I have one aquarium that I consider my "big" tank...by my standards, anyway...and I think I am going to do a reset. It's been a community tank for a couple years, housing Gymnogeophagus, Cichlasoma, Goodeids, Corydoras, and...just so as not to be even a little biotopically corect...a couple species of Garra and some Odessa Barbs.
This summer, I took all the cichlids and many of the livebearers outside. That was generally successful, leading to a few tanks of assorted fry...but also resulting in a big tank with not much to see for the entire season.
I've never been much of a cichlid fan, and I think that I have scratched that itch more than enough this year. I lost a bunch of adults to predators outdoors, most of them to a Mink who continues to scour the area even now that the fish are indoors again. My balzanii fascination has waned, and I won't be carrying them forward; I'll continue on with G.rhabdotus and C.dimerus for now, but not in the main tank...just too much trouble getting them out in the spring, and I grew tired of watching them breed in the tank only to have the fry consumed. I have a couple tanks of rhabdotus fry which I am growing up to saleable size, but generally speaking, I just don't get much satisfaction anymore from having these cool, colourful fish breeding unseen in outdoor stock tanks. Yes, draining a stock tank in the fall and exposing all those lovely little fish is cool; having a more-or-less empty tank indoors all summer is less so.
Similarly, the Odessa Barbs were a must-have species that grew well, looked great...but just don't do it for me anymore.
Not coincidentally, it might be noticed that all these species are cool-tolerant fish and this allowed me to keep them largely unheated in my basement during the winter. I want to continue this; I'm not really interested in using more electricity than I do now. This is probably the main reason why I won't be installing my Jelly Cat in the 360, as it's sole inhabitant. Similarly, African cichlids...despite the fact that my water would be perfect for them...are a no-go; partially because of heat requirements, but also because I just don't enjoy tanks full of a bunch of aggressive fish pushing each other around constantly.
So...what next? Natives are a favourite of mine...but I want something different and the variety of fish I can catch locally is quite a bit less than it was back when I lived in Ontario. We have only three species of sunfish (including Rock Bass) where I now live, and even those are specialties in only limited locales. A gar or two would be strong contenders, as would Burbot, Bowfin, Grass Pickerel...but I have had them before so they aren't really new for me, and some of them are no longer local for me. I have been thinking hard about High-fin Suckers, thanks largely to
thebiggerthebetter
and his thread on them...but not completely sold on them; and of course, they strike me more as pond fish than aquarium specimens.
My wife has made a suggestion that I originally dismissed out of hand...but the more I think of it, the more it seems to offer. A species that I haven't kept for over 50 years...that will live happily in a cool tank...and offers a great deal in terms of activity, colour, and "spectacle"...and which is easily available and has no difficult-to-meet special needs in terms of diet or anything else.
So, I wonder...is it finally time for me to get Goldfish?
This summer, I took all the cichlids and many of the livebearers outside. That was generally successful, leading to a few tanks of assorted fry...but also resulting in a big tank with not much to see for the entire season.
I've never been much of a cichlid fan, and I think that I have scratched that itch more than enough this year. I lost a bunch of adults to predators outdoors, most of them to a Mink who continues to scour the area even now that the fish are indoors again. My balzanii fascination has waned, and I won't be carrying them forward; I'll continue on with G.rhabdotus and C.dimerus for now, but not in the main tank...just too much trouble getting them out in the spring, and I grew tired of watching them breed in the tank only to have the fry consumed. I have a couple tanks of rhabdotus fry which I am growing up to saleable size, but generally speaking, I just don't get much satisfaction anymore from having these cool, colourful fish breeding unseen in outdoor stock tanks. Yes, draining a stock tank in the fall and exposing all those lovely little fish is cool; having a more-or-less empty tank indoors all summer is less so.
Similarly, the Odessa Barbs were a must-have species that grew well, looked great...but just don't do it for me anymore.
Not coincidentally, it might be noticed that all these species are cool-tolerant fish and this allowed me to keep them largely unheated in my basement during the winter. I want to continue this; I'm not really interested in using more electricity than I do now. This is probably the main reason why I won't be installing my Jelly Cat in the 360, as it's sole inhabitant. Similarly, African cichlids...despite the fact that my water would be perfect for them...are a no-go; partially because of heat requirements, but also because I just don't enjoy tanks full of a bunch of aggressive fish pushing each other around constantly.
So...what next? Natives are a favourite of mine...but I want something different and the variety of fish I can catch locally is quite a bit less than it was back when I lived in Ontario. We have only three species of sunfish (including Rock Bass) where I now live, and even those are specialties in only limited locales. A gar or two would be strong contenders, as would Burbot, Bowfin, Grass Pickerel...but I have had them before so they aren't really new for me, and some of them are no longer local for me. I have been thinking hard about High-fin Suckers, thanks largely to
thebiggerthebetter
and his thread on them...but not completely sold on them; and of course, they strike me more as pond fish than aquarium specimens.My wife has made a suggestion that I originally dismissed out of hand...but the more I think of it, the more it seems to offer. A species that I haven't kept for over 50 years...that will live happily in a cool tank...and offers a great deal in terms of activity, colour, and "spectacle"...and which is easily available and has no difficult-to-meet special needs in terms of diet or anything else.
So, I wonder...is it finally time for me to get Goldfish?
