Penguin's 26g Thread (questions And Updates)

Hello all! Many people have helped me on my fish journey so far, and I want to give a recap of my experiences.

1) Christmas! I get a 6g, and being the total newbie I was, I set the tank up and bought two 15 cent feeders to put in it. WITHOUT A HEATER. They were in there for a week with only the filter, and without the tank being cycled.

2) Pet store woman tells me to take the feeders out, because they're "dirty". I put feeders in a half gallon bowl. Then I want to get real fishies, so pet store lady gives me a female platy, female dalmatian molly, and female glo fish. I put them all in the tank WITHOUT A HEATER.

3) Within three days, the dalmatian molly starts to deteriorate. She dies, leaving the platy and glofish together, all alone.

4) I, being the idiot I was, picked up a balloon molly and two guppies to replace the lost molly, ALL IN THE SIX GALLON.

5) Both guppies die, making me realize I need help.

6) I get help on Fishlore, and I learn about all my mistakes. We purchase a used 26g tank along with a used filter and FINALLY a heater. We set the tank up.

7) After adding TSS, we add the three fishies. On the first day, the balloon molly gets sucked up the intake tube and shredded.

8) We order a new filter with a better intake tube, so the fishies don't die.

9) We buy a Ghost Shrimp while the tank cycles.

10) Once the tank is cycled, we buy a new balloon molly. He's really shy and only comes out to eat, but he's still new to the tank and we're hoping he gets better soon.

11) The feeders are still in the bowl. I want to add the feeders to the large tank, but first I've been told to medicate them in case they have parasites. Waiting for good brands.


My Questions:
1) What's wrong with my balloon molly? He only ever comes out to eat, and even that's a new occurrence. He's only been in the tank five days, so I GUESS he could still be shy...
2) Medication suggestions for the feeders? They're in a bowl, so something simple. There's two of them, and they're fathead minnows.
3) I'm thinking about getting cories. Can I get six different types of cories and have them school together? I like each fish to be unique, so it'd be cool to have six different individuals.
4) Can I add cories without sand? I have very smooth pebbles as a substrate.

I know I'll have more questions down the road, but this is just a start.

Water parameters:
Ammonia - .0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 10


Future Stock: (I know it's overstocked, and I'm prepared for extra maintenance)
1x female platy
1x balloon molly
6x glofish tetras
3x male guppies
6x assorted cories
2x Fathead Minnows
1x mystery snail
1x Ghost Shrimp
10-30x RCS

Right now in the tank, I have....
1x female platy
1x balloon molly
1x glofish tetra
1x Ghost Shrimp




Again, don't criticize my stocking. I know what to expect already, as I've had multiple threads on here before.

 

1 could still be shy I guess, does he have lots of hiding places if he's nervous?
2 Medication for what? They will need daily water changes in that bowl.
3 No. Most types don't school together but bronze and albinos do so you could get 4 of each.
4 Should be okay but they would be happier with sand.
Also the minnows need cooler water than all your other stock.

 

1) Yes, lots of hiding spots
2) I was told they could have parasites. Is there any all around medicine that covers a lot of things? They've been in some pretty horrible conditions...
3) Aw... That sucks. I've heard mixed things, and some people have had success mixing species. Is it worth a shot? I guess I could always return some if it doesn't work out...
4) Okay. I've had bad experiences with sand in the past, which is why I stuck with gravel this time.

I realize the minnows need cool water. Unfortunately, I have no options for them right now. If I give them away, they'll surely be used as feeders. I've actually grown attached to them, and I don't want them to get devoured. They've survived horrible conditions (even in a cup for three days until the bowl came) and I figured the warm tank was better than being eaten.

 

3. No I wouldn't try it. They would be much happier in a group of their own kind and will display more natural behaviour

 

Okay, I'm going to try and add a sand corner to my tank.

The gravel is light colored, so I'll probably end up crushing my ghost shrimp. I'm going to take him out and put him in a bowl. Then I'm just going to scoop sand out, bring the cup to the bottom of the tank, and dump it a little at a time. Is this the best method? With my molly already so stressed, I was trying not to drain the tank.

UPDATE - 2/10/17

Took all the decorations out, straightened out the gravel, and added a sand corner for the future cories. It's about ten inches long and four inches deep. Then I completed my first water change!

Platy is looking SUPER pregnant. Shouldn't be long now.

The molly didn't freak out too much, which is good. I think he's finally settling in.

 

Cool! Continue with water changes at least once a week. Do you have a plan for all the baby platies?

 

Methylene Blue is good for preventing bacteria, which is what many good fish stores use in their betta cups while they're waiting to be adopted! Or bought, but I think adopted sounds nicer (I work at my local animal shelter, maybe that's why lol) If you don't have a plan for your platy fry, you can leave them in the tank and hope you can enjoy them long enough before the parents eat them Many livebearers like Mollies and platies will eat their fry unless they're given hiding spots. If you're looking to preserve the fry but don't have a place to put them, I would suggest adding some hornwort or other thin leaved plants that the fry can hide in. Hornwort is a relatively easy plant to take care of and can either be planted or floated in the tank. You can also trim it and replant it, as long as you trim it where a single strand breaks off into to two even branches (if that makes sense? If you're interested in the hornwort, I can send you a picture of mine in my platy/Molly tank to explain it better). Good luck with the fish- raising fry is one of the most fun things to do with livebearers Make sure you prepare yourself with fry food and/or brine shrimp for the little guys- they are TINY!

Also I've heard from somewhere, not sure where, so this may be wrong, but that the livebearers sometimes mate with guppies? Not sure if this is even possible OR accurate, but definitely do your research on those before adding them to your tank. Again: good luck!

 

I plan to let nature take it's course with the fry, and I'll see what happens. I have plastic plants and rock decorations for them to hide in. If they survive, I'll probably donate them to my LFS, but I might keep a few I guess. Dunno yet.

UPDATE - 2/12/17

Hoping to get more fishies soon, but getting my dad on board is proving to be difficult. The store I want to go to is about forty minutes away, and he's just not up for that this weekend. Next weekend I'll be out of town, meaning probably no more fish until the weekend after next. I feel bad for my glofish who's just swimming around aimlessly without a school

Platy is still being lazy, and molly is still being weird. All three fish are eating flake food and freeze dried bloodworms tho

 

ANOTHER update!

Convinced the father to visit a more local pet store, and we picked up five more glofish in different colors. $50!!!!! Expensive for such little guys.

All six glofish are schooling nicely, and the tank looks very colorful. The molly and platy seem to be trying to avoid the school, but they'll get used to it.

Is it normal for the glofish to chase each other around and nip?

 

Great! It will be delighted with a school. Yep perfectly normal, if you don't have a big enough school they'll often chase and nip other fish instead.

 

They were nipping the platy at first, but stopped once they started schooling. The original glofish avoided the school for a little while, but eventually joined in on the fun.

 

Two of the glofish are chasing another glofish around and nipping her so much that it's hard for her to eat. Is this okay? She can't seem to get away from them.


EDIT: Now a third little guy is joining in.... WHY ARE THEY CHASING HER??

 

UPDATE - 2/15/17

The Glofish stopped chasing each other so fiercely and I think they're all settled in. Here's a quick update on each fishie...

Balloon molly - Still hides most of the day. Is it something about the tank that he doesn't like? Or is it the stock? 0 Ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-10 nitrate. He hides under a decoration or behind the HOB filter intake almost all day, but still eats regularly. After he eats he goes straight back into hiding.

Platy - Getting quite big. She's shy and hides, but that's pretty normal for a pregnant fish, especially with a school darting around. The glofish leave her alone except during feeding, where they will occasionally chase her around. But nothing that restricts her movement.

Original Glofish (red) - She's been through a lot, but she loves the extra company! She spends most of the day with the platy or with a few other glofish. She's trying to decide who she likes better XD

Glofish (green) - Fairly skittish. Gets chased a lot by the others and darts in last to get food, but overall seems healthy. He's the smallest, which could be why he's hesitant around the larger fish.

Glofish (pink) - The most laid back of the group. She hides a lot, but when feeding time comes she becomes active and swims around wildly.

Glofish (purple) - The biggest Glofish, and the one that most of the others follow. She seems like the big mama! XD

Glofish (orange) - Spends most of the day exploring or schooling.

Glofish (blue) - NEVER leaves the purple glofish's side. They're literally always together. This little guy is the most active, with his constant darting around and chasing of the others. He's honestly my favorite


Overall, they seem really happy in their home. All eight fish eat well and interact well with each other. I'll try to get pics up very soon.

Oh, and I have my first algae! I've been told that it's a sign of a healthy tank!

 

If the aggression/nipping/chasing with the glofish is happening too much then I would get a couple more. If you want different colours you could get a black skirt tetra and a white skirt tetra since they are the same fish just different colours.

A little bit of algae is good but a lot can actually be a sign of an unhealthy tank. Algae grows a lot when the nitrates are too high and when lighting is on for too long or too bright among other reasons.

 

The nipping seems to have died down, but if it becomes a problem I will definitely get more.

How long should my light be on daily? I leave it on for about 12 hours a day.... Never really thought about that.

I'll be out of town this weekend, but the weekend after that I'm picking up cories from the LFS! It's a different one from the store I usually go to, and I'm hoping they have a bigger variety. Then I'll top it off with a few male guppies, and then I'll be fully stocked Possibly even some snails if I have room.

 

Here's a pic of the tank! The Glofish are out for a swim, the platy is chilling in the back, and the molly is out for a rare exploration outside his tikI cave XD

 

UPDATE - 2/22/17

We have a problem. The original Glofish is hiding in the upper corner by the heater, and has been for the past 24 hours. She still eats, but then goes back into hiding. I noticed she's got two little nicks in her fins, probably from fin nipping. Are the other tetras bullying her when I'm not watching? Should I try and get a White Skirt Tetra and Black Skirt Tetra to increase the school?

The molly is much more outgoing now, and he's actually convinced he's a tetra. He's always following the school around, and it's funny to watch.

The platy's stomach is squaring off, which means she's giving birth very soon.

 

If the others are bullying her then adding a couple more to the school should help, however make sure this is the cause and she's not just ill.

 

She's pressed against the glass up in the corner, with her nose pointing up and her tail pointing down diagonally. Sometimes she swims around, but she always returns to that corner. I see nothing physically wrong with her besides some nipped fins, and this is a new occurrence.

I don't know when I'll be able to go to the LFS next, so is there anything I can do to help her in the meantime?

 

UPDATE - 3/19/17

The tank is doing very well, and we have some new livestock.

That glofish finally recovered, and the school of six is still going strong. Haven't lost a single one yet. The electric green one seems to be carrying eggs, which is exciting. I'm not completely sure, but it's quite large right now.

The platy had her first fry, but all of them died but one. The baby fry is growing in the breeding net, and we've concluded it's a female. It should be released in the tank in a month or two, once we know it's not small enough to be eaten. The mommy platy is pregnant once again, even though there's no males in the tank! Must be from a male at the pet store.

And our balloon molly. Oh my gosh, he's hilarious! We've all named him Kevin, and he's the most interactive fish I've ever seen. He swims up next to the glass when we walk by, and he'll beg for food when we're watching the tank! We just love him.

Little ghost shrimp buddy has molted a few times, which I assume means he's happy. We got a mystery snail as well, which has helped clear up our algae problem.

For bottom feeders, we're going to mix some species of cories. I know it wasn't recommended, but we're doing it anyways. I've done extensive research, and it won't really HURT the cories to be without their own species. So we're doing it. I already picked up a bronze cory from the pet store, since it was the only one that seemed relatively healthy, and we'll be getting some more in the coming weeks.

I believe that's it. We tried to add a male gold dust molly, but Kevin kept trying to attack it. Then the gold dust tried to attack the mama platy, and we took him back after one weekend XD.

We also tried to add another guppy, but it died once again. So far all three guppies we've owned have died. Is it just the store we're buying them at, or are we just caring for them wrong? From what I've read, guppies are supposed to be beginner fish... We might wait a while before trying again.

Current stocking:
6x glofish tetras
1x female platy
1x female platy fry (in breeder net)
1x male balloon molly
1x bronze cory
1x ghost shrimp
1x mystery snail

Parameters are great, tank looks amazing, and we're very happy with it! Much better than that dirty 6 gallon we had before.

 

For bottom feeders, we're going to mix some species of cories. I know it wasn't recommended, but we're doing it anyways. I've done extensive research, and it won't really HURT the cories to be without their own species. So we're doing it. I already picked up a bronze cory from the pet store, since it was the only one that seemed relatively healthy, and we'll be getting some more in the coming weeks.

I would not mix different species however you could mix green, bronze and albino cories since they are the same species just different color variants.

 

We're still debating which species to get, so I'll keep you updated.

 

UPDATE - 4/3/17

I've got good news and bad news. Let's start with the good news.

BottomDweller you wanted to know how the baby fry was doing. She made a full recovery after the big water change we did, and now she's more active than before. I saw her pooping for the first time today (I'm sure she's done it before, it's just the first time I've been able to see it XD). The mama platy gave birth again, and we rescued three fry. They're in the net as well. We'll probably donate them to the LFS or give them to friends, since I can't really fit them into my current stocking plan.

When we first set the tank up, we made the mistake of putting the stand directly on the carpet without seeing if it was level. So when we did the 50% water change, we lifted the tank (with the help of my dad) and managed to shove some cardboard under the front legs. Now the tank is level, and the filter splashes a lot less. There's also less current in the tank.

Now for the bad news.

One of the glofish died. It somehow jumped inside the breeder net while I was at school, and we think it died of stress. It was fine when I left at 6:30, and my dad found it dead at 8:00. That's a relatively small time period, but we still think it just died from being stuck inside the small net.

Also, I'm a bit worried about the other glofish. I'm not really satisfied with them. Half of them hide all day, and the others just kind of swim in place. The purple one seems sort of healthy, but all the others just always seem sickly and slow. I'd return them, but my LFS has a very strict return policy. I can't get my money back after 7 days, which really sucks. I could just return them without getting my money back, but they were $10 a piece. I'm a teenager, and I just don't have that kind of money. Does anyone have suggestions? Are there any other ways to get my money back for fish I'm not satisfied with? I'm guessing not, but I figured I should ask anyways.

And there's more bad news. I broke my API test tubes.... XD They were out drying and my elbow knocked them onto the tile. We'll be ordering more as soon as possible, but I might buy some cheap test strips while we wait.

So currently we have:
1x balloon molly
1x platy
4x platy fry (we will be keeping 1, other 3 will be rehomed)
5x glofish tetras
1x bronze cory (we still haven't decided what we're doing about the cories. We might mix albinos with bronze, or we might get a bunch of types.)
1x mystery snail
1x ghost shrimp

 

I've had to buy replacement tubes too. Your can get a box of 24 on amazon for around $20. Now I have plenty of extras!

 

BottomDweller you wanted to know how the baby fry was doing. She made a full recovery after the big water change we did, and now she's more active than before. I saw her pooping for the first time today (I'm sure she's done it before, it's just the first time I've been able to see it XD). The mama platy gave birth again, and we rescued three fry. They're in the net as well. We'll probably donate them to the LFS or give them to friends, since I can't really fit them into my current stocking plan.

Great! I found 3 platy fry too yesterday! Weird it happened to both of us.

1x bronze cory (we still haven't decided what we're doing about the cories. We might mix albinos with bronze, or we might get a bunch of types.)

I think sticking to bronze and/or albinos would be best, they'd be much happier rather than in a mixed school

 

Maybe that's the route for me! I tend to break lots of things (lamps, ceiling lights, ect.) by pure clumsiness and bad luck.

 

Great! I found 3 platy fry too yesterday! Weird it happened to both of us.

I actually found them about four days ago. They were living in a small bowl until we figured out what was wrong with our bigger fry!

 

UPDATE - 5/1/17

This past month has been incredibly eventful. I have a mixture of good and bad news to share with you all, and I'll definitely have a list of questions at the end of my post. XD

First let's go over the sad news..... Remember my original glofish tetra? The one that lived in the 6g? She died... It was really sad, but we think it was just old age. She was never the healthiest fish (she got stuck in the filter a few months ago and has swam with a slight tilt ever since) and we all saw it coming.

Also, the biggest fry finally passed away. We released her in the big tank, and she was swimming fine, but she just dropped dead a few days later. I don't think it was our fault, I've heard that sometimes fry just die for no apparent reason. The three smaller fry are doing great though, and appear to be very healthy. I might leave them in the net for a bit longer, until they're maybe an inch long.

We went to a large fish store in our area and picked up the cories I wanted. We did mix the school, even though you guys didn't recommend it. I did a lot of research and put in a lot of thought, and decided that I'd return the cories if they showed any signs of unhealthiness. Luckily they all seemed to get along fine. In addition to the bronze, we now own an albino, peppered, julii, and panda. It's adorable to see them interact! They all sleep in a big pile at night. XD

I do have one more story to share.

So we stopped in our local PetValu to look at the fishies, just to see if there was anything good. Most of the fish looked pretty unhealthy, so we decided not to get anything. Then.... yes, my heart literally broke. There was a black balloon molly swimming in the molly tank, surrounded by dead mollies. Most of the living ones were gasping and fluttering around.... but he appeared perfectly healthy. I knew not to impulse buy, so I left the store feeling horrible. I already owned a male balloon, and it seemed like a bad idea to add another one.

I returned to the store the next day to pick up some dog treats, only to see the SAME LITTLE MOLLY! I just couldn't help myself, and I picked him up along with a few females from a recent shipment. I was hoping the females would distract the males.... and MAYBE they wouldn't fight?

The males immediately began to fight. My original balloon is named Kevin (don't ask about the name XD) and he's twice the size of the little black one. I was really worried, because neither of them showed any interest in the females. This went on for about two days, and luckily the fighting seemed to slow down until they stopped fighting all together. Now they seem to get along, but I'm keeping a close eye on them. None of the fishies are showing any signs of illness, so I guess I got lucky bringing those unhealthy mollies into the tank.

I lied, there's one more good news. My two mystery snails had a clutch! It's on the lid of the tank, and I'm currently researching the best way to take care of it. I think I'm going to attempt to move it into a sandwich container with a damp paper towel, and float it in the tank. Thoughts?

I really don't want all the babies in the big tank, so I'll probably donate them to the LFS.

Questions:
1. Will my male balloons ever start randomly fighting again? Or are they living peacefully together? They don't seem to bother each other anymore.
2. Any thoughts on the snail clutch? Anything I should look out for?

STOCKING:
1x female platy
4x balloon mollies (two males, two females) *They all get along. Like I said, the males seem to ignore the females
4x glofish tetras
5x assorted cories (bronze, peppered, julii, panda, and albino)
1x ghost shrimp
2x mystery snails
1x nerite snail
3x platy fry (in breeder net)
and a snail clutch