Any Fish People? Or Aquarium Lovers?

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
I've always kept a tank as entertainment for the cats. Right now I have a 30 gallon tank on the dining room divider. Nothing elaborate, just a filter and decorations...three Koi and four regular goldfish. The Koi get pretty big so it's a nice mix. I know some tanks can be so fancy it turns into a science experiment keeping the water balanced. Something I miss is the last pet store I worked in. People would be moving or take down their aquariums and bring in their fish. I got some gorgeous fishies that way. But Koi are my favorite.
 

I lost my love of aquaria after my last bout with a 55-gallon salt-water tank. Like you said, you have to know some advanced science just to keep the inhabitants alive.
 
Yow, you were ambitious! Everything I've read about salt water tanks, nope I don't follow directions well at all.
 

I like looking at fish but they are just too much trouble to take care of. My new granddaughter was all upset cause some of her fish were dying. I didn't tell her this, but I was thinking, "You are young, just married, looking for a job, going to college, have a couple herniated discs in your back, moving in with your new mother-in-law, you will look back and wonder why you cried so much over a couple dead fish."

I have always thought, if I'm ever rich enough to hire a housekeeper/personal assistant/servant to take care of my fish, I want a bathroom with a fish tank embedded in the wall that looks like a port hole window in a submarine. I can sit on the toilet or maybe in the bathtub and watch the fish swim by.
 
I love looking into aquariums -- my pet store where I buy dog food has a whole room full of big aquariums with all kinds of fish. I find watching the fish tanks very zen inducing. But O'd never be able to manage one for myself -- a lot of trouble and money involved. Most of those beautiful fish are very fragile.
 
I also had a bout with a 55 gallon tank and fancy goldfish.. One would think goldfish would be easy... not the fancy variety... very expensive.. and lots of work.
 
Just a fresh water tank was tough enough and you really need to be dedicated to do a salt one. The nursing home one of my sisters lives in has a gorgeous salt tank built into one of the lobby walls that I enjoy...
 
Only in recent years did I learn some tricks for keeping a healthy tank. One was using a siphon vacuum to clean the gravel. The other was to never take the fish out of the tank. I used to put them in a container. An experienced fish person said that's too stressful, once they go in the tank they never leave it.
I'll have to post some pictures.:)
 
I think most people don't think fish have much personality, but if you watch this video, you might come to a different conclusion. This little fish apparently watches for its people to come in the door and gets very excited when he/she sees them come in, splashing around to get their attention and then basking in a moment of loving attention. So very cute!


Maybe the problem is that we don't get to really know them?
 
I really think there is intelligence in there. They watch us too. I'll be sitting at the table or standing at the counter and they'll all be gathered in the closest corner staring.
 
Debby said:
I think most people don't think fish have much personality, but if you watch this video, you might come to a different conclusion. This little fish apparently watches for its people to come in the door and gets very excited when he/she sees them come in, splashing around to get their attention and then basking in a moment of loving attention. So very cute!

Maybe the problem is that we don't get to really know them?
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That is so cute!

I wonder, though ... cichlids have, I believe, like many other fish, a protective layer of what I would call "slime" that covers their body and protects them from parasites. By massaging the fish would this not rub off that layer?

Or maybe I just have a faulty memory and it was some other fish species ...
 
I used to be a fan till I realized the upkeep. As a kid, we had all kinds of pets including fish, birds, cats, dogs, turtles. One of the other reasons I fell out of love with keeping sea creatures was the same reason I kind of gave up on most plants, they all die on me. Also, this reminds me, my best friends ex-beau named his pet fish, after me, which was a shark or a piranha, I can't remember exactly which it was now senility is a killer of brain cells. Anyway, he did so out of misguided reasons. Sigh

Back to fish and wanting, I would love a large aquarium, but, I would need someone else to maintain it and also a place large enough to contain it, guess I have to settle for visits to the ocean and watching the dolphins and other sea creatures swim by. :)
 
SifuPhil said:
I think that's certainly the most natural - and easiest - way to enjoy our finned friends.
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True, but couldn't you have at least thrown in, that you didn't think I deserved the shark piranha label the boyfriend of my friend gave me considering the person you've gotten to know from my postings as I come across as a perfectly sweet, tame delightful exuberant and oh so pleasant person. No? Don't answer.
 
AprilT said:
True, but couldn't you have at least thrown in, that you didn't think I deserved the shark piranha label the boyfriend of my friend gave me considering the person you've gotten to know from my postings as I come across as a perfectly sweet, tame delightful exuberant and oh so pleasant person. No? Don't answer.
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I HAVE to answer - you've thrown down the gauntlet, and I can NEVER ignore that. :eek:

I "know" you as April from your postings, yes. But the REAL April? I haven't the foggiest.

I've known a few people from the online world that seemed gentle, peaceful, trusting souls. When I got to know them better through personal email interchanges or even meeting them in person, they turned out to be serial killers or dolphin spankers.

Man, I HATE dolphin spankers! :mad:
 
SifuPhil said:
I HAVE to answer - you've thrown down the gauntlet, and I can NEVER ignore that. :eek:

I "know" you as April from your postings, yes. But the REAL April? I haven't the foggiest.

I've known a few people from the online world that seemed gentle, peaceful, trusting souls. When I got to know them better through personal email interchanges or even meeting them in person, they turned out to be serial killers or dolphin spankers.

Man, I HATE dolphin spankers! :mad:
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Oh Phil, I was kidding, I don't expect anyone to know the real me from my postings, some will love to hate me for the most part, but, none will truly know me just from my postings as I don't really know anyone here just snippets For one, I'm quite the introvert a very quiet person, who just happens to speak her mind. However, I do like to spank, but not dolphins.
 
AprilT said:
Oh Phil, I was kidding, I don't expect anyone to know the real me from my postings, some will love to hate me for the most part, but, none will truly know me just from my postings as I don't really know anyone here just snippets For one, I'm quite the introvert a very quiet person, who just happens to speak her mind. However, I do like to spank, but not dolphins.
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My kind of woman. :love_heart:

Likewise, most people here know me only as Phil the Court Jester, but that's just a mask. I am actually a world-renowned theologian who likes to tap dance and plant begonias.
 
SifuPhil said:
My kind of woman. :love_heart:

Likewise, most people here know me only as Phil the Court Jester, but that's just a mask. I am actually a world-renowned theologian who likes to tap dance and plant begonias.
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LOL! If I didn't know any better I could take that to mean you don't believe I'm an introvert, quiet type. :magnify: I must dig deeper for the meaning in the spoken/typed word or no rest for the weary. I kid you. What I really need to do is go stare at some fish, maybe eve go read Moby Dick.
 
My late husband was an aquarium enthusiast. We always had a tank of something going, fresh or salt water. Once, he decided to raise seahorses, so we got 12 nice little boys and raised them until they were old enough to mate. Then, we bought a nice mature female to complete the happy family (the males actually carry the young).

We introduced her to them; she swam around swishing her tail with a "hello, sailor" manner, looking quite fetching and definitely slutty/available. What did they do? They all retreated to the corner of the tank and hid in the coral, trembling in terror. Just our luck.....12 gay seahorses.

This went on for a couple of weeks...she'd flirt, they'd retreat, she'd flirt, they'd hide out in the coral. Then we went away for a weekend and the tank heater malfunctioned, cooking all of them. End of seahorse ranching.
 
Jujube, speaking of seahorses, took this at Mote Marine some years ago. Hey maybe the male seahorses were feigning gayness since they're the ones who have to carry the babies to term

mote marine sea horses.jpgf
 
AprilT said:
I used to be a fan till I realized the upkeep. As a kid, we had all kinds of pets including fish, birds, cats, dogs, turtles. One of the other reasons I fell out of love with keeping sea creatures was the same reason I kind of gave up on most plants, they all die on me. Also, this reminds me, my best friends ex-beau named his pet fish, after me, which was a shark or a piranha, I can't remember exactly which it was now senility is a killer of brain cells. Anyway, he did so out of misguided reasons. Sigh

Back to fish and wanting, I would love a large aquarium, but, I would need someone else to maintain it and also a place large enough to contain it, guess I have to settle for visits to the ocean and watching the dolphins and other sea creatures swim by. :)
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I just go down to the pet store and spend an hour in the fish rooms. Very relaxing, and clears the mind.
 
I love looking at fish aquariums, especially the salt water fish. We had a 20 gal and a 10 gal tank of fresh water fish a long time ago, but I got tired of trying to keep them clean and I didn't have much luck keeping the fish alive, so I eventually gave it up. Hubby made me a nice desert terrarium out of one of the tanks for my birthday, he worked on it in the basement and it was awesome, beautiful plants, sands and rocks...never had a clue that he was doing that down there, so it was really a nice surprise.
 
Butterfly said:
I just go down to the pet store and spend an hour in the fish rooms. Very relaxing, and clears the mind.
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I like how you think on this matter for sure. :)

SeaBreeze said:
I love looking at fish aquariums, especially the salt water fish. We had a 20 gal and a 10 gal tank of fresh water fish a long time ago, but I got tired of trying to keep them clean and I didn't have much luck keeping the fish alive, so I eventually gave it up. Hubby made me a nice desert terrarium out of one of the tanks for my birthday, he worked on it in the basement and it was awesome, beautiful plants, sands and rocks...never had a clue that he was doing that down there, so it was really a nice surprise.
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What a very sweet loving husband, times like these make me think I should go purchase me one. j/k, but he sounds like such a wonderful husband.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I love looking at fish aquariums, especially the salt water fish. We had a 20 gal and a 10 gal tank of fresh water fish a long time ago, but I got tired of trying to keep them clean and I didn't have much luck keeping the fish alive, so I eventually gave it up. Hubby made me a nice desert terrarium out of one of the tanks for my birthday, he worked on it in the basement and it was awesome, beautiful plants, sands and rocks...never had a clue that he was doing that down there, so it was really a nice surprise.
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That was really sweet!

Reminds me of the time the ex- couldn't keep the toilet clean, so I turned it into a cat fountain ... :eek:
 

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