What Should I Buy Tommorow????

[rarefish]

Tommorow I am going to my sister's local pet store to buy some livebearers. Sadly my fish are dying from old age , so I think it's time to get more . At the moment I have one 10 gallon tank with a Marineland Regent Filter, gravel, a Submersible Whisper Heater, a background, and no plants yet, but soon some of my live plants will be there. There are no fish in there right now but there were some 3 days ago. I also have a 5.5 gallon tank with a Whisper Filter, a Penn-Plax Heater, gravel, and some plants. I love sailfin mollies but am not that good with salt. They are also more expensive. Right now I have one pineapple swordtail male and one variatus platy male. What should I get? Thanks ahead!

rarefish

 

[pnyklr3]

Moolys don't have to have salt; so if you're not that good with it, don't use it.

 

[SirMinion]

What should you buy tomorrow?

a bigger tank!

 

[willywonka099]

Hmmmmmmm ....... Sailfins are out of the question completely .......... if you want live bearers you need to be prepaired to lose them they get SOO stressed after birth ..... you need a seperate 10 gal. or ur 5.5 for the fry ........... I would say mollies seem to bethe most hardiest but 1 male 2 females would be nice in that tank maybe 2male 4-5 female ...... but me I have a 29 gal. that my sailfin fry will fo in with 1 plec (small) 2 female swords and a male sailfin ....... I coul fit all 15 but I'm going to keep maybe all females ....... and maybe 3 males out of a 17 batch

 

[rarefish]

I have a 29 gallon tank but right now I have my koi, Stanley, in it because he was dropped off on me (lol)...... Once I move him somewhere, that tank will be open. I am also buying a 55 gallon for a few gold severums. I will most likely buy platies and swordtails, and I might buy mollies. If only tanks were not so expensive these days ........ lol.... if I find a bigger tank tommorow for cheap, I will most likely buy it, but then would come the filter, heater, etc..... I will still look around though !!!!

rarefish

 

[David]

Get a bigger tank for your golfish please.. they really shouldn't be kept in vases

 

[lee_an]

get a pair of guppies,swordtails,mollies.Then breed them.

 

[rarefish]

Somethings wrong with my signature.... The goldfish are in the 29 gallon with Stanley...... They aren't suffering(lol) .....

rarefish

 

[willywonka099]

3 Pairs of fish thats pushing it ...... in an uncycled I would say they will all die but you COULD fit them in there a bigger tank is you best bet ....... you will have to recycle the 29 ... A goldfish can't cycle a tropical tank .... I would suggest maybe trying the cheepest live bearer you can find to cycle .. but if they die just go with some feeder guppies ........ You will need a ten gallon to breed ..... if it is well planted you may get one or two from each batch tha lives and then what will you neeed ANOTHER TANK !!!!

 

[fraservet]

A goldfish can cycle a tropical tank in theory.
They produce exactly the same waste as tropical fish, and the same bacteria colonise the filter.

 

[willywonka099]

"in theory"
Goldfish produce so much more waiste .... if you have no heater and then drastically turn the heat up on the tank it CAN destroy alot of benificial bacteria .. .they are living things too ...As long as the readings are okay it would be fine but it woudln't have the same effects of a tropical fish ......

 

[fraservet]

well, I wouldn't do it, but it would work.

in terms of the temperature problem, I had thought of this. Obviously if you have no heater and the ambient temperature is low, when you increase to "tropical" temperature, many of the bacteria may die.
however, if the ambient temperature is reasonably high, or you run a heater on a low setting, the change wouldn't be so dramatic.

in response to the initial question

I would recommend getting a trio of platies
they tend to be a lot hardier than other livebearers in my experience

 

[rarefish]

I am going to contact a custom aquarium manufacturer this week about a bigger aquarium. I am looking into the 75+ gallon tanks. Today I bout a trio of blue spotted platies, a trio of black lyretail mollies, and a pair of orange wag swordtails. All of the fish that I bought were females because I already have a platy male and a swordtail male. I am working on aquiring a molly male though. They were out of stock on molly males(???). Right now they are in the 29 gallon, but after I cycle a few of my tanks they will be separated into species. I'll try to get some pics up!

rarefish

 

[fishluver]

The statement about molly females dying after giving birth is true...I no longer move my females, I let them have there fry in the main tank, no extra stress added. Then I catch the fry and put them in my newborn fry tank. I have about 210 fry at the moment. I don't have alot of deaths anymore... Sail fin molly is my fav fish, I have sail fin lyre tail mixed...makes a wonderful looking fish.

 

[rarefish]

One of my black lyretail mollies gave birth! The first died, but the rest lived! There are around 16! to my fry!!!

rarefish