Dream fish

[jjohnwm]

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A lot of you guys will know what my choice is, as I post pictures of said fish everytime one of these type of threads comes up, lol.

Not really a dream fish either. Dream fish, to me, suggests a fish that you crave for but, for some reason, you'll never get to keep. I can source my dream fish locally, I could set up a tank tomorrow if I chose.

Here it is......the European Perch (perca fluviatilis).

View attachment 1513989

I know you've mentioned this before; why not take the plunge? I'd agree that they shouldn't be referred to as Dream Fish for you, since you can access them fairly easily.

I've kept our Perch (flavescens) which are pretty much dead ringers for yours (fluviatilis) and they are exceptionally interesting fish when kept in a small group. Pack hunting, very predatory, very cool graceful build. Ours are more orange in the areas that yours show red, and ours are really only exceptionally colourful during the spawn, but they are pretty attractive throughout the year.

Plus, the huge bonus of not needing a heated tank. Once they are set up, they are cheap to keep! Not only a big cost savings, but your blood pressure won't instantly spike if the power flickers off causing you to go into panic mode as the water cools.

 

[latapy10]

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I know you've mentioned this before; why not take the plunge? I'd agree that they shouldn't be referred to as Dream Fish for you, since you can access them fairly easily.

I've kept our Perch (flavescens) which are pretty much dead ringers for yours (fluviatilis) and they are exceptionally interesting fish when kept in a small group. Pack hunting, very predatory, very cool graceful build. Ours are more orange in the areas that yours show red, and ours are really only exceptionally colourful during the spawn, but they are pretty attractive throughout the year.

Plus, the huge bonus of not needing a heated tank. Once they are set up, they are cheap to keep! Not only a big cost savings, but your blood pressure won't instantly spike if the power flickers off causing you to go into panic mode as the water cools.

The only problem with perch is to supply a large package of earthworms or feeder fishes.

 

[esoxlucius]

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I know you've mentioned this before; why not take the plunge? I'd agree that they shouldn't be referred to as Dream Fish for you, since you can access them fairly easily.

I've kept our Perch (flavescens) which are pretty much dead ringers for yours (fluviatilis) and they are exceptionally interesting fish when kept in a small group. Pack hunting, very predatory, very cool graceful build. Ours are more orange in the areas that yours show red, and ours are really only exceptionally colourful during the spawn, but they are pretty attractive throughout the year.

Plus, the huge bonus of not needing a heated tank. Once they are set up, they are cheap to keep! Not only a big cost savings, but your blood pressure won't instantly spike if the power flickers off causing you to go into panic mode as the water cools.

Trust me John, I've thought long and hard about it, and everytime one of these "dream" fish threads comes up, I'm tormented all over again. Lol.

Truth is, an inside endeavour is a non starter. My current 360 takes up all the space in my relatively small fish room so to place another 500 gallon or so fibreglass tank in there is never going to happen. I consider a 500 a bare minimum for the size of shoal I'd like.

And the fact I have clown loaches and a GG in my current 360, very long lived fish, means that realistically they could outlive me! And I ain't getting rid of fish at the drop of a hat that i've put years into.

So that leaves outside. Pretty easy and very doable. It's my only option currently. But I want to see these fish regularly, not have to go outside to view them. And I'd only be able to view them from above because I wouldn't trust a viewing window to last long term with the outside climate. And perch, being kings of camouflage, need to be viewed side on imo, not from above.

So that is where I'm currently at with this dream project. It is certainly a bucket list thing, but I'm unsure at this point how it's going to play out.

 

[Tyler Fish]

Where do I start.
I think I'd want a Galioth Tigerfish. If I had the room.others I want are payara, goonch catfish, aba aba knifefish, alligator gar, arapima, tiger muskellunge, paddlefish, any sturgeon, golden dorado, piraiba, Murray cod, barramundi, tarpon, simeise giant barb, irradesent shark, and longnose gar.

 

[latapy10]

Where do I start.
I think I'd want a Galioth Tigerfish. If I had the room.others I want are payara, goonch catfish, aba aba knifefish, alligator gar, arapima, tiger muskellunge, paddlefish, any sturgeon, golden dorado, piraiba, Murray cod, barramundi, tarpon, simeise giant barb, irradesent shark, and longnose gar.

for that, you just need a fairly undemanding small aquarium tank

 

[BIG-G]

For me it’s Channa bleheri. Sadly that will never happen, once they go on the banned list they never come off.
I guess human nature is to want what we can’t have.
I think for saltwater I’d like to keep a crosshatch trigger pair.
Which won’t happen either.

 

[jjohnwm]

The only problem with perch is to supply a large package of earthworms or feeder fishes.

I considered that before posting, but then just ignored it because it would be Esox's problem, not mine!

Although, for the record, I was able to hoodwink my perch into accepting gel and frozen foods as long as they were presented correctly, i.e. dropped one or two pieces at a time into the group who were already keyed up and in killing mode. Don't forget that these fish bite on dead frozen minnows on static hooks hung beneath the ice.

Trust me John, I've thought long and hard about it, and everytime one of these "dream" fish threads comes up, I'm tormented all over again. Lol.

Truth is, an inside endeavour is a non starter. My current 360 takes up all the space in my relatively small fish room so to place another 500 gallon or so fibreglass tank in there is never going to happen. I consider a 500 a bare minimum for the size of shoal I'd like.

And the fact I have clown loaches and a GG in my current 360, very long lived fish, means that realistically they could outlive me! And I ain't getting rid of fish at the drop of a hat that i've put years into.

So that leaves outside. Pretty easy and very doable. It's my only option currently. But I want to see these fish regularly, not have to go outside to view them. And I'd only be able to view them from above because I wouldn't trust a viewing window to last long term with the outside climate. And perch, being kings of camouflage, need to be viewed side on imo, not from above.

So that is where I'm currently at with this dream project. It is certainly a bucket list thing, but I'm unsure at this point how it's going to play out.

I guess that places them firmly into the Dream category after all. See, that's a "you" thing; you have this unusual compulsion to not merely do something, but to do it right. Just gotta make things complicated, huh?

I agree completely; as stunning as they are from the side, both their colour and their fascinating behaviour will be completely invisible in a pond setting. They definitely need the room to act and interact naturally, and yet need to be behind glass, calling for a big tank. I hope you can make it happen!

 

[jjohnwm]

After giving it some thought, I think my own Dream Fish would be one of the cool-water Goonches. I'll never get one, not building any more tanks, no way, no how.

But a Goonch would check all my boxes:

1. It's a cat! I love cats!

2. Cool water. I am concerned not only with heating/electricity costs, but also with what happens when the power goes out. I have been very lucky in the past regarding power outages, but I did lose a bunch of reptiles many years ago during an extended outage in Ontario, and my current home in Manitoba gets much colder than that place ever did. Having cool-tolerant fish is a source of comfort for me.

3. It's a big, impressive loner. I wouldn't think of it as a wet pet so much as a cranky neighbour...or in-law...

4. Not sure about this one, but I suspect it might be the kind of big-ass predator who considers tiny fish beneath its notice or dignity. I love the look of a big tank with one or more big fish...and a colony of tiny ones living out their lives "under the radar", so to speak.

My current favourite fish...my Jelly Cat...falls down the list a little due to requiring warmth, and also because it has no problem burning up 50 calories of energy to engulf a quarter-inch fish that yields one calorie.

 

[Chet E.]

I've always been impressed by the deeply lunate tails of the big water fish: tuna, swordfish, trevally, etc. Can you imagine the set-up for tuna? Uff da, if only there were small freshwater versions.

I agree, Crescent Shiners! They're high on my list, and Bonytails too. Dream fish don't have to be tropical, practical or legal.

 

[tlindsey]

The Leafy Sea dragon definitely a dream for me