Recent content by Lynn W.

Thanks, Andrew-- Yep, the hair algae is really the only problem besides the algae (bacterial?) bloom in my 20 gal tank. The stuff floating around in there looks smoky gray to me, not green, so I am thinking it is the heterotroph kind of bacteria. Still, what do I know? I am hoping it will...

All 3 of my tanks (20 gal, 29 gal, and 10 gal) are now cycled--ammonia 0, nitrites 0, and nitrates between 5 and 20. The 20 gal took the longest (fish-in) and the other two were fishless and about 2 weeks shorter in duration. I had a brief bacterial bloom in the 29 gal. tank after I put the...

Fish Behavior I love watching my fishy friends. Often when I am changing the water, I get little nibbles on my fingers (fish kisses? Ha ha!). I have been reading more about fish, in particular the mollies, platies, and algae eaters. I have also begun to recognize male versus female in the...

Water Changes Thanks for the advice. I only did a 25% today. Oh, and I DID jinx myself--my pleco was my first (and, so far, my ONLY) fishie fatality. :(

Update from Murfreesboro Newbie [I hope I am doing this post correctly. All I saw was a "reply" button, but this is really a new thread and I didn't see that option.] I just posted my update on the Getting Started board. Mainly I just want to let my Tennessee neighbors know that none of my...

I am coming up on the end of Week 3 with my 20 gallon tank. I have been cycling with fish and doing lots of water changes. The Ammonia is usually between 3 and 5 when I get homw from work, so I do a 50% PWC and test again. The NitrItes are 0 and the NitrAtes around 5. So far, so good--nobody...

What's In A Name? Hi! Yes, I have named all of my fish, too. (I am not good at taking pics, so I can't upload any, but I can tell you about my fish children.) First, there are two black lyretail mollies--my favorite kind of fish. They joined a lone regular black molly. I started calling...

Hi, fishfolk, I set up my tank using a 20 year-old guidebook (it listed nothing about cycling. Is this a recent practice?) Anyway, I have been doing a fish-in-tank cycling and so far, so good. I have yet to see a dramatic rise in either ammonia or nitrites. I have several live plants in my...

Okay, so I am a newbie with fish in the tank who is trying to cycle. I have 8 fish (mostly mollies and platies) in a 20 gallon tank. The tank has been running--filter, heater, live plants (but not cycling)--for a week now. I put the first fish in on Thursday, but didn't learn about cycling...

Black Lyretail Mollies! I found my lyretails at (drumroll, please) ...Petco! The clerk said they don't always have them (the mollies were not listed on the website). I know I am still cycling my tank. (I have "newbie" in big flashing letters on my forehead.) So, I decided cycling a tank...

Thanks for the Advice! Hello and thanksa for the warm welcome! I didn't know about cycling and the "what do I do now" article was helpful. Guess I will get a test kit and roll up my sleeves to do some water changing for the next month. So far, the 6 fish are doing fine. I know the pleco...

Murfreesboro I'm a new member (and a new hobbyist) in Middle Tennessee. Where can I find a black lyretail molly?

Hi! We had an aquarium for about 10 years when the kids were young. The "baby" is now 21 and at college. I was cleaning out the attic last week and came across our old aquarium and decided to set it up again. It's a 20 gallon tank in good repair. The pump, heater, and hood light were all too...