I do love me a good aquarium. About a month ago, I posted wrote about the 55-gallon aquarium I had just cleaned out and set up. https://steemit.com/aquariums/@zekepickleman/do-you-aquarium-nvbpqsvr Originally, it was a victim of a broken filter in a time where money was tight enough to not to be able to replace it. The water eventually evaporated and it was left lifeless. That shot was the day I set it up, with plants from my other aquarium, and the intent of setting it with fish the kids would like. I will get back to the progress we have made on that one.

I am also repopulating my 75 gallon aquarium. This one was still bubbling along almost as a terrarium with plenty of plants, but just 1 fish. I like a little more exotic, aggressive and interesting style of fish. This will be Zeke's aquarium.

This cat fish is a good number of years old and has survived his oscar tank mates and come out as the victor. It may not look like it in the pic but he is probably a good 8 inches from whisker to tail. I wonder how he is going to handle his new tank mates after being a bachelor for so long.

I started with Barbs. I think these are Tiger Barbs but they often seem to have a little red glow like a Cherry Barb. 6 of them school nicely like a group of 6 brothers rough housing in the back yard. I can't tell which of these are male or female but, as they mature, the males tend to get a little darker.

You can't have a tank without an algae eater and on of my favourite breeds are Plecostomus. They are rather inexpensive and come in a variety of breeds from plain to albino to extremely fancy and expensive. This one (and the 2 others I bought for less than $5 each) is a Spotted Bushy/Bristle-nose Plecostomus, They are not much more expensive than the plain ones, seem to be much more hearty & effective at cleaning the algae, and has really cool spots along with the fuzzy nose. As they age, their skin thickens and it gets all pointy and reptilian to protect itself against aggressive fish as well.

Another really neat utility fish is the Loach. Kind of a creepy name for such a cute little guy. They are great for rooting the food out of the gravel when larger messy fish can let food particles fall, collect in the gravel, and foul the water if it gets too much. They are also very good at getting rid of snails, which I had way too many of before adding them. My snails reproduced rather prolifically to the point where there were hundreds of them and now I can't see a single one. Well done loaches!

Barbs are alright and the other fish are neat but I have been looking forward to having Angel Fish again. It has been so many years since I had my last pair of them and they lasted for years, even started breeding. It is a little bit of a victory to me to breed cichlids as they are not as easy as other fish and you have to get lucky and have the perfect conditions in my experience.

I tend to spend a little too much on Angels because they are definitely more expensive than many, and I like to get them a little bigger as the small ones are not as hearty and are a little riskier. These 3 are actually the smallest I have ever purchased but were an amazing deal I could not pass up. For years, you would pay more than $10 per fish but these were in an assorted tank for $5 each. You can tell by the size of the eye for scale that they are all fin and still very small fish.

I picked 3 totally different colours yet they seem to get along very well. They are so graceful and observant and often seem to be watching you as closely as you are watching them.

If you care to read, I will post some more pics and stories as I slowly work to rearrange the tanks and create nice habitats. Picking the right fish, maintaining the right balance of water for fish and plants, and watching the community develop is such a wonder and a treat.

What's your aquarium experience?