We're very new to this, but we did some research and decided to get a 20 gallon tank. I would have loved to get a bigger one, but space is an issue and we thought there's no point in getting anything too big in case we're not very good at this.
We started out with three guppies. Unfortunately, one died the next morning. We've added a few more things, so we currently have:
2 guppies
2 emerald catfish
2 swordtails
2 black mollies
2 dwarf frogs
5 snails
1 live plant I just added today
I understand some of these do better in slightly larger groups, so I'll be looking into that. Unfortunately, for the last couple days, our water has had a little bit of ammonia in it. I'm not sure why. Maybe the cycle didn't finish completely? The tests were good when the fish went in, so I'm not sure what could be causing it. It seemed to get worse after I did a water change. The nitrites and nitrates are good. The pH is a little high, around 8.2, but I heard it's better just to leave that alone than mess with it. I believe we have hard water in our town, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a test for it yet.
The fish seem pretty happy. They all seem to get along for the most part. When I first put the swordtails in they started picking at the frogs, but that didn't last long. I think maybe they were just seeing if they were food. The mollies did the same thing, but now everyone leaves the frogs alone.
I haven't really noticed it before today but one swordtail, the bigger one, seems to chase the smaller one sometimes. It's the only real agression I've seen in the tank, and I'll be keeping an eye on them.
The emerald catfish are really cool. At first we just had the one, and he seemed really mopey and didn't do much. A couple days later when we got the other one, he became a lot more active. Every once in a while they'll swim straight to the top, poke their heads out of the water, and then go right back down to the bottom, all in the blink of an eye.
I really like the snails even though they're not too active yet. One of them had barely poked out of his shell for days. I think he's missing his "antennas" or whatever they are. He never once moved from the same spot. But after I put some more snails in today, he was up at the top of the tank, so at least he's getting more active.
We got the aquarium for the kids, but I find myself sitting beside it just watching it and losing track of time!
We started out with three guppies. Unfortunately, one died the next morning. We've added a few more things, so we currently have:
2 guppies
2 emerald catfish
2 swordtails
2 black mollies
2 dwarf frogs
5 snails
1 live plant I just added today
I understand some of these do better in slightly larger groups, so I'll be looking into that. Unfortunately, for the last couple days, our water has had a little bit of ammonia in it. I'm not sure why. Maybe the cycle didn't finish completely? The tests were good when the fish went in, so I'm not sure what could be causing it. It seemed to get worse after I did a water change. The nitrites and nitrates are good. The pH is a little high, around 8.2, but I heard it's better just to leave that alone than mess with it. I believe we have hard water in our town, but I haven't been able to get my hands on a test for it yet.
The fish seem pretty happy. They all seem to get along for the most part. When I first put the swordtails in they started picking at the frogs, but that didn't last long. I think maybe they were just seeing if they were food. The mollies did the same thing, but now everyone leaves the frogs alone.
I haven't really noticed it before today but one swordtail, the bigger one, seems to chase the smaller one sometimes. It's the only real agression I've seen in the tank, and I'll be keeping an eye on them.
The emerald catfish are really cool. At first we just had the one, and he seemed really mopey and didn't do much. A couple days later when we got the other one, he became a lot more active. Every once in a while they'll swim straight to the top, poke their heads out of the water, and then go right back down to the bottom, all in the blink of an eye.
I really like the snails even though they're not too active yet. One of them had barely poked out of his shell for days. I think he's missing his "antennas" or whatever they are. He never once moved from the same spot. But after I put some more snails in today, he was up at the top of the tank, so at least he's getting more active.
We got the aquarium for the kids, but I find myself sitting beside it just watching it and losing track of time!
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