Hello everyone,
My name is Mike and I live in Tampa Bay, Florida. I haven't had a fish tank since my college days in the late 80's in Northeast Philadelphia. I had several tanks and was a regular at a giant, awesome fish store called Martin's aquarium.
I had a snakehead, an oscar and some piranhas but looking back, I was a clueless newb and never gave my fish the care they deserved. I didnt know any better, and there werent as many resources such as the internet.
Fast forward another 20 years, and the bug is back. I diont have to tell you guys about the joys of just sitting in front of your tank and enjoying your fish. Im craving that again. So Im doing research, checking out tanks in stores and craigslist, but more than anything Im researching the myriad fish breeds out there. As you can tell from my past fish, I like the predators, but Ive also matured since then. Not that predators are immature, but when I had them, I was.
So Im debating which way to go. At this point, Im still a fan of oscars, but wont ever keep them in less than 75 gallons, and I might not be up for that size yet. Im pretty impressed with the mbunas, but have no experience with them. At this point, my thoughts are to get a 40-55 gallon long tank, and put three baby oscars in it, then get them a bigger tank when they grow up, and then convert the 40-55 to a mbuna tank.
I was at a lfs the other day, and saw three unusually beautiful baby oscars, an albino, a tiger and a red which is what I want. The tiger had some silver and blue streaks that were just gorgeous, the albino was a little terror and the red was just perfect. Decisions, decisions.
I have a line on a 55er with a metal stand and two biowheels for $90 and a couple others, the first good deal on a nice tank Im going to pull the trigger. I also have a guy who wants to barter what he says is his ex roommates 120 gallon set up but he says its 4 feet wide so Im waiting to hear from him.
My main concern is ending up with a dud tank, so Im staying away from anything too old. Im also considering a corner tank which I dont usually like because of the short length, but if its only temporary and would work for mbunas later, Id consider it.
Thats my story, very glad to be here, thanks,
Mike
My name is Mike and I live in Tampa Bay, Florida. I haven't had a fish tank since my college days in the late 80's in Northeast Philadelphia. I had several tanks and was a regular at a giant, awesome fish store called Martin's aquarium.
I had a snakehead, an oscar and some piranhas but looking back, I was a clueless newb and never gave my fish the care they deserved. I didnt know any better, and there werent as many resources such as the internet.
Fast forward another 20 years, and the bug is back. I diont have to tell you guys about the joys of just sitting in front of your tank and enjoying your fish. Im craving that again. So Im doing research, checking out tanks in stores and craigslist, but more than anything Im researching the myriad fish breeds out there. As you can tell from my past fish, I like the predators, but Ive also matured since then. Not that predators are immature, but when I had them, I was.
So Im debating which way to go. At this point, Im still a fan of oscars, but wont ever keep them in less than 75 gallons, and I might not be up for that size yet. Im pretty impressed with the mbunas, but have no experience with them. At this point, my thoughts are to get a 40-55 gallon long tank, and put three baby oscars in it, then get them a bigger tank when they grow up, and then convert the 40-55 to a mbuna tank.
I was at a lfs the other day, and saw three unusually beautiful baby oscars, an albino, a tiger and a red which is what I want. The tiger had some silver and blue streaks that were just gorgeous, the albino was a little terror and the red was just perfect. Decisions, decisions.
I have a line on a 55er with a metal stand and two biowheels for $90 and a couple others, the first good deal on a nice tank Im going to pull the trigger. I also have a guy who wants to barter what he says is his ex roommates 120 gallon set up but he says its 4 feet wide so Im waiting to hear from him.
My main concern is ending up with a dud tank, so Im staying away from anything too old. Im also considering a corner tank which I dont usually like because of the short length, but if its only temporary and would work for mbunas later, Id consider it.
Thats my story, very glad to be here, thanks,
Mike
