Some Pretty Weird Things I Want To Add To My Tank!

[gallum8]

just out of question has ne one had ne experience with a fish called the coolie loach or also known as the pangio uhll?


i am wondering because i like the look of them and i feel they would make a great adition to my tank. but i would have no idea on how to aquire them...




sterlet sturgeons....i know it sounds weird but i love those little guys i used to chase down full sized ones in a river near my house and then take pictures of em and let them go. then i found on ebay you can buy sterlet sturgeons (look so much like the big ones) if ne one knows ne thing about those that would be awesome


and their just so cute and tiny!!!

 

[raptorrex]

just out of question has ne one had ne experience with a fish called the coolie loach or also known as the pangio uhll?


i am wondering because i like the look of them and i feel they would make a great adition to my tank. but i would have no idea on how to aquire them...




sterlet sturgeons....i know it sounds weird but i love those little guys i used to chase down full sized ones in a river near my house and then take pictures of em and let them go. then i found on ebay you can buy sterlet sturgeons (look so much like the big ones) if ne one knows ne thing about those that would be awesome


and their just so cute and tiny!!!

Ok they grow to about 3 feet long, yep even this small one. need a temp of 7 to 12c, but to spawn its 12 to 17c, live upwards of 20 years. males mature at between 3 and 7 years, females at between 5 and 12. they eat crustatia, molluscs, insect lave and some small fish. they are not really suited to a tank, but large ponds do fine. they will need a specialist sturgeon food if kept!

that said i have an friend who has three in a large deep garden pond, its said that they can become quite friendly as they age, coming to greet you and be petted.

hope this helps.

 

[JonathanT]

Ok they grow to about 3 feet long, yep even this small one. need a temp of 7 to 12c, but to spawn its 12 to 17c, live upwards of 20 years. males mature at between 3 and 7 years, females at between 5 and 12. they eat crustatia, molluscs, insect lave and some small fish. they are not really suited to a tank, but large ponds do fine. they will need a specialist sturgeon food if kept!

that said i have an friend who has three in a large deep garden pond, its said that they can become quite friendly as they age, coming to greet you and be petted.

hope this helps.

First about the sturgeons...I saw some little shovelnoses at the Jenks aquarium today and it says the only get 10-20"... sounds like a good one if you're into keeping such fish in an indoor (though good sized) tank. I'm not terribly familliar with them, but would like to learn more for future reference (I love armor plated fish).

The coolie (or is it kuhli? I need to brush up on my loaches...) loaches are fairly common, though not all pet stores keep them in stock (or can find them in their tanks if they do). Remember that they are very small loaches, and can easily get sucked into filter intakes, be eaten by larger fish, jump out, etc. They also do best on a fine sand substrate, since they are burrowers. Great cleaner fish for smaller tanks though, they get just about anything that hits the bottom...

-Jonathan

 

[nmonks]

I'd be very skeptical of anyone selling or displaying sturgeons said to stay less than 20 inches (~50 cm) in length. None of the commonly traded species are that small. There are small species, such as the very endangered dwarf sturgeon at ~25 cm (about 11 inches) but you won't see these in aquarium shops. As far as I know, the traded species are more likely to be around 100 cm (3 feet or so) in length: Acipenser ruthenus (the sterlet) and Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (the common shovelnose), for example. Most species are at least twice this size, with several species being among the biggest and heaviest freshwater fish known.

http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/identificatio...2&areacode=

Even allowing for some degree of stunting, I can't recommend them as aquarium fish unless you have a really big tank. Even a 60 cm (2 foot) sturgeon is a big fish that needs excellent filtration, lots of oxygen, and in almost all cases, some sort of cooling system in summer. Very few species will tolerate temperatures about 20 degrees C (68 F) for very long. A chiller works well, but otherwise siting the tank in a cool basement or putting a fan that blows across the tank can work, too.

That said, these fish live a long time in public aquaria, so they're certainly not impossible to keep alive. Far from it in fact, kept properly, they're fairly hardy animals. Feeding is easy, as they will eat anything they can catch, from bloodworms through to smaller fish.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[JonathanT]

Yeah, I looked that up later. I guess the Jenks aquarium doesn't have it listed properly, most sources I saw state that shovelnose sturgeons can reach over three feet. It seems most people who keep sturgeons do so in large outdoor ponds.

Oh by the way, I picked up a copy of Tropical Fish Hobbyist the other day. Nice article on oddballs Neale!

-Jonathan