fish crazy!

[tkeaslive.com]

Hi all! I bought an aquarium for my kids a week before easter since we rent and are not allowed to have dogs cats etc. I let them pick out all the fish they wanted and like a happy idiot(w/o even looking into the hobby or lifestyle rather) put 16 fish in a ten gallon tank the day I set it up! I don't even remember what all the fish were since they didnt last very long :-( but there were 2 fiddler crab. When the crabs died a month later I started searching everything I could about aquariums. In the first month I lost like 10 of the original fish :-( my kids were so upset! I started reading and took a trip to my local petstore (which I didn't even know existed) I bought my original fish at walmart. I bought conditioner and different food and a vacuum. And had like a 2hour chat w/ the lady that runs the place. It was she who turned me on to mollies- said they would be a good beginner fish and I could easily breed them which my kids would really be into! So i bought 3- 2 females and 1 male to start w/ and about a week later I added 2 more neons. This was all a month ago now. And since i have been doing regular water changes and feeding them well i havent lost one! The red clawed crabs are an entirely different story that involves my husband just coming home w/ them a few days after the fiddlers died...men! Lol I don't know where my story goes from here. I got into the fish for my kids, and now am turning them into my own serious hobby! I catch myself watching them more than the t.v.! Lol moral of the story-im here to learn!

 

[Homedog98]

Welcome to AA! You may want to upgrade to more along the lines of a 30 gallon for your mollies, they do better in that size. You'll also need some space to buy a few more neons (like 4) as they are schooling fish! If you hopefully do set up the new tank, check out the link in my signature on fishless cycling. That's why all your fish died that first time.

 

[The Jam-is-on]

Welcome! This is a great place to learn for sure! I went to setup a 10 gallon for the kids a few months ago and now I'm going to pick up my 2nd 55 gallon tomorrow! Its addictive

 

[tkeaslive.com]

Thank you both so much for the warm welcome I will look into a larger tank! I feel like in a few months I will be my local pet stores main source of income! Which do you like better? The longer or the taller tanks?! How many mollies can I have in a 30 gallon tank?

 

[Rosenweiss]

Longer are almost ALWAYS better. The only exception I know of is angelfish. For your fish, buy longer. You can probably have 5 or 6 mollies in a 30 gallon, as well as a couple groups of schooling fish (like your neons) and a bottom-feeder cleanup crew.

 

[tkeaslive.com]

Thank you so much your information is very helpful!

 

[Rosenweiss]

No problem!

 

[tkeaslive.com]

On a completely unrelated matter, would anyone know why my rwd clawed crabs aren't eating?? Are they more likely to eat during the day or night?

 

[melosu58]

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