Should I Stop Buying Fish?

[OpalHeart]

I lost my black mollies. I went to to the pet store today with the intention of buying one male and one female black molly. Of course I never buy JUST what I go for. I ended up with 6 new fish. I got two black mollies that were supposed to be male and female but when I got home they were both male. I watched her net them and inspected them for illness and defects, you'd think I would have noticed they were both fellas. <sigh> I almost went back but figured it was not worth the hassle.

I also got a male and female cherry barb. My sister loves her barbs. I have NEVER had any barbs before but I was assured they would do fine in the tank and from what I've read a pair like this will do ok but I'm still a little nervous.

Lastly I got two panda cories. I just could not resist them. I have been watching them for weeks and kept letting everyone talk me out of it. They are in my tank now. I sooo hope they do ok with my 4 bronze.

I KNOW I have plenty of fish now and should not get any more but I will end up getting a female black molly next month. I just do not feel like my tank is complete without a female black molly. Silly I know, but black mollies were the first thing I wanted when we got the big 50 gallon tank (with an Aqua Tech 30-60 filter). ANYWAY, I would like blue platys. 2 male and 2 female as my red wag platys are all female. I think something blue would make a LOVELY addition. I always wait a month after buying new fish before considering new additions so I have plenty of time to contemplate. Should I stop adding fish? If your advice is that I have enough, I may have to enter a 12 step program. What do YOU think?

 

[5teady_2012]

Going by the size of your tank, i would stick to around only having 40-45 fish, depending on the size etc..

If your fish are only small like livebeares then 40-45 should be fine..

Having a good filter system may allow you to add more than this but i would personally stick to this so the tank stays good.

Here is a big tip for you m8...

When buying livebearers such as guppies, mollies, platys, and swrodtails...

Always do it on a ratio of 1 male to every 3 females...

if you buy one male and 1 female, or as in your case your on about getting a female cos you got 2 males by mistake...

Then this is not good, the male will harrass her very much and end up stressing her out and she will be more vunreable to diseases and possibly end up dying...

remeber, 1 male to every 3 females, its the best thig to do...

Good luck and please take my advice serious or you will end up regreting it later




Wayne.

 

[OpalHeart]

I did not think 6 would be too many to buy at one time. I treated with melafix but one of the male mollies died and the male cherry barb died. All other tankmates are doing fine, swimming with nice round tummies. I'm expecially excited about my two panda cories. If they are still doing well at the end of the month, I'll get two more. I was cautioned they might not do well in my tank so I started with two. (At $6.00 each, I did not want to risk anymore) They hang out with the bronze cories but are MUCH more active.

In another three weeks I'll start shopping for that elusive female black molly. I cant seem to keep one. All my stats are good and every other fish thrives, including other colored mollies. I'll likely get another male/female pair of black mollies. The surviving male molly is quite active but is not yet showing any interest in the three female balloon mollies in the tank. Maybe he's not into fat chicks?

 

[OscarWilde]

I had a simillar concerns with one of my tanks [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...y-Overstocked-/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Tropical...y-Overstocked-/[/URL]

I asked the same question at ofish.com and they seemed to think my tank would be OK if I kepty an eye on the Nitrates.

Sounds like youve just been unlucky with your fish.

 

[rdd1952]

As you probably already know, general rule of thumb is 1" of adult fish per gallon of water. That's obviously not set in stone but helps as you're getting your tank established. I didn't find much info on your filter but I think it is rated at 330 gph which is good and should allow for overstocking some.

There are a couple things to consider before adding any more fish. First, why did the mollies die? Do you have ammonia or nitrite present or some disease present? Also, your mollies really prefer some salt in the water (actually brackish water) but salt isn't good for the other fish you have (fish in signature may not be correct though as I don't see the pair of cherry barbs or the pair of male mollies). If you only have the 2 male mollies, you will either need to forget the female molly or add at least 4 as the live bearere mix should be 1 male to 2 females. If you only add 1 female to the 2 males, they will harass her to death. Lastly, you have several live bearers so that alone will mean that you will constantly have new fish without buying any (you already have 7 in your fry tank). Personally, I would hold off on buying any more fish for now.

 

[OpalHeart]

Its official...I need a 12 step program. I went to the store to get internal parasite medicine and came home with more fish. (a male and a female black molly). I even forgot the medicine. There were babies swimming around in the tank at petsmart and a VERY pregnant female and well she's in my tank now along with a large male. My youngest son has named him Johnny Bravo because of his high fin. So I went to ANOTHER store a week later for the medicine and came home with MORE fish. (pair of mickey mouse platys and a pair of sunburst platys). I did remember the medicine this time. OK so I'm barely OK now in regards to stocking and if they start having babies I'm in trouble unless I leave them to be snacks. My male / female ratio could be better but the females do outnumber the males.

I have no defense so I've just decided to send my husband to the pet store from now on or else go with just enough cash to buy what I need. The plan was to wait a month before even considering more fish and now I have added and have to keep an eye on my stats for a while.

On the plus side, my oldest son had decided he wants his own tank in his room. My youngest has a betta tank with a pretty green female. My husband had gave me a 2 gallon hex tank for Christmas when I told him I wanted a frye tank. With the under gravel filtration system, its just not ideal for keeping frye. Maybe I can give the hex to my son for the two mickey mouse platys he wanted (yes I am blaming my 10 year old but in truth he didnt have to beg for the mickey mouse platys) and I can get a better frye tank.

On the down side I just do NOT have room for blue platys now that I've added the the two mickey mouse and the two sunburst platys. I do not even trust myself to get two more panda cories next month. Are there meetings to attend? Sponsors to call when I'm tempted to buy fish?