male fish likes male fish

[Ron9]

Hi all - I am not a total newbie (been doing tons of reading) and kept a few fish for 5 years - but ........

All is peachy in my 55 gallon tank (so my tap water is not a problem). This tank has two Rosy Barbs - one Rainbow Shark and I put Bob in the other day (a 3.5 inch Pleco) - water chem is dead on perfect according to the fish store and my testing. The tank is only about 5 weeks old but the fish store guy kept me from messing up anything and all went very smooth with the cycle.

My 10 gallon got a new start (after the huge Tiger Oscar passed about 14 inch fish) (BTW don't jump me for having to baby-sit that fish for 5 years - in that small tank) for one of the daughters. She said would you take care of him for a little while - she went to college out of state - that was 5 years ago

On March 20th the 10 gallon after (a total clean out after the big boy) got two Lyre Tail Mollies. I had not been testing the water (did not have the kits yet) ICK hit - I got it cured - some fungus hit - I got that cured. The two Mollies look good and act great - BUT .............

The nitrite level just won't give me a break in this 10 gallon tank. Since getting the testing kits five days ago I have been doing 40-50% changes two times a day just to get the levels back down to ok (the first color light blue). Six or eight hours later the level is back to 0.25 the next level up. The first test last Saturday (the day I got the test kits) the level was off the chart (somewhere over 5.0).

Will that 10 gallon tank ever cycle? I realize it has only been (from clean out) going for about 32 days - and much of that time it was being medicated - but will it ever cycle.

In a 5 gallon tank I have a 3rd Lyre Tail in quarantine - that was put in this cleaned out tank on April 17th. The two Lyre Tail Mollies in the 10 gallon are male. I don't want to put a female in with two male fish - BUT ......

I can not tell if this Lyre Tail is a male or female. There is NO anal fin or no male "doom-a-whichy" at all. This fish has very long pelvic fins but NOTHING in the anal fin area - it may be too young for the male "stuff" to be showing yet. IF it is a female would it have the normal female fin - even if youngish? - IF it is a male could it be too young to tell yet?

I got this 3rd Lyre Tail to act as a diversion. The Dalmatian Lyre Tail just won't leave the black Lyre Tail along for 5 seconds - he just keeps his face in the anal fin area of the other male - and yes they are both male according to the pictures I have been able to find.

Sorry I got so wordy but I had to set the stage for the questions.

The questions:

1. Will that 10 gallon ever cycle?
- Did the meds totally destroy the cycle attempts (the filter was out during the meds)
- Should I just keep doing the 40-50% water changes (salt is 1/2 teaspoon per gallon) and see if this tank every cycles. The fish look good and act good but this 40-50% twice a day is really a ton of new water everyday. They don't seem to mind but something is up here. The tank has one of those small hang off the back filters with carbon - it also has a air stone/pump. The water is 80 degrees.

2. What can I do about a male fish that "seems" to be soooooooooo interested in another male (he just keeps his face in the other ones "doo-hicky" all the time. He also gets pushy at feeding time. I have to peck on the glass - that runs him off for a few seconds.

3. How can I tell the gender of the 3rd Lyre Tail if there is NOTHING where the anal fin / male gizmo should be? After the tank with the two other Lyre Tails gets cycled if it ever does - I hope (if it is male) this fish will give the bugged fish a break. If it is female I will not put her in that tank with two male fish.

Thanks - Ron

 

[tstenback]

Hi Ron9 and welcome to the forum

Meds will definitely affect the cycle but should not completely stop it. I would attempt to get the nitrite level down below 1 but if it gets slightly higher thats ok but if it gets higher than that do a water change about 20% should do. The nitrite spike can last well over a month so be patient.

The answer to the male question is either never mind or get 3-4 females as the ratio in livebearers is usually best at 2 females per male. Also if you dont want to have the extra work of looking after the fry then just leave the males or take one back for exchange on another fish if you can.

If the other fish does not have a gonopodium (thingy) then it is most likely a female. Odd that there is no anal fin though. Do you have a picture you could post. Anyway hope that helps a bit

 

[Ron9]

Hi Terry - thanks for your reply.

My LFS sold me Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. test kits. The Nitrite kit color test strip goes like this. I wanted the works and have since wondered why they told me all I needed was ammonia - Nitrite and pH - no mention of a kit for Nitrate - and these guys seem to know what they are talking about. It is a small local busy shop (not a chain store). Nothing about the 10 gallon tank (including the Lyre Tails) are from them so I have not bugged them about that tank. They have been my guru on the 55 gallon tank and they saved me from many newbie dork ups.

0 ppm (my 55 gets this results - it is the 10 gallon causing the concern)
0.25
0.50
1.0
2.0
5.0

If you are saying 1.0 or lower then I am doing fine. With the two 40/50% changes a day I have not seen 1.0 yet (since the org off the chart reading). What I am seeing is this. I see a 0.25 to 0.50 all the time say 6 to 8 hours after a 40/50% change. Are you saying that level is ok? Are you saying that maybe I should back off some and not do a change until it gets to 1.0 or more? If you are and if that is safe then I should back off some (do fewer changes).

I really don’t want any fry so I am trying to go all one gender in that Lyre Tail Molly tank (the 10 gallon tank). I must of had brain lock that day I bought the yellow Lyre Tail - I did not even stop to look at the anal area to see if it was male or female. I bought that fish in hopes of giving the black Lyre Tail a break from the Dalmatian Lyre Tail. Like all fish - now that I have it I am attached to it and need to make some plans IF it is female. If it is male it will go in that tank and that will be it. Three male Lyre Tails in that 10 gallon. IF it is a female I guess I will need to think about stretching to 5 fish in that tank. The two male and three female. Since I really don’t want fry I am crossing my fingers it is a late “blooming” male.

I saw the results of two male fish in a tank with one female. The two male Rosy Barbs ended up killing a very sweet female Rosy Barb by pestering her to death. That is the one thing that the LFS blotched. They sold me (a newbie type) four fish for a new 55 gallon tank. One Rainbow Shark and three Rosy Barbs - where they goofed was two of them where male.

These three fish are all lyre tail mollies but all different (not talking color)

Yellow (Calico) - very long pelvic fins and ZERO anal fin - ZERO gonopodium
Black (Blackie) - obv male - NO pelvic fins or so small I can’t see them
Dalmatian (Spottie) - obv male - short pelvic fins but easy to see.

Both the yellow one (newer and in a quar tank) and the black one are people fish (come to glass to see me etc.) - The dal is the pest that buggs the heck out of the black one. The weird part is - on the rare occasion when the dal is not bugging (putting his face in the other ones private areas) the black one will go over by the dal - go figure

Ron

 

[Ron9]

Whoops - no can't come up with a picture - no digi camera. I always wait about 5 years after everyone else on the planet has something before I get one. For example I have been a heavy puter user since 1981 and just got a CD burner about 18 months ago. That way I skipped all the new/bugs/slower ones and my first was a 52x lol.

Ron

 

[bunjiweb]

That's a very methodical and commendable way of going about things Ron, I wish i had the restraint to be able to do that but i don't

Ben