new aquarium..need advice

[deemcbride]

Hi all. My husband and I recently set up our 36 gallon tank. We have 4 four dalmaion mollies, 4 silver dollars, 2 electric yellow cichlids, an algae eater, a cat fish, a rainbow shark and an angel fish (yes that's a lot but the are all fairly small). I am considering taking the cichlids and/or the mollies back because I was out side this evening and came in and my Angel was mutilated. It hardley has any fins left and the mollies keep nipping at it. I thought they would be ok but I don't know. I was not aware if these fish were compatible. Igot the silver dollars and the mollies with the angel fish and the guy at pet smart said they would be fine together but the mollies wont leave all of the fish their size alone. Thanks for any advice given.

 

[fishfanatic]

First of all welcome to aquarium advice! Have you cycled your tank yet? If not search in the search bar "fish in cycling". I would recommend taking the silver dollars back they can grow to enormous sizes, I have seen some the size of large dinner plates. I do see some compatibility problems with your fish, you will need to choose if you want a community, semi aggressive, or aggressive stock in your tank there are tuns of options ether way. But first things first, we need to make sure your tank is cycled.

 

[KPhilly]

Hello! I'm new to these forums as well but I would like to offer some advice! When shopping for fish I like to go to a local pet shop instead of a big cooperation. For a few certain reasons, which these reasons being completely opinionated. For one, you can get on a more personal level with the staff at a local pet shop than at a big corporation! I go to a shop named wet pets and this shop has been in business for 45 years now. Mr. Allen, whom of which owns the store, knows every little detail of my tank. He's able to pinpoint me to exactly what I need in minutes. All of his fish recurve special attention and nothing goes unnoticed by him. I honestly feel like Petsmart, does just enough for their fish, ya know? But that may not be the case! I've even witnessed Mr. Allen take in and babysit one of his clients fish while they went on vacation to the Bahamas. There are pros and cons to both ways! Like I said, it's all opinionated! Petsmart could be all you have! (By the way, Mr. Allen is about a half a mile away from Petsmart but is still packed everyday) But good luck with your tank and if you will, inform me how it goes!

 

[melosu58]

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

 

[deemcbride]

First of all welcome to aquarium advice! Have you cycled your tank yet? If not search in the search bar "fish in cycling". I would recommend taking the silver dollars back they can grow to enormous sizes, I have seen some the size of large dinner plates. I do see some compatibility problems with your fish, you will need to choose if you want a community, semi aggressive, or aggressive stock in your tank there are tuns of options ether way. But first things first, we need to make sure your tank is cycled.

I took the mollies and the cichlids back. I got 2 new angel fish because my other one ended up dieing and a gold gourami. I added a hornwort plant because I was told they help with balancing the toxins.

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome to AA! Live plants can help with cycling but you really need a large ratio of plants for them to suck up much of the toxins. This guide should help you a bit Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice and this one in particular as well I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice