It’s happening...Mts

So a few months back I got my first tank in a really long time. A small 5 gallon and a few fish.
I learned so much in that time, & continue to learn even more as time goes on.
I ended up getting a 20g probably 3 weeks after the 5c and ran with that for a month or so. Eventually, I landed my 55g and love it so much. But it won’t be enough in 6-12 months.
I made the 55 a cichlid tank, & my 20 holds my mollies & tetras, a few guppies as well.
This has turned into the best thing I’ve done for myself. My wife loves it, she’s super into it all.
We research together, take care of our guys, & enjoy every minute of it. The only part now is…… we literally go to the pet store if not everyday, every other day. We can’t stop getting upgrades, new fish. New tanks. Everything haha. It’s like an addiction!
I guess this is what they call MTS.. haha. If anyone has any pointers please let me know. I’d love to save some money & just enjoy the fish without continuously making changes or upgrades.

 

It gets you like that. Setting up a new tank is great fun, especially the planning and stocking side of it. Only major pointer would be to make sure you aren't overstretching yourself. You quite often see people bitten by the MTS bug then they suddenly get overwhelmed when things start going wrong and they can’t keep the plates spinning. Keep it fun but make sure it doesnt turn into a chore that you detest.

Either that or hide your wallet to stop you buying more stuff!

 

Beautiful tanks!

I recommend that you start adding live plants to your tanks. They are so much better for your fish, and will keep your tanks healthy. Your fish will love them, and you can do a lot with them. There are a lot of varieties to learn about, too.

The cichlids are known to dig up plants, but the mollys, tetras, and guppies would love them!

 

It gets you like that. Setting up a new tank is great fun, especially the planning and stocking side of it. Only major pointer would be to make sure you aren't overstretching yourself. You quite often see people bitten by the MTS bug then they suddenly get overwhelmed when things start going wrong and they can’t keep the plates spinning. Keep it fun but make sure it doesnt turn into a chore that you detest.

Either that or hide your wallet to stop you buying more stuff!

Thank you! I never knew it was this great of a hobby. The community, the hobby itself, the fish, it’s all so great! But agreed, I think as of now I have a good start to being able to adjust to taking care of this many.

Beautiful tanks!

I recommend that you start adding live plants to your tanks. They are so much better for your fish, and will keep your tanks healthy. Your fish will love them, and you can do a lot with them. There are a lot of varieties to learn about, too.

The cichlids are known to dig up plants, but the mollys, tetras, and guppies would love them!

How easy is it to start? I’ve been meaning to start it. Do they grow okay in substrate? My Cichlid tank has a decent layer, but my tetra/mollies have a thin layer. I’ve looked at them multiple times at my Lfs, but never but into getting them yet!

 

You can do a search of this site, and start with some easy to care for low tech plants.

Plants do grow in substrate, depending on your substrate and depending on the plants. Some plants have rhizomes, and those need to be kept out of the substrate. Some plants can just float. Some plants can be attached to some type of decor with fishing line, string, or a very specific type of glue.

I would recommend that you start looking at the aquarium plant part of this site, and start reading about the easy to care for/low tech plants.

If your LFS is a decent one, they can help a lot by recommending plants and giving instructions about how plant/care for/manage plants.

I have learned a lot from this site, and if you start poking around and looking at threads about people documenting their tank builds, you will learn a lot!

(Right now, I have java moss - which is really easy, some pothos ivy - which is really easy, and a big anubias barteri, which isn't hard to keep, just for some examples. But there are so many more out there!)

I hope this helps!!!

 

How easy is it to start? I’ve been meaning to start it. Do they grow okay in substrate? My Cichlid tank has a decent layer, but my tetra/mollies have a thin layer. I’ve looked at them multiple times at my Lfs, but never but into getting them yet!

It's not difficult to get started with plants. There are a number of them that do well without special lighting. I probably wouldn't try with the cichlids, since many of them will uproot any plants.

You could always add more substrate in the other tanks, or use plants that don't need substrate, like floating plants or anubias (which is typically tied or glued to rocks or submerged wood).

 

I search 'low light aquarium plants' and just picked a bunch.

I found some real deals on ebay where sellers( hobbyist) sold extra plants. Made life easy.

Your tanks look great! glad you are enjoying it.

I search 'low light aquarium plants' and just picked a bunch.

I found some real deals on ebay where sellers( hobbyist) sold extra plants. Made life easy.

Your tanks look great! glad you are enjoying it.

 

I search 'low light aquarium plants' and just picked a bunch.

I found some real deals on ebay where sellers( hobbyist) sold extra plants. Made life easy.

Your tanks look great! glad you are enjoying it.

And very soon the plants will suck you in, and you will need more bigger tanks and CO2 as the next step because you will just love to watch the fish in the lush green