I have two pet humans, and they seem obsessed with other animals. Now I actually like animals in general, but I don't particularly want any in the house because it's just extra work which I don't need. Cats are about the only thing I'd accept cos they are soft and cuddle you and don't need much looking after. Plus I already know what to do with cats.
But the kids and wife fancied fish, so I had to give in, and tonight I went to pick up a second hand tank with all the kit. Turns out that kit included half a dozen sucker fish of some kind and a terrapin.
Having spent all night trying to find consistent information on the internet about looking after the things all I've learned is that they are a pain in the bum and there are loads of things I now have to deal with.
Bloody pets.
At least you don't have to walk them and pick their shit up. You win!
True, but I do have to suck their shit out of the water every week or so.
I think there's specialist websites where you could get paid for that sort of thing.
Two girls, one fish tank?
I can also imagine its a lot easier to send the fish and terrapins to the big pet world in the sky, no emotional tie.
You're on to a winner, I wish I had thought about this 13 years ago before getting two dogs (I cry just thinking about them 'leaving'!)
And you don't haver to name them, train them or insure them.
Winner winner.
Disappointed, I was hoping for a thread about the C4 comedy series!
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">
4 Drac
I can also imagine its a lot easier to send the fish and terrapins to the big pet world in the sky, no emotional tie.
Don't know many small children then?
My daughter didn’t care when he fish died but was upset when the dog did.
I inherited a big fish tank and some little fish when I last moved house.
I thought it would be fun to look after them but quickly got bored as it was a bit of a one-way relationship. Plus all I manged to achieve was to cultivate a snail army that grew exponentially but I couldn't train them to go to war with the fish.
One disturbingly exciting part of the experience was learning the best ways of euthanizing fish. I went with vodka in the end. I felt cruel and all-powerful in equal measure afterwards.
We told the kids we wanted to get rid of the terrapin and they were gutted. It might be easier than leaving a dog but it wasn't easy.
Do the fish and the Terrapin live in the same tank? IIRC, the Terrapin will need something to get of the water onto, and possibly a heat lamp to bask in. Amphibious, not aquatic.
Can also grow huge and be vicious bastards.
Also don't forget about the Salmonella 85% of Terrapins carry.
Yeah we didn't have any of the requirements for it, and we really don't want to do the work.
It's on its way to a local reptile shop now for a better life than we can give it. My youngest is sobbing her heart out.
I'm glad you have taken the terrapin out of the equation, they can be great pets, but they have very specific needs as regard UV lighting and they will almost certainly nip fish at the very least!
So, on to the six "sucker fish"... Got photos so we can hopefully give you an identification and then tell you how big they get as adults, their requirements etc.?
And dimensions of tank? These "sucker fish" may be inappropriate for this tank long term.
Ok, thanks for the help 🙂
https://1drv.ms/u/s!Al-Q_vR7ct4Aj95M3-pUCYJ_xSra4g
This is the best I can do at short notice. They do have frilly fins and feelers and stuff when they aren't hiding. Biggest one so far is about four inches and fairly solid at the head. Tank is I think 150l, it's only been half full so far but intend to fill it all the way, if I can trust the table it's on. My intention is to have real plants and make it as natural looking as I can.
So the fish shop told us to let the tank sit for two weeks to let it stabilise. Can we put plants in it now? Presumably if we want it to stabilise it should do so with the plants in it.
That’s a plectumous (?sp) I think my eldest brother kept fish and we’d always have at least one of those to help keep the tank clean.
If you are set on real plants get a decent aquatic substrate under the gravel (I think sand looks best). If you do it now then you won't wish you had latter.
http://www.swelluk.com/aquarium/substrate-1695/planting-substrate-1831/
You can of course DIY it
The photo isn't great for ID purposes, so all we I can say for now is that it is from the following catfish family...
https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/family.php?family_id=4
It could well be a Bristlenose Catfish variant, https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=1940 , but it might also be a Bulldog catfish (Chaetostoma).
A safe setup until you can get better photos would be ~22C with lots of water surface rippling from the filter output or a water powerhead. Hopefully the ex-owner gave you some food that these fish were happily eating, as some species like Chaetostoma can be tricky to teach them new food types. Almost certainly an omnivore, so you could offer a slice of veg like courgette, weighted down by a teaspoon pierced through it, alongside a small pinch of dried food (about the size of one eye per fish per day as a minimum, up to approx 3x eye size).
Hopefully the seller also gave you the mature filter and its media that these fish had in this tank for 6+ weeks, so that there are enough bacteria to prevent a toxic level of ammonia and/or nitrite building up, because many "suckermouths" from Central and South America require good quality water with high oxygen levels, with a water turnover through the filter of approx 8x the tank volume or more.
If you have any doubts over the maturity of the filter and its media, you need to be prepared to do 50% or greater water changes daily for the next three months. Some dechlorinators like Seachem Safe can help detoxify low and moderate levels of ammonia/nitrite for up to 24 hours by following the overdose guidelines, which is still a tiny amount for a 150l tank (dimensions are more useful than volume 😉 )
Not all fish originate from water with lots of plants and this is certainly the case for Chaetostoma. Fast growing plants can help keep the water safe for the fish, but not all plants appreciate the flow required in tanks for fish like these nd if the plants begin to die off, they will make the water more toxic.
Pretty sure that pectoral fin has several terrapin nips on its back edge, plus that white patch behind the head and just below left of the eye does not look good... It might be the stress of moving, but I suspect it has an infection, in which case I would probably use Esha 2000 to treat it.
Good luck!
He gave me the entire set up - pump, stones, fish, turtle, food and all, and even a bucketful of their own water. There was plenty of muck in the stones so I'm sure the bacterial content is the same. We are giving them the same food.
Problem is the pump is really noisy, like the bearings are knackered, so we'll need a new one. Does that have to be 'run in' or something too?
To be honest, all I want is a simple setup that we can all appreciate - but with plants. This is frigging complicated.. should've got a cat after all.
If it's an internal filter, like a Fluvial U4, they begin to make an awful grating noise if the outer sponges and pads are clogged up. Ordinarily, I would say squeeze and rinse the pads in some removed tank water and then throw the water. However, with this setup being new to you, I'd suggest slowly adding at least some of this mucky water back into the tank because there will be some beneficial bacteria that came off those sponges/pads.
Just cleaning the pads may make the filter work better and sound better, if not, try rinsing the main filter media (blue central box in a U4) in some removed tank water and check for any media that may have gone into the tight lower section of the media box and for anything blocking the class lower mesh into the media box.
As a newcomer, like I was 8 years ago, it does seem complicated at first and mistakes can be made at the cost of fish lives. But it gets easier over time, I currently have six tanks on the go with ~300 fish, from ~12 1.5cm livebearers born last week to my ~35cm long Giraffe Catfish.
you do know terrapins live for about 30 years? good luck!
There is only a coarse sponge thing in the filter. Nothing else. I rinsed it already.
Can I replace the lid? The bit with the lights and stuff in it? This one is grimy and looks crap.
Jesus wept, what a ballache. Id be chucking in a couple of liquitabs and going to bed if I were you
Is it only me who wants pics of baby livebearers and the giraffe fish?
🙂
lol at stabiliser.
Jesus wept, what a ballache.
Tell me about it.
At least it's legal to eat fish if you feel peckish. Cats and dogs are a bit inconvenient that way. Chickens and ducks the ideal IMO.
Update:
Tank is now full all the way up to the lid, and the cabinet hasn't yet collapsed, which is a good sign.
We bought three plants, so waiting to see if they live or die.
Bought a Fluval U4 which is extremely quiet, far better than the roaring old one. But we are having to run both for a week. I'm waiting to see if the new filter provides enough aeration on its mild setting, so watching the fish behaviour.
The bottom feeders seem much happier now that we have put more water in the tank. They hide less and are nice and active.
One of them though seems to have a split fin and is struggling to swim properly. Waiting to see if it dies. Not sure if anything else can be done.
I think we're up to speed with what needs doing now, but I might need to adjust the amount of aeration when we get more fish which will be next weekend. Still going for loads of plants and lots of fish.
We were looking at 3d backdrops for it, but they are expensive and require the tank to be empty, so that might not work. Otherwise we'll just hide all the cables and try and rely on the white wall behind.
Also - the hood looks crappy, and given the cost of replacements I was wondering about leaving it open with a light on top. Pros/cons?
Leave the lid off and get a cat.
Sorted.
One of them though seems to have a split fin and is struggling to swim properly. Waiting to see if it dies. Not sure if anything else can be done.
Duct tape, surely?
Still going for loads of plants and lots of fish.
You will need to keep on top of water changes if you have lots of fish. I'm sure you know but start off with a few fish and then introduce new ones a few at a time so as not to overload the tank filter.
I'd recommend getting a few shrimps - they are good entertainment value and filter out some of the extra food particles floating around - I've got two armoured shrimp, one of which is pretty damn big now, and a mountain shrimp which is smaller but more active. Don't get the cherry shrimp, they're too small and you're fish may consider them an expensive snack. You need quite a good water flow for them though as they like to sit in a current to filter feed.
Some sort of crustacean has been identified by the kids, so we'll probably get that. Yes to adding few fish at a time. But the suggestion is that snails are likely to escape.
On that topic - any thoughts on open tanks?
Also - what about blue 'moonlight' lights for evening/nighttime so we can see our nocturnal fish out and about?
Fun you can have with fish - buy fish cos you like the look of them - watch them die (puffer fish/angel fish).
Buy other fish you like the look of - watch them eat all the other fish! (dunno the name, but they looked like the ship out of Stingray).
I don't keep fish anymore, but I enjoyed them (My son's first word was "fish" whilst we were looking at the tank one day, which is nice)