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Cats and fish tanks

Pixels

Pixels

Member
Joined
14 Oct 2009
Messages
122
Hello everyone,

I am after some opinions. As much as like the look of open top, braceless tanks I am leaning towards an Aquariums Ltd standard tank for two reasons:

1) I have a cat (four legged and furry kind) and I am concerned about the cat taking up its own hobby - feline fishing!
2) Being keen anabantoid keeper, I am concerned about finding some of my fish trying to do some carpet swimming!

With the standard tank I can get a glass lid, but I think part of me will always be thinking about the optiwhite/bracless option!

So has anybody had experience with either cats and fish tanks and/or jumping fish and open tops?

I have seen plenty of optiwhite/braceless tanks on this forum, but does anyone have any good pictures of an Aquariums Ltd standard aquarium with stand and top?

Thanks
Pix
 
Our cat will drink from my tank, Osaka 155l. Quite funny watching her, she uses the the spraybar to help her get to the water. Which is fine until the suckers begin to slip and pussy starts to get wet feet
 
Hi Pixles,

The answers are really how you feel about things, but some things to consider are

1)It depends on your cat. If it is a natural hunter i would be concerned, does it watch the fish in your current tank or completly ignore them? I used to have a siamese cat and she loved sleeping under a MH light over a tank rather than fishing, she stopped after an occasion when the cover glass wasn't on during a water change :D .

2)To an extent you can limit the chance of jumpers by lowering the water level by a couple on inches in the tank, obviously this does not look quite as good but is the compromise. What about something like the Fluval Roma tanks. They are far more stylish than some of the other package deals you can find.

Rob
 
This might sound weird but I think it depends on your cat. Some take an interest and some don't. My tanks all have hoods apart from one which didn't. They are all in my room in the loft and our cats hardly come up here. I think I caught one of them taking an interest once, but they wouldn't go any further than having a good look. Like I said, I think it depends on the cat.

I think there's always a risk of 'jumpers' as far as the open-top route is concerned. This also depends on the fish, some are more prone to jumping e.g. danios but others are very unlikely to do so - like corydoras etc. Just keep the water line an inch or so below the top of the glass and you shouldn't have too much trouble, but having an open top tank always has that risk to it and you've gotta weigh up the pros and cons of having one.
 
fwiw

i have an open top with front and back long braces (40mm wide)
and i still had 3 rasbora crispies in the morning over a year

i am getting a braceless tank so im worried too!

rgds

4
 
my cats dont take any notice of the tanks, as they are higher up most the time they tend to be lower down, so they probably dont think about them.

i dont think a household cat will ever actually catch a fish, the only problem would them be falling in :thumbdown:
 
Thanks for all the replies. It has given me something to think about.

My cat tries to bight the glass, although I very much doubt she could actually catch anything!

I feel I am leaning slightly towards a Aquariums Ltd 36x24x18". I can't have anything longer than 36" and I could get a condensation cover and not have to worry about jumpers at all.

Still not sure if I would upgrade any of the panels for optiwhite, something for me to ponder along with whether to get a black bonder background.

I could also save money on lighting, by just having a starter unit. It would be low light affair, much along the lines of 110 litre tank I currently have set up in the lounge which only has Crypts in it.

Cheers
Pix
 
hi pixels

have you thought of a 36 x 18 x 18?
the depth and height being the same make for better deeper looking scaping

rgds

4
 
I have two cats but never had any trouble with my open Osaka 240, it's glass sides are too tall for a cat to climb. Only had one Congo tetra jump out in a year of using my open top tank. I have a rimless, braceless nano and never had any fataleties from that.
 
Thanks for all the advice, it has given me a lot to think about. I am not looking to setup until April, so plenty of time to drive myself mad pondering!

My cat still tries to bite the glass when one of the bigger fish is near the front of the tank!

Cheers
Pix
 
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