Poll: What kind of fish should I get next for my tank?

[SagaLore]

I have a pretty good setup (37 gallon). Live plants, decent lighting, snails/catfish/algae-eaters to keep the tank clean. The filtration system is better than most - it sits in the cabinet and runs tubes to the tank, and has a layer of bio-filter. The PH and temperature is right where it needs to be.

I really like platys and mollies. I love how they give birth and those cute little babies run around slowly getting bigger. But it doesn't happen very often and most the babies don't survive. I stopped getting big belly mollies because they die the fastest - very sensitive to the water quality and break out in ick. So I've been using smaller mollies that seem to be a lot more resistant. I put in a wide range of platys but they slowly die off too, without any apparent disease, so maybe they just have a short lifespan.

I'm thinking about going with freshwater fish that live longer and stay healthy. So it is going to be an assortment of Tetra Barbs and some puffer fish (both are aggresive), or I will go with the more exotic goldfish (redcaps, bubble eyes, etc.).

 

[1sikbITCH]

Your choice of fish is entirely up to you. You are the one who will gaze at it for hours as it soothes and relaxes you. Therefore the types of fish that soothe and relax YOU are what you need.

Personally, my favorite tank over the years was my piranha tank.

Imagine a group of goldfish cowering in the corner as 5 piranha lazily hang at the other end, ready for the kill. Slowly a single piranha disengages from the group, wanders down the other end and then swoops into the goldfish corner, chasing them out into the middle where the rest of the piranha spring into a glorious frenzy! Water splashes out of the tank, gravel and plants smacking against the sides, and flashes of silver and gold go streaking throughout the tank! It's exhilarating!

And then as I watch millions of pretty gold scales calmly sparkling and glittering throughout the tank I feel suddenly at peace... 😀 Except they never eat the tails. I hate that.

 

[imported_Tick]

Originally posted by: 1sikbITCH
Your choice of fish is entirely up to you. You are the one who will gaze at it for hours as it soothes and relaxes you. Therefore the types of fish that soothe and relax YOU are what you need.

Personally, my favorite tank over the years was my piranha tank.

Imagine a group of goldfish cowering in the corner as 5 piranha lazily hang at the other end, ready for the kill. Slowly a single piranha disengages from the group, wanders down the other end and then swoops into the goldfish corner, chasing them out into the middle where the rest of the piranha spring into a glorious frenzy! Water splashes out of the tank, gravel and plants smacking against the sides, and flashes of silver and gold go streaking throughout the tank! It's exhilarating!

And then as I watch millions of pretty gold scales calmly sparkling and glittering throughout the tank I feel suddenly at peace... 😀 Except they never eat the tails. I hate that.

A piranha tank always appealed to me, but it could get to be a pain trying to clean em, as I almost always have a little cut somewhere on my hands.

 

[Howard]

I prefer koi, but ideally they should be kept in a pond.

They're pretty hardy; I haven't done half of what I should and mine are doing alright.

 

[dug777]

Bala Sharks FTW 😀

 

[imported_Tick]

Originally posted by: dug777
Bala Sharks FTW 😀

Bala sharks eat small crustaceans.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Tick

Originally posted by: dug777
Bala Sharks FTW 😀

Bala sharks eat small crustaceans.

*scuttles away in fright* 😉

seriously, i love my bala sharks. Very hardy and easy to keep too, i've never done a ph/nitrate test and they are big and healthy with no fatalities nearly six months down the road. They like nibbling on my live plants tho 😛

 

[imported_Tick]

Originally posted by: dug777

Originally posted by: Tick

Originally posted by: dug777
Bala Sharks FTW 😀

Bala sharks eat small crustaceans.

*scuttles away in fright* 😉

seriously, i love my bala sharks. Very hardy and easy to keep too, i've never done a ph/nitrate test and they are big and healthy with no fatalities nearly six months down the road. They like nibbling on my live plants tho 😛

One of these days I will do a bala shark tank.

 

[1sikbITCH]

Tick, I always transfered them to a temp tank before cleaning. Also, piranha are a school fish who are sissies on their own. 5 isn't enough for them to feel really safe and attack you if you make a lot of ruckus and don't spend a large amount of time in there. I'd splash around a lot, get them cowering in the corner, then in-and-out-real-fast! with whatever I had to do in the tank. In the end I was feeding 8-10 dozen goldfish a week to these 5 piranhas (about 6 inches long with the tail), and that's what led to me getting rid of them. The cost of all those goldfish, having to call the store to make sure they had enough, drive there once a week, store the goldfish, clean both the feeder tank and the piranha tank constantly...

Glad I just remembered that part of it. My first post had me looking around for a good spot to set up a piranha tank again.

 

[judasmachine]

Channel Cat, or Groupers

 

[DVK916]

An Electric Cat Fish. I always wanted one of these but never got one. They seem so cool.





Also i wonder who would win in fight, 1 Electric Cat or 5 Pirrana.

 

[rahul]

Do you mind posting your pH and gH values??

If you have issues with livebearers, I wouldn't recommend bala sharks.

Same with puffers.