Taylor Blake

When I was in high school I went from a 20 gallon to a 150 and after about a year of my 150 gallon Being up I had a crash when I was away for a week. I then thought it was a good time to get a different fish. So I went to the internet and ordered a fish I named him bubbles because he was only 3 inches long and played in my bubbler. He was so cute I felt bad it was just him in this giant tank but he would come say hi to me and would beg for food and splash at me when it doesn't come fast enough. That was 11 years ago now and bubbles is still with me he is in an 800 gallon now and around three and a half feet long. He still plays with bubbles and I give him a ball every now and then. And he dose still splash me when I don't bring food fast enough it just makes a lot more of a mess now.

https://www.thesprucepets.com/horseface-loach-1381070#horsehead-loach-habitat-and-care here is a link to some care info on them they are pretty large full grown so I would probably only do a max to 8 and a min of 6 in a 110 if it's the footprint I'm thinking of. Larger Cory cats should be fine to keep with them it you have to remember they are occupying the same role as bottom feeder in a tank so they do need to be kept so they can both have places to hide and both eat without two much competition.

L471,L10A,L46,L128,L333,L397,L134,L201 this is the L numbers of 8 species you should be able to google care from there. most stay under 5in with one that gets up to 7. If I were you I would look into other species of otocinclus their are more then people think some really do look like little bitty plecos.

@RovingGinger they filter all the tanks with large sumps they all overflow into filter socks and from there the water hose into the sump and is pumped out to a large pressure sand filter on its way there it passes through a UV sterilizer Then from their it goes into the bio tower with biological media we also have carbon in all the bio towers so the water has to pass through a carbon layer and from there it ether goes through a chiller or heater and back to the tank. Salt tanks have skimmers. im more into fresh because I'm more into this fish I have (bubbles my alligator gar) I also have a little problem with going overboard on things. I have 5 tanks in the house and almost 2000 gallons my smallest is a 90. If I were to keep salt I would need at least a 3000 gallon tank for what I want to keep( triggers and a Wobbegong or two). Salt and fresh aren't that different the goal is the same to keep the fish happy healthy and clean they may look different like corals and weird worms compared to plants but the Idea is the same grow and make more if possible.

Their is a lot to unpack there but I can start off. I work at a public aquarium and I have freshwater tanks at home. - How are saltwater fish personalities? Is there a saltwater equivalent to the Oscar or other cichlid personality types? Every fish is a little different groupers And snappers are a little like some of the larger South American cichlids but the things with the most personality are the stingrays and puffers. Angles are VERY territorial kinda like African cichlids but are little more willing to kill each other. - How do filtration needs differ? Seems like every salt tank I see is drilled but is that just because hey, it’s already expensive and elaborate enough I should have a sump running? so the best way to get all the gear you need into your filter system is a sump. protein skimmers are very useful and biological filtration is important in all aquariums but in salt getting as much bacteria to colonize as possible helps keep a tank stable. Reef people tend to be the type of fish people who like a challenge and want it exactly right so a sump gives people the freedom to customize as well. - Are there things that freshwater keepers should adopt from saltwater and vice versa? Ways of thinking, techniques, equipment, etc? Yes and no do your research on what species you want to keep and how to best keep it. Give the animal as much space as you can and keep the water clean. an aquarium is an aquarium at the end of the day. What’s your overall experience with the pros and cons of each? Pros and cons depend on the person but here are some of mine freashwater pros "free" water changes, less expensive on average, and Can be minimal maintenance. Freshwater cons limited fish with lots of color, less tank tech like lights and other fancy equipment, and that's about it but I'm more into fresh than salt salt water pros lots of cool colorful fish, corals, and cool setups with neat gear. Salt water cons expensive for everything, lots to learn for new people wanting to get into reef keeping, more equipment that is required to run it. brackish pros basically fresh with a bit of salt so you treat it like a freshwater tank, cool fish and some plants, can be fun and really interesting for a fish keeper who has had fresh and would like a little bit different fish and more of a challenge. Cons have to buy reef salt, is a little more expensive to get the fish, and salt creep will begin to happen and starts to look a little like hard water stains it is easier to get off however. please feel free to ask questions and other people will add things I hope

I had At one time 5 tanks in my college dorm they had no rules about it until I was gone. I just drove my fish their and back and I would buy tanks while I was there and sell the tanks before I had to move out for the summer. I would trade up on craigslist a lot. That is how I ended up with a lot of tanks bigger tanks cheap. I think in all trading buying and selling I made 500 bucks keeping fish and selling tanks. This is a 58 gallon native tank I had

Please share some of the tanks/fish rooms your are proud of here are a two of mine. The first is a tank I had in college it had the plants were native collected the fish were hybrid white bass and other natives from jonah's aquarium. The second set of pics are of my 300 gallon hillstream community inspired by Rachel O'Learys 150 gallon. I'm shooting for more US natives like darters and other shiner species.

Hi I'm Taylor from Minnesota and this is my alligator gar named Bubbles (Sorry for the bad photo). He is in an 800 gallon above ground pond in my fish room. I don't have that many tanks I have a 90 rainbow fish community that I'll be planting. I have a 300 gallon snapping turtle tank with a 150 above tank sump that has plants and a few fish. The last tank is a 300 hillstream community that I'm sure I'll make a post on. It is inspired by Rachel O'Learys 150 hill stream same kinds of fish just more. are their any other monster keepers here?