Hello (again)

[Inkdork]

I'm technically not new, but I joined about 2 years ago, was briefly active, and then disappeared. At that time I had multiple tiny tanks, a couple bettas, some mystery snails. Maybe a couple shrimp.

Two years later and I have a heavily planted community tank which houses platys, zebra danios, a bristlenose pleco, assorted shrimp, and way too many mystery snails. I'm now officially removing all the snail eggs I find. Petco and PetSmart only want so many random mystery snails.

I'm also about to get a pair of fancy goldfish for a 36 gallon bowfront that I'm going to try to find plants they won't demolish. There's a future plan for a larger tank for the goldfish as well. The new tank is currently being seeded with a filter from my other tank, and next week the goldies should be arriving.

I'm so excited about my new fishy friends!

 

[SaraB]

Welcome back. What type of fancies are you getting? I love the pompoms and orandas.

 

[Inkdork]

I'm getting a ranchu and a pearlscale. I chose the smallest of the fancies because I know a 36 is barely large enough when they reach full size.

The orandas are absolutely gorgeous but they get huge!

 

[SaraB]

Ranchus are cute.
I thought pompoms were the smallest at a max of 4-6" I'm planning on getting a couple (assuming my lfs can order them) eventually. Right now my 55g us a tropical community tank with lots of live plants so it might be a few years before I go that route.
Yes orandas get huge, I still like them...even if all my tanks are probably too small for one.

 

[Inkdork]

Hmmm... I'll admit pompoms weren't even on my radar.

I had thought about using my 29 for a pair of fancies but then I got a couple platys and I freaking love them! I've got two fry that are about a third of an inch and too big to be swallowed by the adult fish, but plenty of other fry have not been so lucky.

 

[SaraB]

I have 4 adult platys and like 15 fry in my 55g as well as 10 black neons, 3 cardinal tetras and 2 mollies . I absolutely love livebearers. I don't care what anyone says, fry are one of the cutest baby animals. Their eyes look too big for the rest of their body.

 

[Inkdork]

They are the cutest! I was so excited to see the two that have survived when they no longer bite sized. Freaking adorable!

I actually just added the platys in the last couple months.

On the 26th of December we had a snow storm, lost power and water for 42 hours and the tank temp dropped down to the high 50's. I lost a couple fish, and was shocked not to lose more.

It was the first real outage we've had in the 32 years we've been here. I was so unprepared but I've got mylar blankets and a battery powered air pump in case it happens again.

 

[SaraB]

Always a good idea. I really need to get something for that. We haven't had a real long power outage in a few years but I always get worried.

 

[Inkdork]

Yeah. My bristlenose is my favorite fish and I came so close to losing him. He was on his back on the bottom of the tank, barely breathing, when the power came back on.

I immediately picked him up and put him in the floating Betta log at the top, and over the next hour replaced about 6 gallons of water with hot from the tap (we have untreated well water) to bring the temp up to the low 70's. The heater did the rest, but Herman didn't move from the log for 14 nerve-wracking hours.

He's fine now though.

 

[SaraB]

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. How long was the power out for?

 

[Inkdork]

42 hours. The outside temps never got above 32°, and we were running out of firewood. It was a miserable 2 days for everyone. We could see our breath in the house.

 

[SaraB]

That sucks.

 

[Inkdork]

Agreed. I hope to never have that happen again, but that's unlikely.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.

 

[Inkdork]

Welp....

My mom is going to shoot me. Not even a month ago I set up a 36g bowfront as my first goldfish tank, which the first thing I did when stocking it was buy one too many goldfish (3 fancies)... they were too pretty and an extra one found it's way into my cart. I clearly have no self control.

I knew when they got a little bigger I would need to upgrade their digs, and seeing the photos in that thread about why goldfish need huge tanks confirmed it. I've been looking online in shops, and for used tanks, and I'm pretty sure my mom knows once I've started talking about something...

Tonight I just ordered a 75g and most of the accessories which will be arriving over the next week or so, and the tank I'll have to ask Mom to drive 35 minutes out of her way to pick it up sometime in there next few days but we'll get it home. Won't fit in my Saturn... Lol.

The goldies in the 36g are about 4" tip to tip currently, so once things start showing up, I'll stick one of the new filters into their tank to colonize it, and can work on getting the new tank set up.

I've got live plants incoming, sand, driftwood, some pretty, polished rocks too big to be swallowed, filters, air pump....

My mom thinks I should set up what she thinks it's far into the future in the hallway, but I would like to set them up in the dining room. We'll see who wins.

I'm probably going to turn the 36g into a second community tank, and this time get some cory cats. And I'm still holding out hope for a long fin albino bristlenose if I can ever find one. I honestly have no idea what else I might like to put in a second community tank... Lol.

Anyway, figured you guys would understand this madness. ��