rant on 125s

fishhead0103666

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I like 125s. I have two waiting for me to have time to build the stands. One is to be my Tanganyika tank the other is still up in the air for the most part probably a ca biotope tank...ish.
You already know my suggestion, some catfish would look real nice in there. Perhaps an african themed tank with a group of synodontis eurupterus. :popcorn:
 
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Hybridfish7

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Really? 80% of 125s? Are you talking about ones you see on MFK? Because I don't think that's the case. Or maybe you're saying in your own personal experience of what you've seen? I agree in that I love a natural looking tank. No circus colored gravel here! Lol ?
Mostly on Google, I haven't seen many 125s on mfk
And like I said 125s are a great model, so many possibilities for biotopes, especially hillstreams, though again like I said I understand it also being perfect for pairs of big amphilophines and the like
 

Backfromthedead

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Definitely appreciate natural aquascapes, but i think theres some really cool artificially decorated tanks that look great too. I have no problem with colorful gravel and rocks. I may put together a dedicated flowerhorn tank with exactly that kind of decor one day.

Mushutherhinoscorpion Mushutherhinoscorpion had or has an eel tank with a great looking skull theme.
 

Ogertron3000

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I think it comes down to personal taste, its not my thing at all but if it makes someone happy to have such a tank then why not? The people with the coloured gravel/artificial decor tanks arent really serious fishkeepers IMO as snobbish as that sounds they just want something that looks nice to them in their house, no real harm in that.
I prefer biotopes as number 1 then aquascapes as a 2nd choice, anything on the more natural side really.
You dont need a 125 to do a nice biotope though, im currently setting up a 40G as a loose C.A biotope. Dont let a smaller tank stop you from doing what you want, just adjust your expectations and stocking and you can do the best you can with what you have.
 

Joshuakahan

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a good 80% of 125s look absolutely horrible in my opinion. most of them are just rainbow gravel'd or bare bottomed, are stocked full of line bred/hybrid cichlids, dying oscars, goldfish, or bichir. Bichir are acceptable fish in that case. Wild oscars are also acceptable in that case. I don't want to be gatekeeping things like goldfish, red spotted severums, EBA's, etc, but to be honest I don't like them. I've come full circle, and let's just say my username on here is outdated. Filling a $600 tank with fake decor and rainbow gravel just seems like a waste to me. 125s are a good model, and if I could afford one I'd just make a big biotope out of it. Cost for decor in that case isn't even a factor, I can easily find someone who's trimming their trees or something to get good looking branches for free, leaf litter is free, and I can sneak some nice rocks out of a lake, for free. Of course a good looking tank is very relative to your idea of beauty in a fish tank, but in my opinion, I don't understand how a bunch of big ugly fish in a 6 foot long tank with a thin layer of pink gravel and marbles on the bottom with some plastic plants, sitting somewhere in your house is aesthetic in any way. I know for 90% of a fact that it's meant to be aesthetic, because most people who dedicate a room to fish and have it more hidden away, and usually do have not so aesthetic tanks that are more made for practicality, usually won't keep fish like that in such a large tank that can be used to house more fish for one, and two, more interesting species. I do understand not having decorations in a tank like that for things like larger cichlids because they'll bang themselves up, and they do need the space for themselves. but 3 goldfish in a 125? part of the reason I think goldfish shouldn't be prizes at fairs, because they end up eating hundreds of dollars out of the pockets of the right people. Fin
I think those are ugly as well, but that’s all subjective. I like fake plants as long as they’re the realistic ones. In the end it only matters if you’re happy with your setup.
 

Joshuakahan

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I think it comes down to personal taste, its not my thing at all but if it makes someone happy to have such a tank then why not? The people with the coloured gravel/artificial decor tanks arent really serious fishkeepers IMO as snobbish as that sounds they just want something that looks nice to them in their house, no real harm in that.
I prefer biotopes as number 1 then aquascapes as a 2nd choice, anything on the more natural side really.
You dont need a 125 to do a nice biotope though, im currently setting up a 40G as a loose C.A biotope. Dont let a smaller tank stop you from doing what you want, just adjust your expectations and stocking and you can do the best you can with what you have.
I like the more realistic looking tanks as far as decor is concerned, I don’t care about realism as far as stocking fish from the same local. My wife had her own community tank and she literally said and did make it as pink and tacky as possible. That’s why there’s so many choices to accommodate all the different tastes.
 
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esoxlucius

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The purist will go for a biotope with geographically correct stocking of fish and plants, all of which are chosen very carefully depending on what their water's like.

At the other end of the scale, yes, you may have plastic plants, illuminous gravel, eye sore decorations and fish from all over the place.

It's all down to personal taste, and from pics of tanks i've seen on here over the years we cover all tastes.

Me, personally? I'm far from a purist, I also hate the freaky looking fake look. I'm somewhere in between I suppose.
 

burntrubber

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I do not use any sort of fake decor. I find that you can have a natural looking tank with choice and placement of rocks, wood, substrate. I have even used stuff like dried palm, indian almond leaf and coconut husk.

As all have mentioned its a matter of personal preferences and views. I once commented on a famous fish youtuber who used his huge deep tank as a backdrop, and stocked it with fancy goldfish, the fish were tumbling around like laundry in a washer. His legion of fans didn't like it and I was burnt to a crisp.
 
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duanes

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Although this post may seem a tad “undude” to some, I must admit I find your rant rather refreshening, although I see there’s a lot of minor flack seething behind the scenes.

It may belong in a place like the Lounge, where these type diatribes are often aired.

And although I consider myself rather open minded about most things in the world, as an example, even though I’m approaching 70, I find a purple haired or shaved headed one legged women just as entrancing as I did when I was 20.

My tolerance for all things fish related, is much more limited though.
Unlike a purple haired women, I find pink and blue colored gravel, Greek pantheons, and fake skulls in tanks rather ridiculous. Same with fake coral and underwater waterfalls when used, as non-natural as decor.
Butharder to take for me is….
when I see a Central American cichlid display tank with barbs or loaches, or some similar continental mismatch, it’s equally as cringe eliciting to me, (unless of course the cichlids are Etroplines housed with Indian Barbus species).
I’m getting to a point in my intolerance of the unnatural, where even a continent is sometimes to vast for my idea of a “proper” biotope.

Or a too big of fish in a too small a tank is even worse, because it’s not only a question of aesthetics, but general well being of the fish itself. The 125 gal you speak of should have nothing larger the a 12” fish IMO.

And don’t get me started hybrids……with a couple thousand cichlid species already in the world, the egoism of some amateurs need to create hybrids, and mutants is incomprehensible to me, but probably agrees with my disdain for the fascist jack-boot trend of the day.

Yet in today’s world where a person can release a recording without the ability to sing 50% of its notes in key, and sell millions, because of the advent of auto-tune, it into be expected.
 
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