# Unusual Aquarium Inhabitants



## Highland lake13 (Nov 16, 2008)

On this site i haven't heard of many unusual fish, inverts, or plants. Now i know there are people out there with unusual things in his/her tank. So i'll start and then poeple chime in.

It all started about a year and a half ago when i had a thriving community tank and then it all fell apart. I'll spare the details but it ended ugly with most of the fish dieing and others finding new homes:evil:. So i had an empty tank and had no idea waht to do with it. Near the end of the cycle i went fly fishing with a friend on a pond on his property. We both were talking when i caught a small-mouth bass fry, only about an 1" long. So he and i thought it was a cool idea to take it home for the tank and now i have 3 small-mouth bass and 4 golden shiners, and 5 natural crawfish, with a buch of small bugs and cool drift wood. i am talking to the fish and game department and they may allow me to raise brook trout, rainbow trout (like the one in my avatar) and/or atlantic salmon :-D. Trying to post pics but continue the thread.

~Cam


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I've mentioned it in other threads before, but some day I'd really like to start a big tank with locally caught fish (I'm from Maryland). I think it would be really cool, and you never see local fish in fish tanks. Plus, I just like the analogues we have in the area to other common fish. For example, sunfish are really similar to the South American cichlids in many ways.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Great idea. You would need a very large tank to do so I would think.

I have always wondered about it too. Being in Colorado and having plenty of lakes and rivers, we have many species of trout and others. I have actually gone Fly Fishing before and caught a 6lb trout... nothing compared to what the pros catch, but it is my record.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

We used to go fishing at Estes Park when I lived in Longmont, Colorado. I loved going fishing up there.


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## Highland lake13 (Nov 16, 2008)

When i was talking to the fish and game department in Mass they said the size of the tank wasn't a huge deal. It is actually the current that is important. You can raise salmon/trout/bass/sunfish or any minnow in a 30g or bigger you just need a lot of current even if the fish didn't come from a stream or river they need to be able to be constantly swimming even if it is in place. So you really need a powerhead or two for the fish really to thrive.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I wasn't going to do anything too large. Just a school of minnows, maybe some darters for the bottom, some bluegills and possibly some banded killifish. I think it would definitely be possible in something like a 55g, since the largest fish there are the bluegills and in the wild they only get to about 8".


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

most of the fish that occor locally to me are tankbusters(very big carp,eels and pike) i keep a small tank by with water louse and scuds(gammurus) as food i suppose they could count as unusal inverts 
theres a local controled river/drainage system that contains small fish possibly minows or larger fish fry and more unusaly big leeches 6-7 inch long ones thogh i doubt leeches could be kept in an aqarium down to there feeding reqirements


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Would you consider my collection of snails and loaches an unusual combination?:lol:


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I am not sure how unusual they are but i have some threadfin rainbows that I find quite interesting. I have six males and four females in 80 gal with five discus. Thus far the discus largely ignore their antics.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

1077 said:


> I am not sure how unusual they are but i have some threadfin rainbows that I find quite interesting. I have six males and four females in 80 gal with five discus. Thus far the discus largely ignore their antics.


 Discus will not bother them. I had combined both before with no issues.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

That is good to hear. I did have a bakers dozen of neons in the tank that two of the discus systematicly eliminated save one. It now thinks it's a gold white cloud and schools with them as well as black phantom tetras,and bleeding heart tetras. I shall get some more neons to join the sole survivor soon .


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