51 replies to this topic

[Teacher Martyn]

A few weeks into my first cycled and stocked tank, I'm looking round the flat for more tank-perfect spaces/corners.

Am I destined to become like those old people I remember as a kid with houses full of cats?

Except in my case it'll be fish tanks in every conceivable space - I only live in a small flat.

In a matter of weeks, as my knowledge has increased, I've gone from internal to external filtration.

Now, I want to start species-specific tanks, location-specific tanks....

My original intention was to have a perfectly peaceful community tank but, with the silver-tip tetras daily argy-bargy, it's definitely not that. So there's my next project already.

Where does it stop? What's the treatment? Once your tank is ticking along nicely, what motivates you?

Is there therapy available?

Edited by Teacher Martyn, 10 May 2012 - 04:36 PM.

[BigTuna]

I've always wanted a fish tank for as long as I can remember. I've always been discouraged by my family who told me it would be nothing but a hassle, and I'd end up trying desperately get rid of everything. A total waste of money. Not even a year ago my wife and I went into the only LFS within driving distance just to look around. After spending the afternoon getting to know the manager, and learning that its more than just a bucket of water, a fish, and some flakes, I became incredibly interested. Shortly after, with a lot of hands on help from the manager, I came home with my first ever fish tank. a 16G. Within the next few months, I ended up with a 16G and a 90G. The 90G was upgraded to a 125G. The 125G after a few months was converted to a salty tank. And here we are. So to answer your question, no it never stops. And the fish are my therapy!

[fishypps]

Lol! I am constantly on here or looking for bargain fish tanks now! lol. At the moment we have neither the space, or money to get another tank but I want one so much! My tank is on our sideboard at the moment but we are going to collect a table to put it on this afternoon and i would LOVE to have a nano tank to fill the space on my sideboard with some Shrimp and endlers in, well planted with sand substrate. I can see it now!! lol

[CezzaXV]

Hehe, I'm sort of the opposite. I don't really have a desire to have tanks in every corner of my house. Too much electricity and too much hard work. I would, however, given the money, be constantly upgrading my community tank to a bigger one until it practically took up the whole room! Would love to have space for all the species of fish I want! (or at least the compatible ones)

[OldMan47]

You are the latest victim of MTS, multiple tank syndrome. You will not find a cure here, this is a place for people to agree with each other that it is just fine to have that many tanks. I am sure that most people here would think it might be fun to have 26 tanks in their home the way that I have.

[SamLovesCorys]

They have a similar thing in guitar-playing called GAS! (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)

[FishBlast]

If it weren't for my mom's dislike of fish tanks (even though she had one too but she neglected it more than I have as a kid), I'd be a catfish collector. Think 20-25 gal cory cat tanks, 55 gal hoplo and synodontis tanks... O.o
Unfortunately, I am limited to a 20 gal tank with a single hoplo, 4 swordtails and 2 apple snails. -.-

[CezzaXV]

They have a similar thing in guitar-playing called GAS! (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)

I think we're better here lol. I don't imagine on guitar forums they go around announcing they have gas like we announce mts!

[delta]

I'd love a few species tanks, smaller than the community tanks but bigger than the betta tank but I think once I get the 240L which will be my fourth tank I might be pushing it a bit to get any more (for a while at least) Oh, and hubby has suffered from 'GAS' in the past

Edited by delta, 07 May 2012 - 07:10 PM.

[SamLovesCorys]

They have a similar thing in guitar-playing called GAS! (Guitar Acquisition Syndrome)

I think we're better here lol. I don't imagine on guitar forums they go around announcing they have gas like we announce mts!

You'd be surprised!

[drobbyb]

I found the cure for MTS (multiple tank syndrome) It's called children and budgeting lol

[Dieses Madchen]

I started off with a 10g....now i have 8 tanks....3 of which are dedicated to breeding pairs..

[FishBlast]

I'd sure want an egg-layer exclusive tank. Would be a challenge to keep the fry to survive for them. Livebearers are easy. Maybe apisto or betta imbellis tank of around 200L would be cool, but that will have to wait a few years... -.- Wish I had my own house.

[OldMan47]

You have expressed a common egg layer prejudice FishBlast. When you have bred Brachyrhaphis roseni, you can come back and say something like that. If you ever try to say those livebearers are easy I will indeed be surprised. Only guppies, mollies, swordtails and platies are all that easy. Many of the other livebearers are a bit of a challenge.
My brachy female:

[FishBlast]

You have expressed a common egg layer prejudice FishBlast. When you have bred Brachyrhaphis roseni, you can come back and say something like that. If you ever try to say those livebearers are easy I will indeed be surprised. Only guppies, mollies, swordtails and platies are all that easy. Many of the other livebearers are a bit of a challenge.
My brachy female:

I was referring to the common livebearers I have bred. (guppies and swordtails), not that I have had any uncommon ones to breed.
As for egg layers, I'd be surprised if I'd be able to find eggs before some other fish eats them, and even so to have the conditions for them. (which would mean giving them the right ph, food, amount of plants or areas for bubble nests and such). Kind of like a tank that has let's say apistogrammas, or betta imbellis, or zebra danios + corydoras.

Brachyhaphis looks cool but I doubt they'd sell them around here, what I've seen at the LFS are mostly common fish. (LB: guppy, swordtail, platy, molly, EL: anything from angelfish to bettas and cories).

Edited by FishBlast, 10 May 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[Dieses Madchen]

Ragardless of the ease of breeding common livebearers, I think the most fun comes with the challenge of keeping the babies alive, which includes setting up a fry tank, finding, and catching the little houdinis. Are they easy to breed? Heck yeah! Is it easy to save the fry? I would have to say no.

[FishBlast]

Ragardless of the ease of breeding common livebearers, I think the most fun comes with the challenge of keeping the babies alive, which includes setting up a fry tank, finding, and catching the little houdinis. Are they easy to breed? Heck yeah! Is it easy to save the fry? I would have to say no.

Well, the amount of fry I woke up to from my swordtails would have easily added a few more to the net, I just chose not to save them since what ever amount survives will stay and grow in the same tank. My mom saved one before I got back home with a new plant. I guess that's due to the nest my hoplo made for them at the top. He ripped away a lot of ceratopteris and made some kind of crown of plants and was blowing bubbles under it (and failing to make a real nest). He's doing it wrong. -.-

As for fry survival, that's a bit harder, I have lost 2 out of 4 fry I have saved (could have saved around 15 last month). So I have lost 50% in a month, but that's the usual I have lost out of any amount of guppy or swordtail fry even before this. The easy part is that they eat powdered flakes so I don't have to make egg yolk pasta for them since they're not as small as a flea.

[This Old Spouse]

I started with a 5g plastic tank from Walmart that my neighbor gave me, with 3 male guppies, a Chinese algae eater and something else I can't remember. I upgraded to a 10g (free) and added some female guppies. And so I went through a guppy-laden period, and even added some fiddler crabs. Then I came across a 55g setup free on Freecycle with all the trimmings. That is still my community tank. Then came a 20g long tank that's now my cory tank. Then a 29g for the tiger barbs and red eye tetras. All my tanks have been free. My husband just bought a 75g complete setup for $200 (everything was practically new) and he's set up a discus habitat, with 2 BNs and a couple of synodontis cats. I have a 15g for all my cory fry and red cherry shrimp, and a 10g houses a wild sunfish. I still have that 5g to use as a Q tank when I need it.

Slowly but surely all the tanks (except the 10g) have been outfitted with canister filters and inline heaters, switched from gravel to sand, and have a wide assortment of plants. There are days when I want to give all the fish away and break down the tanks, and other days when I want to find a place to set up that spare 55g!

The disease is terminal, I'm afraid ....

[Dieses Madchen]

I could never find the fry lol. THey all got eaten before i knew they were there lol

[FishBlast]

I could never find the fry lol. THey all got eaten before i knew they were there lol

I was amazed at the amount of calico fry my little Bee has made this month. 3 or 4 (not sure if one that was under a rock was the same I saw behind the filter) and so easy to spot, they were bigger than the first drop. There was also a red one that the hoplo was hiding, then it went under a rock and I haven't seen it since. Probably got eaten by its father.

The newborn fry my mom saved is a bit over half the size of my 1 month olds. Hope it's a female, because I'm pretty sure I have 1 male calico in there already, and Pinky seems to be female but not sure.
So far, 3 fry in the net. If all 3 survive and have 2 females and 1 male or at least 2 males 1 female, I'll only need to get 1 more female from another source.