Well, I think it's been about a month since I've posted - One of my many flaws, I tend to only talk when there's a problem, and things have been pretty smooth!
I stocked a little under a month ago - Only did a half-stock, and intend to keep it half stocked for several months until all my plants grow in, and then slowly move up to a full stock.
My tank is a 32 gallon, and currently has 10 ember tetras, four Celestial Pearl Danios, 3 ottos, and 1 molly (the molly is kind of a long story, and while I was reluctant to get it, he's actually kind of the joy of the tank.)
The original plan was to get 10 ember tetras, two whiptail cats right now, and then get pygmy cories and 10 celestial pearl danios once the plants filled in and the weather was better for shipping, since I couldn't get them locally.
Well, when I went to the fish store, they had sold the whiptails that I wanted, but had just gotten Ottos on stock. I've always loved them, so I decided that I'd be fine with them, and got three of them. They also had five of my intended celestials in, though said that they didn't think they'd be able to get more. Even though I wanted to get a bigger group, I kind of thought to myself 'Well, they're likely going to end up 5 alone in someone elses' tank, why not at least give them a home where I know I'll be getting more in the future?" It wasn't perfect logic, but I couldn't stop myself. I did lose one danio (water perameters spot-on, and no signs of ill health, so I am really not sure what happened,) but everyone else is well.
... The molly, however... I live with my boyfriend, we've been together for years. While we share many things, he's never really understood my fascination with animals, and was not real thrilled that I was setting up a fish tank. I took him with me on the fish adventure, and told him if he saw anything that he really liked, and it wasn't something that was going to cause a problem with my current fish, we could think about getting a school of them instead of the tetras. I figured it was unlikely he'd see anything, and if he DID see something that he liked that would work in my tank, then he'd become personally invested and it would be more of a group project, which would be amazing for me. Well, he perused the dozens and dozens of tanks... And the only thing he liked were the dalmation mollies. And he really liked them. So, after mulling over whether I want to add a big messy fish to my aquarium for some time, I decided it was worth the risk for the sake of his involvement.
So, things didn't go exactly how I meant for them to go, but they're going well! Oddly enough, after a few days, the danios started loosely schooling with the tetras - As a result, the now group of 14 fish are all pretty bold and non-fearful, and my big fear with the little group of danios was that they'd be too timid to compete for food. Not a problem at all! I still have a lot of tank-room to fill, but want everything currently present to become nice and established before I go mucking things up. I have a spare 20 gallon tank, which I will probably set up in the summer as a glorified quarenteen tank for when I do the rest of the stocking. If the danios continue their unusual habit of schooling with the tetras, I may consider not getting more danios and instead getting a small school of a larger fish. Still decisions to be made. Once the bright sun stops shining through my window, I'll try to get a picture of my setup.
I've still been testing water perameters daily, just in case something goes awry. No problems so far! All my big snails that accumulated during my cycle that came in with a plant are alive, but they are not producing any young, so I think my feeding is spot on. (I don't mind the snails. For some reason, my boyfriend finds them endearing. As long as they're not multiplying, I'll let them stay.
(The Mollys name is 'Pongo.' I did not name my fish.)
Bad daytime picture:
(well, they were bold until I walked over with a big camera...)
I stocked a little under a month ago - Only did a half-stock, and intend to keep it half stocked for several months until all my plants grow in, and then slowly move up to a full stock.
My tank is a 32 gallon, and currently has 10 ember tetras, four Celestial Pearl Danios, 3 ottos, and 1 molly (the molly is kind of a long story, and while I was reluctant to get it, he's actually kind of the joy of the tank.)
The original plan was to get 10 ember tetras, two whiptail cats right now, and then get pygmy cories and 10 celestial pearl danios once the plants filled in and the weather was better for shipping, since I couldn't get them locally.
Well, when I went to the fish store, they had sold the whiptails that I wanted, but had just gotten Ottos on stock. I've always loved them, so I decided that I'd be fine with them, and got three of them. They also had five of my intended celestials in, though said that they didn't think they'd be able to get more. Even though I wanted to get a bigger group, I kind of thought to myself 'Well, they're likely going to end up 5 alone in someone elses' tank, why not at least give them a home where I know I'll be getting more in the future?" It wasn't perfect logic, but I couldn't stop myself. I did lose one danio (water perameters spot-on, and no signs of ill health, so I am really not sure what happened,) but everyone else is well.
... The molly, however... I live with my boyfriend, we've been together for years. While we share many things, he's never really understood my fascination with animals, and was not real thrilled that I was setting up a fish tank. I took him with me on the fish adventure, and told him if he saw anything that he really liked, and it wasn't something that was going to cause a problem with my current fish, we could think about getting a school of them instead of the tetras. I figured it was unlikely he'd see anything, and if he DID see something that he liked that would work in my tank, then he'd become personally invested and it would be more of a group project, which would be amazing for me. Well, he perused the dozens and dozens of tanks... And the only thing he liked were the dalmation mollies. And he really liked them. So, after mulling over whether I want to add a big messy fish to my aquarium for some time, I decided it was worth the risk for the sake of his involvement.
So, things didn't go exactly how I meant for them to go, but they're going well! Oddly enough, after a few days, the danios started loosely schooling with the tetras - As a result, the now group of 14 fish are all pretty bold and non-fearful, and my big fear with the little group of danios was that they'd be too timid to compete for food. Not a problem at all! I still have a lot of tank-room to fill, but want everything currently present to become nice and established before I go mucking things up. I have a spare 20 gallon tank, which I will probably set up in the summer as a glorified quarenteen tank for when I do the rest of the stocking. If the danios continue their unusual habit of schooling with the tetras, I may consider not getting more danios and instead getting a small school of a larger fish. Still decisions to be made. Once the bright sun stops shining through my window, I'll try to get a picture of my setup.
I've still been testing water perameters daily, just in case something goes awry. No problems so far! All my big snails that accumulated during my cycle that came in with a plant are alive, but they are not producing any young, so I think my feeding is spot on. (I don't mind the snails. For some reason, my boyfriend finds them endearing. As long as they're not multiplying, I'll let them stay.
(The Mollys name is 'Pongo.' I did not name my fish.
)Bad daytime picture:
(well, they were bold until I walked over with a big camera...)
