Heavy Metal Guppies

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DucksNuts

We also have a 3 foot salt water tank, which is the bane of my existence because of the constant adjusting of levels.

Salt water tank? You have my utmost respect and deepest sympathy.

[DucksNuts]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Salt water tank? You have my utmost respect and deepest sympathy.

I know, I suck

[Aliantha]

Originally Posted by DucksNuts

I know, I suck

And then blow?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DucksNuts

I know, I suck

Not at all, you are however a glutton for punishment, taking care of a salt water tank. It's the equivalent of having another baby.

[DucksNuts]

Originally Posted by Aliantha

And then blow?

Only if you say the right things and have that song "blow my whistle bitch" playing in the background.

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Not at all, you are however a glutton for punishment, taking care of a salt water tank. It's the equivalent of having another baby.

I know, but they are soooo pretty and the fish look great.

[xoxoxoBruce]

If someone says Cichlids (cychlids), how do you know what they are talking about? There's over 1400 vastly different fish that are in that family.

[monster]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

If someone says Cichlids (cychlids), how do you know what they are talking about? There's over 1400 vastly different fish that are in that family.

Are all of them generally available in aquarium stores? I know when beest says cichlids he means a selection of those available at our local Fish Doctor, which is only about a dozen types as far as I recall. Is there a great variation in those regularly kept as pets? Cichlids will be a whole new thing for us if that is the direction he chooses. Current tank has a variety of tetras, a couple of catfish and a dannio. Beginner stuff, but we do now have the hang of keeping them alive beyond the 10-day return period, so beest is dabbling with the idea of slightly more expensive and interesting fish....

[xoxoxoBruce]

OK, Wiki names these as common aquarium fish.

Cichlid keeping aquarists tend to divide cichlids into groups based on regions such as Central America, South America, Madagascar and India, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi and Lake Victoria. Others divide the cichlids using the combination of geographical, taxonomical, and behavioral criteria. Some notable groups resulting from this type of categorizing are the mbunas, haplochromines, dwarf cichlids, and shell dwellers.

Cichlids from Lake Tanganyika were first collected by German hobbyists during the 1930's. However, it was during the 1970s and 80s that the cichlids from lakes Tanganyika and Malawi began to become popular aquarium fishes. This trend continues to the present unabated.

Perhaps the most commonly encountered species in retail aquariums is Pterophyllum scalare from the Amazon River basin in tropical South America, known in the trade as the "angelfish". Other cichlids commonly stocked by retail aquaria include:

Astronotus ocellatus (oscars)
Cleithracara maronii (keyhole cichlids)
Hemichromis sp. (jewel cichlids)
Labidochromis caeruleus (electric yellows)
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (blue rams)
Pelvicachromis pulcher (kribensis)
Sciaenochromis fryeri (electric blues)
Symphysodon discus (discus)
Species of cichlid can be kept in aquariums with other fish, however, many cichlids are aggressively territorial or predatory towards smaller fish. Conversely, some cichlids, such as Apistogramma or Julidochromis spp., can be timid in the aquarium. In such cases the use of dither fish is recommended.

So I guess that would be the maximum of your choices, and probably less. Fish on.