Newcomer About To Stock Is Tank

[Klonoa50]

Hello all!
 
Newcomer to the forums here... decided if I was going to get into the aquarium-keeping business again, I should do it right.  I used to own a small 2 gallon aquarium that I kept a Betta in, then upgraded to a 10 gallon.  With the 10 gallon I learned about overstocking and the cycling process, and realized that while I did want to continue raising fish, I should wait until I was out of college and could afford a larger, better maintained tank.
 
I now own a 36-gallon tank, and it's about a week or so away from finishing the cycling process as best I can guess (it's been cycling for about 6 weeks, and the ammonia readings have dropped down to 0 with the nitrites rapidly dropping as well).  I keep the tank water about 78 degrees, and have an Aquaclear 70 for a filter.  I was hoping to get some advice on what to stock my tank with.
 
I currently have a male golden panda lyretail molly, and a female balloon molly as my cycling fish.  I unfortunately read about how balloon mollies get their shape after purchasing her, so I'd like to avoid getting more of them if keeping her alone won't stress her much.
 
I was thinking of getting 6-8 cherry barbs and a pearl gourami over the first 3-4 weeks, and going from there. 
 
Should these fish work OK with the mollies?  Is my aquarium setup OK this go-round?  Thanks for the help, in advance! 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Out of curiousity, what made you choose to go the fish-in route?
 
I am not the best at stocking numbers but I -think- what you want should be okay, although not sure if 3-4 weeks is too fast to introduce all of them.
Not very helpful, I know, but wanted to at least try to help and also bump this up so you can hopefully get some answers from more experienced fish-keepers.
 
Do you have any pics to share?

 

[Klonoa50]

Thanks for the welcome! 
 
Sorry it took me so long to respond... busy couple days at work and have been getting home late.  I went the fish-in route four a couple different reasons (most of which just come down to ignorance at the time).  When I first made the 10 gallon tank I had done a lot of research on the cycling process, and I only ran across information about fish-in cycling, so when I started a new tank, that's what I tended toward.  I had seen some information on the internet about fishless cycling, but the sites were vague and the few posts I saw on it said people had given up an resorted to fish-in cycling.  I also had a couple of friends who themselves are avid aquarists and who suggested I go the fish-in route.  After I got these two lil' guys in I did some more reading up and came across a lot more info on the fishless cycle and how straightforward it actually was.  If I had it to do again I would at least attempt fishless cycling, but I determined that after I was already 2 weeks in, and the fish appeared to be doing really well, so I decided to leave it be.  : )
 
Thanks for the advice... anything's better then nothing.  I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I'll see if I have anything that can actually take halfway-decent photos, and if I do, I'll throw some up here.  The tank's not too impressive...lots of plastic plants and a few rocks.  *laughs*

 

[Ninjouzata]

Ah yeah, I had a hard time finding anything that went into much detail for it as well Love the article on this site though!
 
Hope your fish keep doing well If you have any questions usually people are quick to answer.
Did you take any media from your 10g to use in the 36g? That would help the cycle. Sorry if you said that somewhere.. >.<
 
You can make quite a lovely setup with plastic plants, it's just a little expensive I think. If you like your tank, and your fish do, then that's all that matters
Do you think you'll try live plants in the future?

 

[Klonoa50]

Yep!  The fish are doin' well!  I unfortunately didn't have any media I could use to speed up the cycle (had the 10 gallon about two years ago now), but my ammonia and nitrites are reading zero, so it looks like I'm about ready to go!  Will probably wait another day or two to make sure they stay that way, then see about adding in some fish.   I'm thinking I'll add in 2 cherry barbs first and wait a couple days, see what my readings are,then continue to build up their shoal (unless anyone thinks adding cherries with the mollies is a bad idea).
 
I managed to get a very low-res shot of the tank (only thing I have is a very old cell phone), I'll throw it below:
 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Did the ammonia and nitrite already go up and then back down?
Looks quite nice!

 

[Klonoa50]

Thanks!  Yep, the ammonia and nitrites have already gone up n' just dropped back down.  The mollies have been in about 8 weeks, so the timing's about right too, from what I understand.  Ammonia has been reading 0 for about a week now, but the nitrites were being stubborn until about 3 days ago when they began dropping pretty steadily.
 
Meant to ask earlier, is your avatar picture a betta?  Looksl ike one, but never seen 'em with a tail like that before.  It's quite pretty. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

Alrighty, just wanted to check! It sounds safe to me, though I might be tempted to wait a full week of the nitrites staying zero. I don't know too much about all the times and stuff for fish-in cycling :c
Still hoping someone more familiar with the process will come and help you out.
 
Oh, btw, are the mollies in the picture you put up? If so I'm having a hard time finding them!
 
Yes, that is my balloon crowntail betta Discord. He doesn't have as much 'ballooning' as one you might buy off aquabid though it seems. And the ballooning refers to the finnage between the rays (I think?)
That's why he sort of looks saggy in that pic it's the loose webbing. I'm still totally lost on the terms so may have gotten them mixed up but a betta friend of mine told me that is what he is.
 
Here is the profile pic:

And just another pic of him:

 
Hope you don't mind me putting up those pics here, I do so love showing him off
 
Also, I love your profile pic

 

[Klonoa50]

Nice pictures!  Quite the handsome fella.  Nice tank, too, I'm sure he likes it in there.  Beats the poor little cups n' bowls I always see 'em in.  : )
 
I might have to look into aquabid (and other sites like that) someday.  I'm always just afraid they'll die during the shipping process (though getting 'em to a LFS can't be much better : P).  The only LFSes in my town are PetSmart, PetCo and a saltwater aquarist shop (though it does have a few freshwater fish, mainly cichlids).  Admittedly, the PetSmart people actually seem to know what they're talking about, and I've watched them refuse to sell people fish that don't match their tank setups/before they're cycled.
 
Lunetta (my balloon molly) prolly is.  She follows me all over the place in the tank.  : P  I'll see if I can't get a close-up of her and Nitro (the lyretail molly) later.  And if that camera has enough resolution for it to be more then a silver blur.  *laughs*
 
I'll see if I'm patient enough to wait one more week.  *laughs*  Seeing as I've made it this long without getting more, I think I'll probably take your advice on that.  Better safe then sorry.  : )
 
Thanks!  I don't play many video games, but I have an avid love for Yoshi, no idea why. *laughs*  He's just so adorably happy!

 

[Ninjouzata]

Thank you! I found him in Wal-Mart, was very surprised.
His tank is a 20g long, and will be adding some habrosus cories to it when I can. Hopefully he doesn't mind.
 
I love browsing around on aquabid, though havn't ordered anything off of there (yet..), I have had fish and snails shipped to me from a friend before though. You just want to make sure whoever you buy from has good reviews and whatnot, although even so, sometimes something goes wrong.
 
That's pretty awesome to hear about your PetSmart! My Petco doesn't do quite that but they seem more knowledgeable than most places, so I like going there. Luckily though I have a non-chain store to go to so they can get in a variety of fish.
 
That's adorable! Also a very pretty name. Getting pictures of fish is hard but worth it
Patience is key in this hobby, but I know it's not always easy.
 
Welcome! He is quite adorable! Always makes me smile I'm rather fond of Luigi though.

 

[Klonoa50]

Nice!  I always enjoy watching the corries at the store.  Fun lil' guys.
 
Gotcha.  I'll keep that in mind if I ever look there... for now will stick with the LFS and PetSmart (the LFS said they'd be stocking more freshwater fish soon, so hopefully I can start looking into purchasing there when it's time to start stocking the tank).
 
My Petco's the exact opposite.  *laughs*  They don't seem to know anything about the fish, and you can see algae growing all over the tanks.  Half the fish are clamped and at the bottom, and I've seen or two clear cases of ich...

 
One (incredibly) blurry picture coming right up!
 

 
If I'm gonna keep doing this will need to find a better camera. 

  I figure I'll wait until Friday and if the parameters are still good I'll prolly add in a few cherry barbs and see what happens.
 
 
I also wanted to ask about some odd behavior Lunetta (the female balloon molly) has been exhibiting the last two days.  When I came home last night (and again from work today), she was breathing very heavily and constantly chasing Nitro (the male lyretail molly) all around the tank.  She never nipped at him, just rushed head on.  They never seemed to collide, and while he seemed clearly scared of Lunetta (would swim backwards whenever she came near and generally stall), he never retreated into the plants or hid.  Lunetta when she wasn't chasing Nitro was breathing heavily (probably from all the chasing) and nipping at the gravel at the bottom of the tank.  Came home today and they both were exhibiting the same behavior.  Of course, now that I'm actually bothering to write this they both seem to be getting along fine again.  Still picking at the gravel though.
 
I tested the ammonia and it's at 0 (don't have a test kit for Nitrite, plan on getting one next time I'm at the LFS, been having them test it ever 3-4 days for me), and Lunetta has no physical issues that I can notice (no shimmying, eyes are clear, no parasites I can see, hasn't flashed, etc).  Water's at about 70 degrees.  I'd think it was just getting used to a new tank if they hadn't been in here 2 and a half months now... only change I can think of tank-wise within the past few days is that I haven't been around it much.  She got lonely and agitated because I wasn't around?  *laughs*
 
 
Giant post is giant.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Oh dear! I wouldn't shop there.. Looking forward to hearing about your cherries. Definitely pick up a liquid test for nitrite asap
Forgive me if I've asked this already, but do you have a heater? They like 72-82F, from what I've read.
Unfortunately I have no idea what that sort of behavior could mean, hopefully someone who knows more about mollies will come in here!

 

[Klonoa50]

I do have a heater!  It's a tad small for the tank, but since the weather here is very mild, it works just about perfect!  I keep the water between 78 and 80 degrees.  It's an Aqueon... think it's meant for a 30 gallon.
 
The behavior, of course, stopped the instant I wrote about it. 

  Everything appears to be back to normal again.  I do wonder if it's not somehow related to me entering the room... I hid in my doorway when I came home today and watched them and all was well.  When I entered she began chasing him for about 10 minutes, and then everything was normal again.  I usually feed 'em when I get home... maybe it's related to that?  *laughs*  In any case, all appears to be normal again. 

 
I also got a nitrite kit and am reading 0 on both the nitrites and ammonia.  PetSmart says my nitrates are around 15 ppm, which I understand is good, so it looks like the tank has actually cycled, and I'll add in those first two cherry barbs this weekend and see what happens. 

 
Still hopin' someone will come in and verify cherries n' mollies will get along well... internet seems to think they will, and at my petstore they keep 'em in tanks sharing the same water, but better safe then sorry.

 

[Ninjouzata]

I'm confused, you said the water was at 70? D:
 
That is odd..just make sure they're not hurting each other or causing undue stress.
I think it'll take time to understand their behaviors, I just recently got a golden gourami and I can't quite tell if she's chasing just to chase or if she's being mean
 
I did ask someone to come in here but she said everything sounds right, so hopefully you and me are both right on their compatibility being fine!

 

[Klonoa50]

Ooops.  I mis-wrote. 

  It's usually around 78-80.  I don't think the mollies would appreciate 70 much.  *laughs*
 
Yeah, I'll keep watchin' 'em and see if the behavior resumes... I've seen her behave that way that last day or two for about 5 minutes, but then they swim right next to each other like nothing's wrong, so I'm not sure what to make of the whole situation.
 
Since all the stats are still looking good on the tank, I intend to go pick up some cherries tomorrow and we'll see how it goes! Thanks for having your friend check in, I appreciate it.  : )
 
I've always heard mixed things about gouramis... it seems the majority of the time they're really passive, but I've seen a lot of stories (and a few of my local buddies) have all talked about how aggressive theirs are.  They are beautiful fish though, hence me thinking I might pick up a Pearl.  Hope things work out well with your golden. : )