Fish Lovers 2.0

[Firefly_Dreamer]

Really excited. i get to go to petsmart (which is n hour away) to get some more plants and decorations for my tank. Then, maybe, i can get some fish.

[Dappled Sapphire]

Can anyone answer my question please? I've asked on two forums but no answer yet, it's urgent.

Try aqadvisor.com just use adult sizing and once it says stocking is 100% then your fully stocked

[n e m o]

@ Kickin' up dirt
I'm sorry about your angels, I've been so heart broken over losing mine that I never got anymore after they died in 2005. They died because of a long stressful move between states.

Since you already have a good start on your tetras I think it would be awesome to just have a large school of flame tetras. You idea early about sand, drift wood and plants has a nice appeal to it.

If I didn't have my two goldfish I would turn my 46G into a tropical tank again with a species of schooling fish. I cluttered my first attempt with compatible species and that was nice but imo there is a since of harmony having a planted tank with established schools. c:

------------- 46G Goldies News

I'm a little disappointed with my 46G right now. I like half of my tank but the other half feels like it's lacking. I wish I could find a good supplier of natural aquarium supplies like petrified wood and drift wood sold by weight. I also need to order more java ferns to start on my newest piece of driftwood. I've had it in the tank for about 2 months and just haven't gotten around to ordering more. I also need to do another large water change because while the water quality is still very ideal and my fish are happy I think it's too dark for my taste where the driftwood has leeched out into the water. I have the perfect discus set up right now, lol. This is a picture I just took, granted it's dark in my living room so it didn't help the darkness of my tank~

On a positive note it's pretty impressive how much healthier my goldies are now and how much my plants have grown since I got them around the beginning of September. My Goldfish had a lot of fin damage and I think a lot of it had to do with diet and stress because with my plants I got a high quality food for them and they've grown every bit of their fins back and have grown at least 1/3 larger. Before I revamped my tank it was empty except for a few toys, with no gravel, so right now I'm of the opinion that they didn't enjoy it as much as they enjoy a natural tank. I've had my black moor (Luna) for nearly 3 years and I when I got Luna she was about the size of a nickel, my calico fantail (Artemis) I've had for about 2 years and at first I thought I was going to have to sell Artemis because of bullying the new setup has made them much more peaceful together.

I looked for a before picture on my phone and just had a close up, but I think my java ferns have just absolutely exploded! I used to be able to fit both of my java fern bunches in a 5G with room to spare and now I think if I put a single bunch in that 5G it would take up the entire real estate of the tank. o.o

------------------5.5G Betta News

My Black Copper Dragon Butterfly Plakat became a victim of a malicious fungus/bacteria that grew in their previous tank within 2 days. I truly thought I was going to lose him and had been very disheartened. It happened so quickly that I couldn't even fight back in time to save his fins and I put them immediately into the tank I had been cycling for them but hadn't finished setting up and bad luck decided to strike again because overnight before I could add smooth gravel on top of the plant substrate he tore his fins even more (likely from the irritation making him want to rub against things). With the stress and considerable mobility issues he stopped eating and sat on the bottom of the tank and withered. I finally persuaded him to eat again with a new smaller pellet Betta food and now I'm blessed to say that his fins are recovering very nicely, he has colored up again, accepts any food offered and swims with increasing spunk like when I originally got him home.

^ This was their temporary home while I was cycling and preparing to plant and setup their 5.5G... I miss his beautiful fins. ):

My red dragon didn't suffer as severe fin damage and he's completely healed and a fat healthy boy right now. Now that my black dragon is on the mend I'll be able to plot out how I plan to decorate their tank, it's so boring right now since I was so sad about him. I'm still debating christmas moss or something similar for their divider and then something with broad leaves that they can rest on. I still plan to keep the marimos in there.

[Kickin' up dirt]

@jelly, Thanks :3 It said I could do 10-12 :3

@nemo Sorry to hear about your angels! I had 2 for 5 years and it was really hard when they died.

I think it would be pretty too, having 15+ schooling together, I just hope I don't get bored with it.

[Dakotak]

@Jelly
I hope you post lots of pictures!!

@nemo
The fin damage could also be from drift wood and sharp rocks. Looking at your picture I see rocks that could easily damage their fins. If it keeps happening I would try to remove any of the rocks and wood to see if it helps.
I love drift wood and large rocks and I had a medium size piece of monapi wood until my Ryukin's dorsal kept ripping. I took the drift wood out and it never ripped again. I looked behind the piece of wood and there was one tiny sharp spot that he could rip it on.
A tank with no decor and no drift wood is best for clumsy goldfish, especially when they grow and get to their big size. If you want rocks then go with large smooth river rocks. Fancies are not the best swimmers and anything they can hurt themselves on they will.
XD
But the plants are a huge plus. My goldfish love swimming around and in plants when they are not eating them.

[Kickin' up dirt]

Found my catfish! He was stuck up in the castle

[n e m o]

@Kickin' up dirt, do you have a local fish store that buys fish back? Where I used to live a lot of locally owned fish stores would allow you to trade fish back for credit. Might be worth asking about if you have more than chain stores around. n.n
edit; glad you found your cat, they're good at hiding so I had hope he would show up!

@Dakotak, their fin damage occurred during the months when I had nothing in the tank (except some round smooth objects they could roll around), since I put the driftwood and plants in about 4 months ago their fins have fully grown back and they're the healthiest they've ever been. (: They do love the java ferns, they're always swimming through them. <3

[Kickin' up dirt]

@nemo Yes they sure are :3 I believe our petstore buys them back, I practically live at my petstore (I breed rodents for them) so I'm sure they wouldn't care.

[Dakotak]

@Kickin' up dirt, do you have a local fish store that buys fish back? Where I used to live a lot of locally owned fish stores would allow you to trade fish back for credit. Might be worth asking about if you have more than chain stores around. n.n
edit; glad you found your cat, they're good at hiding so I had hope he would show up!

@Dakotak, their fin damage occurred during the months when I had nothing in the tank (except some round smooth objects they could roll around), since I put the driftwood and plants in about 4 months ago their fins have fully grown back and they're the healthiest they've ever been. (: They do love the java ferns, they're always swimming through them. <3

ok, sorry if I missed that in the post. Im glad they are healthy. :3
Mine love to eat java fern, plants turn into a salad bar after my Ryukin moved in. XD

[Dappled Sapphire]

@ Dakotak will do, I'm so excited