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hey is a 10 gallon tank big enough for a chichlid or do i need bigger. if it is big enough how many can fit in it.

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

when you say fit in it, are you stacking them vertically or laying them on top of each other horizontally?
Joking aside, look into Apistogrmma cacatouides, Convict Cichlids (easy to breed, but you can become overrun) and other dwarf cichlids such as kribs. You will be limited to one pair.

You could have one pair of Bolivian Rams they are a very hardy fish and easy to look after.

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Keith

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would bolivian rams or covic chichlids or dwarf chichlids e okay with mollies in a 29 gallon tank???

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

You need to figure out what exactly you want to ask.
Do you have a 29g tank, a 50g tank, or a 10g tank?
And no, not really. Convicts will tolerate that pH level, but will just kill the mollies.

Even though Bolivian Rams are very easy to look after, they are extremely protective of their own areas and will defend it strongly. I have a huge 4-5ins Hoplo Catfish and I have seen a Bolivian trying to push it out of the way finally the Hoplo moved.
I am a firm believer in having a live bearer tank only as they can require different parameters and I used the word "Can"

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Keith

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I can back Keith up on the territorial nature of Bolivian Rams, they will be somewhat agressive in maintaining their 'space." Having said that, a few mollies in a 29g should be able to learn to respect the Rams and find their own places to play. Other than the territory thing, the Bolivian Rams are quite peaceful and hang around the bottom of my 55g. I have them in there with tetras, gouramis, platys, guppies and everyone does well, the Bolivians get their space.

Hmm.... lets back up here a bit guys. I think there is some predjudice/stereotyping going on with the live bearers. Not all livebearers are so frail. I have had some that put a breeding pair of convicts in the corner with their fry in a 55 gal. Of course they were Poecilidae elizabethae, probably the most aggressive LB there is, and mine were an over aggressive pair, and were F1s. They were so aggressive, they killed a group of madagascar rainbows the first day or two, in the 55 gal they were all in.

In the wild, they are side by side, and the cichlids are the ones huddling around their spawn and fry protecting them from the livebearers and the tetras. Most LB can be very aggressive fish when need to be, and a few can be overly aggressive. Keep in mind I am talking mostly about the wild or close to wild LB. However, some of the more domesticated LB fall in this catagory as well.

Livebearers are CA and some come from SA, with a small handful coming from NA (most of the NA are highly protected and on the endangered list). So the water parameters will be the same for those cichlids mentioned thus far.

Personally, I keep live bearers in almost all my SA and CA tanks. And I have rarely lost one to the cichlids in there. Don't get me wrong now, many of these new fangled fancy finned LB will have problems getting away from an angry or aggressive cichlid, but most will be ok. Currently I have a large school of platties with a breeding group of SA cichlids, and some monizuma swords with a breeding group of SA cichlids, and some sailfin mollies with a breeding group of SA cichlids. All have been there for about a year now, and not lost one LB in any group.

Some good LB to keep with CA or SA dwarf to med cichlids would be normal finned swords, normal finned platties, and normal finned mollies (sailfin mollies are normal finned as they are found in the wild like this). As well there are many wild or very close to wild LB available out there that are really great to keep with most CA/SA cichlids. Godeids are also great to keep with most CA cichlids.

I would NOT however, suggest cichlids and LB in a 10 gal tank together. Simply for the reason there is no area for the combination to be able to swim around each other if need be. A 29 gal would be a great size for a pair of LB and a pair of dwarf or med/small sized cichlids from SA or CA.

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There is always a bigger fish...

it would be in a 29 gallon tank that they would be together if that makes a difference...

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

ok dude you need to pick which tank you want to do here. youve gone from a 10G, to a 29G, then to a 50G.Youve PMed me an asked what was an appropriate tank size for an oscar, have you just forgot about that?which is it that you want to do a 10,29,55?you seem really unprepared. and you need to cycle the tank.

i pm-ed u b4 i got any bigger tank and it ended up being a 29 gallon and i said a 10 gallon b4 i got the 29 gallon. srry for jumping around so much.i now have 2marble mollies 2 silver lyetail mollies 2 mickey mouse platies 2 gold gouramis 1 plectocosmosis and 1 ranibow shark which are all perfectly happy together. is this tank overstocked???? or can i add more. the fry i now have a couple more homes for in my sisters tank and my aunts tank.i willPROBABLY get a 10 gallon tank in 28 days for my b-day.if i need to use this as a home for some fish i already have i will if not any possible stocking ideas???

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

You cannot put anything else in your 29 gallon, so you shouldn't be getting anymore fish.

Being new to the hobby is pretty exciting, but you should slow down a little. If I've been following all your topics, you've gotten your tank stocked in just a couple days. You need let your tank cycle and keep track of water parameters like ammonia and nitrites to make sure your water is good, or you're going to get hit hard by New Tank Syndrome.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

okay thank u. when i do get my 10 gallon what should i do? get just like 1 small cheap fish to sorta like "test" the tank out and see if the water is good? plz give any suggestions u have on what i should do (keep in mind i am not completly sure wat size tank it will be)

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

yes, dont get anymore fish,2 instead of getting another tank ask for an ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kit. hopefully you wont have to much fry trouble as looks like your basically at your limit all ready.

I suggest in the mean-time between now and getting a new tank is hopping over to your local library and getting an aquarium fish book. You can learn a lot, trust me.

Anyway, there's no need to test if a tank is good with a fish, you just need the test kits. But in a new tank, it's the lack of beneficial bacteria to break down the fish's waste products that is a problem. Without these bacteria and too many fish, the fish will poison themselves with their waste. On the flip side, without fish or some other source of ammonia, there will be no food for the bacteria so there won't be any bacteria. The bacteria develop over time (this is called "cycling" ), or can be boosted with bacteria additives such as Seachem Stability. With regular testing of ammonia and nitrites, you can make sure these toxins don't get too high for your fish; if they do, you do a water change to cut them down. Eventually, the bacteria colony grows enough to handle the ammonia and nitrites, at which point your tank is cycled.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

ive been useing pure spring water a good filter and water stabilty stuff. and my fish seem healthy and activegoing on 3 days now. also after 3 days the water is still like crystal clear. also my local library is in my school and i personally think that in the aspect of informational books it suks. ive been trying to do most of my learning for my tanks on here and other websites i find.

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

Okay, how big are the gouramis, plec, and shark. I find it hard to believe none of them have eaten the mollies or platies. If no ones been snacking behind your back, they so will be. Most people use the mollies and platies as feeders for those fish.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

about all the fish r about the same size for now give or take 1/2 an inch i also have lots of plants and caves so the shark seems to just stay in his little cave the most aggresive he has been was chasing some1 out of his cave the 2 gouramis r the biggest in the tank yet they seem to just ignore the other fish ( think i have a male and a female so they pay more attention to each other) the plec is about and inch and a half and he also is very very nice. he barley moves and when he does its a quick burst to the top for reason that i dont quiet no... but.....the gouramis r very new to the tank so mabey eventually... they might get mean...

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it

yes, they will be snacking behind your back soon then your mom will flip.lol the plec goes to the surface in those quick burst for air, plecostamus's breath atmospheric oxygen like you and me.

o so they have a labyrinth organ? or is it something else that lwts them breath..

experience is something you dont get until right after you need it