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If you insist. I recently started a bit of a geological collection after having a lot of fun in my Geology class last semester, so here it is.
Alright, here's a pretty decent sized pair of Trilobites.
And here is a cute little Amonite fossil I picked up.
Here's the pride of my tiny collection, the polished little Trilobite.
Then I've got a couple more cool little rocks, but they're not fossils so I didn't post pictures here.
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Yeah, I guess new fish can be the fastest and most hard to find little buggers, not always easy to take a picture of. So, when do you get to actually get the Angels? Do you already have a tank set up for them, or will they be going in one of your already established tanks? Getting in new fish is always one of my favorite parts of this hobby
I got my angels during the season since altums are a seasonal fish. I actually have my 90 gallon that has been setup for 2 months. The altums are wild caught, which makes them difficult to keep compared to your standard angels, but I am confident that I can keep them.
As promised, here's a pic of my altum!
As promised, here's a pic of my altum!
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OP
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I don't trust LiveAquaria for guidance. They even labeled honey gouramis as a difficult fish to keep even though HGs are easy to keep.
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What is up with those prices though? 10 bucks for a single CPD?? I also find it sad how only the wild-caught oto's are cheap... something seems just wrong about that.
How did cardinals end up on that list but not neons? It is common advice to beginners who insist on neons to get cardinals instead if they have the space because they are hardier.
I'm curious though, I have no experience with rams. What would you say the care/expert level is for successfully keeping them?
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Wow... for a school of CPD you have to pay $60........ crazy. Can't even imagine paying $20 for an electric blue balloon ram. I would say that cardinals, neons, cpd, bolivians, rummynose and otos shouldn't be on that list. GBR are harder than Bolivians, but I still wouldn't call them expert. The pipefish would be the only one there I feel would be an expert level fish.
I'd say a beginner could do well with Bolivians. As long as they don't throw them into an uncycled, tiny tank and do zero research they are a breeze to keep. Very prolific breeders too.
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Oh pipefish might very be rated super-expert.. I've met only one person who kept them successfully long-term, and they killed about 5 of them before figuring out how to do it (and it is an absurb amount of work, though they do look awesome. It's on my "one day..." list).
I can sort of understand why oto's are on there, they just consider anything that requires a non-standard set-up for the fish to have a good chance of survival (which for beginner aquarists that are scared about trying plants, the set-up oto's require counts). Pencilfish are probably on there because you need to be careful with selecting tank mates that aren't too boisterous though their care isn't at all hard if you get that right... as for the rainbows... probably because rainbows have a weird tendency to suddenly getting wiped out by weird illness in an otherwise stable tank. Not sure what that has to do with beginner versus expert though, it just happens. Rummynoses and cardinals though? Aren't both of those really standard fish?
The only other one (skipping the ram as I don't indeed know much about them) that totally make sense are the liqorice gourami. They require a PH <6 setup which isn't beginner stuff.
How closely related are rams and apisto's? Pretty close right? I wonder if their care is the same... I do have apisto's.
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They are pretty much the same based on care, but I don't know any differences.
I was planning my tank for a apisto but I decided to go for a ram ar the lfs.
Wow. For a school of 10 of CPD at my lfs it is 68.90 and on sundays it is buy 2 get 1 free so it is much cheaper.
I agree. bolivians are good choices for beginners if they are up to the task.
I was planning my tank for a apisto but I decided to go for a ram ar the lfs.
Wow. For a school of 10 of CPD at my lfs it is 68.90 and on sundays it is buy 2 get 1 free so it is much cheaper.
I agree. bolivians are good choices for beginners if they are up to the task.
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.... wow. Are fish that cheap in my country? O.O
Pretty sure CPDs standard cost is around 3 - 3.50 around here. And those are pretty expensive for their size .. the nano rasboras usually cost around 2 a piece, as do most smaller tetras. Sparkling gourami are usually sold for 1.50 or 2. My closests LFS has them on sale for months now going at 7.50 for 5 fish.
What made you decide on the rams?
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I can see why otos, pencils and rainbows may not be on the beginner list, but I don't see them anywhere near expert level. Intermediate maybe. There's many fish harder to keep. I didn't even see the gourami there, that's another like the pipefish that actually deserves to be there.
That's still quite expensive. I got 6 for between 20 and 30 euro I think. Maybe a bit more.
Apistogramma and rams aren't too different. The main difference being that apisto's like caves and rams don't really need them. Some like warm water some cold and so on. But really they aren't very hard to keep. I also nearly went with apisto's. But rams have always been the fish I've wanted
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Definitely seems that way from what I've heard. Discus always gave me that impression too but LA have them under moderate. Image that... bolivians = expert. Discus = moderate. My skills must be on the next level I don't think LA have albums to list under expert though.
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This I do agree with. It's more of "be mindful when buying these" than requiring expert 'care'.
Euros. Which is nearly the same atm. (dollars stand at .9 according to google).
I guess rams are food for thought. How peaceful are they, also about the same variability as apisto's? Would you keep multiples of the same sex in a 3ft+ tank without issues?
See, it's funny that you say this because I just checked out what fish they class as "Easy". Especially since they also have an "easy-moderate" and "moderate" category, so you'd expect these to be super-super easy.
- Several types of killifish
- Several Angels
- Several types of rainbow
- Several types of cichlid
- Three-spot gourami
- CAE
- Bichir
- Jack Dempsey
- Farlowella
- Ropefish
- Royal pleco
- Silver Dollar
- Syno's
Seems almost random choices of difficulty levels for the less common fish...
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To be honest I don't think there are many fish on the expert level at all. Mainly fish that need very low ph and such. I've seen some people that keep discus as I keep my fish, then others that insist on daily water changes. The latter would be something no fish would be worth imo. I know nikm said discus are quite an advanced fish to keep before.
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Rams are one of the more peaceful dwarfs. More so than many apisto's. Some apisto's can be quite mean while others are very calm and peaceful. I have three females with my male. There's others here with only males. But generally it's best to do pairs, or more females to males imo.
Of course. Most of my fish are domestic but my gobies and banjo are wild. Maybe a few more.
OP
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Well I have one of the biggest meets today, I’m pretty nervous...
Anyways some hard fish that should be expert...
Moorish Idol: One of the hardest fish in the world to keep, requires very good water quality and the diet is beyond most peoples abilities
Ribbon Eels: Heard these are very hard to keep alive
Spotted Filefish: Requires Corals? I think so but I think they are really difficult
Rock Beauty, Multibar, Achilles Tang, etc.
Freshwater I think Discus
Anyways some hard fish that should be expert...
Moorish Idol: One of the hardest fish in the world to keep, requires very good water quality and the diet is beyond most peoples abilities
Ribbon Eels: Heard these are very hard to keep alive
Spotted Filefish: Requires Corals? I think so but I think they are really difficult
Rock Beauty, Multibar, Achilles Tang, etc.
Freshwater I think Discus
I just want to add to this that I keep a group of 5 in my 75 gallon (used to be 6, but one passed away), and they are exceptionality peaceful and easy to keep. The only issue I had with care is that the neon tetras kept stealing their food when I first introduced them to the tank. They do also tend to bicker among themselves, but they've never actually really hurt each other. As for difficulty level, this is my first tank and I've had zero issues keeping them. In fact, two of them formed a pair and have been breeding continuously, though none of the babies have made it to adulthood.
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Thank you both for those insights! That strokes pretty much with what I was told before, but it is nice to see it confirmed. I picked apisto's because I like their colour schemes and shape better, I love keeping them but it is a bit of a pain to run out of space so quickly even with multiple tanks.
Well saltwater is obviously a different story. There are lots of very difficult saltwater fish.
For freshwater though, there are some notoriously difficult ones. Aside from pipefish and perhaps discus (the fact that a few anecdotal beginners can make it work doesn't mean it is a thing that works in general - I've had neither so can't speak from experience) there are the fish that have evolved to live in extremely acid waters. Chocolate gourami are an example of those. They can live perfectly fine in a normal-ish aquarium with a lowish PH like 6-6.5, however they will live only for a few months and generally be miserable and sickly in nearly all cases as opposed to the years they can live in a proper set-up. This is because they have no immune system against bacteria - in the natural environment PH is so low bacteria don't thrive and thus the fish can't guard against them. Put them in a normalish range PH and they will eventually fall ill and waste away. On the other hand if you keep them in the correct environment, you will have to put up with an uncyclable tank because BB also can't live in such a low PH. Plus even getting a tank with a constant PH that is so low is hard to maintain. So I would definitely rate those expert care.
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I nearly went for apistos for their colour too. But then I found some of the best rams I've ever seen. They can be absolutely stunning imo. I also picked rams for their cuter look, their big eyes are so cute. This was a strange one for me as I tend to prefer fierce looking things to cuter ones. Rams have always drawn me in for whatever reason.
Best of luck with the meet, it'll go great I'm sure!
I've never really looked into the more difficult salt fish, so its interesting to hear about them. Saltwater fish are too beautiful to be real.....
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I'm not sure where the Random Thoughts section is in fishlore.com. However, has anyone found my kitchen? I think I lost it (apologies to Lucinda Williams).
I used to boil a potato or egg now and then in my kitchen, but one day, I walked in, only to discover that every pot on the stove was fish related..... boiling rocks etc... peas... etc. And that my kitchen alone now houses 30 gallon of aquariums. I vaguely remember possessing a frying pan. It's vanished. I suspect it's in the oven along with other pots and pans. But, I had to make space for new tanks, thus the13g kitchen garbage can is up against the oven door. Then, I had to buy pseudo indoor-outdoor, cut-able 'carpeting' for the kitchen linoleum because there was so much water on the kitchen floor, related to all aquariums, that I slipped and fell on top of a very expensive 24W Green Killing Machine. Curse the linoleum, not me!
Don't worry about helping me find my kitchen. It's long gone and I never liked cooking anyway. I've decided to re-name the kitchen. Should it be Fitchen or Fishen? I prefer the former to the latter.
No worries folks. I have a coffee pot, tea kettle and microwave. So, I'm healthy!
I used to boil a potato or egg now and then in my kitchen, but one day, I walked in, only to discover that every pot on the stove was fish related..... boiling rocks etc... peas... etc. And that my kitchen alone now houses 30 gallon of aquariums. I vaguely remember possessing a frying pan. It's vanished. I suspect it's in the oven along with other pots and pans. But, I had to make space for new tanks, thus the13g kitchen garbage can is up against the oven door. Then, I had to buy pseudo indoor-outdoor, cut-able 'carpeting' for the kitchen linoleum because there was so much water on the kitchen floor, related to all aquariums, that I slipped and fell on top of a very expensive 24W Green Killing Machine. Curse the linoleum, not me!
Don't worry about helping me find my kitchen. It's long gone and I never liked cooking anyway. I've decided to re-name the kitchen. Should it be Fitchen or Fishen? I prefer the former to the latter.
No worries folks. I have a coffee pot, tea kettle and microwave. So, I'm healthy!
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Ah, welcome, welcome. All random thoughts may come and linger here. Not sure where the 'random thoughts' thread is, I find it in recent posts sometimes but uhh, the 'non-fish' section?
Sounds a lot like my place, hahaha. MTS can be very dangerous, especially in relation to the floors. I feel blessed to have a stone floor because of our dogs, it works out really well my wet hobby too. Also I vote Fitchen.
I had the exact same thing, but with apisto's! I actually had decided on never keeping cichlids as I'm not fond of them with the possible exception of multi's. Then I paid a visit to a large LFS that had a fire-and-white coloured fish that just blew me away. It was a beautiful specimen of an A. agassiziI colour strain. Found them a little expensive for my taste and wasn't too sure about care and tank mates because I'd always avoided them, then stumbled on triple red cockatoo's sold for peanuts online by people who didn't have the space to let their fry grow up. That's kind of how I got into them. Still don't have an agassiziI but I probably will one day Never found another one as stunning as the one in the LFS but next time I come across it I will just fork out the cash.
Yup, same here. I like for my fish to have personality and interesting behaviour. Floating china plates is not something I'd sign up for, especially high-maintenance ones.
The chocolate gourami are on my list though. I have been slowly working towards getting them a true acid blackwater set-up for several months now after doing a lot of research. Not in a hurry, it will probably take the better part of a year it is completed. And then I'll have to find some source that doesn't plop them in a normal tank before I can get my hands on them, or they'll end up diseased when I buy them in the first place. Hmmmm.
P.S. I don't think I said it before but that is an absolutely stunning angel you just bought. And I don't even like angels much.
OP
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