list on my first post here....
In the past, a few of the mad fish I used to keep were electric catfish (you may ask why.....I still ask why......it looked like a 3 foot pig sitting in a fish tank), all of the new world and african lungfish species (I now just have the african as said in first post), all polypterus species (i only have 2 species now), Black Pacu (I snow stick with the Red Hook Pacu) and when it comes to cichlids.....Boulingerachromis !! (plus the CA monsters). 

Too may years of keeping to remember all though.

Anyway, I said I'd put up some pictures (as someone asked for some pictures from people here)...

As promised a few snaps of a few ‘interesting’ fish…..these were all taken last year sometime, and I could do with uploading some more recent ones (but I’m being lazy)





































and.......a small but interesting fish (...yes, I'm showing off with my guy getting Best in Show on the bench). BUT....he does look like he could be a monster fish....imagine one of these at 3 foot?











ian


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Gorgeous fish!! Oh my goodness a 3ft killi would be terrifying! It would be like.... a kids idea of a fish! Huge, smiling and obnoxiously coloured!! LOL

Love killies to look at but i never had any luck at all, i can keep them alive about as well as fighters 

Loving the Aro!! Jardini? I just adore the pink on the scales, magnificent animals!

Nicely coloured skipper! Dont normally see 'pretty' blue speckled ones, ones i have seen were all dull and i dare say very miserable.


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## igmillichip (Feb 7, 2010)

Cheers Moogloo.

Just thinking about some of my smaller fish....and imagining what would we have if they grew to monsters. It would be pretty frightening to imagine a 3 foot nothobranchius rachovii having the same dedicated aggression as the actual species. Deadly.
Then I have one male fighting fish (one of the short fined bullets).....and it is just hyper-aggressive day or in the middle of the night. 

The mudskippers are great.....I have 2 species.....but these are the only animal to ever draw blood from me: the bite of a large specimen easily rips through a finger. Plus they appear to have the intellect to know how to ambush you !!!

The jardini was less than a year old in that picture.....I bought it as an almost out of the mouth fry in february 2010, and in under a year it was a good 15 to 18 inches. 
It is now a lot larger, it is a looper and quite aggressive. Feeding is a pain as it does attempt to bolt out of the water to the food, but the feeding slot helps.

One of the special projects that I'm looking at is intellect in ancient fish. But, that has to take a slot further down my research list at present.

ian


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Jeah our first Jardini was like that! He was the devil in scales! The number of times he fish slapped my face! It became a bit of a game as to....could i get the food in before he got out LOL. 

Poor Arnold  He met a tragic ending, It took us 2 years to convince him that living with a large motoro stingray could be beneficial to him (he got lots more food lol) and all was going great but they both grew bloomin quick and in moving them to a much larger tank, they were both stressed and the Aro nipped the ray who promptly stung him. Was quite shocking to see, it happened so fast I wasnt sure what happened but poor Arnold was completely paralysed, he was curved over backwards and i did everything i could but had to euthanise him after a bit, he was in obvious agony 

I just dont think we could have done anything more than we did to minimise stress etc. It was a horrible accident. My ex was devastated, he loved that fish more than me! .... no kidding lol Arnold was shy of 2ft, just and beautiful.

Arnold II ended up the far better looking fish and nowhere near as aggressive, right from getting him at days old i made him live with ther fish and put up with it. He got on fine with discus and angels up until he was a foot long and i moved out the discus before anything did happen but the sorubim limia, crysichthys ornatus, huge clown loaches (remenants of the huge shoal of clowns the first arro ate >.<) tyre track eel and red spot severums were all ok last time i knew bout it, was sad to leave my fish behind


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## ern79 (Jul 26, 2007)

as a bit of an update, im back into things myself, I currently have channa marulioides, boulengerella cuvieri, cichla kelberi, indo tigers, american tiger, african pikes, goliath and vittatus tigers are on order, loving it!


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

Pics or it didn't happen! 

My fish are all very common varieties but my hands were tied in the big tank due the the early addition of three grumpy paradise fish. I'll redo my whole stocklist when they pass in a few years time.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

i like to keep the smaller oddballs- but you can't get the more unusual fish these days, as shop after shop goes more & more 'bread & butter'. you used to be able to get mated pairs of all kinds of south/central american cichlids- dwarfs as well the bigger species- but i can't remember the last time i saw any. you only get baby ones now, too small to sex and pair up. & what happened to all the smaller weird catfish? a case in point is swallow aquatics- they used to specialise in oddball fish, but now they only seem to stock the more common fish. i know shops have to stock the common stuff, as that's where the money is, but why have they nearly all stopped stocking the weird/rare/more interesting fish alongside the common stuff, like they used to? the last shop local to me that did that was fishy friends in basildon- i always found something to buy in there, & sometimes i was spoilt for choice! but they closed down over 2 years ago.


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## jaykickboxer (Feb 11, 2008)

I personally love cats and cichlids I'm a big fan of Malawis although Ive 
kept some nice large cichlids such as Texas, red heads black belts I've also kept clown knifes and kept and love dats and frontosas I think the size of the synspilluim is perfect I'd love a giraffe cat or red tail but I haven't got room for a big enough tank and if I squeezed one in the misses would probably evict me at the minute I've only got a community tank running bit boring fish wise but I'm running co2 trying to make it more about the plants


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

south/central american cichlids all the way for me! along with bichirs....I keep an ornate birchir, midas cichlid, red devil, tilapia buttikofferi (african)....texas cichlid, venezualan pike cichlids, lima shovelnose cat, convict....my main love is amphilophus and tilapia buttikofferi, along with oddballs!.....cant wait to get the money together for a bigger tank! I am rather limited in the 450 litre :devil:...


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## daz666 (Apr 17, 2008)

at present ive got a 18"aro,one mean wolf fish :2thumb:


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## daz666 (Apr 17, 2008)

oh an my 2 goliath tiger fish i just picked up today:mf_dribble:


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Well I assume u own a swimming pool to keep them in.

They dont tend to be fast growing but found them prone to starving when young on anyyhing other than live.

Not always but have had it a few times.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Ian.g said:


> south/central american cichlids all the way for me! along with bichirs....I keep an ornate birchir, midas cichlid, red devil, tilapia buttikofferi (african)....texas cichlid, venezualan pike cichlids, lima shovelnose cat, convict....my main love is amphilophus and tilapia buttikofferi, along with oddballs!.....cant wait to get the money together for a bigger tank! I am rather limited in the 450 litre :devil:...


Is the 450 litre bit a joke?


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## Oli P C (Sep 17, 2009)

daz666 said:


> oh an my 2 goliath tiger fish i just picked up today:mf_dribble:


I would love to see any pics if you have any? I bet they are not cheep!


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## daz666 (Apr 17, 2008)

Oli P C said:


> I would love to see any pics if you have any? I bet they are not cheep!


only 6inch at mo will try upload pics at wkend.they already takin prawns so all gd..:2thumb:


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## Loach Dragon (Jan 13, 2012)

I keep.....

2 Weather Loaches 
1 Golden Dojo Loach

1, Butterfly Loach
1, Tigher Loach
1, Hillstream Loach

1 Big Assed Gold fish 
2 Sucker Loaches 

All in a Cold water tank.


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## BigBaz (Jan 12, 2007)

Looking at getting a Silver Arowana and Clown Knifefish are they big enough for you ern??

I have a Shark cat in stock aswel id love to bring it home :2thumb:


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

caribe said:


> Is the 450 litre bit a joke?


nope not at all....why is that? none of the fish are adult apart from my midas cichlid (who I have let go due to getting really overly aggressive) the lima shovelnose had to go too as he was just far too shy and laid back and was not getting enough food) as also stated I will be upgrading my tank this year : victory:


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Ian.g said:


> nope not at all....why is that? none of the fish are adult apart from my midas cichlid (who I have let go due to getting really overly aggressive) the lima shovelnose had to go too as he was just far too shy and laid back and was not getting enough food) as also stated I will be upgrading my tank this year : victory:


Fair enough! Seen the videos on youtube and looks very overstocked but that is my opinion.

My tank is nearly double your and I wouldnt keep all them.

What are u upgrading to


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

caribe said:


> Fair enough! Seen the videos on youtube and looks very overstocked but that is my opinion.
> 
> My tank is nearly double your and I wouldnt keep all them.
> 
> What are u upgrading to


it is indeed your opinion which you are entitled to....and it is a little overstocked, but I don`t intend on keeping all the fish long term....I am looking to have an all male community of around 3-4, it will likely consist of the pike cichlid, the buttikoferi and the labiatum, with one or two catfish....I will be upgrading to a 6ft long by 30in front to back and 2ft deep, (will go 6.5ft long if possible) I have a very good relationship with my local fish shop, and will gradually downsize the numbers as they grow, but the theory is to slightly overstock to reduce/spread aggression, as you likely know red devils, buttikoferi and pikes are highy aggressive....especially while growing and establishing their dominant statuses, the extra fish serve as a distraction so to speak....so they can establish their positions without simply beating on eachother!....the chances are I will likely end up with just the buttikoferi if I`m honest (due to their nature) but have been advised by some VERY knowledgeable keepers of large aggro cichlids that have achieved aggressive communities that co-habit well using these methods.....but I`m sure I don`t need to explain any of this to you.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Ian.g said:


> it is indeed your opinion which you are entitled to....and it is a little overstocked, but I don`t intend on keeping all the fish long term....I am looking to have an all male community of around 3-4, it will likely consist of the pike cichlid, the buttikoferi and the labiatum, with one or two catfish....I will be upgrading to a 6ft long by 30in front to back and 2ft deep, (will go 6.5ft long if possible) I have a very good relationship with my local fish shop, and will gradually downsize the numbers as they grow, but the theory is to slightly overstock to reduce/spread aggression, as you likely know red devils, buttikoferi and pikes are highy aggressive....especially while growing and establishing their dominant statuses, the extra fish serve as a distraction so to speak....so they can establish their positions without simply beating on eachother!....the chances are I will likely end up with just the buttikoferi if I`m honest (due to their nature) but have been advised by some VERY knowledgeable keepers of large aggro cichlids that have achieved aggressive communities that co-habit well using these methods.....but I`m sure I don`t need to explain any of this to you.


All that post was missing was a big [email protected] you at the end of it.

Dithers sometimes work as distractions but not usually for long.

Having kept everything you have in your tank, the butti will more than likely triumph.
I lost my largest dovii over night to a monster 16" butti even though they were together for less than 12 hours and it was 7-4-4 system.

The butti is still there now.


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

caribe said:


> All that post was missing was a big [email protected] you at the end of it.
> 
> Dithers sometimes work as distractions but not usually for long.
> 
> ...


not at all! that is not in my nature at all...but I do however not like it when people come out with very negative and somewhat harsh comments without knowing the facts or the person. assuming they have no idea what they are doing....I do find it rather arrogant, so yes I will admit to being a little hacked off with your comments....had you worded things differently I would have had no issues at all with you offering advice to say the tank was overstocked (in case I was unaware so to speak) anyway.....whats done is done, but with responses like the ones you left you can`t blame anyone for feeling a little defensive....I do agree with all that you are saying though, and dithers rarely work long term, but seeing as these are all being grown on together the distraction of other cichlids will (hopefully) allow the "big boys" to establish their pecking order without killing eachother, but with Buttis and red devils there will always be that risk I guess....I too had a huge butti years ago, he was an absolute beast at least 14-15in! he would attack anything and everything that dared to get within a foot of his 6x2 tank! he gave me some pretty severe bites over the years too whilst I was doing in tank maintenance, the first of which really shocked me with just how powerful their jaws are :gasp:....he was an awesome fish to keep though, and they remain my all time favorite! I had always assumed they could only be kept solo, but since speaking to a few other keepers it seems there is a glimmer of hope that I may be able to have a "community" of sorts, but in all fairness I am completely prepared for the fact that I will very likely end up with just the butti


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I have kept them in groups together with very little issues.

The large one that destroyed everything only ever accepted a black belt as a tank mate for some reason.

Butti have strong jaws and the pike would not have a chance long term but you may have some success but there is no clear cut way of keeping these fish


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

caribe said:


> I have kept them in groups together with very little issues.
> 
> The large one that destroyed everything only ever accepted a black belt as a tank mate for some reason.
> 
> Butti have strong jaws and the pike would not have a chance long term but you may have some success but there is no clear cut way of keeping these fish


did you keep multiple butti`s? or butti`s with other cichlids? I have been advised they will mix well with amphilophus types in most cases, or another option is smaller fish such as convicts etc....have to say that my big butti I had years ago never bothered the smaller fish as they were no threat, but I took them out anyway just in case, I got him at around 10in and put him in with my two 12+in oscars, and 10in jag and few smaller americans, I woke up the next morning to the oscars and jag virtually dead and scale-less, only one oscar survived (in another tank) but did later die from all the infections he got after the attack sadly....I left the smaller fish in for a few days, but took them out the next weekend.


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## Cherry100 (Mar 27, 2012)

I'm afraid I have the most boring tanks imaginable lol, a square foot on my bedside with neons and golden headed purple harlequins, and a 4 foot downstairs full of mixed cichlids. (Though I do have some interesting mixtures in there, which shouldn't work but we've been lucky with character)

Don't have the space or funds these days for bigger fish lol, although I recently saw a platinum clownfish for sale that I'm beyond desperate to own if that's slightly more interesting? Lol


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Both.

Had butti in the same tank as a group together with no real issues.

Also had them mixed with some convicts and sajica... and again no real issues.

They were all between 10-12" and spent more time nipping at each other to bother owt else.

The big 16" + wouldn't tolerate owt except that blackbelt and they often swam round together.

But like I say, yhe butti killee my biggest dovii overnight when I had a massive tank failure and had no where to put him. That tank was about 1700 litres and the dovii was practically skinned when I tried to move him in the morning.

They can be really nasty but they are also beautiful.

Oh and I had one in with an electric cat... he learnt quick to leave that alone lol


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## Ian.g (Nov 23, 2006)

caribe said:


> Both.
> 
> Had butti in the same tank as a group together with no real issues.
> 
> ...


I`m really hoping I can keep this guy with at least a red devil and a few cats, I do love the vieja species....synspillum in particular! I almost got a cracking synspillum not long ago, but have found they are not quite tough enough to make it with the "big boys" I have seen some seriously big and fiesty blackbelts though! I have been recently having a bit of a dilema with myself though, as I REALLY like the idea of trying a species only tank with a couple of channa aurantimaculata, I have never kept snakeheads and am amazed by how nice they look when kept in a nice biotope! trouble is it would mean parting with my beloved cichlids! and just don`t know if I can bring myself to do it :devil:


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

does a fire eel, yellow fin eel and tanganyikan spiny eel count?


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## BigBaz (Jan 12, 2007)

FelixM said:


> does a fire eel, yellow fin eel and tanganyikan spiny eel count?



love fire eels

Any pix


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## Chip101 (Jun 30, 2011)

Defiantly the jaguar cichlid for me!


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## ThommoCunningham (Feb 21, 2013)

Although now a Reptilian....I have kept & bred Malawis in the past along with my personal favourite the Frontosa. Stunning fish IMO.


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## yargnits (Aug 16, 2011)

Moogloo said:


> Wooohooo bout bloody time someone with taste and similar ideas to me posted!!
> 
> Oooh i friggin hate livebearers but just to say i had some and becuase they do look cool.... i'd love the Montezuma Swords....nearly got some but i so wasnt paying £50 for a pair!
> 
> I've kept both motoro and reticulatus stingrays (love!) and silver and pearl aros (pearls hold the soft spot! far more stunning, even if they are messed up angry little fish!)


hate to break it to you but.... stingrays ( motoro and reticulatas ) are both livebearers 

...

i think its resonable to expect people be responsible for the pets they expect to keep / buy . its totaly on the buyer to make sure they are able to look after the pet and have adequate facilities. 
granted people are irresponsible but its not down to the shops to act like surrogate parents to the irresponsible buyers. 

i think the reason you dont see interesting fish in shops these days is because of all the people who critisize them for stocking a fish that might grow to 2ft and expect that everyone who buys a pet is irrisponsible.


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

BigBaz said:


> love fire eels
> 
> Any pix


excuse the picture quality! 
fire eel: 
zebra spiny eel: 
and yellow fin spiny:  he was my favourite


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## pinkypompey (Mar 21, 2013)

*slippery Eels & Surprised Assholes?*

Really confused now ! strange combination of pics/words-I've kept fire eels before and they are FAB,nice pics too.
Now I breed Deep water haps/Red Marble Peacocks and all manner of Malawi's/ Tangy's.
When I kept Fire Eels I used to feed them live bearers sorry! but I ended up with a strange community of eels and guppy's!!!


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## ShaneLuvsMonitors (Sep 27, 2008)

anyone got any pics of channa sp. 

Plans are afoot to set up a tank with channa bletheri in... :2thumb:


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