This post is about fish

[damselfish]

I set up my Fluval about three weeks ago, which means it's finally almost ready for fish!


I really wanted to do a planted aquarium, so I spent forever looking for suitable dirt (okay, okay, substrate) and finally found it only to realize two things: it made my apartment smell like a pond, and I love fake plants. Real plants are better for the fish, but fake plants are so pretty!

I'll probably pull the silk plant on the left, because it doesn't look as good in water as it does in the store, but I'm not sure I can pull that white plant. I love it so. I'll replace the left-plant with a rotala I bought, and probably plant a red tiger lotus in the center-back and other things to hide the intake and stand. I may also replace the centerpiece; it's a fake mopani wood bit, but I couldn't find any rocks or real wood that I actually liked. This may be fake and kind of fake looking, but it's got a great shape to it.

Anyway, so last week I went to a couple stores. I poked at The Planted Tank forums and found some places that sell freshwater here in south Miami, including The Neighborhood Fish Farm. I'd been there once upon a time and liked it, so I went back.

I walked out with a rotala plant and a betta. I didn't intend to buy a fish, I just wanted to scope out the possibilities, but there were these gorgeous bettas and hey, they can survive in tap water. So I bought him.


This pic is not representative of the fish. I have a couple videos where he is all COME AT ME, BRO because that's how he always is. I walk up to the bowl and he's doing his damnest to get at me. I have to tap the water to feed him, or he'll never look away from me long enough to realize he's being fed. I've never had such an aggressive or active betta before, but I've only had pet store veiltails-- this guy is a dragon scale halfmoon, which is way fancier than a veiltail (halfmoon is apparently the gold standard tail shape, I just liked the sparkly scales).

The fish and the rotala are both currently in quarantine in a bowl until I am sure the rotala isn't harboring hitchhikers, and the betta was gonna stay there until my LED lights came in for the Fluval, since the halogen heats the water up by about 6 degrees during the 8 hours they're on, which would cook the fish. Then I realized... despite having seen videos of bettas in Fluvals, I really shouldn't keep one in there. So now I have to buy a little tank for the betta.

Which opens up space for the Fluval again. I'm not sure what I want to stock it with. I want a schooling group, a "specimen" fish (the standouts), and some sort of bottom feeder (or any combination depending on how the stocking mixes and matches since it's a tight fit). My options are:

Small, schooling
Galaxy/celestial pearl danio - y'know, if I can find them. But they're really cool fish, if extremely rare. If I do get them I'll probably have to order them in from online. I am uneasy about wild caught having superior coloration though, since I'm generally opposed to wild caught fish: these guys in particular are becoming endangered in their native habitat due to collectors getting them for their home aquariums.

Rummy-nose tetra - Love these guys, but they can be kind of delicate. They look cool, and they're fairly visible in an aquarium, but tetras in general aren't all that visually interesting. They're background fish.

Congo tetra - I have never seen them in person, but I will snatch them up if I do.

White cloud minnow - Another background fish, but they can be pretty zippy and they look fairly sharp with their red fins.

Zebra danio - or some other kind of danio. Not as flashy as the celestial, but readily available, cheap, and fairly visible with the color scheme I've got.

Specimen fish
Fancy guppy - Lawd, what can I say about guppies? I've had a crapton of them in my old aquarium. They're colorful, active, and personable.

Koi Swordtail - These are really eye-catching, and swordtails are pretty easy to keep. I'd prefer a sanshoku swordtail, but they can be a real devil to find. Liveaquaria doesn't even carry them anymore.

Scarlet badi - I have never heard of these fish before, but saw them while cruising the net and they are pretty much... perfect.

Catfish
Oto cat - They stay small, and I will probably need algae eaters. My options are pretty much these guys or amano shrimp, and honestly inverts can be tricky, especially those.

Corydoras - Cories are essentially my favorite fish ever, but they are probably too big for my aquarium. We'll see. But srsly take your pick, they are all adorable and full of character.