What made you get into monster fish?

[Jexnell]

My two pride and joys I raised since back in the game.
Of course I got an Oscar when I got back into the hobby.
Started with

Grew it out to
Then I rehomed her since my water is the exact opposite of an Oscar's needs.
After a couple bumps in the road I got some Amphilophus Saggitae

After they sorted down to a pair, breed a couple times, I just have the jerk Casper left.

In September it will be three years, and he's somewhere around a foot in length

 

[Scrappy71113]

My two pride and joys I raised since back in the game.
Of course I got an Oscar when I got back into the hobby.
Started with
View attachment 1451795
Grew it out toView attachment 1451794
Then I rehomed her since my water is the exact opposite of an Oscar's needs.
After a couple bumps in the road I got some Amphilophus Saggitae
View attachment 1451796
After they sorted down to a pair, breed a couple times, I just have the jerk Casper left.
View attachment 1451797
In September it will be three years, and he's somewhere around a foot in length

They are GORGEOUS!!! ?

 

[Joshuakahan]

I need some cheering up, so this one is for fun. What made you decide that monster fish are for you?

As a child growing up, I had a 20 gallon tank full of a variety of tetras and danios.
But every time I was allowed to pick out a fish, I always went after the ones that got HUGE and I was always told no. Baby arowana, piranha (before they were illegal where I grew up), archer fish, black sharks. I even tried to convince my parents to let me keep a baby pike I caught out of the river ?
So basically, I was always drawn to the larger fish.
I still don't have the space or tanks to keep most of the fish I want, but someday I will.

Also, let's see those giant wiggly water babies!

It was literally Jeremy Wade, I always kept African cichlids and reef tanks. Then after watching RM I started watching monster fish on YouTube and decided to sell my salt and Rifties and get some oddball predators and it went from there. I have smaller monsters though since I don’t have room for true monsters. My endlicheri is my most monstrous fish. My current monsters/oddballs are
Endlicheri
Delhezi
WC Senegal
WC weeksii
Malawi barracuda
Red wolf fish
And a hemichromis frempongi

 

[Jim bean 20055]

I was fishing in a canal near my school, and my mother and grandmother were in the car waiting for me. I told them I was gonna catch a fish and take it back to my koi pond. I tied the hook and put a nice juicy worm on it. In less than 10 seconds (no kidding) I had a huge bite ( it seemed huge cause the fish line was a 4-pound test) and little did I know a largemouth was on the other side of the line. I reeled it in as fast as I could. I was reeling and suddenly my heart sunk. Right, when I landed it the hook had fallen out and it was flopping towards the water. I quickly grabbed it to my surprise as I had never really touched too many fish. I got some water put it in a bucket and told my mom and grandma to drive home fast as I waited. I waited for about 10 minutes and they were back. That really is what got me into fish keeping. A couple of months later it was trying to eat koi way too big so I tried to catch it again. I struggled for a whole month (no kidding) and finally caught it again. (I also caught a couple of koi lolllll) It had grown about 3-5 inches in about 2 months. It was amazing to see striker (I named him that) again. My brother and dad drove me to the canal to release it. This is why I love peacock bass even though they need a bigger home.


edit: its way easier to write about something you love rather than boring essays for school

 

[dr exum]

a little RTC i bought at lfs w/o researching and talking shop keepers word that it would be good living in a 75g ?

 

[fishguy1978]

a little RTC i bought at lfs w/o researching and talking shop keepers word that it would be good living in a 75g ?

Ok, for a minute

 

[Ogertron3000]

My two pride and joys I raised since back in the game.
Of course I got an Oscar when I got back into the hobby.
Started with
View attachment 1451795
Grew it out toView attachment 1451794
Then I rehomed her since my water is the exact opposite of an Oscar's needs.
After a couple bumps in the road I got some Amphilophus Saggitae
View attachment 1451796
After they sorted down to a pair, breed a couple times, I just have the jerk Casper left.
View attachment 1451797
In September it will be three years, and he's somewhere around a foot in length

This is exactly what I was talking about in my previous post!

 

[Deadeye]

I have had fish for a long time, but I’ve always liked big or aggressive animals, they’re just more fun.
My love for monsters first came with my 3 pacu and 3 leporinus in a 60 gallon (remember when petsmart had those?).
After a while we got rid of those.
I actually got more into reptiles after that, but my brother was always hooked on fish, so naturally we hooked forces and each got into each other’s realms.
My first monster after a long time was my banded leporinus (more of a small demon than monster), and shortly after a red belly piranha. Now it’s mostly cichlids.
The only true monster I’ve ever had was my pacu (one day I’ll have a tank fit for a school).

It has inspired a bucket list for me though:
Arowana
Aimara or red wolf
Stingray
Lionfish
Festae
Oscar
Parachromis
Shark
Find a way to legally acquire a snakehead

 

[Scrappy71113]

a little RTC i bought at lfs w/o researching and talking shop keepers word that it would be good living in a 75g ?

Holy crap, I hate this!!!
The pet store ten minutes away from me has oscars and the tag says "40 gallon aquarium is recommended"
40 GALLON!!!!
I kept one in a 55 gallon for 10 years and had to do every other day water changes just to keep the water check!!! A freaking 55 gallon is WAY too small for an oscar!!! I wouldnt settle for anything less than 100 gallons for an adult after what I experienced!!!
And the other pet store says they only get 8 inches!!!
The only place I have ever been where they were honest was a pet shop in alaska when I was a child. I wanted a baby oscar and the pet store guy told me that i would wake up in the morning and all of my fish would be gone except for the oscar and I would only be able to keep it for a few months because it would outgrow my tank.
And the chinese banded high fins, I saw those at the pet store the other day. No size listed on the tag! I wanted one cuz they look gorgeous, so I googled it and thankfully I did! I don't have a tank big enough for one of those!
Or the red tailed catfish they sell as only getting 12" long!!!
Or the blue channel cats that "can grow up to 6 inches"
SERIOUSLY?!?!?!

sorry about the explosion of the can of worms, but this misleading pet store thing really annoys me...

 

[Scrappy71113]

I have had fish for a long time, but I’ve always liked big or aggressive animals, they’re just more fun.
My love for monsters first came with my 3 pacu and 3 leporinus in a 60 gallon (remember when petsmart had those?).
After a while we got rid of those.
I actually got more into reptiles after that, but my brother was always hooked on fish, so naturally we hooked forces and each got into each other’s realms.
My first monster after a long time was my banded leporinus (more of a small demon than monster), and shortly after a red belly piranha. Now it’s mostly cichlids.
The only true monster I’ve ever had was my pacu (one day I’ll have a tank fit for a school).

It has inspired a bucket list for me though:
Arowana
Aimara or red wolf
Stingray
Lionfish
Festae
Oscar
Parachromis
Shark
Find a way to legally acquire a snakehead

Lionfish is definitely on my bucket list. I want a cuttlefish too!
But saltwater seems so intimidating at the moment. I would like to get some hands on experience before I dive into that side of the hobby.