Arghhhh! I Just Found Molly Fry In My Son's Tank!

[Man of fish]

Ohhh well I wasted 20+ minutes of my time. Ill do it another time if it starts to bother me.

No that's the weird part.

Was the filter and heater in a package together?

 

[XeroTolerance]

Wow, thats a ripoff. Try and call again in a few hours so somebody else may pick up the phone. You might get some better luck.

 

[Man of fish]

If I only want the heater I'll just tell them about my heater problems.

 

[XeroTolerance]

That sounds like a good plan.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Ruskull. what kind of heater do you have there, i have the exact same one and i dont even know what kind of heater it is, do you
oh yeah, and that is a nice little fry tank you have there

 

[Ruskull]

I called central aquatics to get my filter and heater replaced because they were both noisy and she told me I could get new ones as soon as they received the old ones. I tried to explain cycling to her but she didn't understand and I had fish in the tank. She then offered to send me them first then when I receive them send mine back but would this effect my cycle?

It shouldn't. Just make sure you use the old filter insert. Should be an easy swap & you still have the other established tank in case you need more.

 

[Ruskull]

Ruskull. what kind of heater do you have there, i have the exact same one and i dont even know what kind of heater it is, do you
oh yeah, and that is a nice little fry tank you have there

Thanks, the fry are very happy so far. I haven't lost a single one.

My heater is an Aqueon Pro. I have a 150 watt version that supposed to be good for 55 gallons in the 36 bowfront. My son's tank has the Aqueon 100 watt that's good for up to 30 gallons. I feel like using a step up makes the heater work less.

The best part about the Aqueon Pro series is the light. It's red when in use & green when the heater is on but not in heating mode. I also like the flat black rather than the glass or chrome of the fluval heaters. The Fluvals aren't fully submersible like the Aqueon Pros either. I highly recommend them. My 10 gallon has the cheesy heater that came with it but it works & it's new so I don't plan on changing it right away.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm only doing it because it's really my only option for a center piece fish.

Go for Honey Gourami if you are worried about DGD. They aren't susceptible as they aren't a true "dwarf" species. Generally though, they can be harder to find.



Signs of DGD are a spot that appears on the forehead (kind of similar to Hole in the Head disease, if I remember correctly), also lethargy, staying at the bottom of the tank, hiding, trouble staying upright, etc. Steer clear of ANY LFS tank that has any fish that appear like that. I got mine from Petsmart about 2 months ago and things are going great with him (fingers crossed) but it is a game of Russian roulette. You really can't tell. Its similar to Neon tetra disease, you just don't know until it is too late. If they show signs of the disease, it is already too late, there is no cure.


One thing that I know you can do to help is keep your water as clean as possible. The cleaner the water, the better their own immune system is to be able to deal disease, including this one. So, that means don't skimp on your maintenance, and if anything do MORE than you think is necessary. I've done some reading up on DGD after having gotten mine, and since that time I've increased my water change schedule to a weekly 50% change. Takes a bit longer with a 50+ gallon tank, but overall, I think it is worth it in the long run!

 

[Ruskull]

The local PetSmarts & PetCos here in North Carolina have had Honey Gouramis in the past but Eaglesaquarium is right, they are def. harder to come by than Dwarf Gouramis.

If you still want a Dwarf, try to pick the most active, toughest looking one in the tank. The Powder that I bought was the most active and he actually looks a bit muscular! He's a beautiful fish & he shows off too, swimming gracefully across the front of the tank. It's only been a few days though so I'm not out of the woods yet.................I'll see if I can post a short video later with the new camera.

 

[Man of fish]

I saw honeys at a petsmart yesterday half our away for $4 each and an LFS that has a 36 hour guarantee 45 minutes away sells them for $5 each. I still think I want dwarfs. What type should I get? Does it matter or can I get any dwarf, because I may change my mind.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

One thing to keep in mind is that it is best to keep only one DG, but honeys are fine in groups. And no, it doesn't matter which DG you get, they are all susceptible to DGD and they will all not like their male tankmates. I got a neon rainbow DGD, and then got a flame red DG about two weeks later. It lasted all of five minutes before they squared off and the new one took some negative attention. It was also obvious that the new one was definitely the less dominant one. I bagged him right back up and returned him immediately.

 

[Man of fish]

How about if I got a male and a female? Or should I attempt to find honeys?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They do work better in male and female mixes, probably better with two females. Good luck finding them though. They are far less colorful and far less available than males.

 

[Ruskull]

How about if I got a male and a female? Or should I attempt to find honeys?

If you don't mind taking a chance you can get a single Dwarf and see what happens. If you'd rather play safe, get (3) Honey, two females & one male. It's really your choice. Dwarfs Gouramis look better but there's always that risk.

As far as which Dwarf to get, they're all the same but different color variations, so just pick the healthiest looking one & hope for the best.

They do work better in male and female mixes, probably better with two females. Good luck finding them though. They are far less colorful and far less available than males.

I actually found (2) females Dwarf Gouramis at the local Walmart! Most fish stores won't carry the females because they aren't as colorful. Walmart isn't known for healthy fish though, and it could be that those females introduced the dreaded DGD into my son's tank eventually killing all three of them.

Your best bet would be to use your local fish store to special order (2) females rather than getting them at Walmart, even if your local Walmart carries them in the first place.

 

[Man of fish]

My walmart doesn't sell fish.