Are All Fish Of A Specific Species

[Ludwig Venter]

So many fish.... so many theories.....

IMHO.... there are no "hard and fast" rules concerning aquarium keeping.....What works for me, may not work for everybody.....

For instance..... (I know this is a controversial example to use, but it is my true experience).... I have yet to find an aggressive Betta if placed in a community tank (if there are no other Bettas in the same tank)... (even with Guppies)

If this statement is made..... Someone will immediately confront you, as they have experienced differently.....but, in my almost 40years breeding/rearing/keeping them..... In my mind I am not lying......but to the next person???

The quote below was made by a renowned specialist in fishkeeping circles (Coriologist), and I associated with it to the extent that I immediately pm'd him and asked for permission to use this quote..... It sums up exactly my sentiments, and I would not be able to have expressed it in a better way.

My knowledge is narrowly focused and I'm not one for following the traditional rules. I kinda have my own way of doing things, that drives a lot of people right up a wall. lol. Hey, it works for me and as I always warn everyone, "Your mileage may vary.".....

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. lol. - Frank

All I can add to that is "or what you read in books".....

 

[star4]

I read your post and found myself nodding in agreement. Fish are living creatures and some do not follow the rules, my own two plecs got very distressed when I split them up so I had to put them back together again. I know someone with 5 flying foxes in the same tank and they have no agression problems. Its what makes fish keeping such a wonderfull hobby, the science, art and technology and sometimes just pure luck.

 

[dthoffsett]

I agree to a certain extent, just as with any other animal individual fish have different personalities. However, if say a species acts the same or similar in 500 peoples tanks and completely differently in 10 peoples tanks, then it's pretty safe to say the fish will most likely act the way it did in the majority of the tanks. This is why I always try to be careful to say that I recommend or highly recommend that a species be kept a certain way, there are almost no black and white rules to fish keeping, but guidelines are a good thing especially for new keepers.

I think trying a set up different from the norm is fine as long as you have a back up plan in case things go wrong.

 

[Shred]

By the way I think in your example its not that the betta will be agressive, its that the tankmates will nip his fins, especially guppies.

I know what you mean though, and its true with books too. I recently bought a book all about bettas, and when skimming through it looked pretty good. Then I got round to actually reading it and I was shaking my head all the way though, god knows where they got some of the info from! Like, "you should feed your betta what he can eat in 10 minutes" if I did that I wouldn't have a fish left in the morning, my guy would eat until he exploded.

 

[OldMan47]

I have had exactly the same experience with Betta splendens Ludwig but my time with water is since the mid 1950s. We all have our own way of doing things but the variation is not the real issue. The things that we all do in common are the real knowledge behind this hobby. We all do things to control the poisons in our tanks whether it be by frequent water changes or plants or other methods that work for us. We all feed a variety of foods because anything else just doesn't seem to work well. We do many things in common and that is the core to our shared experiences. The specific details are not at all consistent. I change water less than most people here but use plants to remove much of the poison build in my tanks, I do not ignore the needs of my fish. I am quite successful with wild type livebearers but have very little success with egg layers. Part of that is my tap water conditions but I a sure that my own focus around saving fry rather than trying to promote breeding plays a part in it too. The folks who know how to do cold water changes to prompt fish to breed are strange to my experiences but they succeed where I fail with eggers. We are all the same but different.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I try to go by the 'usual behavior' when picking out fish, but just like anything else, weirdness comes up. My supposed outgoing convict? Hid all freaking day unless he was beating up my bristlenose or eating food and/or all the dither fish.

I guess it's just trial and error.