Hay from Almi.

[Almi]

Hi, my name is Jamie and I'm 19. I live in Fargo, ND and I work at a small, family owned pet store. As of now we only sell puppies, kittens, rabbits, cavies, rats, and hamsters. We will soon be expanding, and will then carry freshwater and saltwater fish.

And that is why I'm here. I know next to nothing about saltwater fish, so I intend to browse the forums and post questions.

Enough about that though, this is my intro thread, so here goes.

I'm actually a rodent/furry things person mostly, and I run a rodent rescue and breed hamsters. My menagerie consists of:

- 4 rabbits (5 atm because of one we're babysitting)
- 3 cavies
- 3 sugar gliders
- 5 rats
- 10 mice
- 3 gerbils
- 6 Syrian hamsters + 3 adolescents
- 4 winter white/hybrid dwarf hamsters
- 13 Campbell's dwarf hamsters + 9 adolescents
- 3 Roborovski dwarf hamsters
- 2 doves
- 6 budgies
- 7 frogs
- 1 millipede
- 4 fish


Don't worry, all have proper accomodations, are given only the best of food and bedding, are spoiled with treats and toys, and receive veterinary care.

And actually, my oldest pet is a fish, right beside one of my rabbits.

Here's Ges, my male auratus. I've had him for over 6 years.




Now I have a question. I keep him in a 10 gallon - by himself of course. Is that okay? I mean, as far as I know, auratus can only get 4-5 inches long, and that's how big he is, and hasn't grown for a long time. He's always very healthy and active and follows me when I walk by his tank (or hangs out on the side I'm standing/sitting by, like he's doing now since his tank is right next to me). I'm asking because my boss was like, ORLY? I never recommend anything smaller than a 20 gallon for cichlids. And I'm just like...well...auratus don't get that big and I only have one...

Can anyone shed some light?


Anyway, other than that I have two bettas and an otocinclus. They're all in a 10 gallon with a divider. I actually have another question here, but I think I'll make a new thread about it in the proper place.

And yeah...all I'll ever have is 10 gallons. I used to have fish in my 55, but I absolutely hated taking care of it, and well, 55 gallons scares me, and I don't even think I COULD fill it with water even if I wanted to because of apartment regulations. So yeah...I'll stick with my frogs in a 55.

So if anyone wants a big filtration system and a Python...haha...

[frogman5]

hey welcome to the forum...sugar gliders are awesome

how much for the big filtration system and python

[Blue Cray]

Welccome to FF and he was right 10g is too small for a fish that size I'd recommend about 30g for just that fish.

[Ichthius]

Welcome to FF!

I have to agree that Ges would be better off in a larger tank. You've obviously taken good care of him for him to have done this well in a smaller tank over the years.

[Almi]

My boss is actually a woman...she's very nice and not that much older than I am.

30 gallons for ONE 4-5 inch fish?! Couldn't you fit at least a couple of auratus in a 30 gallon?


Frogman - haha, offer? The system was like $80 after a rebate and the python I don't even remember how much. Wasn't cheap.

[Felicia]

Welcome! I think I recognize your name from the hamster forum.

For the record, I strongly oppose overstocking. I have a low stocking density in all of my own aquariums.

In 2001, I bought my dad a baby Jack Dempsey cichlid and a 10 gallon tank for his birthday. At that time, I also bought a 55 gallon and kept it in storage for when "Jack" got bigger. (I think a 75 gallon should really be the "minimum" for this species, though.) That fish is now about 8 inches long and still lives in the 10 gallon tank. My dad says he doesn't have the room to put up the 55 gallon tank. So I took it home and now I have my Roborovski hamsters in it...

I have to admit, Jack is the prettiest Jack Dempsey I've ever seen. I'm not sure why, but I think it's because there is no light on the tank, they do a small daily water change, and they feed him the food I tell them to. He has always been in good condition and very colorful.

Most cichlids in general are extremely hardy. Some can have a long lifespan in captivity if kept in a large tank. I've talked to a lot of people over the years who had cichlids that were 15+ years old. I once talked to a fellow who was in his 60's, said he bought his Oscar when he was right out of college, and it was still alive. I have a feeling my dad's Jack won't live to be 30, but 8 years and going strong isn't bad.