My Newest Pets...and one of Olive.

[danaekitty]

Okay, so I've been working really hard on my aquariums lately - W4R, these pics are for you buddy...you've been so helpful!

I'll start with the smaller ones:
First one is the betta - housed in a 10g with 6 Kuhli loaches.

Next is one of two Penguin Tetras, in the 20g. I bought them to match my Zebra Danios. I also bought, just to follow the colour scheme, some Julii Cory Cats

[danaekitty]

Next come the biggest fish I have ever bought. The first is an Abramite Headstander. They swim vertically most of the time. Pretty cool. He (I actually think it's a she, there were two in the tank I boughht her from and she was the chasee) is about 7" long.

I also bought two larger Spotted Silver Dollars. Ther largets one is about 3".

I joined my larger (5") Clown Loach with the two babies I bought a couple weeks ago. Despite the dramatic entrance made by the big guy (falling on the floor and then jumping into the big tank with no acclimatization), they were overjoyed to be united, and are inseperable, except when the big guy needs a rest and jams himself between two rock, his new fave place, for hours on end, alarming me quite a lot.

[danaekitty]

Here's the whole gang, getting along quite nicely.

A shot of one of my 3 Blue Gouramis. Hungry fellas.

And my sweetie Olive, because she was trying to hog the camera while I was photographig my dudes. Zelda was probably passed out in the closet, although she loves my clown loaches. I think they tease her.

[otter]

Cool fishies

I'm a wannabe aquarium owner... just never had the guts to go for a big enough tank and I was never able to get much in my tiny 5G tank so I gave up after the last move (well, it was actually after my cat Shadow fished the last of my fish out of the tank and onto my bed - must remember that I need a cover if i'm every to have fish again ).

Olive is sooooo cute, sitting, and looking, just like my Clover No fishes are going to tease him!

[danaekitty]

Otter - It's definitely easier the bigger you go, size-wise. And it addictive! I started out with a 10g and now also run a 20 and a 65!

[rainbow]

Ooooo ....lots of cool coloured fish. And, Olive looks so content lying on her back.

[want4rain]

shoot!! i coulda swore i replied to this!! im sorry!! i am so insanely jealous of how well you photograph fish!!

your Abramite Headstander is really beautiful! we dont see those here very often. you mind sticking some lettuce in there for them on occasion? maybe a sideways terracotta pot??

did i ever tell you that i catch bugs for my betta?? little tiny soft ones like wheat moths.

hwos everyone doing???

-ash

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Nice pics! Those came out really good, what kind of Camera are you using?

Your one clown looks fat and healthy, you need to get the others fed up

I didn't know you had an Abramites. Does it bother your gouramis? Mine will chew up any fish that can't outrun it or beat it up, so he's in with my africans.

If you like headstanders these are really cool too (I think you can see my Abramites at the end), and so are Anostomus anostomus which are a smaller variety you can either keep alone or in groups. The only problem with most headstanders is they notoriously don't get along with other headstanders.
Pencilfish look similar and I think are more peaceful.

My Leporinus and Abramites really shouldn't be together but somehow it works. I keep forgetting to get video, but they get in these battles where they swim along ramming into each other and opening and closing their mouths, then one will ram the other one into the bottom of the tank and they'll do barrel rolls and stuff. It's really weird, but they never actually do any damage to each other.

[potter]

I love fishes! Very cool betta!

[danaekitty]

Originally Posted by want4rain

i am so insanely jealous of how well you photograph fish!!

Originally Posted by MyBirdIsEvil

Nice pics! Those came out really good, what kind of Camera are you using?

Thanks, I'm actually a professional photog, I use a Nikon D70.

Originally Posted by want4rain

your Abramite Headstander is really beautiful! we dont see those here very often. you mind sticking some lettuce in there for them on occasion? maybe a sideways terracotta pot??

I should...do they like to hide? It's really hard to find good info on them.

Originally Posted by want4rain

did i ever tell you that i catch bugs for my betta?? little tiny soft ones like wheat moths.

hwos everyone doing???

-ash

Everyone's doing okay - especially since I started feeding them frozen bloodworms every other day! My pleco seems to be okay...still hides all the time but his forehead wound looks much better. I think something's wrong with the heater on my 10g though - I had it on it's lowest and it still puts the water at 88!!! I unplugged it and opened the lid to let some heat out as soon as I discovered it, since that's the tank for the kuhli's and the betta, who like colder temps like 75... it's sitting at about 72 right now w/o the heater. I'll probably just wait until after the summer is over - I don't have a/c in my new house so it will probably stay a good temp all summer.

Originally Posted by MyBirdIsEvil

Your one clown looks fat and healthy, you need to get the others fed up

I didn't know you had an Abramites. Does it bother your gouramis? Mine will chew up any fish that can't outrun it or beat it up, so he's in with my africans.

My big clown I've had since November, the other two I just got a few weeks back. The big one is LAZY, he just naps in his hidey hole all afternoon while the other two play. He's pretty frisky in the mornings though, but sometimes he sleeps late and misses out on the bloodworms.

I just got the Abramites last weekend. He does nip at the sides of the gouramis - but only if they directly cross his path. He was the chasee in the aquarium I got him from...another of his species was being very aggressive toward him so I rescued him. He pretty much keeps to himself.

I have a question - He doesn't seem to be eating as much as the others at feeding time...do they find food easily in the plastic plants, or off the ground or something? I worry because the gouramis eat like fiends from the surface and the ground, and I can't really tell if he's getting enough.

Originally Posted by MyBirdIsEvil

My Leporinus and Abramites really shouldn't be together but somehow it works. I keep forgetting to get video, but they get in these battles where they swim along ramming into each other and opening and closing their mouths, then one will ram the other one into the bottom of the tank and they'll do barrel rolls and stuff. It's really weird, but they never actually do any damage to each other.

That leporinus is very cool - how big is he? That's crazy about the battles - almost like they're play-wrestling or something.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Originally Posted by danaekitty

Thanks, I'm actually a professional photog, I use a Nikon D70.

That explains it. I just bought a Canon Rebel a few months ago and I can't even figure out all the settings on it yet, lol. It takes such good photos on the automatic setting I haven't messed with it much though.

I have a question - He doesn't seem to be eating as much as the others at feeding time...do they find food easily in the plastic plants, or off the ground or something? I worry because the gouramis eat like fiends from the surface and the ground, and I can't really tell if he's getting enough.

Oh no, he's fine. They're mainly algae and plant eaters, so he'll graze on everything on the surface of the aquarium and decorations. If you watch him enough you'll probably catch him feeding. They have very small mouths but they have tiny sharp teeth for scraping algae off of stuff. If you put zucchini and other plant matter in there he'll eat that too. Once he settles in he should start eating more pellet based food too and may even turn into quite a pig (I know mine is). They'll also go around picking anything edible out of the substrate.
Between mine and the Leporinus they can eat a 2 foot long jungle val within a couple of days. They really rip into certain plants.

That leporinus is very cool - how big is he? That's crazy about the battles - almost like they're play-wrestling or something.

I think he's probably around 6 inches long. That species doesn't get longer than 8 inches, but the fasciatus which is more commonly sold (that's actually what I bought him as) gets around 14 inches long and they tend to be very aggressive.

[danaekitty]

So when you bought him you thought you were buying something different?

[want4rain]

Oh no, he's fine. They're mainly algae and plant eaters, so he'll graze on everything on the surface of the aquarium and decorations. If you watch him enough you'll probably catch him feeding. They have very small mouths but they have tiny sharp teeth for scraping algae off of stuff. If you put zucchini and other plant matter in there he'll eat that too. Once he settles in he should start eating more pellet based food too and may even turn into quite a pig (I know mine is). They'll also go around picking anything edible out of the substrate.
Between mine and the Leporinus they can eat a 2 foot long jungle val within a couple of days. They really rip into certain plants.

yep, you can try different leafy green veggies along with cucumbers... your pleco will appreciate those too.

as for your abramite, there was some chat abotu them on another forum im part of about being cave dwellers. not sure how to reproduce that in an aquarium other than pots or slate shelves... although your pleco would probably appreciate a slate shelf to hang out under too. i get my slate from the local hardware whatever place like Lowes and then bash it up in to natural looking pieces, use some pea gravel to take the edges off of them! thsoe suckers get SHARP!! but look oh so good.

think you can get me a full tank shot??? id *love* it, i already love the large river rocks!!

-ash

[Ford Girl]

Awww, so colorful!!!

The kitties day dreaming of snack time....