Sub Tropical Fish Section?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

This is something i have been thinking about for a while now, but i think it would be beneficial if we had a sub tropical fish section on the forum. A suprisingly large amount of fish are actually sub tropical, often with species which most people did not even know were sub tropical- some people don't even know what sub-tropical is .
I'm in the process of setting up a sub tropical fish tank myself, and would like to discuss such tank set ups with others as well or learn about new types of sub tropical fish.

So i think it would be good if we had a sub tropical fish section- we already have a marine, freshwater, brackish, coldwater and tropical section etc, so why can't we have a sub tropical section? I think it would be especially good for those who want to give their fish the best posible habitat to thrive in or want to learn more about theirs or other types of fish in general .

 

[Lateral Line]

Kind of like last time, I suspect putting topics into very tightly defined niches effectively hides them from the people most likely to benefit. Consider, the search tool is the best kept secret of the site!

I regularly see loach questions under catfish and vice versa. Rainbows under oddballs. Old world under New world and vice versa.

I think the people that would get the most out of such a specialist forum would already be good enough to know where else they should post. Those that need the help, would not understand the distinction and ignore it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Kind of like last time, I suspect putting topics into very tightly defined niches effectively hides them from the people most likely to benefit. Consider, the search tool is the best kept secret of the site!

I regularly see loach questions under catfish and vice versa. Rainbows under oddballs. Old world under New world and vice versa.

I think the people that would get the most out of such a specialist forum would already be good enough to know where else they should post. Those that need the help, would not understand the distinction and ignore it.

If this was so though, then how come so many people know so little about which temps fish are most suited to ?
Its like saying there's no need for a brackish section of the forum because there's already a marine and freshwater one.

Personally, i don't think the current lack of a sub tropical fish section is doing any good, and that people would become a lot more educated on such types of fish if there was a specific place to go to learn about them.



EDIT: To make a point, i'm sure if you asked people if zebra danio's were tropical fish, the vast majority of people would say "yes". Or if you asked people if White Cloud Mountain Minnows were coldwater fish, most people would also probably say yes to that too- a lot of people assume that bloodfin tetras are tropical fish, hillstream loaches coldwater, albino corys are pure tropical, common pleco's are pure tropical etc etc....

 

[Lateral Line]

asked people if zebra danio's were tropical fish

... but those that would have asked, would have asked in Chit Chat because they didn't know Zebras were Cyprinids...

if White Cloud Mountain Minnows were coldwater fish

... ditto.

bloodfin tetras are tropical fish, hillstream loaches coldwater, albino corys are pure tropical, common pleco's are pure tropical

... again, where would the people that realy have got this totally wrong ask?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

asked people if zebra danio's were tropical fish

... but those that would have asked, would have asked in Chit Chat because they didn't know Zebras were Cyprinids...

if White Cloud Mountain Minnows were coldwater fish

... ditto.

bloodfin tetras are tropical fish, hillstream loaches coldwater, albino corys are pure tropical, common pleco's are pure tropical

... again, where would the people that realy have got this totally wrong ask?

A lot of people don't just come onto the forum to ask questions, like many people, they will hand around for a while and read through the threads in different sections. A lot of the info i have gained for example was not gained by directly asking questions, but rather by reading through threads in general existing on the forum already.
And it took a long time at that before i ever heard of the term "sub-tropical" being used, however i most likely would have learnt about it earlier if there was a section devoted to such fish.

I don't see what your point is exactly in that having a sub tropical section would do no good- personally i don't see anything about it that would be negative. Yes, there would be more work for the mods to do, but on the other hand there would be a lot more people with tanks better suited to their fishes needs, which i think is the main point here.

 

[nmonks]

I'm divided on this issue. Tokis-Phoenix has a point: a lot of fish sold as tropicals either do as well, or better, in unheated (or else mildly heated) aquaria. On the other hand, a subtropicals section would likely have little traffic, and it would end up duplicating other sections. So care of peppered cories would duplicate the catfish section, paradisefish the gouramis section, variatus platies the livebearers section, and so on.

What I suggest is that there should be a pinned topic in the Beginners section explaining:

- What subtropicals are / where they come from.
- Why they do better in cooler water.
- What the diversity of species available is.

I think that would help a lot of newbies to understand that an indoor, unheated aquarium need not be just goldfish, particularly if you live in Southern Europe, Australia, or the warmer parts of the US. In fact, I'd argue that rosy barbs and peppered cories probably make much better beginner's fish than goldfish if only because they are smaller and produce less waste.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Teelie]

Limiting the forum to true subtropical fish would help, but then it really would be a limited traffic forum as well and IMO, we have too many forums.

 

[Lateral Line]

should be a pinned topic

... of course, if people read the pinned topics, or the FAQ..., but I guess that's another story!

 

[CAC]

I know little about sub-tropical species, so maybe you (Tokis-Phoenix) could write an artical, and maybe ask for it to get published in the next (if there will be a next...) TFF newsletter. That way, when people read the newsletter, they know what it is, and why they are sub-tropical etc etc and it could explain where to put their sub-tropical queries. I dont know if a pinned topic would work too well, as it may not be read too often...

Mikey

 

[tophat665]

I don't think a separate forum would be the answer, but if someone were so inclined, a list of species tolerant of cooler water in each of the fora might be a good post to make. I've been pondering doing a cool water river tank, (Loaches, Hillstream Loaches, White Clouds, and Danios) and I know that would be a a post I'd surely search for before starting.

 

[Gankutsuou]

I think it deserves it.

Things like Panda Gaaras and Hillstream Loaches that are subtropic and are quite attractive deserve a section. That's like saying we shouldn't have a brackish section. This is a different type of water, so IMO, a different section.

 

[Fella]

I think it deserves it.

Things like Panda Gaaras and Hillstream Loaches that are subtropic and are quite attractive deserve a section. That's like saying we shouldn't have a brackish section. This is a different type of water, so IMO, a different section.

Just as a side-note, garra flavatra, the panda garra, are tropical fish, not sub tropical!



I don't think a subtropical forum would benefit really, there is plenty of crossover and it would make things very difficult.

 

[juanveldez]

okay this is my question not to take away any argument from either side yay or nay, but what would be the limiting factor in this? as pointed out there are many sub tropical species from all across the different forums. I know that there are several different species of Cichlids that are sub tropical, and of course you have different speices of loaches and such.... it goes on and on. when you have such a diverse group of fish its hard to get " experts" because while I might know a thing or two about cichlids it doesn't make me qualified at keeping loachs of any sort. thats just whats on my mind.

 

[Griz]

I agree with juanvaldez, the problem is that "sub-tropical" applies to nearly all the continents and to nearly all of the existing sub-forums. All of the forums would need to be divided into tropical and sub-tropical. And then of course there would be the "temperate" lobby getting involved.

 

[Dragonscales]

This topic has only covered the freshwater subtropics so far as well. Just to throw a spanner into the works (for both sides of the discussion) there are also numerous saltwater fish that do better in sub tropical conditions. Personally I couldn't really give two hoots either way but just thought I'd bring up another facet to the conversation