9/12/2023 0 Comments Goldfish aquarium 2 serial![]() I’d have thought this one would be a no-brainer, but that just shows what I know. Captive ones are usually just waiting to die. They are incredibly pretty fish, up there in my top five 'lookers.' But that’s how I like them, looking healthy and active, which is why I feel a little bit of contempt whenever I see one of these on my rounds. In the wild they feed on sponges and tunicates as their menu of choice, and these are neither easy nor cheap things to come across with any sort of reliability. They’ll wreak a little havoc on the way out, too, picking at polyps and corals in their desperation for something to consume. Now they’re back in the loop, slowly starving to death in dealers’ and hobbyist’s tanks. Need I say more? Popularised by the film 'Finding Nemo,' these had pretty much disappeared off of the radar until then. I guarantee you right here and now that the overwhelming majority of hobbyists and retailers will give you kudos for it. You want to sell small tanks? Take those pictures of goldfish off of the front of the boxes. Oh, and I’m not letting manufacturers off the hook with this one either. Take a few minutes out to explain the size, the eventual tank needed, the longevity of the fish and you’ll start to see people taking a shine to those danios or minnows after all. Utter tosh, we all know there are better alternatives for a starter with an unheated tank, and I wonder just how many of these things are consigned away to a cramped, shortened life because of laziness in selling. ![]() "But they’re what get people into fishkeeping!" I’ll hear people saying. They may not get huge like a Shark cat, and they’re easy enough to feed, but they never reach their potential lifespans in captivity. ![]() The humble goldfish easily represents the most abused pet in the UK. Oh, and did I mention that they get over a metre long? Because they do.įeel free to shout at me over this, but I’m sticking to my guns. And then that diet starts to drift into the meatier side of tank friendly, with small fish vanishing as adult shark cats start to develop teeth – and an understanding of how to use them. They start off well, with their omnivorous tendencies, and they fatten out quickly, becoming plump and amiable centre pieces. The young ones have appeal with their sharky appearance, and for catfish they’re always out and about, where the hobbyist can see them. Two reasons why we as home aquarists would want to avoid a fish, surely?īred on such a commercial scale as they are, these are cheap additions to anyone’s tank. I mean, this is a fish now farmed commercially for food, and we’re keeping these in home aquaria. This is the mother of all pitfalls for the new and eager hobbyist. Take note, and don’t learn how difficult a fish this is the hard way… They require soft, almost muddy substrates into which they can shove their handsome proboscis, and they squabble amongst themselves when kept in multiples. Most people don’t even get the substrate right for these fish. There’s nothing more disheartening than pouring in endless supplies of bloodworm and watching the fish getting thinner and thinner, day after day, until it eventually rolls over. They’ll emerge at feeding time, usually through starving desperation, and then they’ll probe around and reject all but the choicest of live or frozen foods.Įven the professionals try to avoid keeping these. Get them home and the first thing they’ll do is go into hiding, finding a cave or tunnel somewhere. These nervous fish aren’t even easy to monitor. But they’re not a sensible choice, unless you’re in a position to stay home all day, feeding continuously. ![]() Why not take about £15 in cash and burn it? Actually, take another fiver and torch that too, to account for the food you’ll offer until the poor beast starves to death.Įlephant noses are the big thing in curiosity fish, and I adore them as much as the next man or woman. I offer a choice of my ten worst fish to stumble upon, and my reasons for giving these fish a very wide berth. ![]() The easiest targets would obviously be those that get too damned large for the average hobbyist’s tank, and I’ve listed a couple of my choice whoppers.īut at the same count there are those fish that are awkward feeders, disease riddled death traps, and serial killing psychopaths. But I want to highlight a few that still seem to be doing the rounds, and the problems with them. I think that any of us could conjure up at a moment's notice a list of dozens of fish that we feel the industry would be better not having in it. ![]()
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