Hey, I'm A Noob!

[Slaneo]

Hey, thanks for having a look at this.
I don't really have a clue what to put here but i'll just write some stuff about me:
I enjoy most sports, especially football (english) and also enjoy going out with my friends, listening to music, gaming and all the other
stuff that comes with being 15. Except unlike the majority of my other friends, I love fish. So here is what you most care about is my history with
fish:

Last year in April for my birthday my parents bought me a 20 litre tank. The following days after settling the water etc I blindly went round
the fish shops choosing which fish I thought looked good and with a little guidance from my dad (He use to keep tropical fish ages back) from what
I can remember I had a ruby tailed shark (I still have it to this day) a plokostamas (still have him)tetras (RIP) some swordtails (a few are
left) some phantom tetras (still alive) and a few other ones which died in the line of my noobyness.

Following this, in January my dad bought me a 80 litre tank (I'm a lucky boy I know!) and I gave my mum the 20 litre tank for her office. This is when
my knowledge started to expand a little bit after doing some research on the tinterweb. I found these beauts... What were they? Bettas. Ever since then
I've had a huge love (like most people) for Betta fish. Since then I've had a few females some of which unfortunately died and two males (I only actually
discovered one was a short finned male today after months of thinking it was a female) Anyway, I now have in my 60 litre two male fighters (Bobby & Lily - I
know Lily isn't a boys name but what do I do after discovering he has a willy after all these months?!) and one female which I bought today who I haven't
named yet (I know it's not ideal to have two males and a female but I'm probably going to get some nice females this weekend) So yeah, that's about it.

Overall I'm hoping to achieve a tank with mainly bettas and tetras but at the moment I have:
- Two male bettas
- One female fighter (bought today)
- Plokostomas
- Two phantom tetras
- Ten neon tetras (bought today)
- Two female swordtails (one is pregnant)
- One molly (Remaining from a pack I bought ages ago, as harsh as it sounds: I'm waiting for it to die)
- One ruby coloured fish (not sure what it is but same applies as molly really)
- One ruby tailed shark

And here it is:

And if anyone was wondering I also have a chocolate Labrador called Lucy!
Thanks for taking the time to read this, Ollie.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, in all honesty, your stocking is an absolute mess...

Two male bettas (in fact any combination of bettas except all female groups) in one tank is a disaster waiting to happen; they're not called 'Siamese fighting fish' for nothing you know; one of yours will kill or seriuosly injury the other very, very soon, especially as you've now given them something to fight over... and two males to one female, in any species, is not good; the males will harrass her constantly.

The plec (depending on species) and the red tailed shark are not suitable for a tank that size as they grow too large.

I would say you're overstocked as well.

You also need to get some more plants (fake ones would be fine) or something in there, as it's quite stressful for fish to have no hiding places; how would you like to live your whole life in one room with one chair in it?

Like I said, sorry to sound so harsh, but I feel it's better to say these things than let you run into trouble.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum and the hobby

I have to admit I dont think your plans are going to work out long term.... or even short term...

Bettas should only be kept as 1 male per tank and often its a bad idea to keep females with them in a tank of this size. They are called Fighting Fish for a reason as males often fight to the death and the presence of each other in the tank will be causing each of them masses of stress.

The rest of your tank is not brilliantly stocked either, but now you have found the forums it will open up so much more of the hobby for you!

A few of the other things that worry me are your "Plokostomas" I think you mean Plectomus and the Ruby Tailed Shark. Plecs get huge they need big big tanks but are always sold to people unaware of their huge adult size. Similarly Red Tailed Sharks get pretty big and also pretty mean, IMO much too big for an 80 liter tank - realistically for the Shark you need 250 liters and for the Plec your looking at 400+ liters.

Also from your stocking the ruby coloured fish - I will guess is a Platy and like you said is kind of similar to Mollies and Swordtails. IMO this tank is a little small for Mollies and Swords though Platies stay much smaller - if you like these kind of fish I would stick to these.

When you say you are waiting for the Molly to die and if I read correctly the same for the "Ruby fish" dont be afraid to try and rehome them if you dont want them in your tank someone else will Either take them back to the shop for store credit and consider getting something else or the credit note can be used for supplies like food, plants etc

To give you an idea of what your tank should look like I would have a stock list like this

1 Male Betta
3 Male Platies - any colour (get all males to avoid problems of females giving birth and in turn over stocking your tank)
10 Neon Tetras
6 Phantom Tetras (tetras and other schooling fish should be kept in groups of 6 or more)

And then you have space to add other similarly small growing fish. You have gravel rather than sand so that rules out Cories and Loaches but maybe a Rubber Lip Plec would be good, thats a much smaller growing species of plec or Pitbulls are even better if you can find them Amano Shrimps might be an interesting addition to the tank.

I hate to say all of this to you but I think you need to do some sorting out with the tank, try and move on the fish that you dont want or are to big to new homes or take them back to the shop. A lot of whats gone on here are things that we all do when we start keeping fish (eg getting a pleco in a small tank)

Hope its helped
Wills

 

[Slaneo]

I originally though that the short finned male betta was a female, hence why I bought it but having them both together for 4 or 5 months now, they don't bother with each other really, i've had no issue whatsoever with them. As for the red tailed shark, the plec etc i'm working on sorting different arrangements out for them at the moment.

 

[fluttermoth]

I originally though that the short finned male betta was a female, hence why I bought it but having them both together for 4 or 5 months now, they don't bother with each other really, i've had no issue whatsoever with them.

That's as maybe, but now you've given them something to fight over (the female) I can't see it lasting.

 

[AmazonFTW]

Agree strongly with both of the previous posts. Welcome to the forum.

I'm 15 too if you were wondering, nice to know of someone else who shares an interest in fishkeeping at this age.

 

[Slaneo]

Hey Amazon, yeah nice to see another 15 year old aswell. Flutter, they have had females before aswell but if worst comes to worst I'll give one of the males to my friend as he's starting up a tank also. At the end of the day from the way I see it, atleast from these mistakes i'm making I can learn from them, and you have to start somewhere, right?

And thanks for the tips lads.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Glad you could join us!

 

[Wills]

At the end of the day from the way I see it, atleast from these mistakes i'm making I can learn from them, and you have to start somewhere, right?

Absolutely! And we all still make mistakes at some point or an other I know I still do

It sounds like you have stuff under control, with moving the short finned male and the plec and shark Which is excellent!

Wills

 

[Slaneo]

I can't decide whether it's a short finned male or a female. Is there anyway I can define them?

 

[kizno1]

I can't decide whether it's a short finned male or a female. Is there anyway I can define them?

The easiest way to tell is when it flares have a look at the bit it flares, if it goes all the way under the neck its a male but if its just at the side its a female. Do you have a picture of it?

 

[SchottayB]

Hey Noob! Welcome mate!

 

[colleen0309]

Good morning and welcome! Good luck!