My BF wants a "cool" fish of his own

[cometcattle]

A bristle-nose plec could work.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

awww, but they are so khul

 

[Opcn]

Another type of loach perhaps?

 

[Dwarfs]

senegal bichir, the swordtails might not like it, but the bichirs will like the sword tails. maybe you can get a divider or something or move the other fish to the bigger tank and get 2 senegals. they wont start eating the sword tails until they can fit in their mouth. you can get them at petsmart for 6 dollars each

RTBS and anything else that look like them are the only cheap shark like fish that come to my mind right now. Pictus cats are pretty cool looking, but they would mean an end to your swordtails

 

[Inchworm]

... so thanks for trying but no khuli loaches.

Hi Polardbear

If not kuhlis, how about a weather loach? They are large enought to have some presence in one of your aquariums, but not too big. They are active, get along with all the other fish, and are a lot of fun to watch.

Perhaps your BF will learn to predict the weather by them.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...l=weather+loach

 

[Teelie]

RTBS and anything else that look like them are the only cheap shark like fish that come to my mind right now. Pictus cats are pretty cool looking, but they would mean an end to your swordtails

Plus they're a schooling fish and would eventually outgrow and probably eat the swords.

 

[Fishy411]

RTBS and anything else that look like them are the only cheap shark like fish that come to my mind right now. Pictus cats are pretty cool looking, but they would mean an end to your swordtails

Plus they're a schooling fish and would eventually outgrow and probably eat the swords.

u can keep em in trios. I dunno if thats a school. I always thought my Cories looked shark like. ) RTBS and rainbows are the only Sharklike things under 10$. How bout u get him an angelfish?

 

[Raechal]

I have sort of the same problem. I don't want to "steal" your thread or anything but just to let you know, you're not the only one. I just got a new 120 gallon for my birthday (from my boyfriend and parents) and he wants it to be saltwater because saltwater are the "cool" fish and freshwater fish all look the same. I tried to show him all the different cichlids but he refused to admit any of them looked "cool" I put my foot down and insisted we stay with freshwater until we move out in a year or two (which was just an excuse so he would quit putting down freshwater fish)

 

[fishdudein]

What about a black ghost knifefish? Can't get much cooler than this! And I think that as long as you are raising up your sword fry in separate rearing tanks, you shouldn't have a problem...the one I have is completely peaceful, although he does love to eat and would probably look at sword fry as food.

 

[lucky62]

I did some looking on Red Tails and Rainbows and found a lot of comments that specifically mentioned them harassing swordtails. I don't think I'd want to gamble. My swordtails are the "reason for being" for both my tanks. I'm actually trying to stear him away from sharks altogether so it will need to be something that's unusual looking but peaceful. (I'm half tempted to get him a molly and just not tell him it's a molly. Some of them are pretty strange looking!)

They can eventually reach 6" as well , they can become very Territorial and aggressive , both species .

Maybe you could interest him in loaches or dwarf cichlids of some kind .

I like fishdudein's idea too .

 

[Polardbear]

No problem Raechal - what is it with men?

One more time guys - my precious swordtails are the reason I have fish tanks. Ain't nothing thats gonna eat my little darlings going in my tanks!

The weather loaches looked interesting, can they handle the temps of my tanks? I kind of got the impression that they were a colder water type or am I thinking of a different loach?

I think I'll do some research on rams they might be a possiblity.

I would like my tanks to be a little more mature before I try any plecs.

I tried to talk him into an angelfish but he thought they looked to sissy. (What can I say - he's a biker). Despite eating fry the tanks would work for them. The 75 gallon is 26" deep and the 55 is 21" so they should be deep enough.

I was looking at some type of molly last night that was a pearl something or other. It had a crescent tail and the funniest boxey shaped face and it was a pearly silver/white color. It's face was actually kind of ugly (something only a mother could love) in a cute kind of way. Maybe I could tell him it was a chrome fish. He he he. But I really have enough livebearers.

 

[lucky62]

Try searching

Botia loaches

 

[Raechal]

No problem Raechal - what is it with men?

One more time guys - my precious swordtails are the reason I have fish tanks. Ain't nothing thats gonna eat my little darlings going in my tanks!

The weather loaches looked interesting, can they handle the temps of my tanks? I kind of got the impression that they were a colder water type or am I thinking of a different loach?

I think I'll do some research on rams they might be a possiblity.

I would like my tanks to be a little more mature before I try any plecs.

I tried to talk him into an angelfish but he thought they looked to sissy. (What can I say - he's a biker). Despite eating fry the tanks would work for them. The 75 gallon is 26" deep and the 55 is 21" so they should be deep enough.

I was looking at some type of molly last night that was a pearl something or other. It had a crescent tail and the funniest boxey shaped face and it was a pearly silver/white color. It's face was actually kind of ugly (something only a mother could love) in a cute kind of way. Maybe I could tell him it was a chrome fish. He he he. But I really have enough livebearers.

Men only want "cool" fish, which means fish that are apealing to the eye. My boyfriend likes parrot cichlids because they always look like they are smiling. I couldn't bare to tell him that they are a man-made fish and that they actually CAN'T close their mouths all the way. We will probably still end up buying one though. You could always just make something up about the fish to kind of "sell" it to him.

 

[fishdudein]

Totally understand about your swordtails, and I don't blame you for not endangering them. Problem is, most any fish will try to eat another fish if it is small enough to fit in its mouth. Even non-aggressive fish. It's just the way things are in nature's world. You stated in your first post that you moved the females to a maternity tank and weren't concerned about the fry getting eaten, and based on my bgk's actions I don't think he would bother anything smaller than 1.5 inches, so should be fine in a tank like yours.

 

[Lexie3787]

Tell your boyfriend to get some money and buy his own tank. Thats what I told mine and now he has a saltwater tank.