New Sorta.

[Mauigirl]

Hi,
So I have a few questions for you all.

I recently Separated from my husband of many years. He was a fish fanatic!! Actually bread African lake Cichlids and sold them to the local fish guys. We had more tanks in the basement than I could count.
I never really paid much attention to the care but enjoyed the fish allot.

But Now that he has moved all of them out, I miss them..

My ex was kind enough , when i asked, to give me one of his "Grow out tanks", set up the filter he called a U for (He put really gross looking sponges he called mature into it, I'm worried these are old and no good).
Told me I was good to go for up to X amount of fish..

OK so, the tank is I'm not good with tape measure so bear with me,
4foot long 18 inches deep but only 10 inches tall. he told me it is roughly 30ish gallons.

I went ahead and stocked it as follows...

8x mollies (assorted colors)
4x patties reds and black and whites.
3x dwarf African frogs ( I love these, always have but ex said they were a pain to keep)
4x Jullie corrie cat
3x Bamboo shrimp ( Another one i dearly love, he called em filter shrimp and said to get the bamboo petsmart sold me out cause it isn't true aquatic and will die. )
1x dwarf gourami male
1x twig ( ex called it a Farlowella) cat

I called him over tonight to check it out for me..
He showed up with a API freshwater kit and showed me how to use it.
said all looks ok but maybe a few minor stocking problems ( he wouldn't elaborate)

As I pressured him for info he blurted this website and said " most are good there, wont let you kill em"

Any advise as to am I on the right track here? under / over stocked?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Given you have 12 livebearers in the tank, that in a mixed sex group could rapidly overload you with fry, I would not buy any new species.

However, I would suggest checking the ID of your Corydoras julii, which could very well be the commonly missold Corydoras trilineatus. These are very social catfish and about another four of the same species will make a world of difference to them.

I don't know enough about the frogs to comment as to how they will work with your stocking, but they do have a reputation of being tricky to ensure they eat enough and not get picked on.

The only other thing jumping out at me right now is a possible conflict between the gourami and the Twig Catfish, which I'm hoping "Wills" might confirm later, as gourami do not like current and I think Twig Catfish need lots of water flow. Not sure how social they are and whether they do better in groups, but again I'm hopeful "Wills" or another keeper of these lesser known catfish will comment.

 

[Mauigirl]

Given you have 12 livebearers in the tank, that in a mixed sex group could rapidly overload you with fry, I would not buy any new species.

However, I would suggest checking the ID of your Corydoras julii, which could very well be the commonly missold Corydoras trilineatus. These are very social catfish and about another four of the same species will make a world of difference to them.

I don't know enough about the frogs to comment as to how they will work with your stocking, but they do have a reputation of being tricky to ensure they eat enough and not get picked on.

The only other thing jumping out at me right now is a possible conflict between the gourami and the Twig Catfish, which I'm hoping "Wills" might confirm later, as gourami do not like current and I think Twig Catfish need lots of water flow. Not sure how social they are and whether they do better in groups, but again I'm hopeful "Wills" or another keeper of these lesser known catfish will comment.

OMG thank you..
So No imminent danger of collapse. Thank goodness.
Ex did say when my "livebearers got busy" that he could help me thin em.. I shudder to think his intention... but thats the cycle i guess..

He has been very helpful but kinda seems like he is secretly laughing and waiting to swoop in and say "Wow messed that up didn't you!!"

So did he do ok on my filter with his so called Mature sponges? What does Mature mean?

I'm so sorry that i didn't pay more attention in the last 12 years,,

Edit: when ex saw the cat he redirected the flow of the filter and said somewhat the same thing...
"Might have to choose there"

 

[PERCY]

I assume by "mature" he has given you used sponges containing essential bacteria to help cycle the tank. Very helpful indeed

 

[Mauigirl]

I assume by "mature" he has given you used sponges containing essential bacteria to help cycle the tank. Very helpful indeed

I have been helping myself to the beginners section, yes it would seem he has not "set me up" but rather helped to give me a stable base..

I should explain that he has been a saint through the process of separation, And with his love of fish would never let me knowingly harm any of them...

I just dont fully as of yet understand the processes as it was always taken care of..

As I learn so i grow

 

[LucyB]

Keep coming back to this forum, you will learn a lot, the people on here are amazing and really help you out I have learnt so many things and I have become a good fishkeeper!

 

[Mauigirl]

Bit of an update,
So it turns out I'm Assuming that the ugly brown sponges my ex put in the filter , were in fact mature media...
He seems to have set me up quite nicely as my tests ( I've been testing twice a day every day) have been
0 ammonia , 0 Nitrite, and a slowly climbing Nitrate (up to somewhere between 20 and 40 now) so I think, from what I've read I am spared having to cycle YAY!!
Going to go buy a sucker and try not to loose too much of my expensive black sand tomorrow while i do my first ever weekly maintenance.

On the advice of my Ex again I have taken back 1/2 of the mollies (he picked which ones and said I now have only males, I cant tell the diff yet but he apparently only had to glance)
, added 4 coolie loach (which I only see rarely) , And another Farlowella cat.
I have been feeding Zucchini on a fork at night for the cats ( I thought he was crazy but they do seem to love it)
He also recommended returning the Gourami but I love the little guy so I kept him. fingers crossed.
He said I should maybe get some cheep live plants and tie em to the decorations. Will they grow that way? he gave me a name but I have forgotten. something that started with an A.

Any further advice you can give will be greatly appreciated as I want to get on my feet with this and quit asking HIM for advice.

All seems to be going well, no deaths, no ill looking fish nor any fighting.
I am so loving MY tank

Doing tons of reading here and trying to learn as fast as I can.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

The plant was Anubus(sp?) I think. Yeah tie or glue it to wood or decor and the roots will attach to it.

Sounds to me your ex is giving you sound advice to me.