How Many? Help, Please!

[eaglesaquarium]

2nd hand you can look at Craigslist, local papers, even a site like freecycle.  Some people just want to get rid of their tank(s) for a variety of reasons.  My high school got one from Craigslist, and next thing you know, 4 or 5 more came in about a week later from students who were looking to get rid of their tanks.
 
Ask around, you never know what might turn up.  

 

[Paradise3]

You looking at sailfins? Lyretails? Normals? What sort of mollies?
Also, dimensions of the tank? 
This would help me a lot I would say considering some species of mollies potentially get to 6" long then stock wisely.

 

[FishFriendsForever2014]

I am looking into Shortfins and Lyretails
 
Dimensions: 48 1/2"L x 18 1/2"W x 21 1/8"H

 

[Mikey1]

Everyone would have a different opinion on this:

Mikey is saying you can easily keep 100 in a 75 gallon tank

 

 
 
no, i did not say SHE could.....i said I could
 
stocking volumes depend mostly on the fish keepers knowledge and nothing else,
 
you have probably often seen 100+ fish in a 20 gallon tank at fish stores,
 
why can they do this, and keep them healthy?....because they know HOW to do it

 

[leighton_87]

In my personal experience while there are a few good fish stores many don't keep there fish healthy and you often see diseased/dead fish in tanks. A lot of these stores take it as a given that they will lose a % of fish and have factored that into their prices.

Also shops often have huge sumps so the actually volume of water the fish have is much greater than you can see in the tank.

I agree stocking levels are highly influenced by the experience of the fishkeeper/the equipment used/and the maintenance schedule - however some people only read what they want to read and will see your post and stock 200 mollies in a 75 gallon tank and will be on the emergency section of the forum within a day.

 

[Mikey1]

In my personal experience while there are a few good fish stores many don't keep there fish healthy and you often see diseased/dead fish in tanks. A lot of these stores take it as a given that they will lose a % of fish and have factored that into their prices.

Also shops often have huge sumps so the actually volume of water the fish have is much greater than you can see in the tank.

 

 
 
you have been going to the wrong stores.....
 
most stores around here use UGFs exclusively.....no sumps, only on the marine tanks.....they just do plenty of water changes....no decorations or ornaments in the tanks.....that allows the UGF to function to its full capabilities, and also makes maintainance easier

 

[the_lock_man]

Mikey, whereabouts do you live?
 
I have never been in a LFS which uses UGFs

 

[Mikey1]

im in Canada....
 
UGFs are the most common in the fish stores here.....
 
they do a great job, very easy to maintain, and no media to ever replace....
 
simple, efficient, and cost effective....the gravel is basically the filter media, which lasts forever
 
i use UGFs in many of my tanks also

 

[FishFriendsForever2015]

How do you set up a UFG tank? Is it safe for fry and small fish?

 

[Mikey1]

How do you set up a UFG tank? Is it safe for fry and small fish?

 
 
not safe for small fry, they can get sucked down into it....small fish its fine
 
all you need is the undergravel filter plates, covered with medium sized gravel....the air stacks and an air pump....alternatively you could use powerheads if you like instead of air

 

[Paradise3]

Erm, they are just good at cleaning up the odd dead fish they get No-one can say that there is a single fish store anywhere that does not get any dead fish. Even the best stores will get dead fish every now and then, you cannot say they don't.

 

[FishFriendsForever2014]

Does anyone know where I could get a good, cheap 75 gal tank. I would perfer mildly used

 

[Paradise3]

Does anyone know where I could get a good, cheap 75 gal tank. I would perfer mildly used

 
Check in the Classified section on here

 

[sadguppy]

Try ebay, local free ads - I don't know what you have in your area - and any car boots going on. Also ask around your friends - I was amazed how many people keep bloomin good tanks empty in their garages!

And Mikey - Remember this is the newbie forum, please be mindful of what you post. 200 mollies in 75gallon is ridiculous without a sump to match. There is no need to confuse people and this is not a competition.

 

[Paradise3]

Try ebay, local free ads - I don't know what you have in your area - and any car boots going on. Also ask around your friends - I was amazed how many people keep bloomin good tanks empty in their garages!

And Mikey - Remember this is the newbie forum, please be mindful of what you post. 200 mollies in 75gallon is ridiculous without a sump to match. There is no need to confuse people and this is not a competition.

 
To the red - Yes! Forgot about eBay!
To the blue - Thank you I was wary keeping 2 male mollies in my 10 gallon let alone 200 is a 75 gallon