Fins Over Fur

And here it is! the final installment to this article series. Some of my favorite fish will be listed here this time so ready yourself for some hyper-cool fin-bros. (and non-fin bros) In this article I will discuss the fish known as "oddballs & centerpieces" These fish are generally larger, have more intellectual presence and are more often than not solitary, or at least tolerate loneliness. Some of them don't neccesarily stand alone well but they arent schooling so Ill discuss them as well. I'll also list some animals that aren't fish at all but can be kept alongside them.

First off I'll start with the fish that won my heart right from the get-go as a fishkeeper. I had one of these in my first ten gallon when I began my fishkeeping journey. This little minnow is called the rainbow shark. They get to about 6" long, are solitary and have quite a lot of presence! I seriously miss having one and I certainly will again one day. They are somewhat aggressive so having too much going on toward the bottom half of the tank isn't recommended though I've not seen them mess with other fish too much given adequate space. I recommend at least 20 gallons for a rainbow if not 30. Absolutely DO not put 2 rainbows together or they will absolutely murder each other. There is also a very similar fish called the red tailed shark that is behaviorally extremely similar. Its a little smaller at about 4-5" and from what I've heard a bit more aggressive. But both fish will be fine as long as they are given adequate space, a cave to call their own and plenty of plants and such in the tank. Despite the name these are not in any way, sharks. They do have a shark-like body shape, aggressive streak and habit of cruising around ominously in a way very reminiscent of sharks though. So they fill that behavioral role for freshwater tanks under 1,000 gallons!

The wonderfully awesome Rainbow shark!!

An albino rainbow

The very similar red tailed shark.

The next group is Gouramis! these guys come in quite a wide array of colors and sizes so theres one for everybodys needs and taste! Some popular species are the pearl and blue gouramis that get to about 5-6" the tiny dwarf gouramis that gets to about 2-3" which I happen to have one of at the moment, they have a very wide range of color morphs as well! The lovely paradise gourami which gets to about 4" and looks oddly like the popular gourami cousin, the betta fish, and of course the Betta itself! Any rule that applies to bettas applies to gourami. Absolutely no males together, females are fine together and at least 2 females to a male if you want a group rather than solo. Also NO NIPPY TANKMATES!! it should be obvious why. for dwarfs and bettas a 10 gallon tank will do, as they are small, relatively calm and can process atmospheric oxygen. bigger varieties of gourami need bigger tanks, but almost all commonly sold varieties are fine in 30 or so gallons.

The Betta in its many glorious forms...

The standard dwarf gourami

a flame dwarf gourami morph

My powder blue morph dwarf gourami!

The blue or two-spot gourami

The paradise gourami

Next on the list are some really awesome fish. These are called bichirs ( I've heard it pronounced bikers. and buh-sheers before so Im not certain as to how to pronounce it...) these fish are often sold as "dinosaur eels" anyway. Though this is not accurate as they are neither dinosaurs nor eels. They do however have an elongated eel-like body and a prehistoric appearance to them! That's not just for looks either, these truly are ancient creatures! they are a family of fish called polypterids. They are in a category of species many biologists call "living fossils" creatures that are little or completely unchanged from times far before most modern life evolved. fish like these are somewhere between land and water animals and can not only swim and breathe dissolved oxygen with their gills, but have a primitive lung-like organ and powerful leg-like pectoral fins that allow them to get around on land. They sport a back full of spiky dorsal finlets, sharp teeth and armor so strong and flexible that it is being analyzed for reference by the U.S military!

All this might sound intimidating but the only ones you commonly find in pet stores are actually quite easy to care for and are relatively small. The only species you commonly find in local pet stores is Polypterus Senegalus. the senegal bichir. They only grow to about a foot and can reasonably live in a 30 gallon aquarium as a stunning showpiece. They wont eat flakes but regular predator pellets will do just fine. These ARE predatory fish though so keeping them with tiny, slow or long-finned fish is NOT recommended. Cories in particular are not good with these guys as not only will the cories be in danger but many a bichir has choked to death trying to swallow the spiny fins of small catfish. Good tankmates include fast tetras, barbs, plecos, rainbow sharks, rasboras, crayfish, snails and large gouramis. As long as the fish isnt too tiny, P.senegalus is actually relatively peaceful. Bad choices include, bettas, dwarf gouramis, angels, platies, mollies, guppies swordtails, shrimp and any catfish under 3" A cousin of P. Senegalus is P. Delhezi or simply Delhezi's bichir. these guys are slightly bigger at 12-14" but are basically the same in care. They are rare to see but are absolutely gorgeous and and not too expensive. Have a peek around your local specialty aquarium shops if you're interested! there are other Polypterus species as well but they are bigger, meaner and harder to care for including P. Endlicheri, which grows to 30" long and P. Congicus which has been recorded up to nearly 4 feet!! P. Ornattippinus, the ornate bichir is one of the most beautiful species but it still grows to 2 feet long and is particularly aggressive. so beginners ought to stick with P. Senegalus and P.Delhezi.

P.Senegalus

a P.Senegalus albino

P. Delhezi

next group are whats called livebearers. These fish, unlike most actually give birth to live young just like mammals do, rather than laying clutches of eggs. they are beautiful and hardly little fish and can do a lot to add color and variety to a tank. They arent very big, with swordtails being the biggest, averaging around 5" but they arent schooling fish. Obviously they cant be qualified as schoolers then, but adding several of different forms and colors adds a level of variety to a tank. So I classify them in with the oddballs. Some people like them so much they dedicate entire tanks just to them alone! be careful though as adding males and females together can quickly lead to an overpopulated tank if you're not careful! try adding only a few males together or stick mostly to females unless you want to start a fish farm!

How to tell the difference between male and female mollies/platies.

Assorted colors and patterns of platies.

the many colors and morphs of mollies!

sexing guppies

Guppy types and colors.

sexing swordtails is easy too....

a few of many swordtail varieties!

Next up are what we call "sucker cats" most of this being of the genus Plecostomus, "Plecs" "plecos" as we call them in the hobby. There are also the tiny Otocinclus catfish or "ottos". these fish are what most people call "sucker fish" or "algae eaters" and thats acttually pretty accurate. they do suck on everything, and they are eating algae. Most people go for the common pleco but that is a HUGE mistake. they can grow up to 2 feet in the aquarium, are very powerful, fast and destructive. their digging habits will tear your nice pretty tank to pieces mere minutes after putting it together again once they get bigger not to mention they rival goldfish in the bioload, that is... pooping department. The common pleco has 2 much smaller commonly seen cousins however. The rubber lip pleco and the bushynose pleco. these guys are a bit more expensive but they only grow to about 4" so are far better suited to small tanks. Full grown common plecs have a bit of a godzilla complex in anything short of 180 gallons. there are also many other small, beautiful pleco species out there but they arent cheap and you wont find them very easily I'm afraid. Otto catfish are adorable little fish that behave much like plecs, they swim around and suck on rocks, plants and glass for algae. They look a lot like tiny sharks but they are only about 2" so they do best in groups.

The bushy/bristlnose pleco enjoys veggies!

Albino bushynose

D'aww look at that cute lil' rubberlip!!

My Otocinclus catfishes on instagram!

BUT SERIOUSLY DONT BUY THE COMMONS!!!!

Last fishes I'm going to list are..... surprisingly not even fish. These are just other aquatic creatures that can live alongside fish. Snails, shrimp, fully aquatic frogs and crayfish.(or crawdads, mudbugs, yabbies or whatever you'd like to call them, though most are sold as "lobsters").

You will generally see 3 kinds of snails in aquarium stores. Apples, Nerites and Mystery snails. Apple snails are easy but get quite large (about the size of an orange) so are better suited to a bigger tank in the 30+ gallon range. They are voracious herbivores so dont even bother trying to keep live plants with these guys. That being said it should be obvious what their diet is like. feed them vegetable pellets as a staple (plecs and ottos love those too) with some cucumber, romain lettuce or boiled peas as a treat. nerites and mystery snails are smaller at 2 to 3 inches, respectively. they can and should be fed the same way but unlike apples can be trusted with live plants and will eat the dead and rotting plant matter in the aquarium so they do enough to earn their keep.

Shrimp are fun and interesting creatures, they are scavengers and usually eat what bits they find on plants, glass, in the sand and in the water column. generally they will feed right alongside your fish so no need to do much special for them. by far the most commonly seen are ghost or "glass" shrimp. But you can occasionally find cherry or crystal shrimp as well. The care for these shrimp is all about the same though the latter are more expensive. Not hard though since ghost shrimp are flat out one of the cheapest pets you can buy, averaging around 30 cents each.

Most pet stores also sell small fully aquatic frogs called African dwarf frogs, or ADF's for short. These guys are really interesting and do great in a community aquarium. although i should add that since they need air to breathe a deep aquarium is a poor choice as their tiny bodies (around 2 1/2") get tired after swimming quickly to the surface of a 2 foot deep tank. They will take most small pellets, frozen and freeze dried foods but flakes don't really work for them. They also like friends so having at least 3 is preferable.

And lastly.... "lobsters", which are actually crayfish. These guys can be a little aggressive and snappy at fish and eachother so they should be alone on the bottom of the tank. (though the heavily armored pleco's have no trouble with them). They range in size from about 4-5" to over a foot!. but the only species I reccomend for beginners all fall under 6" though many of those fall under the same species (procambarus clarkii ) as color morphs. They will appreciate predator pellets and treats such as beef heart and bits of chopped fish or shrimp for extra nutrition. As far as tank mates go they follow the same rules as bichirs, nothing too slow and small, quick fish like tetras and danios are fine but bettas, dwarf gouramis, ottos, cories ADF's and livebearers will probably just end up as lunch. oddly enough shrimp were usually fine for some reason though, but I'd advise caution on that front.