Hello, I'm New To Both Keeping Fish & Using A Site Such As Thi

[Maxine-R]

Hi. I'm Maxine.

I've had my 54L tank about 4 weeks now (6 weeks inc first two weeks with no fish in it).

I have:
1 male Molly - who is definitely the Alfa male of the tank.
2 Female mollys, 1 follows the male pretty much all the time but they seem to enjoy chasing each other, the other is very independent and beautiful.
3 Male guppies, who hang around in what I call "the gang"
2 Tetra Neons & 2 Tetra Glowlights, they are very cool.

I have 4 plants but don't know what they are.

I would like to use this site and its advice to keep my fish as happy and healthy as possible.

Thank you

 

[Akasha72]

Hi and 

 to the forum. We're a friendly bunch so if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.
 
Most of us will tell you first off that your stocking needs looking at in time (the tetra's) but as this is a tank in it's infancy I'm not going to bring that up right now. By the sounds of things you are in what we term as 'a fish in cycle'. It can take a tank (or more accurately a filter) several weeks to develop enough bacteria to support the needs of the fish. Many fish stores do not give accurate advice and many times we meet new members purely because they have been given bad advice and now their fish are dying. This doesn't appear to be the case with you which is nice to find.
 
That said though I will point you in the direction of the beginners section http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/26-new-to-the-hobby-questions-and-answers/and also to the section dealing with cycling your tank  http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/.
These links are for information purposes at the moment. There is a lot more to learn about fish keeping than newbies realise and so these two links should give you a good starting point.
 
Best wishes - Akasha

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hello and

 
Akasha has mentioned about cycling your tank as a starting point, I agree having a read of the Cycling Your Fresh Water Tank article will help a lot in starting to understand how we need to set things up for the tank first before adding any fish.
 
Hopefully reading that article will help you.
 
One other point I have to mention, am sorry to say that Mollies are not really suitable for your tank size

 
Even though you may think there is plenty of room in your tank for these mollies, am afraid this is not the case, they do need a lot of swimming space as they are an active specie.
 
This may help a little -
 
Poecillia sphenops / Short Finned Molly
 
As you'll soon learn, fishkeeping is a great hobby and there is quite a bit to learn about this hobby

 
Don't worry, if you ever get stuck or unsure about anything, just post a question and we'll help out

 

[Maxine-R]

Hi.

I have just realised that I have missed introducing you to another member of the tank, a Pleco Bulldog.

Also could you please explain why the Tetra stocking will need looking at in the future.

Originally I purchased two mollies (1 male. 1 female) & 3 Male Guppies. And was told the tank size was fine. Later i went to a different store and purchased my second female molly, 4 tetras and bulldog. Again i was assured that these fish would be fine with the current fish and be fine in that sized tank. Is this not true!! I would not have purchased them if I'd have been advised other wise. How do the stores keep so many mollies in such a small space?

 

[Munroco]

Most stores have massive filtration on their tanks to enable them to keep more fish than would normally be possible.
 
Unfortunately some stores care more about sales than the future welfare of the fish they are selling. I'm not saying yours is in this bracket but some are.
 
I think what Akasha meant when she mentioned your tetras is that they are far happier in larger groups, ie 6 or more. Mollies and to a lesser extent, guppies prefer water with a PH on the high side, while your tetras will prefer it on the low side. In the long run, depending on your local water properties, you might be better sticking with one or the other.
 
We have all been through the stage where we got our first tank and want to fill it with a variety of fish. I cringe when I think of the mistakes I made at the start, so don't get discouraged. Check out the internet and research the types of fish your are considering buying. The people on this forum will be only to glad to help.

 

[Maxine-R]

Thank you for your posts.

I will keep the infomation regarding the tetras in mind for the future. However I must say that the Tetras and Guppies seem to be getting along well, as soon as the Tetras were added to the tank they swam with the Guppies and thats how they have remained. Is it possible that Tetras and Guppies are happy in their mixed group? Making them a group of 7?

 

[Akasha72]

the reason I mentioned the tetra's is because as Munroco says, they need to be in a large group as they are shoaling fish and your tank isn't big and so to get them into the group that they need you'll be over stocking the tank. It's a problem that you are storing up for the future really. The reason I didn't want to get into it too far earlier is I didn't want to overwhelm you. Too many times new members join and they get swamped with too much info all at once and I don't believe it to be helpful.
 
It's a steep learning curve so I like to take it gentle and one step at a time where possible.
 
You've been given some more info from the other guys regarding the water parameter differences that your stock require but like you, when I first began I did much the same picking one or two of this type of fish and one or two of another type. I didn't know back then what I was doing and things were less than good for my fish. Thanks to this forum I learnt lots - and I'm still learning. There's always something new to learn in this hobby.
 
I am worried though now about Bulldog. Can you post a photo of him so we can identify what you've been sold? 
 
Basicly there are different types of pleco - one stays small the other .... well, lets just say you'll need a tank of 6-8 feet in length in time! We really need to identify which type he is. Even if he's the small type (known as an ancistrus catfish) a 54 litre tank won't be big enough really once he's fully grown

 

[Maxine-R]

I do have photos of him (or her, I don't know which it is) but I can't post them as the photos are too large.

Is there another way I can get them to you?

 

[Lateral Line]

Post the pictures to a picture hosting site like photobucket, and then post a link to the picture(s) here.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Have a try following this -
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/422939-uploading-pictures-to-forum/

 

[Maxine-R]

He is around and inch long at the moment.
Thank you for sending me the link to help get pictures on.

 

[Akasha72]

eek ... looks like a common plec to me ... anyone else?

 

[Maxine-R]

Is being a common plec a problem??
On receipt for him it says "plecostomus Bulldog"

 

[Akasha72]

I'll be honest and say I've never seen a very young common plec and so I'm not certain he is a common - that was why I asked what others thought. The common plec will grow to over 2 feet in length and about a foot wide. They are known as a 'tank buster' as they out-grow the majority of our tanks - not many people can accommodate an 6 or 8ft fish tank in their home and that is what they eventually need. We normally recommend that people re-home them if they arn't able to fit a large tank in their home.
 
I've not heard of a bulldog plec and so I'm wondering whether that just my ignorance or if you've been mis-sold. Please wait for an second opinion on him. If I'm not sure I always admit it.
 
He's certainly not an ancistrus as he's the wrong colour, the ancistrus is mid to dark brown with a white tip to his tail. The male grows 'bristles' in time as he matures
 
These are my two ancistrus plecs when they were young. You can just see their bristles starting to grow
 

 
I recently had to rehome one as they turned out to be two boys and they started to fight

Hi, I'm back. I've just been over the planet catfish and I've found the bulldog plec
 
http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=407
 
He can grow to be 5 inches in length and so you are going to need a larger tank at some stage. He'll also need a cave to live in if you havn't got one already. All plecs generally need some kind of cave and it is mentioned on planet catfish. If you follow the link you can read for yourself what it says about him. The guys on planet catfish are great for providing fantastic info on all catfish including plecs

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Is being a common plec a problem??
On receipt for him it says "plecostomus Bulldog"

 
I believe it is what the store claims:
http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=407
 
First, I have no reason to doubt the store, if they are claiming its a bulldog, then I'll believe it.  
 
Second, your picture seems to match what I've seen in the past.