Numbers of fish
- Thread starter sassymomma
- Start date
I would say your tank is full and I wouldn't add anymore considering the type of fish you put in there.
You have 1 Catfish? What kind of catfish is it? If it's a dwarf species then not so big a deal. But if it is a pictus, a redtail cat, or any catfish that gets large, it will outgrow your tank or eat smaller tank mates anyway.
You have 2 algae eaters? People often call common plecos algae eaters, although there are many kinds. Once again if you have 2 "algae eaters" that grow large (commons, royals, etc) I do not recommend adding anymore fish. They are small now, but they are a large bioload and adding more fish will just increase the toxicity of your tank. If a common pleco, They also grow over 1-1.5 feet in length as they mature, and become aggressive.
You should ID the fish you have in your tank. Guessing what they are I cannot recommend anymore fish for your tank and I will find it hard for anyone else to recommend more fish because most on this site are 'fish' educated. If the 3 fish in question are indeed a dwarf species you may have room for a school of small tetras, the kind that grow < 1.5 inches. If your mollies are male/female they should overpopulate the tank eventually?
You have 1 Catfish? What kind of catfish is it? If it's a dwarf species then not so big a deal. But if it is a pictus, a redtail cat, or any catfish that gets large, it will outgrow your tank or eat smaller tank mates anyway.
You have 2 algae eaters? People often call common plecos algae eaters, although there are many kinds. Once again if you have 2 "algae eaters" that grow large (commons, royals, etc) I do not recommend adding anymore fish. They are small now, but they are a large bioload and adding more fish will just increase the toxicity of your tank. If a common pleco, They also grow over 1-1.5 feet in length as they mature, and become aggressive.
You should ID the fish you have in your tank. Guessing what they are I cannot recommend anymore fish for your tank and I will find it hard for anyone else to recommend more fish because most on this site are 'fish' educated. If the 3 fish in question are indeed a dwarf species you may have room for a school of small tetras, the kind that grow < 1.5 inches. If your mollies are male/female they should overpopulate the tank eventually?
I'm a bit confused about your stock. Is this what you have?
2 small algae eaters(the small ones) - do you mean otocinclus?
2 mollies
1 catfish (what kind?)
2 male bettas
2 female bettas
I would look here for recommendations on type of fish. I always have difficulty recommending fish to other people, since we all have different opinions on what we like.
I would at best only recommend a small school of either tetras or rasboras. Identify what your catfish is first though, to determine what your first course of action should/could be.
2 small algae eaters(the small ones) - do you mean otocinclus?
2 mollies
1 catfish (what kind?)
2 male bettas
2 female bettas
I would look here for recommendations on type of fish. I always have difficulty recommending fish to other people, since we all have different opinions on what we like.
I would at best only recommend a small school of either tetras or rasboras. Identify what your catfish is first though, to determine what your first course of action should/could be.
I hear 1 inch of fish per gallon is good, but I would go 3-5 inces under the max incase a fish gets a little bigger, or you get bored and want something new.
(so you could have 30 inces of fish.)
I would recommend platies... goregeous fish! Lovely bright colors, nice shape, easy to care for, they're wonderful fish, I used to have quite a few. They come in another variety, called "Mickey mouse platy" the only difference there is they have a sideways michey mouse on the tail. Lovely fish. They grow about 2" or so, by the way...
Good luck choosing fish!
(so you could have 30 inces of fish.
)I would recommend platies... goregeous fish! Lovely bright colors, nice shape, easy to care for, they're wonderful fish, I used to have quite a few. They come in another variety, called "Mickey mouse platy" the only difference there is they have a sideways michey mouse on the tail. Lovely fish. They grow about 2" or so, by the way...
Good luck choosing fish!
Yikes..if I'm reading everyones(and yours) posts correctly and you have two male bettas I suggest you take one out. Otherwise you'll have a very damaged(or dead) male and some heavily harassed females! That's no fun for anyone. Male bettas are very aggressive towards eachother and can even get aggressive towards females. Make sure the females have plenty of hiding places.
That's no fun for anyone. Male bettas are very aggressive towards eachother and can even get aggressive towards females. Make sure the females have plenty of hiding places.
I believe she has 2 bettas -- 1 male, 1 female -- if I remember correctly from her earlier posts, and 4 tetras, not 'betas'.
If I'm correct in that, I would recommend -- first of all, as everyone else has said, ID'ing the 'algae eaters' and catfish to determine if anything should be added... then, if so, adding at least a couple more tetras. What kind of tetras are they -- small, like neons, or larger, like black skirts or serpae tetras? The kind of tetra makes a difference.
As to the mollies, are they both male, or a male and a female? If the latter, you'd be better off adding a second female, maybe even a third, to spread the male's attentions around and keep the lone female from being harassed to death.
To answer your stocking questions it's essential to get a more precise fish ID first. Post up pics of your fish if you have trouble with this.
If I'm correct in that, I would recommend -- first of all, as everyone else has said, ID'ing the 'algae eaters' and catfish to determine if anything should be added... then, if so, adding at least a couple more tetras. What kind of tetras are they -- small, like neons, or larger, like black skirts or serpae tetras? The kind of tetra makes a difference.
As to the mollies, are they both male, or a male and a female? If the latter, you'd be better off adding a second female, maybe even a third, to spread the male's attentions around and keep the lone female from being harassed to death.
To answer your stocking questions it's essential to get a more precise fish ID first. Post up pics of your fish if you have trouble with this.
I hear 1 inch of fish per gallon is good, but I would go 3-5 inces under the max incase a fish gets a little bigger, or you get bored and want something new.
(so you could have 30 inces of fish.)
(so you could have 30 inces of fish.
)
So I don't think I'd actually put in 30" of fish.
Well things have made a turn for the worst. I have lost all but 5 of my fish. I have my cat fish which is a dwarf species, 2 mollies and 2 red eyed tetra left. I think it has to do with the water and cycling. I did a 50% water change today and am going to get a test kit tomorrow. Until things stablize I won't be adding anything else to my tank. I think I may just keep it simple and when I do add get tetra. I've been reading up on them in the fish profiles. Thank you for all of you suggestions.
I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way. At least you know first hand the importance of properly caring for your tank and doing it right, otherwise risking losing fish and wasting money.
I think it's been difficult for you and other newcomers because there are some recent posters on here giving really sketchy advise. I would really only take the posts of MFT Mods and the posters that have been around longer seriously. DesignsOnYou, Emmanuel, MissFishy, Homebunnie, SK, MisterCoffee, just to name a few. There are many more but I can't remember them all right now.
GL with your hobby the 2nd time around. I'm sure it will be much better
I think it's been difficult for you and other newcomers because there are some recent posters on here giving really sketchy advise. I would really only take the posts of MFT Mods and the posters that have been around longer seriously. DesignsOnYou, Emmanuel, MissFishy, Homebunnie, SK, MisterCoffee, just to name a few. There are many more but I can't remember them all right now.
GL with your hobby the 2nd time around. I'm sure it will be much better
Sorry to hear about your fish. That's good that you're learning though and not planning on adding anything else right now. As for what Jo3 and homebunny said, I'll third that. And thanks for including me in the list of "generally competent" jo3. There have been some pretty ridiculous/uninformed suggestions recently, and it's frustrating to feel obligated to correct them without being able to say, "no, do your research before you make a suggestion and stop telling people nonsense." Oh well. Anyway, hang in there sassy, it'll be more fun once you get over this hurdle.
Who, Pure? Yeah, I know, he hasn't been on since last fall. I remember his health used to not be too great, so I went and looked at his photobucket one day, and it looked like his activity there dropped off back in the fall too, but starting in April he began putting up chameleon pics. So I guess he's still alive and kicking but more into other types of pets these days. Too bad, I miss him here too.
I really agree with that, some of the things I've read recently have been ridiculous. You're forgetting though guys, there are a few who might not have been on the forum very long but whose fishkeeping experience stretches back years. I for one began "properly" setting up aquariums (i.e not just throwing fish into a new tank, and actually reading up on what really needed doing regarding cycling/stocking/tank maintenence/plants etc and not listening to all the "advice" my LFS had to tell me) when I was 8.
I think a lot of the problems lie in the fact that quite a few try to post advice in a field they've never had experience in. I mean, you wouldn't catch me posting advice on stocking central american cichlids or rift lake species, inverts, and oddball/monster fish because even though I've read about them at some point I've never had the experience keeping them.
Sassy, shame to hear that your fish are dieing and hopefully you'll be able to sort it out.
I think a lot of the problems lie in the fact that quite a few try to post advice in a field they've never had experience in. I mean, you wouldn't catch me posting advice on stocking central american cichlids or rift lake species, inverts, and oddball/monster fish because even though I've read about them at some point I've never had the experience keeping them.
Sassy, shame to hear that your fish are dieing and hopefully you'll be able to sort it out.