What's an exotic fish than can be kept alone?

Question

I'm a college student and like most I have a tight budget. However, I'm madly in love with animals of all shapes so when my Fire Skink Wilbur passed, I decided to put his large tank to use. I'm looking for a fish that's easy to moderate in terms of care that I can keep by itself. I've looked into Eels and Wrasse the most [I'm into snakes so the long, large fish really appeal to me] and would like something with bright coloring. Salt water or fresh water would work. Thanks in advanced!

Answer 1

One of the best fish to keep by itself is a tire track eel. They are intelligent and will learn to recognize you if you are the only one who feeds it. It can also be trained to take food from your fingers if you are patient.

You don't say how big the tank is, but a 20 gallon would be about the minimum starter tank for a tire track eel. Eventually they get kind of long (up to 28") so you would need to upgrade to a larger tank (probably about a 40-50 gallon) in a couple years. They are beautiful fish too.

Go here for much more detailed info on the tire track or "spiny eel."
http://www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/fresh/spinyeel.shtml

Answer 2

If you go salt water you will need a huge tank, the general rule is 1 inch of marine fish for every 2 gallons as a maximum stocking level for a fish only marine tank, this is a rule that must be kept to.

Eels and wrasse are generally not beginner fishes especially the larger wrasse.

If you’re on a tight budget, stay away from the aquarium hobby all together, it’s not a word that’s really passable, I know it sounds harsh but if you want to keep fish, especially center piece single types, you have to have money for the filtration system, lighting, air pump, heater... then you have the bi weekly 20% water changes and if it’s a marine tank, RO water, your water bills will be big.

I know sounds harsh but at the end of the day, this hobby costs, allot.

Also as another note, please never keep any fish which are more than a quarter of the length of the tank, if you have a 1 foot fish, dont keep it in anything less than 4 foot long and at least wide enough for them to turn around, so if again it was a one foot fish, it should at least be 1 and a half foot wide. It is usually gallons which I mentioned that measures what fish to keep in but size is a factor, and keeping a fish that doesnt have enough swimming space is pretty cruel.

Answer 3

Some good ideas some bad.
BICHIRS first off can and some do get to be around 24" (not just 12) and prefer live small fish to pellet food. (That isn't to say they cannot or will not survive with pellet food) Smaller fish cannot be kept with Bichirs since when the fish are resting, he can and will eat them. Sand bottom works best. They cannot be kept with catfish or any agressive fish.
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/keeping_polypterus.htm

Rope fish, although not colorful would work well. If that is all you have in the tank.

As for salt, since you are on a budget, I would stay clear of those in a 10 gallon tank. Also, snowflake and most salt eels grow very large not just a foot or two.

A few female beta's (or just one male) could work nicely as well. They are inexpensive and easy to care for. Since you only have a 10 gallon, any long eel type fish would not do well, like the Wolf fish. (water wolf) since they will quickly out grow your tank and are live fish eaters.

Knife fish are cool, again they will get larger and quickly out grow your tank.

Perhaps a male beta for color and a rope fish for your snake fix?

Answer 4

Rope fish are great for freshwater and can be out of water for a few minutes with no damage which is good because they happen to be adept at escaping on occassion.

Another option would be a Ghost Knife. These are some awesome looking fish.

Oscars are also cool and have a lot of personality but aren't really the snakelike appearance you are seeking.

For Saltwater, you have a lot more species to choose from. Gobies are very cool. A dragon goby can actually be migrated from salt water to freshwater, or vice versa, if the process is done SLOWLY. There are hundreds of different goby varieties and many of them have a snakelike appearance.

Also snowflake eels or the previously mentioned tire track eels would be awesome.

Answer 5

beginning from scratch devoid of previous fishkeeping adventure that's going to be an extremely steep and costly gaining expertise of curve. there is not any set value quite, marine tanks are costly as you're making them, and the 1st twelve months of their existence is the costliest and toughest. previously you purchase any tanks or animals, i might recommend procuring some books on reef and marine conserving and get swotting, study a thank you to maintain water chemistry (significant) and what environments distinctive corals and fish choose. FYI be careful what seem at in terms of fish, some thing like ninety 5% of fish obtainable are wild caught as they gained't breed in captivity and all difficult corals are additionally from the wild, some delicate corals could be fragged and subsequently reared in captivity. connect some reefkeeping boards too and get knowledgeable! Marine tanks are no longer some thing you may rush into or purchase spontaneously, they take numerous meticulous making plans!

Answer 6

I think BICHIRS are the best for you! They're long (12+), exotic looking(like some whacked out prehistoric monster, lol) and best of all, only need moderate care.

Bichirs are freshwater fish mainly found in Africa, and they are many species. The most common one is the senegal bichir, which is gray(or white if it's an albino) and the most hardy ones. The more colourful ones are the ornate bichir (nice variety of patterns, espeicially on the fins)and the delhezi bichir(barred pattern).

Bichirs all have a row of roughly about 7-14 dorsal fins that look like the ones on dragons, their fins are lobed instead of rayed, and they have cute(or hideous, depending on ur perspective) stick out nostrils. They swim around like they're blind(they have rather poor vision) and rely on their sticky-out noses.

Bichirs can be kept absolutly fine alone, but they can also be left peacefully with other large fish that can't fit into it's mouth.

I feed mine hikari carnivore pellets, normal fish pellets, bloodworms and other frozen foods. You don't have to feed it feeder fish, and I don't since feeder fish often carry disease. Variety is the key(though you don't have to invest alot in specialty food, carnivore ones or cichlid ones are fine)

For more info, feel free to email me ([e-mail]). www.aquaticpredators.com also has an awesome bichir section, and the people there are also v helpful.

good luck:)

Answer 7

Why not a few that arent that much money and are small? Maybe some livebarers, (guppies, platy,molly, etc.) cardnal tetras(not neons). How big is the tank? Maybe some angle fish or a couple of kissing gouramis (get lage). If you decide on saltwater maybe gobies or clownfish maybe a few tangs but again all of this comes back to haw big os your tank? You should do some research on the internet go to fish stores and get some ideas.


Have Fun

Answer 8

for tropical, try an Oscar (they are like 5 dollars). They are colorful, easy to care for, grow very big, and don't need to be with other fish. Also, if you know anyone who's a teacher, you can order from CarolinaBiologicalSupplyCompany catalogue. It's cheap with good variety and you can get it delivered directly to your place rather than having to go searching in an overpriced pet store.

I've had a tire track eel. Those are very cool, and smart. However, boy mine and my parents escaped numberous times (we just put him back in) and got caught in the filter (died). They will recognize you, but they also recognize the exits in the tank, so protect him with safety measures. Once he escaped and we found him in the shoe of a little girl at my mom's daycare. She screamed "A 'nake, a 'nake." I'll always remember that.

Answer 9

I had a red devil for two yrs. It wasn't red, but bright orange. He was only 11/2" when I got him, about $3.50. He grew pretty fast to about 1ft. He was great, a clown that would sit in his tank & watch me when I was in the room. They eat feeder fish or flakes. Grow faster & bigger with feeders. They're freshwater, easy to care for.

Answer 10

get an oscar, they get huge, and theyre actually really friendly. theyll come to the front of the tank to see you, take food right out of your hand. and generally are just cool. theyre also easy to care for and dont require a huge tank.