Does anyone here.. keep fish ? :O

[Andy]

I bought an old coach house which needs a lot of work last year, & discovered a little pond in the back garden. I got it all running again, including a pump & waterfall, then put a few goldfish in

All seemed well, but after a few weeks they started dying, so I rushed onto ebay to get a glass tank to "quarantine" them. It eventually got sorted although I' forget how, & I realised the tank fit perfectly into an archway in my living room :roll:

So.. I researched about tropical fish (freshwater) and ended up with a tank full of all sorts of things over the next 12 months.. culminating in dwarf puffers I was hooked..


This was my first oddball.. love him. He's a Figure of 8 Puffer:
[youtube]hnfmtF0TgwY[/youtube]

I then decided the tank in the arch needed to be bigger, so I researched it and found something retail that fit the gap nicely, saving the expense of having something made.

I settled on a Betta Lifespace 680, & after a few weeks of trawling ebay, found one very cheaply including a fish...
Here it is set up & waiting for the water to cycle...


Thing is, it's a Marine tank.. not freshwater.. & it would be a shame to not use it to it's full capabilities :?
So.. after 2weeks of waiting & lots of water testing, today I brought this little fella back from his 2wk holiday at the Local Fish Shop....:
[youtube]-ljKBqUSRec[/youtube]

He's a Dog Faced Puffer fish, & reacts to most things just like a dog. He goes mental when he's about to be fed, he spits water out of the top of the tank.. & he's generally a wonderful character to have in the house :lol:

Surely others on here also struggle to justify this bizarre hobby ?

 

[stevedruidstone]

Not yet but planning too. My grandchildren got a couple of goldfish and although they lost interest fairly quickly I have got quite interested. Will look to a tropical tank about your size or a bit smaller when they (and their mother) move out in a couple of months

 

[Andy]

They're so hard to photo.. but here's my freshwater tank.. you can just see the f8 puffer in the top right



Incidentally.. my marine one is 300 litres, which is kinda medium for marine.. but the tropical one there is probably more like 100 litres, which is ample for tropical. I also have a Biorb 60 litre.. which is full of all the babies which have been born here

 

[gannet]

with two cats around, Im sure keeping fish would be a trial and expensive

your tanks look good though

 

[Anonymous]

Hmm, I didn't notice there was a gay thread running only joking of course

 

[cj10jeeper]

Andy,

I started keeping tropicals as a school kid and had a tank in my room. Became a member of a club and won shed loads of certificates from my small then tanks (yep plural...lol). Had them in the house in some way or shape ever since. Just a mixed tropical tank of mainly tetras now and few goldfish in the outdoor pond, which seem mainly to be heron food.

Never done marines, so hats off to you on that and the nice set up you have.

Fascinating little critters and I can spend hours watching them.

 

[Andy]

Hah.. Im totally expecting the gay comments, its really hard to justify unless you've done it I guess.

Phil - It's only very early, & having bought an established tank it should be a lot easier, & I have good advice.

Don't suppose you want some platties do you? It's going to break my heart taking them back to the shop :thumbsdown:

Currently have 2 x tropical tanks, 1 x marine, & one pond.... need to downsize urgently, if just for the leccy bill..

Few hours later & this dog face is sooo entertaining.. he's spitting water out the top of the tank because Im watching TV & not giving him attention.. this could be amusing over time... :?

 

[Andy]

with two cats around, Im sure keeping fish would be a trial and expensive
your tanks look good though

Oh.. & to be honest, a fight between this dog faced puffer & a cat could be interesting.. he's a total predator and would seriously hurt a paw if it was dipped into fish him out. I actually think he'd hurt a cat so much it would give up on him... crazy...

 

[cj10jeeper]

Nope - you can keep you Platys. Pair of those and you can have a tank ful in a few months.

 

[paddy wright]

used to do it but now have a beautiful pair of kittens so fish are a distant memory! understand the fun tho

 

[Andy]

Cats have never been my bag, more of a dog lover, hence this puffer

I'll get a proper dog soon enough, but this is easier to keep for now 8)

Is it harsh to feed my platties to the new puffer ? lol..

 

[bmwangler]

Do Puffers eat Platys?