Keeping deep water species in aquariums

@TrevorR
There is way to many technicalities when it comes to is this fair, if we were in the right position to make that call we would not be battling this out over a thread. We need to be able to positively motivate people into the hobby, but at the same time within the right direction.

The current matter in what it is being approached as will just make people bubble up and do what they think is best. I agree with a lot what @Pezulu said today. and a few others, you might mean this in a good sense, bur projecting it in the opposite direction.

 

Anyone actively involved in the hobby is well aware of the ethical concerns about what we do, and do what we can to make conditions as perfect as we can.

 

@Hendre I am not so sure about that, many beginners come here to learn and they need proper guidance to this regard! It's a sticky subject which in my opinion should be added to our sticky thread list! Ok maybe not the deep water one at this stage!

Btw, to all of you watching this thread; the only reason that I started the two threads which i started was purely out of respect for @Cesar in order to avoid hijacking his thread and good on him for housing that fish in a 50 000 tank! Well done!

 

Out of interest , how long would it take for captive bred "deep" water or any other fish with special needs become accustom to thier new conditions... hope that made sense.

 

It will not happen in a hurry, these species have adapted over thousands of years to live happily in their chosen environments

 

Is there any research on this or is this still just theory at the moment? It would be pretty interesting to see if any and how much stress these fish are in , I am talking about second to third generation captive bred.

 

The proof is in the pudding; Frontosas in the wild are very aggressive, however in the aquarium they are meek and mild and in many cases in the home aquarium; end up with a condition known as 'float' from ingesting air while feeding. This definitely does not happen in the wild.

 

@TrevorR , I would imagine that most captive fish would behave differently from thier wild counter parts, as for the "float" would that not be more diet related? IE use sinking food apposed to floating food over feeding incorrect diet etc?

 

I agree diet is very important with this species, floating food is not recommended for them, however they still suffer. Note that Demasonis which are a shallow water species retain their aggressive tenandcies in the home aquarium. There is much information available on the net to this regard if you're interested in doing some research.

 

I did do some research a while ago but found most of it is people's opion a very little proven fact. But I will definitely keep on trying as it is very interesting.

 

As "us" we as aquarists are very aware of the sheer weight of water; ie very heavy! The water pressure at seventy or more metres down gets more extreme at an exponential rate, which most people don't even consider when choosing a new fish for their tank. People tend to choose the most pretty or most mean looking fish.When buying a new fish; first do your research!

The most important thing that I have learned during my journey with this hobby is that you can't fight with nature; period!

If you want to be successful at this hobby: First find out at your water source what your average water paramaters are. This will determine what your options are; when choosing the right fish species for you. Please don't choose a deep water species as this wll only make your task more difficult.

 

@RobK tip; Google float syndrome with cichlids

 

I believe that most

Two things.
A) Frontosa are piscivores and will savage smaller fish but aren't necessarily mean to other similar fish due to that.

B) This is why sinking pellets were invented...

Also. Many fish can live in many depth ranges, sometimes over several hundred meters. I think Frontosa should be fine living at close-to-surface pressure.

 

I disagree

 

Agreed.

This species is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa and is widespread in the northern half of the lake, whereas the closely related C. gibberosainhabits the southern half of the lake. The species generally resides at greater depths (30–50 m subsurface) than most other cichlids, and rises to shallow waters in the early morning to feed on shoaling fish such as Cyprichromis species.

Shallow waters are therefore not an issue for them. My uncle was one of the first to successfully breed with them. I myself kept several over the years and never had any swimbladder or "float" issues.

There are no peer review studies whatsoever that it is detrimental to keep deeper water species either fresh water or salt water in normal debth tanks.

 

Honestly, I don’t think that a fish that live in river systems/dams ext have any effect to their health,

There is an Article of sea creatures that live at 6000 feet or more dont live verry long close to the surface,

I think if that played a role in aquarium fish, we would see alot more problems and also no breeding activity, why would a stressed/unhappy animal reproduce if the conditions aren’t right?

Most of the animals, in this case fish, do breed but the problem isnt the breeding, its mostly the rearing of the fry that are a problem to us. Also, we cant really play nature in an aquarium unless you spend a couple million, and mimicking what is happening in their natural environment. ( temp drops, water flow, rain, sun, in some cases salinity that rises ext )

But this isnt needed for a fish to be healthy IMO.


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The fish species best suited for our home aquariums are either shallow reef or river dwelling creatures. That goes for both marine and fresh water aquariums. Park yourself at the bottom of the deep end of your swimming pool and feel for yourself and remember that it increases exponentially! Fish species have evolved for millions of years to adapt to their chosen environments, why fight with nature only to make it more difficult for yourself ?

 

There is regarding some sea creatures that only live a couple of days - weeks if they are kept in aquariums, they actually need the pressure to survive, and a study has been done as researchers keep them in a pressurized tank.



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You are arguing on your own personal opinions, not facts.

So really there is no point in continuing this arguement as everyone has their own opinions and believe whatever they want.

As stated above, get the facts that they do suffer or whatever from people who have done extensive research on this matter.


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Please provide the neccessary peer review studies to support your statements.