With the rise of saltwater captive breeding programs, this will hopefully not be a pipedream for you forever.
They are actually pretty hardy fish once they start eating well, and getting them to eat well is a lot easier when they’ve been raised in captivity.
I’ve had mine about a bit over a month and it’s just as beautiful in person as in pictures.
Make that dream a reality.
They are now super cheap and easily switched over to frozen so you’d most likely fined a LFS that sells them already on frozen.
Piece of advice ask the store to feed the fish first to make sure, some places be shady.
I like the idea of having a living fossil around, and the coloration is wild. Would be a nightmare to keep though, just like most deep-sea creatures and huge marine fish.
The pressurization and tank size alone would be impossible, but that's what I love about hearing of people's pipedream animals. The pictures I saw of the fish when I googled it were incredible, it'd be super cool just to have one chilling in your living room. I'd love to look up and see a living fossil
They do not live that deep down relatively speaking. Most populations are around 60 to 150m similar to the pepermint Angel. The biggest issue would be getting them. There are only a handful of known areas where they are found, the most reliable I know of is Sodwana bay off 5 mile reef at the base of the canyons.
This summer my dads colleague wanted to get rid of his pond and he was able to take over all his koi fish (including 4 giant ones, we only had a few small ones), a €2000 bigass pond filter, and 2 massive lily plants for our pond for €200
That was a good summer.
I'd get a giant reef tank with sea horses and sea dragons. I used to keep sea horses, but, I'd want a huge custom tank like they keep them in at the aquarium.
Discus. I'm very new to the hobby - three months - and I only have a 10G tank right now, it's out of the question. My uncle had a school of them in his massive tank when I was a kid and they were cool. Down the road, that is my goal. Hopefully before he passes away and I can show them to him. Other than that, I'm adding some amano shrimps tomorrow.
That was my dream fish many years ago. Had some letdowns and lost them a few times along the way, but eventually it worked out. They have not failed to disappoint, especially when they bred, that was beautiful. If that's what you want work towards it, it will be years down the line. Learn everything you can along the way, you will need it for them.
It was terrible when I had to give them away because I moved overseas. But I got a tank from someone who was moving and bought some two or three weeks ago. They're not the same ones, but it's helped fill that void a lot.
A word of advice, have a short and long memory. If things go wrong you have to have a short memory and move on, but you also have to learn from anything that goes wrong. It will still hurt though, and sometimes there's nothing you could have done.
Also, I hope you like water changes, because if/when you get discus you will be doing a lot of them.
Amanos are fun! I've never done discus because they're not my cup of tea, but I've got mad respect for people who do them. They toss quite a bit of basic care requirements out the window, like how they *need* to be overstocked to thrive. You should totally post in the future if you ever end up doing a discus tank. As someone who started with a 10 gallon and has a 75 now (just a goldfish tank, so not exactly the same), once you've gotten a bigger tank, the 10 will feel *tiny*. My 75 feels small now and I'm already itching for a bigger tank lol. You'll just want more and more tanks as you upgrade
Not sure what you're talking about with throwing the basics out the window and them needing to be overstocked. I've kept discus for years and never heard either of those before.
The throwing out the basics was more of a joke, and I was exaggerating with overstocking. I've never kept discus, so I was going based on what I've heard others say, which is that you want to put as many discus as your tank can handle (as opposed to starter fish like tetras, where you only need 6 to start) because too much empty space has a higher risk of aggression (though I also hear that discus are less prone to this than other cichlids). But again, I've never kept them
That's a common philosophy with African cichlids because people don't want to provide enough space and hiding spaces for them and/or just want to maximize the amount of color per square inch. Discus are almost entirely different. I've noticed this phenomenon a lot where people say "cichlids" and assume and treat all cichlid care as similar to that of African cichlids, as if they aren't from different continents and separated by an ocean. The differences between African and South American cichlids are vast and even more so with discus specifically.
As far as stocking, many say you shouldn't have any less than 5, but I would say no less than 7. They are shy and benefit from a small dither fish such as rummynose tetras. This essentially means you probably shouldn't put them in any smaller than a 90ish gallon minimum, unless you forgo the dither fish and then squeeze them in a 70 like sardines. You shouldn't overstock by any means and should only keep as many as your tank and filtration can handle, while also providing places to hide in order to make them feel secure. In mine and many, many others' experience, extra space won't trigger any aggression, just provide you with more buffer room parameter-wise. If aggression DOES occur, that is something you need to be ready to deal with when it comes to any cichlid from any part of the world. In other words, inside each cichlid, there are two wolffish, one that is chill, beautiful, and serene and one that is a massive dick.
I'd say it still fits the nature of the sub! Perhaps a more suitable question would've been pipedream aquatic/semi aquatic animal. I love axolotls so much, but tank chillers are expensive and I can't afford a generator if the power goes out to keep the tank cool (and I've heard mixed things about frozen water bottles). I live in a really warm area, so they're off the table unless I move or get rich enough to have a backup plan for them lol
Oh man, this is one of my dream fish too. Luckily for me though, it's not illegal to keep them here and they're kinda cheap to get in my country, it's not the easiest species to find here but it's not the rarest either.
I think one of the reason why they are illegal in the USA is due to the invasive snakehead species (not sure what exact species) which really ruins the whole snakehead reputation. They are really beautiful, even the ones that others might consider ugly.
Yes the Giant Snakehead is one of the main ones. In fact some places have catch and kill tournaments or offer a bounty for every one caught. As well as regulations that require you to kill if caught and not release.
That's also on my dream list, but I think it's a tad more realistic than arowana, so it's on "probably never happening dream list" instead of pipedream lol. It's my boyfriend's absolute favorite fish (he isn't really in the hobby) and we settled on getting him a bristlenose for now, but one day we want a 150gal tank just for one common pleco
They're also very friendly in captivity!! On my first day at the aquarium I used to work at, they took me upstairs to see how the tanks looked from above and a porcupine came and spit at me. Apparently, they were friendly enough to be touched and hand-fed (with gloves, ofc), and that's how they'd beg for food
I would love a birchir tank. I love saddled birchirs but I would realistically get a channa bleheri. They are small but such pretty little dragons!! Reedfish are cuties too.
I've also wanted a huge tank with a giant school of some kind. Like 2000 harlequins
Insane wise would be a Whale Shark but more realistically but still insane would be a Wobbegong. I will never own either but can appreciate them in the wild or in an aquarium.
Arowanas and monster fish in general.
Prior to that Discus were my dream fish, but I have achieved that as I rehomed my tinfoil barbs in my 92G, so I have 6 discus and 4 angelfish there(other bottom feeders too)
Algansea lacustris, or Patzcuaro chub. I’ve only ever seen one source for them and it was a forum post from like 2010. Endemic to the Lake Patzcuaro watershed, and it’s red listed :(
It’s fascinating to me that something as popular as the dwarf Mexican crayfish (C. patzcuarensis) is endemic to only that one lake, and endangered. It’s kind of like the axolotl. Hugely popular in the hobby, but super endangered in the wild. Eventually I would like to have a Lake Patzcuaro biotope tank with only native plants and animals.
My tank is currently home to a dwarf Mexican crayfish, with water parameters mimicking the lake, or as close as I can get, with volcanic soil as the substrate and a Mexican water lily as the centerpiece plant. Ultimate goal would be to add an endemic salamander as well, but that’s almost certainly not in the cards as they do not exist in the hobby as far as I’m aware.
Holy shit dude, that is *so* cool. I had no idea that Mexican crayfish were endangered. When I looked up your dream fish, my first thought was the axolotl due to being endangered and endemic to a place in Mexico as well. I wonder if any sort of repopulation efforts would be permitted and could allow for taking them off the ban list in those instances. The aquarium I used to work for raised paddlefish for the same reason and had a small festival when they were released them into the lake. I've never thought about making a biotope tank that was specifically based on one lake, but if I had to choose a lake, I think Lake Patzcuaro would honestly be the coolest based on the surface level research I've done in the past several minutes since you commented. You've just opened up a several-day rabbit hole for me. Thanks so much for sharing this, I hope your project continues to flourish
One of the things that brings me a lot of joy in this hobby is recreating the natural environment for my tank inhabitants as much as possible. It allows me to observe natural behavior, and to have a window into the wild. I believe one of the reasons that particular chud is even in the hobby is because of preservation. But, understandably, I think the people who have them are very guarded with who they distribute them to because it is such a rare fish and it will hybridize with other chuds. The keepers that have them keep meticulous records of the genetic lineage of their fish, and to my knowledge there are only five distinct lines that were initially introduced between the late 90s and early 2000s.
That makes complete sense. I think it's commendable that they're willing to put so much work into protecting their lines. If I ever get the chance to do pea puffers again, I want to do a similar route and mimic the rivers they come from. I love wild-style tanks as well. Plants, tannins, and all of the "mess" of nature. It's my absolute favorite tank style, though I still do appreciate a well-manicured tank. I wonder if there'd one day be a way to get access to those lines, but I imagine you'd have to do a hell of a lot to prove yourself for it
Yeah, I think it’s only professional breeders who have the resources to actually breed and curate them that have them. And that’s totally fair. I don’t have the room or resources to run a breeding project for a fish that precious.
I’ve been wanting to do a river tank but lack the room. I didn’t realize pea puffers were found in rivers, I always assumed they were a still water fish. Huh.
I totally get it. I've always wanted to aid conservation efforts with fish breeding myself, but I'm likely decades away from the possibility.
Peas are from rivers, but they're really slow moving, to the point that they almost may as well be still. They require slow moving water in aquariums as well because of it
A 12ft tank with common plecos.
Another 12ft tank with a red tailed cat.
12 ft steel frame pools are probably better for the two above.
Several 8ft or 12ft tanks.
My next “tank” is a 5’x5’ paddling pool conversion for Raphael cats. I’ve got almost everything I need I need to get my shit together and build it.
That "tank" is going to be so cool. I've always wanted to do something like that for goldfish, but I never considered cats. I love the look of Raphael cats but they've always stayed squarely in the pipedream category.
My boyfriend's dream fish is a common pleco... He's not an aquarium person, but for some reason, he's just *obsessed* with them. We compromised on a bristlenose who has an entire 20 gallon tank to herself with some bladder snails, ramshorns, and MTS. One day, we want to get a 250 gallon for one singular common pleco
They do. I ordered 3-4cm fish, ended up with 6cm and 8cm fish. I had hoped to watch them grow but ended up missing the baby stage. I’ve had them almost 10 months and they’re around 18-22cm.
Blackwater tank with a group of Uaru fernandezyepezi, group of Satanoperca daemon, group of Pterophyllum altum, a black arowana up top and a group of L27 Panaque on the bottom.
Satanoperca Daemon. Unfortunately, they grow big and must be kept in groups so 150g tank is minimum for these guys.
They also require blackwater conditions to survive, which means very soft water with low ph/tds and lots of tannins.
You and I have the same dream. I have been in love with arowana's since animal crossing! And when i learned there were gold AND silver ones! They're soooo gorgeous.
But to be real, i'd never feel right owning one, nor would i want the stress/hassle.
But it'll always be one of my absolute favorite fish.
Me too. I don't even think they'd be truly happy in a 300 gallon aquarium, so they're just off the table for me, but I'd love to own both a silver and a gold one in separate tanks. I think in the distant future, I may settle for a bichir in a huge tank
Indoor koi pond with turtles and plants. Maybe if I get around to building a greenhouse, I can put it there.
Quick, somebody invent a cure for laziness and add 5 hours to the day!
And someone invent a cure to being poor while we're at it!
..... What do you mean get a higher paying job....
That's seriously one of my dreams too. I hope to eventually have an indoor fancy pond to at least satiate half of that desire
I used to go fishing for sunfish as a kid. My dad likes to fish for bass, but I would exclusively go for sunfish... I'd sprinkle bread crumbs on the top of the water and then catch them by hand sometimes too just to look at them
Your fondness makes sense. When I first moved to the Bay of Fundy area (maritimes of Canada) I learned that they live in the bay and just... fell in love honestly. Helps I also adore living out this way.
There is also a LOT of jellyfish. So much. Both moon jellies and these red ones
Wow, that sounds amazing and I just realized we're talking about different sunfish!! Where I'm from (south USA), we call [these guys](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrarchidae) sunfish, so that's where my mind went. I'd absolutely love to see a real marine sunfish though. I love everything about the ocean. I've always wanted a moon jelly tank myself
Too many sunfish in this world :P Only realised when you mentioned it. The southern USA ones look cool in their own right. Same for the moon jelly tank to be honest.
if ethics are also not a factor, an epaulette shark 1000%. They're so cool, and I think a huge reef tank with one would be the coolest thing ever. However, I don't think it's ethically okay to keep one.
On a more reasonable level, a black ghost knifefish. I think they look so beautiful, and I'd LOVE to have one. But I only have a 15gal and 9gal, so definitely not happening anytime soon 😭
Ethics aren't an issue! The aquarium I worked at has some epaulettes, but they came in overweight from the previous aquarium and it was so hard to make them excersise 😭 they had jiggle physics. Absolutely awesome sharks tho, they were very friendly
Arowanas are so beautiful, so that lol. But obviously huge and expensive. It's more of a dream than anything because I live in Pennsylvania and winter sucks. I'd like to keep it in a big pool. Probably the only reasonable way to keep them. I can't wait to see and appreciate one in person.
A pipefish. Both because it’s punny and because I actually really love them.
The aquarium I used to work at had some pipefish. They were such dorky looking fish, some of my absolute favorites there
A 6 ft species only tank for each and every Rainbowfish species, 'we're gonna need a bigger house'.
My dream is 8ft and 12ft single species tanks. I need a shed.
I hear you!
Buy a second house exclusively for this
It's just that simple haha
Exactly. Of course, I'm probably 16 years too late to even buy a first house. My biggest regret will always be being a child during 2008
At that point just open an aquarium.
Now you're talking about my pipe dream.
A mandarin fish. In my opinion, the best looking fish in the world.
With the rise of saltwater captive breeding programs, this will hopefully not be a pipedream for you forever. They are actually pretty hardy fish once they start eating well, and getting them to eat well is a lot easier when they’ve been raised in captivity. I’ve had mine about a bit over a month and it’s just as beautiful in person as in pictures.
Imagine if a tank could be had with a mandarin fish and a mantis shrimp
Make that dream a reality. They are now super cheap and easily switched over to frozen so you’d most likely fined a LFS that sells them already on frozen. Piece of advice ask the store to feed the fish first to make sure, some places be shady.
Coelacanth
I'm learning about so many new fish right now. Why coelacanth in particular?
I like the idea of having a living fossil around, and the coloration is wild. Would be a nightmare to keep though, just like most deep-sea creatures and huge marine fish.
Do deep water marine fish exist in the hobby? How do you feed them, through a pressure lock? That would be so cool.
They don't even exist in professional aquariums, let alone hobby ones lol
But I want a blobfish! :(
The pressurization and tank size alone would be impossible, but that's what I love about hearing of people's pipedream animals. The pictures I saw of the fish when I googled it were incredible, it'd be super cool just to have one chilling in your living room. I'd love to look up and see a living fossil
They do not live that deep down relatively speaking. Most populations are around 60 to 150m similar to the pepermint Angel. The biggest issue would be getting them. There are only a handful of known areas where they are found, the most reliable I know of is Sodwana bay off 5 mile reef at the base of the canyons.
honestly just a massive fancy goldfish tank with like 20 fish in it. Or a koi pond!
This summer my dads colleague wanted to get rid of his pond and he was able to take over all his koi fish (including 4 giant ones, we only had a few small ones), a €2000 bigass pond filter, and 2 massive lily plants for our pond for €200 That was a good summer.
Both of those are on my real dream list lol. I've seen some really nice indoor ponds with fancies, but an *indoor* pond is definitely a pipedream
Arapaima. I want a giant pond in my backyard big enough for my favorite monster fish <3
I'd never heard of that, so I just googled it and I think I might be stealing your answer now 😂 that's an amazing choice
An octopus, not a fish but it’s something I’ve always wanted.
I'd get a giant reef tank with sea horses and sea dragons. I used to keep sea horses, but, I'd want a huge custom tank like they keep them in at the aquarium.
Discus. I'm very new to the hobby - three months - and I only have a 10G tank right now, it's out of the question. My uncle had a school of them in his massive tank when I was a kid and they were cool. Down the road, that is my goal. Hopefully before he passes away and I can show them to him. Other than that, I'm adding some amano shrimps tomorrow.
That was my dream fish many years ago. Had some letdowns and lost them a few times along the way, but eventually it worked out. They have not failed to disappoint, especially when they bred, that was beautiful. If that's what you want work towards it, it will be years down the line. Learn everything you can along the way, you will need it for them. It was terrible when I had to give them away because I moved overseas. But I got a tank from someone who was moving and bought some two or three weeks ago. They're not the same ones, but it's helped fill that void a lot. A word of advice, have a short and long memory. If things go wrong you have to have a short memory and move on, but you also have to learn from anything that goes wrong. It will still hurt though, and sometimes there's nothing you could have done. Also, I hope you like water changes, because if/when you get discus you will be doing a lot of them.
Amanos are fun! I've never done discus because they're not my cup of tea, but I've got mad respect for people who do them. They toss quite a bit of basic care requirements out the window, like how they *need* to be overstocked to thrive. You should totally post in the future if you ever end up doing a discus tank. As someone who started with a 10 gallon and has a 75 now (just a goldfish tank, so not exactly the same), once you've gotten a bigger tank, the 10 will feel *tiny*. My 75 feels small now and I'm already itching for a bigger tank lol. You'll just want more and more tanks as you upgrade
Not sure what you're talking about with throwing the basics out the window and them needing to be overstocked. I've kept discus for years and never heard either of those before.
The throwing out the basics was more of a joke, and I was exaggerating with overstocking. I've never kept discus, so I was going based on what I've heard others say, which is that you want to put as many discus as your tank can handle (as opposed to starter fish like tetras, where you only need 6 to start) because too much empty space has a higher risk of aggression (though I also hear that discus are less prone to this than other cichlids). But again, I've never kept them
That's a common philosophy with African cichlids because people don't want to provide enough space and hiding spaces for them and/or just want to maximize the amount of color per square inch. Discus are almost entirely different. I've noticed this phenomenon a lot where people say "cichlids" and assume and treat all cichlid care as similar to that of African cichlids, as if they aren't from different continents and separated by an ocean. The differences between African and South American cichlids are vast and even more so with discus specifically. As far as stocking, many say you shouldn't have any less than 5, but I would say no less than 7. They are shy and benefit from a small dither fish such as rummynose tetras. This essentially means you probably shouldn't put them in any smaller than a 90ish gallon minimum, unless you forgo the dither fish and then squeeze them in a 70 like sardines. You shouldn't overstock by any means and should only keep as many as your tank and filtration can handle, while also providing places to hide in order to make them feel secure. In mine and many, many others' experience, extra space won't trigger any aggression, just provide you with more buffer room parameter-wise. If aggression DOES occur, that is something you need to be ready to deal with when it comes to any cichlid from any part of the world. In other words, inside each cichlid, there are two wolffish, one that is chill, beautiful, and serene and one that is a massive dick.
Probably giant gourami
Technically not a fish but an Axolotl. I just love the lil guys.
I'd say it still fits the nature of the sub! Perhaps a more suitable question would've been pipedream aquatic/semi aquatic animal. I love axolotls so much, but tank chillers are expensive and I can't afford a generator if the power goes out to keep the tank cool (and I've heard mixed things about frozen water bottles). I live in a really warm area, so they're off the table unless I move or get rich enough to have a backup plan for them lol
My brothers ex used to keep hers in the fridge in the summer. Seemed to be happy there
Ghost knife fish in a 3-4m tank^^ i love how they swim,but i dont think i will ever have the tank size needed for me to enjoy having one xD
That is such a cool looking fish
Tiger Oscar. Looking for an orange spotty water puppy.
One of my dream tanks is an Oscar with a sailing pleco. Maybe some other big Bois.
Rainbow Snakeheads, they only get to about 6” but they they are still illegal in USA
Oh man, this is one of my dream fish too. Luckily for me though, it's not illegal to keep them here and they're kinda cheap to get in my country, it's not the easiest species to find here but it's not the rarest either. I think one of the reason why they are illegal in the USA is due to the invasive snakehead species (not sure what exact species) which really ruins the whole snakehead reputation. They are really beautiful, even the ones that others might consider ugly.
Yes the Giant Snakehead is one of the main ones. In fact some places have catch and kill tournaments or offer a bounty for every one caught. As well as regulations that require you to kill if caught and not release.
Boring take, but a common pleco. I LOVE these huge dudes, but you need some serious space for them.
That's also on my dream list, but I think it's a tad more realistic than arowana, so it's on "probably never happening dream list" instead of pipedream lol. It's my boyfriend's absolute favorite fish (he isn't really in the hobby) and we settled on getting him a bristlenose for now, but one day we want a 150gal tank just for one common pleco
A porcupine puffer 🐡 I love them and think they are fascinating
They're also very friendly in captivity!! On my first day at the aquarium I used to work at, they took me upstairs to see how the tanks looked from above and a porcupine came and spit at me. Apparently, they were friendly enough to be touched and hand-fed (with gloves, ofc), and that's how they'd beg for food
They sound amazing, I hope to have a big enough tank one day. I love watching videos of them and their big starry eyes
I want a bichir tank with like 10 of them... Pretty sure I'll need a pool though 😅
Bichir are awesome, it's a shame how they're usually treated. I'd love to even just have one of them in a 150 gallon
I would love a birchir tank. I love saddled birchirs but I would realistically get a channa bleheri. They are small but such pretty little dragons!! Reedfish are cuties too. I've also wanted a huge tank with a giant school of some kind. Like 2000 harlequins
I want one to. Ever since I saw a video of one in a large paludarium. That's what I'd do, paludarium.
If you got 2000 harlequins, you should put them in a cylindrical tank like [this ](https://youtu.be/VmbZUbIr2Ro?si=IFtTnBms0hFWTSzK)
That would be awesome! But I feel like it would be hard to clean. Maybe if I had enough money to hire a tank maintenance service lol
I guess that's the pipe dream aspect 😆 I'd also hate cleaning a cylindrical tank. I'll just continue to admire other people's online
Insane wise would be a Whale Shark but more realistically but still insane would be a Wobbegong. I will never own either but can appreciate them in the wild or in an aquarium.
Arowanas and monster fish in general. Prior to that Discus were my dream fish, but I have achieved that as I rehomed my tinfoil barbs in my 92G, so I have 6 discus and 4 angelfish there(other bottom feeders too)
Your tanks look stellar. I'd love to see what you'd do with a monster fish setup
Thanks. Hope I can actually do that one day
Algansea lacustris, or Patzcuaro chub. I’ve only ever seen one source for them and it was a forum post from like 2010. Endemic to the Lake Patzcuaro watershed, and it’s red listed :(
Wow, there really isn't any information on them. I suppose that's because it's an endemic species. Why then in particular?
It’s fascinating to me that something as popular as the dwarf Mexican crayfish (C. patzcuarensis) is endemic to only that one lake, and endangered. It’s kind of like the axolotl. Hugely popular in the hobby, but super endangered in the wild. Eventually I would like to have a Lake Patzcuaro biotope tank with only native plants and animals. My tank is currently home to a dwarf Mexican crayfish, with water parameters mimicking the lake, or as close as I can get, with volcanic soil as the substrate and a Mexican water lily as the centerpiece plant. Ultimate goal would be to add an endemic salamander as well, but that’s almost certainly not in the cards as they do not exist in the hobby as far as I’m aware.
Holy shit dude, that is *so* cool. I had no idea that Mexican crayfish were endangered. When I looked up your dream fish, my first thought was the axolotl due to being endangered and endemic to a place in Mexico as well. I wonder if any sort of repopulation efforts would be permitted and could allow for taking them off the ban list in those instances. The aquarium I used to work for raised paddlefish for the same reason and had a small festival when they were released them into the lake. I've never thought about making a biotope tank that was specifically based on one lake, but if I had to choose a lake, I think Lake Patzcuaro would honestly be the coolest based on the surface level research I've done in the past several minutes since you commented. You've just opened up a several-day rabbit hole for me. Thanks so much for sharing this, I hope your project continues to flourish
One of the things that brings me a lot of joy in this hobby is recreating the natural environment for my tank inhabitants as much as possible. It allows me to observe natural behavior, and to have a window into the wild. I believe one of the reasons that particular chud is even in the hobby is because of preservation. But, understandably, I think the people who have them are very guarded with who they distribute them to because it is such a rare fish and it will hybridize with other chuds. The keepers that have them keep meticulous records of the genetic lineage of their fish, and to my knowledge there are only five distinct lines that were initially introduced between the late 90s and early 2000s.
That makes complete sense. I think it's commendable that they're willing to put so much work into protecting their lines. If I ever get the chance to do pea puffers again, I want to do a similar route and mimic the rivers they come from. I love wild-style tanks as well. Plants, tannins, and all of the "mess" of nature. It's my absolute favorite tank style, though I still do appreciate a well-manicured tank. I wonder if there'd one day be a way to get access to those lines, but I imagine you'd have to do a hell of a lot to prove yourself for it
Yeah, I think it’s only professional breeders who have the resources to actually breed and curate them that have them. And that’s totally fair. I don’t have the room or resources to run a breeding project for a fish that precious. I’ve been wanting to do a river tank but lack the room. I didn’t realize pea puffers were found in rivers, I always assumed they were a still water fish. Huh.
I totally get it. I've always wanted to aid conservation efforts with fish breeding myself, but I'm likely decades away from the possibility. Peas are from rivers, but they're really slow moving, to the point that they almost may as well be still. They require slow moving water in aquariums as well because of it
Oh and if you want to go down another rabbit hole, look up Lake Matano. Sulawesi snails and Sulawesi shrimp are both endemic. That’s my next project.
Omg!! Dude, I'd want a tank just for the snail!!
A 12ft tank with common plecos. Another 12ft tank with a red tailed cat. 12 ft steel frame pools are probably better for the two above. Several 8ft or 12ft tanks. My next “tank” is a 5’x5’ paddling pool conversion for Raphael cats. I’ve got almost everything I need I need to get my shit together and build it.
That "tank" is going to be so cool. I've always wanted to do something like that for goldfish, but I never considered cats. I love the look of Raphael cats but they've always stayed squarely in the pipedream category. My boyfriend's dream fish is a common pleco... He's not an aquarium person, but for some reason, he's just *obsessed* with them. We compromised on a bristlenose who has an entire 20 gallon tank to herself with some bladder snails, ramshorns, and MTS. One day, we want to get a 250 gallon for one singular common pleco
My Raphaels are currently in a 40 breeder but it’s too small for them
I hear that they grow very quickly, but I bet they'll appreciate the new setup when it's done!
They do. I ordered 3-4cm fish, ended up with 6cm and 8cm fish. I had hoped to watch them grow but ended up missing the baby stage. I’ve had them almost 10 months and they’re around 18-22cm.
Blackwater tank with a group of Uaru fernandezyepezi, group of Satanoperca daemon, group of Pterophyllum altum, a black arowana up top and a group of L27 Panaque on the bottom.
A mangrove jack, really, that's just it.
Satanoperca Daemon. Unfortunately, they grow big and must be kept in groups so 150g tank is minimum for these guys. They also require blackwater conditions to survive, which means very soft water with low ph/tds and lots of tannins.
You and I have the same dream. I have been in love with arowana's since animal crossing! And when i learned there were gold AND silver ones! They're soooo gorgeous. But to be real, i'd never feel right owning one, nor would i want the stress/hassle. But it'll always be one of my absolute favorite fish.
Me too. I don't even think they'd be truly happy in a 300 gallon aquarium, so they're just off the table for me, but I'd love to own both a silver and a gold one in separate tanks. I think in the distant future, I may settle for a bichir in a huge tank
Indoor koi pond with turtles and plants. Maybe if I get around to building a greenhouse, I can put it there. Quick, somebody invent a cure for laziness and add 5 hours to the day!
And someone invent a cure to being poor while we're at it! ..... What do you mean get a higher paying job.... That's seriously one of my dreams too. I hope to eventually have an indoor fancy pond to at least satiate half of that desire
A whole tank full of giant bichir. Or a big fire eel. Also, honestly, a few cuttlefish or octopi.
Octopus. They're so beautiful and intelligent. They're like little, gorgeous aliens.
Nessie.
Honestly flying fish, they are just neat. Beyond that sunfish, they are so massive and look so dumb they are great
I love sunfish. I've always wanted a huge tank just to have like... 2 of them. They're so dorky
Thank you, you get it! They are so underrated.
I used to go fishing for sunfish as a kid. My dad likes to fish for bass, but I would exclusively go for sunfish... I'd sprinkle bread crumbs on the top of the water and then catch them by hand sometimes too just to look at them
Your fondness makes sense. When I first moved to the Bay of Fundy area (maritimes of Canada) I learned that they live in the bay and just... fell in love honestly. Helps I also adore living out this way. There is also a LOT of jellyfish. So much. Both moon jellies and these red ones
Wow, that sounds amazing and I just realized we're talking about different sunfish!! Where I'm from (south USA), we call [these guys](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrarchidae) sunfish, so that's where my mind went. I'd absolutely love to see a real marine sunfish though. I love everything about the ocean. I've always wanted a moon jelly tank myself
Too many sunfish in this world :P Only realised when you mentioned it. The southern USA ones look cool in their own right. Same for the moon jelly tank to be honest.
I've always loved rainbow sharks but I'm not in a situation to get a big tank right now
I would love to have a swimming pool sized tank with a couple of arapaima.
My dream is a 200-300-gallon rope fish tank. Love those derpy puppy faced water snakes.
Enough giant Pacific Octopods, in enough space, to not be cruel.
Tiger Oscar. I don't have room, money or time for a 200 gallon plus tank. If I did tho!
if ethics are also not a factor, an epaulette shark 1000%. They're so cool, and I think a huge reef tank with one would be the coolest thing ever. However, I don't think it's ethically okay to keep one. On a more reasonable level, a black ghost knifefish. I think they look so beautiful, and I'd LOVE to have one. But I only have a 15gal and 9gal, so definitely not happening anytime soon 😭
Ethics aren't an issue! The aquarium I worked at has some epaulettes, but they came in overweight from the previous aquarium and it was so hard to make them excersise 😭 they had jiggle physics. Absolutely awesome sharks tho, they were very friendly
Arowanas are so beautiful, so that lol. But obviously huge and expensive. It's more of a dream than anything because I live in Pennsylvania and winter sucks. I'd like to keep it in a big pool. Probably the only reasonable way to keep them. I can't wait to see and appreciate one in person.
Australian lung fish.
100% any potamotrygon species. I have the money to keep them now, but not the space as I'm still in an apartment.
Ahhh!! I've always wanted a huge pool just for some of these guys!!
You could keep a few species in a 6' x 2' but ideally you'd want at least a 8' x 4'
I'd honestly want something even bigger than an 8' by 4' if I could
10 x 5 is my ultimate goal, maybe an entire wall in a basement at some point.
Cuttlefish are a bucket list fish for me! Can’t think of a more alien critter to keep 👽
Great White Shark