Ideas that haven't come through

[GaryE]

We had a local store with a set up involving two ponds, a short stream and an outside wall of glass panels. It planted a seed I doubt will ever grow. But if I had a greenhouse, I would love a stream tank that passed through a couple of ponds and meandered through artificial boulders. There would be visibility through side panels.
I'm talking a thirty foot long shallow tank, with different species zones, all western African. How's that for a fantasy tank?
It's lottery dependent and I don't expect those investments to come through!

I have a line of deep orange Melanotaenia boesemani that I have maintained for quite a few generations now. They're in a 4 foot tank now. As far as names go, boesemanis or Boeseman's rainbow are of equal use. The official international scientific name is italicized and in two parts. If we want to get picky, the name is Melanotaenia boesemani (Allen and Cross 1980). The fish don't care, and neither do most hobbyists.

They are one of the only fish driven close to extinction by the aquarium hobby. After their discovery, they were brutally overfished and taken right to the brink. They recovered from that. They come from two lakes and a stream, and any fish from a limited distribution is in danger. There have been introductions of non native fish to their area, and the habitat is degrading.

They have a similar cousin from the same area, M ajamaruensis.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Habitat loss is almost always an issue. Yes, there are ways to preserve habitats, but it is largely up to the local people.

Do zoos keep Boeseman's rainbowfish in species-only tanks and conserve them?

We had a local store with a set up involving two ponds, a short stream and an outside wall of glass panels. It planted a seed I doubt will ever grow. But if I had a greenhouse, I would love a stream tank that passed through a couple of ponds and meandered through artificial boulders. There would be visibility through side panels.
I'm talking a thirty foot long shallow tank, with different species zones, all western African. How's that for a fantasy tank?
It's lottery dependent and I don't expect those investments to come through!

I have a line of deep orange Melanotaenia boesemani that I have maintained for quite a few generations now. They're in a 4 foot tank now. As far as names go, boesemanis or Boeseman's rainbow are of equal use. The official international scientific name is italicized and in two parts. If we want to get picky, the name is Melanotaenia boesemani (Allen and Cross 1980). The fish don't care, and neither do most hobbyists.

They are one of the only fish driven close to extinction by the aquarium hobby. After their discovery, they were brutally overfished and taken right to the brink. They recovered from that. They come from two lakes and a stream, and any fish from a limited distribution is in danger. There have been introductions of non native fish to their area, and the habitat is degrading.

They have a similar cousin from the same area, M ajamaruensis.

That is one beauty you thought about, Gary. A west African tank is nice. Especially of the Congo River. I call them Boeseman's rainbowfish because it's the main species name. The Ajamaru rainbowfish is critically endangered while Boeseman's rainbow is endangered.

 

[GaryE]

Habitat loss is almost always an issue. Yes, there are ways to preserve habitats, but it is largely up to the local people.

Rainbow habitat is being destroyed in Australia, and fish habitats in Canada and the US are falling victim to farming, pollution etc. We're all local people.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Rainbow habitat is being destroyed in Australia, and fish habitats in Canada and the US are falling victim to farming, pollution etc. We're all local people.

Have you been to Australia to see rainbowfish?

 

[GaryE]

Have you been to Australia to see rainbowfish?

I've never been to Australia. One of my ancestors was supposed to go there, but there was a fire in the jail and he escaped to a ship heading for Newfoundland. It's one of those freak random things that allowed me to exist!

It's on my water change bucket list of places I would like to see. It's a long and expensive trip from eastern Canada to Australia.

One of my favourite rainbows are 'dubs' - Melananotaenia duboulayi. I would also like to see Pseudomugil mellis alive, though it isn't a rainbow, as well as some of your Mogurnda and gobies.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I always wanted a true river tank. i figured out how to get it. the problem is it cost an insane amount.
The great Donut Tank.

I wanted a glass tank custom built in a huge circle. The water would flow continuously in one direction around the tank. Viewing was from outside the Donut, but all equupment and maint. would be done from inside the hole of the Donut. This meant one needed to go under or over the tank to access the middle. And that what made the cost insane. Well that and how big a room would be needed to hold the tank and make it possible to walk around the perimeter and see it all or to sit and watch a given section.

Over the course of the circle I would have different elevation of the bottom, so there would be deeper and shallower parts. However the water surface would be the same height around the entire Donut. The circulation and depth changes would be managed by the pumps which would power the river flow uni-directionally. The shallower areas would be like rapids and the deeper ones would slow the flow. So there could be different fishes in different sections. One could create natural barriers to fish crossing into other sections where needed.

All I needed to have this tank was to win the Power Ball or Mega Millions Lottery.

 

[emeraldking]

Yes, some ideas don't always come into fruition. I really wanted a fishroom of both saltwater and freshwater tanks but the parents won't let me until I move out of the parents' house.

I can imagine that your parents wouldn't go for it. Be aware of it that having a fishroom with multiple tanks will cost you money and effort. Electricity, maybe gas (depending how you like to heat the tanks or the room itself), it costs more food, more water changes will be added to the bill and the discipline to spend time for maintenance. And I also can imagine when you're still a student, that time may get tight.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I always wanted a true river tank. i figured out how to get it. the problem is it cost an insane amount.
The great Donut Tank.

I wanted a glass tank custom built in a huge circle. The water would flow continuously in one direction around the tank. Viewing was from outside the Donut, but all equupment and maint. would be done from inside the hole of the Donut. This meant one needed to go under or over the tank to access the middle. And that what made the cost insane. Well that and how big a room would be needed to hold the tank and make it possible to walk around the perimeter and see it all or to sit and watch a given section.

Over the course of the circle I would have different elevation of the bottom, so there would be deeper and shallower parts. However the water surface would be the same height around the entire Donut. The circulation and depth changes would be managed by the pumps which would power the river flow uni-directionally. The shallower areas would be like rapids and the deeper ones would slow the flow. So there could be different fishes in different sections. One could create natural barriers to fish crossing into other sections where needed.

All I needed to have this tank was to win the Power Ball or Mega Millions Lottery.

I have a rivertank manifold in my 55g. It works pretty well, makes a nice, directional flow (with enough variation that fish can rest when they need to), and a whole lot cheaper than the donut tank.

But the donut tank sounds so much cooler. Sigh...

 

[Sir Guppy]

For now I have two tanks. My goal is to start selling some of the fish fry, extra plants, ect.
After I had made enough money, I’d use it to start a third.
If it works, I might end up with a self-sufficient fish room!

 

[GaryE]

Would this donut tank have a spiral staircase leading up to it, so you could sit in the centre?

If we forget the cost of building the fishroom and getting tanks, my fishroom is a steady expense. It's my retirement vice. I no longer wander the nightlife and the weird twists and turns of what used to be fun. I don't smoke, barely drink, don't do drugs or don't hang around with musicians, writers or broke friends anymore. Electricity/heating for the fishroom is about a third of the energy bill here. The major expense is now, when it's winter, and that amount averages over the year. If I work at it, new fish are covered, and fish related work probably covers about a third of the energy.

I gave up on breaking even. Pre-internet, I could turn a nice profit from my fishroom, but that isn't coming back. You know that country-folk song, everything is free? Yeah.

If I went to a good restaurant (I'm cheap, so good is never luxury - say a local Indian place) once very week, that would equal what the room costs to run.

That's still substantial for most people. When we had kids at home, we never went to restaurants. Wait, we still do so rarely. But it really is a thing for if you luck into a decent job and find a large enough space suited for fishkeeping. Those things aren't givens.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Would this donut tank have a spiral staircase leading up to it, so you could sit in the centre?

If we forget the cost of building the fishroom and getting tanks, my fishroom is a steady expense. It's my retirement vice. I no longer wander the nightlife and the weird twists and turns of what used to be fun. I don't smoke, barely drink, don't do drugs or don't hang around with musicians, writers or broke friends anymore. Electricity/heating for the fishroom is about a third of the energy bill here. The major expense is now, when it's winter, and that amount averages over the year. If I work at it, new fish are covered, and fish related work probably covers about a third of the energy.

I gave up on breaking even. Pre-internet, I could turn a nice profit from my fishroom, but that isn't coming back. You know that country-folk song, everything is free? Yeah.

If I went to a good restaurant (I'm cheap, so good is never luxury - say a local Indian place) once very week, that would equal what the room costs to run.

That's still substantial for most people. When we had kids at home, we never went to restaurants. Wait, we still do so rarely. But it really is a thing for if you luck into a decent job and find a large enough space suited for fishkeeping. Those things aren't givens.

There were large marine tanks housing clownfish, tangs and other fish in Cicerello's in Fremantle. There were eels and Port Jackson sharks in one of the tanks.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The center of the Donut was where all the equipment is. You have to walk around the outside to see it all. I required changing where you are to see it all a piece at a time. I figure that make it possible to have 5 or six sections which all hold different appropriate fish.

 

[elephantnose3334]

The center of the Donut was where all the equipment is. You have to walk around the outside to see it all. I required changing where you are to see it all a piece at a time. I figure that make it possible to have 5 or six sections which all hold different appropriate fish.

That looks interesting.

 

[JuiceBox52]

If I get better enough someday i want to have a 90 or 125 gallon planted South American tank, with huge schools of corydoras, otocinclus, various tetras, etc

 

[elephantnose3334]

If I get better enough someday i want to have a 90 or 125 gallon planted South American tank, with huge schools of corydoras, otocinclus, various tetras, etc

That looks good.