Back and better then ever!!

[AKfish]

I'll elaborate a little on my title. I kept fish back in the day when all this internet research wasn't so available. Now returning to the hobby many years later it's truly a new world of Information. Those of you who have always had this ability have no idea what fishkeeping really was. You did have on average a more educated fish keeper to talk to. I never make a trip into (fill in any big box stores name) and not hear something if not completely wrong at least misleading. Internet seems to be its own mine field of wrong/misleading information. But plenty of good if you know your basics and have a bit of common sense. Anyway a bit off topic. I'm the type of guy who enjoys a little research. This means I also enjoy mixing fish that are supposed to not be mixable. Or in conditions others seem to claim they can't be in. But we never learn what we don't try. I look forward to posting pics and sharing projects. I build plywood fishtanks. Here soon I will begin breeding fish. I'm building what I consider well thought out specie's specific breeder tanks. Like a 50 gal 10in tall tank for a large shrimp colony. Also planning tanks with built in smaller tanks for housing fry or whatever is needed. Keeping them in the exact same water they have developed in as eggs or what not. I look forward to discussing my future fishtanks with this community and using their input on what I build and even breed.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome back

 

[Back in the fold]

Ahh. A fellow aquarist from days of yore ! I got my first guppies in 1965, promptly read Dr. Innes' book and began the adventure. Like you, I'm from the days of incandescent lights, heaters standing up OUT of the water, aging water instead of using chemical dechlorinators and I have personally seen several plywood tanks. One of them had the most outstanding pair of Oscars ever in it. They were monstrous. Or maybe they just appeared that way to the small boy that I was. Well buddy welcome to the future. You are right in what you say about the Internet. All the internet is is a big giant bulletin board and any boob can pin anything he wants to on it. I'm proof of that. Bet you've seen some actual real aquarium shops in your day too. Aren't the chain pet shops a joke ? I am looking forward to your comments and thoughts in this forum. Welcome.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I too, got my first tank in the 60’s. The good old fish shops were something to behold. Rows of fish tanks. My local pet shop kept a piranha just for show. They also sold baby alligators! Maybe my generation is responsible for the gators in the bays now. Lol! We even had one local pet shop that had no air conditioning...in Houston TX! How the fish lived, I’ll never know. I did always use dechlorinator though. Don’t remember plywood tanks but would love to see one. That one pet shop with no A/C always had a screen door and sometimes the spring on it wouldn’t close the door tight. A parrot sat there on a perch and would yell, “shut the da n door!” ( I left the “m” out). I’m sure he learned it from the owners. Dang bird was there forever. Never heard him say anything else. These days there’s no telling what would come out of his mouth! Lol

 

[AKfish]

Yep aging water is not a term you hear any more lol. Yes when I first got into tanks I was an odd ball kind of guy. Wanted all the fish you would never see at someone else's house lol. Had an amazing relationship with my fish guy. He was very good at getting off bill fish in for me. And I would grow them out at home. Bring them back for store credit and hew sell a bigger fish for more profit skipping all the cost of feeding or tank space. That allowed me to keep a huge variety of fish. In my hey day had a 100gal long, 90gal square, 3-55gal and a 30. Just display tanks various places around the house. Had fish I have still to this day never seen available in another store. One that sticks out was an electric catfish lol. Didn't even know such a thing existed until I seen it in his shop. He didn't tell me about it when I came in because he wanted to see my response. He knew how much I loved the unique. Good old days. Now I guess I can just order whatever I want. But the thrill of discovering something new is all but lost there.

 

[Back in the fold]

We had a place here in my town that was basically an overgrown fish room. He had three huge tanks made out of old refrigerators. Glass across the front and the enameled steel making up the other three sides. Jack Dempsey's and Severum were big in those days. He had awesome ones too. Also had an electric catfish. The only one I've ever seen to this day. He sold live daphnia and live tubifex worms too. And the rest of the shop was row after row of ten and twenty gallons. Later in the 1980's Ben Birdsill who wrote for TFH had a beautiful huge shop here. Several 200 gallon display tanks and over 100 tanks with fish for sale. Sadly, it just wasn't economically viable. Guys can't make it selling a fish or two here and there and still pay the bills and the help. The thing I really miss about him was he had a guy that built custom tops and tanks and fixed everything. No heater or light or filter or air pump went in the garbage. If you have a guy like those guys in your town please support them and go out of your way to let them know what a treasure they are.

 

[AKfish]

That's awesome. Never seen a fridge tank lol. Ya I miss hose days. Had a different store sell me a tiger shovel nose catfish. About 4in long when I bought him. Soon was 6in and I started noticing fish disappearing. Woke up one morning and a baby green terror was gone. Looked at the shovel nose as hi was balancing on his over stuffed belly on the bottom. Couldn't even lay right was falling to one side or the other. Ended up having to bring him to my normal fish guy lol. This was very early in fishkeeping when I didn't know anything. That same green terror struck a small marble gar I had in the tank just the day before. Hit the poor gar from the bottom right on his Gill plates. Gar didn't make it and I guess gree terror paid for it the next day lol. Funny now but was so sad and mad then. Still have never gotten another marble gar. Haven't seen them in the stores either.

 

[Back in the fold]

Used to see Gar quite a bit but not lately. The little ones are actually nice looking. I wish they could stay about 4 inches but they don't. The second guy I mentioned had a Red-Tail cat about 18 inches. That was really cool and he had some Pacus that were pretty big too. And of course the obligatory big Arowanas. There's something special about the big tropical fish but the only ones I covet right now are Oscars. Just got to get me a six foot tank and get a pair.

 

[AKfish]

Oscar's are grey. To me an Oscar is a huge betta. They both have similar personalities in my opinion. Normally lazy easy going but with a speratic attitude. And not just aggressive attitude. No fish pouts quite like an Oscar in a mood. Remember thinking the first one I ever owned was dead after a water change. He was just little in a 55 with a couple small cichlids growing out some before moving the cichlids to a 90 and Oscar to a 100 long. Anyway he layed about flat on the bottom. I freaked out and reached in there just to have him swim off when I got close. Then go lay somewhere else. He did that after every single water change for several years. Was such a character. Later I had a flowerhorn I had picked up with a red devil. Of course the store tired to get me to buy 3 flowerhorns as if they were community fish. Also said would work fine with my clown knife fish and the devil I got at the same time. Well bubba as he was lovingly referred to. Eventually started leaving whitish rings on the sides of my beautiful clown knife who was about 14" at that time. And was also forcing the Devil to live in a tiny corner by the filter. Had to make the call on who needed to go. Took my clown knife and devil into my local store and traded for credit. Bubba ended up in the 90gal all by himself because he was too big and aggressive for a tank mate. He did have about a 14" sailfin pleco with him that he couldn't damage. He tried for a while but the pleco stuck him really good in his side with a pec fin spine. Did the hammer motion they do and left a life long scar on bubba. Anyway love talking about old fish lol

 

[Back in the fold]

I'm getting the idea that you like big fish and aggressive ones. Nothing wrong with that. I've got a buddy that's the same way. I like little Plecostomus but they just don't stay little. Not wild about the long stringy turds they leave floating through the water either. Wow, you've had a Green Terror. I don't think I'll ever work up the nerve to have one in the house.

 

[AKfish]

Oh ya, the pleco is a dirty fella. Planning to breed some green dragon plecos. Hopefully anyway, on my wish list. I like all fish, all animals really. Even have 6 wild caught queen carpenter ants (camponotus hurculeanus) spelling may be off lol. All have layed at least their first batch of eggs if not second or third. Anyway always grew up with nature. Raised at a gold mine here in Alaska in the middle of nowhere. Grandpa had two wild caught crows that would fly with the others around camp. Buy when he whistled black and blue would fly down landing on his shoulders. He also lived in Florida whether had a pet gator and a turtle you could ride on. My mom had a raccoon. Basically grew up around zoo animals lol. My 100 gallon long transformed several times. From a big aggressive tank to a small "peaceful" community. By "peaceful" I mean I had blue Rams and dwarf cichlids and others your not supposed to mix. But my cichlids would breed and you could watch the loaches try and snag he babies when mom and dad weren't watching. Just to get caught a the last moment by one or the other lol. Was incredible to see small fish living pretty natural in a larger tank. Also my 90 gal before becoming bubba's house. Was a brackish water tank with 6 Amazon Archer fish and a couple gobies. Also green terror is a beautiful fish. I probably won't own any again unless specific for them. Trying to mix the two I had with other similar size cichlids wasn't great. They never seemed aggressive enough to hold their own. How ever contrary to popular belief thatseems it was my one experience with them.