Do fish play?

[charli_10or_sax]

Do fish play? Do they not like the tap on the glass as mentioned in "Deuce Bigalow"? Do fish recognize you as an individual? Could fish recognize your voice? What is the meaning of life? I just bought distilled water because I lost two fish due to bad ph tap water where I live- and when I medicate, since I was working on my 5 gal tank, I either over medicated it, or under.. either way, I'm ticked about water conditions down here... so anyways, I got some distilled water and am eagerly awaiting to go buy a cheap test fish to see if it works... (I left some water from the previous time to keep the bacteria cycle) ... also, I'm conisdering to buy a small anubias plant and see how that does with the "CYCLE of LIFE" ... any thoughts?

 

[lyquidphyre]

I was told to use Drinking water- not distilled or spring. Also, you can buy stuff to dechlorinate your water. Denton water sucks, but my fish do okay when I use dechlorinator.

 

[Fruitbat]

The problem that you're going to have with distilled water is that it is too 'soft' and has limited (if any) capacity for buffering against rapid changes in pH. In addition, it lacks many of the dissolved minerals that will help any plants you put in your tank.

If you need more information about minerals in water just post here....if I can't answer your question then I'm sure one of our resident gurus will be able to!

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya charli_10or_sax and welcome to Aquariumadvice:

The meaning of life is 42, fish are smarter then we give em credit for, and you'll need to add some minerals to your distilled water else your cheap tester fish won't do well at all. Some folks do a half and half mix of tap and distilled, others add bottled chemicals. What are the parameters of your tap water? Not sure what you mean by "bad pH".

Also, why were you medicating?

 

[ferret]

The answer to all your fish personality questions is: Oscars.

 

[William]

Dwarf Puffers!

 

[puffergirl]

No, the answer is definatley clown loaches!!! Those guys play all the time.

 

[PlatyLady]

I'm convinced that my betta used to play with my platies. I'm also convinced that used to drive them nuts! They have since been separated.

 

[millym]

lots of our fish like playing in the airstone bubbles - swim down into the current,get blown back up & do the whole thing again for ages!!!! esp our corys they seem to love it

 

[TheNewGuy]

My fish play, my clowns are always goofing around. The guppies will swim into the current of my PH for hours at a time. my gourami swims up and down in the bubbles and fights with the air tubing. Yeah fish play!

 

[stoneydee]

Sure they play - once they've figured out that dinner comes regularly and they are not it.

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

When my cories aren't searching for food they are always chasing each other around (not aggressively) on the back of the aquarium doing circles and figure 8's.

 

[deli_conker]

The meaning of life is 42

I tell that to people all the time and they just don't get it...

I have a red zebra that loved the whole bubble wall thing. He'd swim through it low and then it would carry him up to the top. Then he'd do it again. He's now in a new tank with no bubble wall. He must be really bored...

 

[captainGregor]

My cory cats play with a bubble wall and it is so funny. My female acara plays with that too sometimes. Sometimes loaches will gang up with corys and chase each other. Loaches also will push each other with their sides when they are trying to get to shrimp pellet and it is funny. It is also hilarious when I feed the fish frozen bloodworms with a pipette, loaches will suck on it like on a baby bottle. It is hysterical, really. I do think that they recognize the individual, because when my wife comes to the tank, the fish does not get up to the top expecting food, but when I come close they all gather up top, even loaches. They will bully every single fish I have when it comes down to food, even acaras and angels, that are 3 times as big.

 

[Sati]

My dwarf puffers are my most outgoing fish. They rush to different sides of the tank as I move around the room so that they can watch me. My BF thinks they want to eat him and says he hates them because they're creepy, lol. I think they're just active fish who are smarter than you think. They might recognise my voice. I always talk to them and shout "Hi, puffies!"

 

[charli_10or_sax]

So I did it... I have some plants in my tank now, with distilled water... Is drinking or spring water better than distilled? All I know is that when I went to the fish store, I decided to only have one fish in the tank- a Kennyi... it's pretty crazy... well.. this would be my first cichlid considering that I always had community fish... I don't like watching my fish being torn apart- I mean,... I just find it a waste of money... that's why people should get feeder fish, instead of being entertained by two aggressive fish... I don't know... So far things seem fine... I fed it flakes, but since it doesn't go to the top, I had to dip the flakes in so it goes to the bottom... In anycase, it is one hell of a fish... and I'm not quite used to it- it probably isn't used to me either ... Why 42? I'm sorry- I'm slow. I think I'll feed the fih some brine worms tonight.

 

[OneFishTwoFish]

42 is the answer to the the question of life as given in the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Universe. Good book. Pick it up some time.

 

[tabitha]

^I am so glad that some people know that the meaning of life is 42.... seriously no one gets that...

anyways zebra danios play ALL day long.. they never stop and they love swimming in the current of the filter.

 

[Mr Burns]

so why is it 42?

 

[deli_conker]

Read the book and all will become clear.
Or rent the movie; both are good...