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PETS: wot you got?

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Two budgies, a rat, five fish, and two horses :) The budgies have far more personality than you'd expect from a $5 bird.
 
I used to have budgies, 9 altogether. They were all great characters.
 
I'm breeding small tropical fish since three years but haven't been lucky so far: their life is short and that's sad. The worst was when I added to the tank a couple of Angel Fish who ate all the others. I think it's because I called the Angel fishes with the names of dead grandparents: their spirits took a revenge against me for being disrespectful. But that wasn't my intention. Still sorry grannies, apologies.
Currently I have only two Botia Macracantha (called "Tigro" and "Tigro's Mate": my daughter chose the names) and one male Betta Splendens called Rambo (planning to get two wives for Rambo: he has loads of testosterone).
 
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Here is my tank
 

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Here is my tank

Looks great, Mart, very well kept. What's in it? Have you ever tried freshwater crabs or crays (which I'm tempted to try myself). You see the bad thing is when my fishes die: the hard part is to explain my daughter, who doesn't know yet what passing away means. When a fish dies I tell her he's on holiday but will be back in a couple of weeks...
 
Mart, that tank is so cool, I also wonder what fish you have in it?

Spaghetti, I am not too sure about the freshwater crabs and crays. Here in the UK most of them are illegal because they can escape into the wild and cause trouble. The crays certainly will escape from their tank if they don't have a well-fitting lid. The freshwater 'blue lobster' must be kept on its own because if it dies it releases a chemical which kills fish and other lobsters.

Small tropical fish do have short lifespans, only 18 months for some guppies, 2-3 years for most small tropicals. It increases with the size of the fish - big tropicals and coldwater fish may live for 15-20 years or a lot more, but that then raises the question of how to house a huge pleco or 20kg carp.

Sorry to hear that the angel fish ate all the others. As they grow, they tend to eat small fish. Most fishkeepers have had a few disasters like that.

The Bettas should breed if you get some females, but unless you separate them from the Botias the eggs will get eaten. The male makes a bubble nest and attracts the females to it. Courtship is quite rough, and the females may get torn fins. The pair wrap around each other as they spawn, and then they separate and the female floats away as if dead, but then recovers and swims off. The male collects the eggs and spits them into the nest, then he guards the nest. The female may be bullied by him and should be removed after spawning. When the fry hatch it is better to remove the male, as he may eat them. They are very tiny and difficult to see, about 2mm long. As they grow, the males need to be separated from each other.
 
Thanks Naiad, you're hired!
In facts I'm quite aware of Bettas' issues related to male/female stormy relation and parental care. It's a big step to take for me (and for them). What I wish is for them is to have an interesting life, which I'm responsible of. I always wonder what would be theirn own choice: a quiet life, just swim around and no surprise, or a "full" life just like in nature, have "sex", have babies, have fights and possibily be killed, with all the trouble related. If I think of nature I get an obvious response, but are we sure? Look how many humans choose the "quiet" option...
As for Botias, they are the only survivors of the Angel fish holocaust. But since then they changed their behaviour: they used to be cheerfully getting around all the time, while now, even now that the Angels are gone, they're so shy and spend almost all the time hidden in holes and cavities. They're still shocked, and seldom move in fear with quick dives from hole to hole, from hiding to hiding.
 
Well, make that two budgies, five fish, and two horses. The rat died yesterday :( Very sad, but he was quite an old fellow.
 
For eight Years now, I, or better we, have had Goliath the incredible. (He now lives with my ex-GF.)

Pic1: Isn't he the sweetest? :inlove
Pic2: Yes, we used to do yoga together.
Pic3: He did that to himself and was happily trying to get last out of that canned corn. Weirdo.. rofl
Pic4: ..and he likes to get his tummy rubbed. :)
 

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Batray that is a shame. I have kept rats too.
The one I remember most was Robin the hooded rat, he had his bits removed by a vet which made him very placid, he lived for 3 years very old for a rat.
 
Batray, my condolences.
I had two rats as well.
 
Thank you, Foxfish and sanso. My recently departed rat was named Sheldon. By my sister's estimation, he was nearly four, which is ancient as far as rats go. He was somewhat nervous (he still had his bits), but would quiet down if you paid attention to him. If I put my hand in the cage and petted him, he used to rest his little rat head and one little rat hand on my hand, and would stay that way. He was an appealing fellow. It's always very difficult to lose them, so I don't think I'll get any more.
 
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Sorry about your rat. It is so hard to lose pets, I used to have many more pet birds, but now I only have four and am unlikely to get any more.

I should also not get too many more pets because the fish are growing and they need more space. They are overcrowded at the moment but the situation is not too bad because their water is very cold and they are not doing much. In the spring some of them will need a new home, and they will probably try to breed as well!

Spaghetti, it is difficult to decide whether to breed your pets or not, and I have often thought the same as you, do they want a natural life or a quiet life?

Those Botias will get quite big, how big is your tank?

My goldfish will certainly spawn in the spring, but they will probably eat most or all of the eggs.
 
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O forgot - I am not a great lover of keeping to many fish as I prefer the natural look but i have in my tank 11 freshwater shrimps & 8 cardinal tetras.
I love the technical aspect of obtaining near perfect conditions, the tank has a large sump, C02 injection & metal halide lighting.
 

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I'd love to keep tropical fish but it all looks like too much trouble for me. We have a pond in the garden with about 100 fish in it, goldfish, Rudd, Orfe and tench. Of course they don't have names but they eat well in the summer
 
I adopted a stray cat in my last place, just had to leave there to move to abu dhabi. It's really heart breaking, as she was a neurotic thing, wont let anyone pick her up but she really warmed to my housemate and me in the end.

We are looking for a decent home for her as she has become a home body. its really hard with pets. Now that i am moving i think i will get tropical fish. at least they dont have feelings, i think :(
 
I have:

2 dogs, one cat with brain damage (and no small amount of physical damage from an unknown source before he ran to us), and a 240 liter (that is about 60 gallons for you Amis out there :D) with.... a pair of Kakadus (Cichlids), 5 Sail-fin Tetras, about 20 neons, 3 female and 1 male Beta, 5 metal corys, 5 spotted Corys, 5 "Schackbrettschmerle" (don't know what they are in English but they eat snails), 2 stripped L-Welse, 2 "Schleierwelse" and 2 lonely female Vietas (also Cichlids IIRC - whose mate died last week)

in short - a zoo......
 
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We have one stroppy ginger tom, two ferrets, four dogs, two guineapigs and three birds. The birds are mules (cock linnet bred with hen canary) and bred by me for song. I have one pair and a lone cock. The lone cock is in a large box cage in the bedroom where he sings first thing in the morning. The pair are by glass doors in the kitchen and the cock sings through the day.
The cat can't be left in a room where birds are but the dogs are friends with him except for one of the lurchers which is afraid of him!
2008_01140002.JPG2008_01140004.JPG2008_01140009.JPGThe window behind him is where he goes in and out of the house.
 
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