Maybe this sounds really dumb, but I was just wondering, could I safely put minnows in my freshwater aquarium with my other fish?:confused:
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Maybe this sounds really dumb, but I was just wondering, could I safely put minnows in my freshwater aquarium with my other fish?:confused:
Yes and no. Your main concern with doing that is how they will interreact with your other fish and if you have smaller fish they might eat them. Also you need to be careful about introducing parastes and such. Other then that it should be OK.
Okay. What kind of fish do they eat? I have 2 African clawed frogs, 2silver dollar tetras, 1 parrot cichlid, and 2 spiny eels. Do you think they would get eaten. I don't want to put my fish at risk. Oh and 2 snails tooo.Quote:
Originally Posted by califdadof3
Rex, the main issue with me is capturing a wild animal in order to put it in captivity.
Pet store fish are different, they're raised and sold as pets. Minnows are born in the wild and in my opinion, that's where they belong.
Hugs to you, I just don't agree with capturing something from the wild and trying to make it domesticated. Just my opinion. :)
Thanks. You're probably right. I was just wondering about this. I guess it all comes down to the fact that I don't want to put my current fishies and froggies in danger, by introducing a fish from the wild. Thanks for answering!Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
No problem. Thanks for listening. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by rex123
If you didn't have other fish then it wouldn't be a problem, other then the issue I have with capturing wild animals and placing them in captivity. But you're right to be concerned that your current fish could be placed in danger by introducing fish that are from the wild. There are too many things to consider here, health wise.
Also, size will be an issue. Minnows grow and unless you know what species of fish you're getting and how big they'll be, it's really not a great idea because you may have to re-introduce them into the wild and they will likely die when that happens.
It's best to just forget about this plan. I love watching fish in nature, we've been on trips on a glass bottom boat and I've even had the opportunity to hand feed fish in the ocean (they were huge and a bit scary!)
Sometimes the wild has to be just that, wild. :)
Actually it depends on where they came from. Many minnows are raised commercialy for bait. So being from the wild may not apply. The other thing is I have had friends that had baby bass and kept them in a tank at home to watch them grow.Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
To Rex to answer the what will they eat question its usually anything smaller then they are. Also its going to depend on how social your other fish are too. The cichlid is the one I would worry about because they can be most known for aggression.
True, very true. So I guess the question is, are we fishing for minnows in the neighborhood stream or going to a minnow farm? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by califdadof3
I've captured insects in the past, to learn about them, watch how they interact. Actually, to be fair, it wasn't me, it was my dad, but I too had a net and helped. ;)
I just don't see the necessity in capturing a minnow from the neighborhood stream to keep it in a tank. Sorry, just my opinion. I wouldn't capture a wild rabbit either, even though I do have rabbits.
Agreeing to disagree here. :)
It's a fine line. Mostly about proliferation and attraction. There is nothing wrong with being interactive with nature so long as your not causing a disruption. Would you let a injured animal die knowing you could save it? Have you ever fed wild birds with seed or hummingbirds ? Its almost the same thing. I know of a few wild animals that have benefited from things I have done but I don't intend to interrupt the cycle of nature. As far as bunnies go there are a few around me and I enjoy watching them and sometimes leave treats for them. I don't consider that an interuption. Some have even tried to interact with me but I try to maintain a line. So if the minnows are in abundance then I don't see a problem with bringing one or a few home just as some would bring home pollywogs and watch them grow to frogs. To me it's the same thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
I've taken in too many injured birds. So far none of them have survived, they were all too far gone or my limited abilities weren't enough to save them. Won't stop me though.
I agree that there is a fine line. If there's a minnow with only one fin that won't survive if left to it's own devices, then yes, I'd scoop it up and bring it home. But grabbing a healthy minnow just to add it to my aquarium, no, not for me. To me there is nothing that is in over abundance and therefore okay to remove from nature. I don't care if there are millions of minnows, I still don't have the right to claim them as mine.
I'm not saying your wrong, I just don't agree. I don't think either of us is wrong per say, it's just a difference of opinion and at how we view things.
I still like you CalDad. I know, shocking isn't it? Did you know that I like you? ;)
As for bunnies, I watch the wild ones all the time, even though the majority of them are hares, not rabbits, so they don't give me a lot of insight to the rabbits in my care. Still, they're fun to watch but I never interact with them. Again, just my opinion. I love nature, but I'm a spectator only unless I'm forced to intervene.
I know what you mean. Just a couple weeks ago one of my cats Sox came home with a starling bird and it was still alive. It cried and it tried to shuffle away from the cat. It broke my heart and so me and mom went and got it and took it and put it in our shed and gave it some water. Unfortunately it died. Oh it was so horrible I don't think I'll ever look at a bird the same way again!Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
Its not an argument in any way. And I respect your opinion toally. We just look at the same thing differently. Not an issue :)
And thanks for your support on the boards Alty its always appreciated.
Are we having a mushy moment? Stop it! I don't do mushy! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by califdadof3
Okay, one hug but that's it. ;)
I agree, it's not an argument at all, it's just a difference of opinion and I also respect yours. :)
I am surprised that you didn't ask me what the difference between a rabbit and a hare was. I was hoping I'd get a chance to explain. ;)
Um.. ( dragging my foot on the gound in circles) what IS the difference between a rabbit and a hare ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
LOL! You know!Quote:
Originally Posted by califdadof3
Okay, thank you for asking. A rabbit burrows underground and lives with other rabbits. They are community animals. A hare lives above ground and usually alone, unless it's mating season.
Also, rabbits aren't rodents, they're lagomorphs. :)
I have all this useless knowledge in my head, someone remove it! ;)
The only problem with capturing live fish for a home aquarium, is they require live food.. which can get expensive the larger the fish gets.
The minnows would probably do OK for awhile, but would more than likely die. From past experiences with minnows (my dad use to fish a lot, I would keep the left over bait fish) they never lived very long. They require cold, fast moving water. Even though some fish are lake fish, they need that fast moving water in order for them to feel secure. Stressed fish never live long, and its very hard to get those stress levels down! Not to mention many minnows will grow to be many large fish that will gobble up your other fish.
Wild fish belong in the wild. I don't completely agree with a lot of the captive bred "lake" fish. No one is ever educated on how large they actually get. You're parrot fish is going to get HUGE if he isn't already... probably the size of a baseball (maybe bigger). You don't want to overpopulate the tank you have now. It will cause the tank to go into a shock and it will come down to the strongest suvive. You seem to have a very peaceful tank at the moment. Don't disrupt that. If you want to get into other types of fish, invest in another tank (or pond if you wish to do wild fish). You'll be happier in the long run.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky098
Thanks. And I did do research on all the fish I currently own. When I first got fish, I bought one from walmart and was told it was a community fish, I put it in with my fish and it ate three of them. Turns out that it was a cichlid and was an aggressive type. Ever since then I've researched every type I've gotten.
It's difficult to find fish that are compatible with my African Clawed Frogs. The silver dollars are good because they are big and will not be able to fit in my ACF's mouth, same with my Blood Parrot Cichlid. I got him because of his size and because of his temperament. If a fight were to occur he could protect himself, but at the same time he's not very aggressive. I watched him in the petstore for a good while and picked the one that was the less aggressive. I put a lot of thought into which fish I choose. And its hard to find one's that will get big, that can protect themselves, but at the same time are non-aggressive.
It's really funny because whenever I ordered my 2 Striped Peacock Eels and I went to go get them(2 hours away), I came home and found that the petstore employee had accidentally put an extra fish in there, a small tetra type, it may even be a silver tipped tetra. So I put him in my tank and named him Lucky Orca, he'll have to be lucky to not get eaten, and act like an orca to survive. Its been three weeks and he's still alive.
There are lots of non aggressive fish out there. Mostly it just depends on what type of tank you want to set up.
I will admit that I really don't know a lot about fish, that was my dads thing and he took his knowledge to the grave, leaving me to care for a 50 gallon tank without a clue how to care for it. I ended up giving it and the fish away because too many died and I didn't want any more death.Quote:
Originally Posted by califdadof3
I now have a 20 gallon tank with 2 fish in it, they're the only ones that have the decency to live through anything. ;)
I only commented on the minnows because they are wild animals (I consider fish animals) and I just don't agree with taking any animal out of it's habitat unless it's necessary.
Now that I know there are so many fish pros here, you may all be getting a call from me, I have some green crap in my tank that I can't get rid of and all the pet store "fish experts" don't know a darn thing.
The "greet stuff" sounds like algae and you can remove it with a blade also get fish to take care of it for you too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Altenweg
Like these.. they look prehistoric
Ref:
Plecostomus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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