Hard Tough Decision!

[garethusa]

well i went to the pet store just to kill some time and chill out.

looking at all the fish there, i fell in love with this red orange parrot cichlid (ciclid or whatever it is called). it was so gorgeous and big and slow and well, $25. of course, the tank that i just bought and on it's way is a 9 gallon biUbe and i probably don't think such a big parrot cichlid would be happy in there although it seems that it wouldn't move much and really not do much.

i wonder if i could get another 16 gal biOrb and put it in there? or if i just had the 9 gal for it, if it would be enough for it to be in there. i will have to do more research on this parrot cichlid fish. it was very breath-taking and it looked so much like a big happy fish out of SuperMario or something.

****

anyway, on to the real point of the post....

i was comparing guppies and mollies.

and unfortunately the mickey mouse mollies that i thought i had seen were really mickey mouse platys. and i really liked those.

the mollies only came in silver, there were there faint yellow ones but didn't really catch my eyes, and of course, my favorite are the dalmation mollies either pure black with white specs or pure white with black specs. i would love to have some of those.

the guppies were amazing in the sense that they have very beautiful and varied tail patterns. there were a couple that were leopard guppies. they were all so tiny.

now as i kept looking at all of them, i think i really liked the mollies because they are bigger. it just seems more personable. they are a bit bigger than my bettas that's for sure but they at least look like real fish. not to discredit the guppies as fish, but they are very tiny and dainty yet also grand in their own way.

****

so ideally in my 9 gallon, i guess i would love to see:
2 dalmation mollies
3-4 male guppies
2 mickey mouse platys

is this possible?

 

[theotheragentm]

That fish requires a lot of space. The space they are kept in while they are in the fish store is far too small. They get large and despite what you saw, they can swim quite a bit. I would recommend at least 40 gallons for one fish as they get up to a foot in length. It's not really a great choice of fish.

 

[garethusa]

That fish requires a lot of space. The space they are kept in while they are in the fish store is far too small. They get large and despite what you saw, they can swim quite a bit. I would recommend at least 40 gallons for one fish as they get up to a foot in length. It's not really a great choice of fish.

i don't really know much about the blood parrot cichlid. but just went to different web pages and it's very sad that this particular fish is a hybrid that is man-made and would be similar to those who breed pugs and beagles to produce puggles, which i would not encourage or buy.

i just was amazed when i did see the blood parrot in a beautiful orange color, gracefully swimming in his/her corner, and just looking so magestic but in a peaceful and sweet way. there was something very sweet, pure, and soothing about just watching it.

i would now be conflicted buying one after reading everything i have read.

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i also really liked those clown loaches. but i don't think they would be good for a biOrb environment. Maybe the biUbe wouldn't be so bad because it is a flat surface compared to the biOrbs.

they were cute except their mouths were totally creepy to look at with those whiskers and then the mouth kinda sucking down like an ardvark in the substrate.