Hulver's site || Comments || Do you know the muffin man?

I've been down the aquarium path many times. by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #4 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 01:54:07 PM EST

And am fairly comfortable with fish husbandry. Putting an Oscar in a thirty gallon tank is one of those things I've flagged as "not a good idea." Yes, they will grow to the size of their surroundings, but for me, I won't put a fish into a tank where they can't grow to their full size. Stunting them just because you can doesn't seem right to me.

I'm a big cichlid head from way back. Jack Dempsey, Convict, Firemouth, and all sorts of Africans. Even had an Oscar once, but ended up giving him back when he started to look uncomfortable in the 55 I had for him. I decided then I won't buy a fish that has the potential to outgrow his/her tank.

BTW, that rule of thumb? Bunk. I know it's a nice beginner concept, but 12 inches of Oscar is a HELL of a lot different than 12 inches of guppy. I'm also not a big believer that all large tanks should be marine. I like marine and fresh, but my ultimate dream is a really, REALLY big tank, like 300+ gallon, housing a central american large-fish community. Freshwater.

We won't be doing that anytime soon at all. But hey, it's a nice future dream.

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Maybe all large tanks shouldn't be marine by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #5 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 01:56:10 PM EST

But all marine tanks should be large. I had a 30 gal marine and it was almost too small.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}
[ Parent ]

Not that myth either. by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #6 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 02:07:43 PM EST

There's entire communities built up around the idea of marine tanks from less than half a gallon to thirty gallons. Granted, you have to bust your ass every damn day to make that work, and have fresh water compensation, and test every possible parameter daily, but it's possible.

I personally probably wouldn't do a marine system that totalled less than fifty gallons including sump, but that's because I'm a lazy SOB.

[ Parent ]

Wow. Lunatics on patrol by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #7 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 02:10:19 PM EST

A 30 gal marine in the Utah desert required daily maintenance. I don't want to think of the maintenance required for a 10 gal marine tank.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}
[ Parent ]

Those people are pretty nuts. by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #8 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 02:13:44 PM EST

Some of them spend over three hundred dollars on controllers for fresh water compensation to automagically keep salinity levels within the propper parameters on tanks less than ten gallons. I personally can't imagine investing that much in the entire aquarium setup if it's less than thirty.

But, hey, I'm sure most of them wouldn't spend three hundred bucks on an electric pickup for a violin either.

[ Parent ]

We are, each of us, lunatics, in our own way. by wiredog (2.00 / 0) #9 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 02:28:21 PM EST

Especially around this place.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}
[ Parent ]

: tw00 dat! by nightflameblue (2.00 / 0) #10 Fri Mar 28, 2008 at 02:35:08 PM EST

We each find our own ways to make it apparent.
I just wish I had a few less ways, if you know what I mean.

[ Parent ]