Hello from UK

[Rod Maltas]

Hello, from a very new newbie. My wife and I have only recently got into keeping fish. Literally about 2 months. It's all her fault , we've had a pretty stressful year so far and after a visit to a local shop she said about how calming it was to just watch the fish. So "why don't we get a tank" she said. So 2 months and 12 ( yes 12 ) tanks later we are both hooked. Seriously looking at getting some Apisto's very soon, so we are here to learn.
Our tanks range from smaller 55 L upto more reasonable sized 240 L. Species ranging from the usual live bearers to Tetras, Danios, Barbs, rainbowfish, plecs, Cory's even Puffer fish ( green spotted and dwarf ). Just recently got into cichlids with Kribensis and Redbreast Acara's, but would love some Apisto's very soon.
Hope to learns lots from here, thanks Rod.

 

[Ade205]

Hi Rod and welcome.

Wow, you've certainly hit the road running lol 12 tanks 2 months after starting in the hobby is going some!!
I'd strongly recommend Apistos, but be warned, they become addictive so who knows how many tanks you could end up with lol! Clearly you've already got the hang of things and your in the right place for info on all things Apisto!
Where abouts are you in uk?

Ade

 

[Rod Maltas]

Hi Ade, thanks for the welcome. Forgot to say sorry but we are in Beverley, East Yorkshire. I think fish keeping in general has become addictive for both of us lol, but it's been great to have something my wife and I can share together. It's been a rollercoaster ride so far to get so many tanks going so fast, our dining room looks more like a science lab half the time while we keep testing the water quality.
Where are you from, and how many Apisto's have you got may I ask?

 

[Ade205]

Hi again Rod. Sounds like your both loving it... it's truly a great hobby. I've been hooked for 30 plus years!
I certainly know what your saying re science lab!! Though it gets easier and lessens as you become more routine in your maintenance schedules and you learn your water.
Re my location and fish, I'm in the Midlands, in Swadlincote which is very close to Derby. Current Apistos are A. Cacatuoides, A. Agassizii, and A. Elizabethae. If you ever get near me I'm always happy to offload a few fish free to a good home... I almost always have Cacatuoides fry and juveniles that are ready to fly the nest.... both the Agassizii and Elizabethae are spawning regularly, just gotta get my gh down a little and hopefully will have fry from both soon. Also breed Discus and often have juveniles available as well as various other species. Currently got around 80 German Blue Rams growing out! Shame we're so far apart. Although not overly close to you, have you heard of Apisto Aquatics? Absolutely brilliant place with loads of Apistos, some quite rare. They are in Cheshire, guessing about an hour from you. They have an app, here's the link.... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.uk.bwar.apistoaq
As said, if you are ever in my area message me, I mite just have some free fish at the time
And of corse post up if/when you get your first Apistos. Got a feeling will be first of many!

Ade.

 

[Rod Maltas]

Hi Ade,

Many thanks for the kind offer. Will certainly keep you in mind if we are ever out your way.

Gonna take a look at Apisto aquatics too.

Thanks again and best wishes Rod.

 

[HengLee]

Welcome Rod!

I guess I'm a bit late to write here.
I agree with Ade205 that keeping fish is very addictive but looking at fish is very therapeutic and relaxing.

By the way, I just want to share some useful information for fish keeping though I'm not an expert in this.

Firstly, you might want to read up some useful information from the internet on the following topics:
1) Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle.
2) Types of Filtration for fish tanks.
3) Fish diseases and how to treat them especially for parasites infection.
4) How to quarantine the fish and sterilize the plants, gravel, decors, etc.
In the UK, there is a good fish medication brand called "Interpret" which I find them to be very effective.
https://www.interpet.co.uk/Products/Test-Treat/Fish-Treatments

Secondly, choose your fish or any water creatures/animals carefully before buying them.
There are hundreds of fish and water creatures that are beautiful, interesting and unique that are available in the fish stores for you to choose.
You can get quite impulsive when buying fish or the water creatures such as shrimps, lobsters/crayfish, crabs, stingray, eel, etc.
Also, there are marine/saltwater fish which are more colourful and beautiful than the freshwater fish though they required more work to keep them.

When choosing fish, you might need to do some research and consider the following:
1)Size of the fish(when it matures).
Initially, I like some small fish like Guppy Endlers, Celestial Pearl Danio, Scarlet Badis. But after a while I find them to be too small and not as attractive as bigger fish.
If you have big tanks, you might want to consider bigger fish such as Geophagus Winemilleri, Geophagus Altifrons, Satanoperca Jurupari, Satanoperca Leucosticta which have beautiful bodies and fins.

2)Schooling Fish vs individual fish
Schooling fish are very attractive when you have a big group of them(more than 20). They will move as a group like an "army".
My favourite schooling fish are Harlequin Rasbora, Rummy Nose Tetra, Cardinal Tetra, etc.

3)Colourful fish vs Fish with beautiful fins.
Guppies and Killies fish are very colourful fish whereas Apistogramma have beautiful and unique fins plus some unique colours.
Some people are attracted to the colours of the fish whereas some people prefer fish with beautiful and unique fins.
Intelligent fish and fish with big personalities are more interesting to watch. I find that the Cichlids are very intelligent and interesting to watch.

4)Fish habitat/origin.
There are fish from different continents such as South America, Africa, Central America, Asian, etc.
Choose the fish from the same habitat for each tank that you have.
You can read from the internet for fish habitat.

5)Fish compatibility
This is important especially if you are creating a community tank.

6)The level the fish prefer
Some fish prefer to stay at top level of the tank whereas some prefer the middle or the bottom of the tank most of the time.
It will be nice to combine fish at different level in your tank so that your tank won’t look so empty.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/stocking-your-aquarium-evenly-1378334

You might want to check the youtube for many interesting and beautiful fish before buying them.

Here are some beautiful fish:

Beautiful Aquascaping:

The world largest nature aquarium in Portugal by Takashi Amano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxOqUZay9o



Others:

Lastly, here is a catalogue of freshwater fish and other water creatures.
There are different categories of fish and water creatures from this website.
http://www.qianhufish.com/fish-catalogue/cichlids