KristineNote
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Hello, I'm somewhat new to taking care of fish. I have a 15 gal tank. I have a male betta, half-way grown. I put him in the 15 gal tank from my 2 gal tank. I have test strips for pH and amon. and a undergravel filter, an airpump, and a heater with a dial, oh and a floating thermometer. I have the pellets and the freeze dried blood worms. I read as much up on how to take care of my betta and everything I needed. (And the first aid kit for bettas!)
After a while I decided to get some tankmates. So I got black kuhli loaches - all thriving. Then I got an African Dwarf Frog. Got along great. Then 10 neon tetras, and bought Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets. Only 4 of the neon tetras are alive - 3 I think were just old, as they were big, and the others disappeared. But my betta never attacked them while I was watching so I assume the remaining 3 are just hiding somewhere. (I got 4 neons from Walmart- the bigger ones and 6 from Petsmart who I think are still all alive but am not sure as there are so many hiding places in my tank)
Then 2 ghost shrimp - still alive after 2 weeks. So my betta isn't all that aggressive! Woot. But then I read that as long as the fish are peaceful, not colorful, and don't have long fins they can get along with a betta. So I bought balloon mollies today. 3 of them, because I read up on them and they don't need to be in schols like neon tetras do.
That's when things went bad. The light orange-white one - female (round anal tail) had no problems. The male dalmatian chased my betta, who flared but soon the two stabilized. The second female, a bright orange one who I took a risk on buying because she's so pretty - my betta went after her like crazy.
Oops. So I removed my betta before any damage could be done. Put him back in the 2 gal tank, which has a filter and a few toys (floating log, silk plants, and gravel). It just needs my tiny heater to be put back in (but it's like 86 F outside right now so my fishy heaters are turned off) and I need to buy another thermometer like right away.
Backstory finished! I know I made a mistake buying a bright orange one, you have permission to yell at me for my stupidity. But I stopped any fin nipping before it happened! If I made any other mistakes, feel free to tell me. I'm here to learn. I know of the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule. So I'm thinking, as I currently have 2 loaches (2 inches), 1 frog (1.5 inch), 3 mollies (2.5 inch), 4-6 tetras (.5 inch), and 2 ghost shrimp (probably will be eaten one day, so...not counting them). So is my tank over stuffed or just right or can I get more fish?
If I can get more fish, what type can I get? Livebearers, right? I've been reading through FAQs and that's what I assume. But what about other tropical fish? Seeing as all my current fish in my 15 gal are peaceful, can I get something semi-agressive like a shark, catfish, or angelfish? I haven't read up on them yet so I only know they're aggressive. I know I can't get a goldfish because they like cooler climents (even though that's kinda what I have my heart set on)
Other questions. I used to feed every night a bit of pellets, some micro pellets, and a tiny tiny bit of freeze dried blood worms. But now betta man is out of the tank. How should I feed now? I just need to put in micro pellets (now I can do it a little in the morning and a little at night, right?) for the tetras and blood worms for everyone else, right? A pinch of blood worms will do once a day?
Oh, my mollie the female, I think, she has a long brown thing coming from her and it hasn't fallen off yet. I noticed it like 10 minutes ago and it's still there. Should I be concerned? And the mollies seem to be pecking at one of the rocks, like eating invisible eggs or food or something...it's eggs they're eating, right?
Long post. Sorry.
PS Don't worry about betta man, I'm going to get a big tank for him, probably an 8 gal from the petstore soon so he'll be happy again!
After a while I decided to get some tankmates. So I got black kuhli loaches - all thriving. Then I got an African Dwarf Frog. Got along great. Then 10 neon tetras, and bought Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets. Only 4 of the neon tetras are alive - 3 I think were just old, as they were big, and the others disappeared. But my betta never attacked them while I was watching so I assume the remaining 3 are just hiding somewhere. (I got 4 neons from Walmart- the bigger ones and 6 from Petsmart who I think are still all alive but am not sure as there are so many hiding places in my tank)
Then 2 ghost shrimp - still alive after 2 weeks. So my betta isn't all that aggressive! Woot. But then I read that as long as the fish are peaceful, not colorful, and don't have long fins they can get along with a betta. So I bought balloon mollies today. 3 of them, because I read up on them and they don't need to be in schols like neon tetras do.
That's when things went bad. The light orange-white one - female (round anal tail) had no problems. The male dalmatian chased my betta, who flared but soon the two stabilized. The second female, a bright orange one who I took a risk on buying because she's so pretty - my betta went after her like crazy.
Oops. So I removed my betta before any damage could be done. Put him back in the 2 gal tank, which has a filter and a few toys (floating log, silk plants, and gravel). It just needs my tiny heater to be put back in (but it's like 86 F outside right now so my fishy heaters are turned off) and I need to buy another thermometer like right away.
Backstory finished! I know I made a mistake buying a bright orange one, you have permission to yell at me for my stupidity. But I stopped any fin nipping before it happened! If I made any other mistakes, feel free to tell me. I'm here to learn. I know of the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule. So I'm thinking, as I currently have 2 loaches (2 inches), 1 frog (1.5 inch), 3 mollies (2.5 inch), 4-6 tetras (.5 inch), and 2 ghost shrimp (probably will be eaten one day, so...not counting them). So is my tank over stuffed or just right or can I get more fish?
If I can get more fish, what type can I get? Livebearers, right? I've been reading through FAQs and that's what I assume. But what about other tropical fish? Seeing as all my current fish in my 15 gal are peaceful, can I get something semi-agressive like a shark, catfish, or angelfish? I haven't read up on them yet so I only know they're aggressive. I know I can't get a goldfish because they like cooler climents (even though that's kinda what I have my heart set on)
Other questions. I used to feed every night a bit of pellets, some micro pellets, and a tiny tiny bit of freeze dried blood worms. But now betta man is out of the tank. How should I feed now? I just need to put in micro pellets (now I can do it a little in the morning and a little at night, right?) for the tetras and blood worms for everyone else, right? A pinch of blood worms will do once a day?
Oh, my mollie the female, I think, she has a long brown thing coming from her and it hasn't fallen off yet. I noticed it like 10 minutes ago and it's still there. Should I be concerned? And the mollies seem to be pecking at one of the rocks, like eating invisible eggs or food or something...it's eggs they're eating, right?
Long post. Sorry.
PS Don't worry about betta man, I'm going to get a big tank for him, probably an 8 gal from the petstore soon so he'll be happy again!
by cycling a tank we mean starting off with an empty new tank, adding ammonia which helps the filter grow bacteria which keeps the harmful stuff at bay which in turn leads to healthy fish. Your readings should be at 0 for ammonia and nitrites. 
