Hello, folks! I just wanted to say hell and introduce myself, as I just joined this community this evening. I've owned tropical fish for over ten years now, but have only recently become completely immersed in the hobby.
As a kid, I had a ten gallon community tank, with swordtails, a pleco, a cory cat, etc. When I moved about a year and a half ago, I bought myself and my booming fish population (one of my swordtails popped 'em out like crazy) a much more spacious 37 gallon setup. Unfortunately, my new heater went haywire one evening and I was left with only a few survivors. After that, my tank went into rebuilding mode and is now largely populated by a variety of catfish, as well as some botias, a pleco, etc. On paper, my tank should be a disaster, it's a bit overpopulated (I'm currently assembling a 55 gallon setup) and contains catfish that are notorious for making smaller guys disappear. Those would be my striped raphael, spotted raphael, and my big eclipse/sun cat. I also have a trio of banjo cats, a pair of bumblebee cats, two bumblebee gobies, as well as a very young eclipse and a few others. So, my next step, the 55, will also be a fairly temporary deal (I got most of the equipment for free anyways). I have had the big eclipse (about 7 inches) for a few weeks, the spotted raph for a few months, and the striped raph for about a year. I knew when I got them all that they might eat my smaller fish (botias, etc), but I took the chance (introducing the raphs when they were very tiny in hopes of reducing the risk of them eating others) and nobody has disappeared and there is rarely any commotion in the tank.
Anyway, that is my brief bio in terms of fishkeeping. I look forward to talking to everyone!
As a kid, I had a ten gallon community tank, with swordtails, a pleco, a cory cat, etc. When I moved about a year and a half ago, I bought myself and my booming fish population (one of my swordtails popped 'em out like crazy) a much more spacious 37 gallon setup. Unfortunately, my new heater went haywire one evening and I was left with only a few survivors. After that, my tank went into rebuilding mode and is now largely populated by a variety of catfish, as well as some botias, a pleco, etc. On paper, my tank should be a disaster, it's a bit overpopulated (I'm currently assembling a 55 gallon setup) and contains catfish that are notorious for making smaller guys disappear. Those would be my striped raphael, spotted raphael, and my big eclipse/sun cat. I also have a trio of banjo cats, a pair of bumblebee cats, two bumblebee gobies, as well as a very young eclipse and a few others. So, my next step, the 55, will also be a fairly temporary deal (I got most of the equipment for free anyways). I have had the big eclipse (about 7 inches) for a few weeks, the spotted raph for a few months, and the striped raph for about a year. I knew when I got them all that they might eat my smaller fish (botias, etc), but I took the chance (introducing the raphs when they were very tiny in hopes of reducing the risk of them eating others) and nobody has disappeared and there is rarely any commotion in the tank.
Anyway, that is my brief bio in terms of fishkeeping. I look forward to talking to everyone!
