My fish are boring!

My wife and I had some friends over and we started talking about the last time they were over and I was still dealing with the tank of death. This made me realize how much I missed my midas. It also made me realize that I have no interest in the fish I am raising. I have an Oscar that is outgoing enough but I dont like the way he looks. He is very bland looking. I have a gold sev that has good color is easygoing and has zero personality. I have the parrot which has potential to be an absolute gorgeous fish but is so timid and shy that its irritating. My flagtail is pretty cool but does not fit in a community with how much he chases the silver dollars. As for the silver dollars the are dumb. They lack intelligence and the only reason I keep them is the fact they survived the plague and I feel like I owe them that.

I finally realized these were all pretty much rebound fish. Something to fill the void of the fish I really miss the most. So what do I do? I need to find something to keep me involved in the hobby. Maybe an Oscar that I like the look of. Maybe another Midas. I really dont know what to do....

With your space id clear it all out and get a pet dovii he will give you all the personality and thrill you need.Have you looked into other amphilophus other than midas there is some nice ones?

Dare I say it? Africans You could have quite a mix in a 210 gallon tank.

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break down and buy one of these!

this thing will swim across the entire tank to bite my hand...

luckily its only about 1.5" long

Although one of the most fun fish i've ever had was a triggerfish in my (now wife's) tank.

And you're always talking about how you want a salt tank, just do it!

aquaman95 wrote:With your space id clear it all out and get a pet dovii he will give you all the personality and thrill you need.Have you looked into other amphilophus other than midas there is some nice ones?

I really am not a big fan of Dovii, I would rather have an Umbee. But I feel my tank is a bit small to keep one for the full adult stage. Finding an amp that is community friendly is the big issue.

JimA wrote: Dare I say it? Africans You could have quite a mix in a 210 gallon tank.

I just do not like small fish. I would rather have a few large ones. The color of the Africans would be pretty awesome though.

Zerc wrote:And you're always talking about how you want a salt tank, just do it!

If I spend any more time or money, my wife will divorce me. Im not ready for salt just yet.

I can find you a good deal on CL, a FOWLER with just a clown trigger shouldnt be too bad.

just need some sand from home depot, and some rock you like the look of!

(don't buy live sand, and get some live seed rock for cheap off CL)

clown triggers can reach 1.5'!



OH! Get a small tank, like 30 gallons(relatively cheap to set up). put a clown trigger in that, let your wife get attached.

then tell her it needs to go in the 210g to be happy

LOL, Zerc you are a mind reader! The clown trigger is on my top 10 list of saltwater, along with the harlequin tusk
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holy crap that thing has TEETH!

For color I do like many of the fish in the vieja/paratheraps family but it seems difficult to get the 'personality' that is found in the amp family.

Try a Bleekeri imo.

I love the look of the Bleekeri, but they seem pretty mean... My wife still would like a community, and the silver dollars would likely stay. Maybe I just need to find a better looking Oscar.

bleekeri aren't mean, but they are closely related to polleni, and those are mean!

DMD, there are big African cichlids too.

Have you kept the smaller sized ones in the past? If not, how do you know you don't like them? A few species groups of mbuna would make an action packed tank.

Years ago (when I was a teenager) Ive kept smaller mbuna types. If I went Africans I would maybe consider large types like frontosa or blue moorii

Ive always been attracted to the larger fish types of fish and being that the 210g is in the main living room of the house, I need fish with some impact. So any recommendations for larger type Africans?

I was going to suggest that very thing Betty, many of the Haps get anywhere from 4 to 10"

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What you need sir is to raise up a beautiful wild male umbee if interested let me know

JimA wrote: I was going to suggest that very thing Betty, many of the Haps get anywhere from 4 to 10"

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OK I have to admit those are very nice and large Africans that I could see having.

fishman09 wrote:What you need sir is to raise up a beautiful wild male umbee if interested let me know

The solo Alpha male umbee would be great, but the wife likes the look of the community tank.... And we do know in the end it would just be the umbee.

but she doesnt know that....

Some other large Malawis...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Aristochromis christyi
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Champsochromis caeruleus
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Tyrannochromis macrostoma
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Dimidiochromis compressiceps
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Fossorochromis rostratus

Tangs...
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Boulengerochromis microlepis. I know a guy that has one of these. It requires a very big tank!
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] -- Lepidiolamprologus lemarii

considering selling my male devil and or my red isletas also just to throw them into the mix. the isletas arent aggressive and seem to do well in a community setup

Thanks for the suggestions Betty. The Malawi Eye Biter is cool!

fishman09 wrote:but she doesnt know that....

Yes, but she knows that I know that she doesn't know, so really she knows.

Im still in the reading and studying phase. I dont want to make any quick decisions thats how I ended up with the Oscar to begin with.

my honest opinion on community tanks is that since ive strayed from them the hobby has been blissfull and stress free for the most part outside of marital disputes. im enjoying keeping fish much more and dont have to worry about combos getting along or whatever and the fish seem much more relaxed as well.

Im sorry to hear that you are going through this. I think a perfect replacement for your midas is another large Amph. And the one I think would fit perfectly,and that is my most favorite, the Hoga. Here is a pic of my new male.

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My Zonatus male is awesome as well. Really both the male and female are great. And my new favorite is my Hartwegi.

fishman09 wrote:What you need sir is to raise up a beautiful wild male umbee if interested let me know

Exactly, I have a pair in my 210 and can't wait until they hit a growth spurt.

fishman09 wrote:my honest opinion on community tanks is that since ive strayed from them the hobby has been blissfull and stress free for the most part outside of marital disputes. im enjoying keeping fish much more and dont have to worry about combos getting along or whatever and the fish seem much more relaxed as well.

Sorry you are going through the blues. As Madness stated, Hogas are great along with Xiloaensis or Lyonsi for other choices. Xilos can come in some very nice piebald coloration and they definitely have quite the personality.

I was gonna recommend some zonatus the males become a nice beefy size and look like bandits.imo they are the best vieja not the most colourful but defiantly are the most personable.

In a way I would almost agree with fishman and go with one nice (BIG) solo wet pet. Im the one who cares for the tank and spends time with the fish so what the wife wants...

The Hoga that I had for a while in the tank was still infected was a pretty cool fish, same with the Zo. The loss of that batch was pretty harsh and Ive just been so leery of trying again. I miss having the Pearsei who was starting to become a big monster. So I really am not sure where to begin, thanks guys for all the ideas and encouragement. Maybe its time for guppies or a really large betta....

maybe it's time to get over your fear and stop talking about nonsense fish and get yourself a hoga a Zoe or a pearsi or all 3

Anyone have a hoga?

Ya, me.

I know Oscars are supposed to be owner responsive and mine is to a degree. Any food related things and he responds.

I guess what Im missing is first the color. My midas was orange and not some awful turd color.

Second, the midas would come hang out on whatever side of the tank I was sitting and just chill and watch me. He always watched the room to see what was going on. The Oscar could care less.

So I guess the real big things on my fish list are the owner responsiveness and color. Maybe its time for a flowerhorn.

So unless my current fish surprise me with some reason for keeping them, I am on the search for some new fish. Will let you guys know what I come up with.

Flowerhorns are cool looking and tons of color. But they are dumb. They are like that roid taking linebacker that cant even add 1+1.

If you were to change fish, and if you were going to go Midas again, would you want to start with smaller ones and grow them? Or start with a med to larger one?

I really am leaning toward another midas. I have no problem growing one out. Want to get a big male out of it. I just need to find some.

I love the hoga but I want more color.

If I find you a Midas, will you take it? Say 3". Gage owes me, and I would love to grab you a Midas. Cause thats the kind of guy I am.

I would love a Midas (male).... Are you putting in an order soon?

Possibly. It will probably be when I get back from Yakima. Around the end of the month.

DMD123 wrote:LOL, Zerc you are a mind reader! The clown trigger is on my top 10 list of saltwater, along with the harlequin tusk
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I took the plunge into salt last fall and never looked back. Now I got 2 salt tank and a third coming really soon (a monster size!)

About the tusk, I do have one avail for sale, he is 5"

The triggers looks cool, I do have a hawaiian black trigger and a niger trigger in my personal show tank.

I'm pushing some of my africans out, I am selling my large Karema frontosa wilds (2m/3f) for $450. I do have F1 fry avail 2" size for $15 each.

And I can get clown triggers, they are not easy to grab. I was lucky to grab a 3" and a 4" this yr, and both were sold in minutes after I tagged em.

Here is one of my favorite fish I have now:

queen angelfish
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Well Im on the path to change. As much as loved the flagtail for his color, he is now gone. What ever I do decide I really like having the large schooling silver dollars in the mix....

Ok so Im still trying to figure on the mix of fish. Pretty much the three chiclids I have now will go. To replace as the main focus fish would be a midas. Nice if it could be yellowish or at least a creamsicle. I also would not mind a synspilum for color (APFP has a one but I cant afford it at $32). I know madness will hate me to say this but I dont want a zo because I dont really find them that colorful. What other suggestions can we come up with for color?

WHAT? No color, are you in sane? Bifa, Syns, blu/rd Fen, Hartwegi, Lyonsi

firemouth is colorful, but they don't get very big. however, I hear Madness is thinking about breeding some red texas... those are pretty sweet!

if you really want colorful fish though, get some discus.

careful though, they can only eat and swim in money.

I want real fish. No man made hybrids, otherwise there are a ton of flowerhorn types I would be interested in. And definitely NO discus!

I would buy a handful of goldsaums and pick out the gentlest one.

madness wrote:WHAT? No color, are you in sane? Bifa, Syns, blu/rd Fen, Hartwegi, Lyonsi

I know I should like the zo... but they just are not that exciting to me. I do like the bifa and Hartegi.

Zerc wrote:I would buy a handful of goldsaums and pick out the gentlest one.

Im really not into them. I would rather have the silver (which I did) and it was a mean head! Now where did I get that mean thing?

haha! the silver was a true gt, they are meaner.


He was a model citizen in my tank! :p

Zerc wrote:He was a model citizen in my tank! :p

True but then you also had that psycho convict...

yea... i had to GIVE that one away.