Our Fish

We have added images of most of the species of fish that we have or that we have had in either of our aquariums. To view these, click on the name of the fish in the text below.

To view our most recent entry (28th May 2001), click on fish bowl!

While researching information and images for this fish site, I came accross cute aquatic animations. Here are some of the ones that I could not yet fit on this site, but I thought were fun to look at. Click on this fish to see them:

In 1998 I bought my wife an aquarium for her birthday. We added several species of fish: different types of male and female Guppies, Neon Tetras, a Clown Plecostomus, different types of Corydoras Catfish (Aeneus [Bronze] - the first one was a character, Paleatus [Peppered], Albino, Pigmy/Dwarf).

We even tried Comet Goldfish (the first one expired after one week),Otocinclus (the first one expired after 5 hours - he/she was returned for being defective)

We were not having much luck with some of our fish. However, the ones that we have left seem to be having the time of their short lives.

We had been talking for a while about getting a second aquarium since the 5,5 gallon (20 litre) aquarium was getting a little small and we were getting bored with the assortment of fish that we had. On March 13, we went to a pet shop to buy a couple of female Guppies,. We left the store with two females and a 33 gallon (125 litre) all equipped aquarium, a stand and a cover.

In the week that followed we bought decorations and filled up the aquarium. Now began the waiting game to properly age the aquarium.

After a couple of weeks, we were ready to add some fish. We bought 5 Zebra Danios on March 27. On April 5, we bought 5 Black Phantom Tetras. On April 10, we bought 6 Neon Tetras. On May 26, we bought more fish: 3 Red Phantom Tetras (they were at a great price), a Green Corydoras, a Peppered Corydoras and a Plecostomus. (We needed some bottom feeders and algae removers).

18th July, 1999.

Since our last update of the 28th of June, we are puzzled to report that we have had many fish deaths in a short period of time. We lost 4 Black Phantoms, 2 Neon Tetras, and the Green Corydoras. When we found them floating, their tails were missing. We might have a murderer on our hands. Ta, ta, ta, da...

31st August, 1999.

The deaths are not as close together as before. Probably because we have less fish than before. The Peppered Corydoras expired, as did the last Black Phantom, 2 Red Phantoms, 1 Zebra and 3 more Neons. We bought 6 more Neons to try to save the last survivor (they have to live in a pack to do well). We also bought a Paleatus Corydoras, because in an aquarium that size you need bottom feeders. So far so good.

We also added a nursery where we will put Guppy fry from the small aquarium. This way, it will be easier for them to be released into the large aquarium, their systems being used to the water climate. They will hopefully be able to fend off the "Aquarium Menace"!

2nd November, 1999.

Since our last entry, we added more fish to the large aquarium because things seemed to have stabilized. We bought 5 more Black Phantoms and added Guppy fry to the nursery. Some of the fry were old enough to be released into the general population. They are doing very well. There was, however, an outbreak of Ich (a bacterial infection which manifests itself by forming white salt-like bumps on the fish). We lost the Red Phantom as a result and two Neons, (although thy were sick before we noticed the Ich). The other fish recovered very well from the ordeal.

The most recent addition to the aquarium is an Upsidedown Catfish. As its' name implies, this fish swims upside down, at least 90% of the time. The only time it swims right side up is when it is on the bottom of the aquarium rummaging for food. It is really weird to watch this critter.

8th November 2000.

We have made some significant changes with our aquariums in the last couple of months.

The greatest change is that we combined both aquariums. We were having environmental problems with the small one. For some reason, we had a build-up of ammonia. We cleaned the aquarium thoroughly, did several water changes and we were still getting elevated ammonia readings. In order to save the fish, we transferred them all to the large aquarium. The water was so cloudy, that we even missed a couple of fish, finding them a few days after we had done the transfer. They were fine though.

As usual, we had several fish deaths this past year, but things are improving. These things seem to come in stages. I still wonder what causes this?

We have also added several new species to the aquarium. Cardinal Tetras now replace the Neon Tetras. They are a more hardy species, have similar markings, but are brighter in colour and grow bigger. A Long-Finned Zebra Danio was added because it looks cool. A Leopard Danio was added because it looks unusual. Different types of Platys (Red-Wag, Snakeskin, Orange) have been added because they are colourful. However, they are not very interesting fish; bland really. We are also trying out Debwawie Catfish. They are a little bigger than the fish that we already have, but they have nice markings and are very active.

We have had a bowl with snails sitting on our kitchen counter for a while now. We also put in a lily bulb to give the snails something to eat. The guy who came to hang our wallpaper has aquariums. When he saw our bowl he suggested that we get a Betta (Siamese Fighting Fish) to put in it. He said that our water conditions for it were ideal for that kind of fish. A couple of days later, we had our first Betta. He has attractive markings (red and blue), but like all Bettas, he is not very active. He is a fast learner, though. As soon as he sees someone near the counter, he goes to the top of his bowl asking to be fed.

We also started up the small aquarium once again. We have not yet put many fish in it. We started off with 3 Silver Hatchet Fish, another member of the Tetra family and 2 Ghost Shrimp. The fish are top feeders and the shrimp are bottom feeders. Therefore, they never get in each other's way.

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Last updated 28th May, 2001.