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Hey everyone how's it going, I took a trip to the pet store today, determined to buy some fish.

So my friend promised me that they had some simease alge eaters, and I was very excited to get them and when I got there I was dissapointed to realize that they were chinese alges eaters...So I got (what I think is)a bristle nose pleco, got some pics if u can comfirm for me. Oh and do they eat spot alge?

I also got 2 molly's, i dont know what kind they are but check the pics...but like a big idiot, I completly forgot the you should get more females then males so I got 1 male and 1 female. Does salt matter for these guys? I put a little salt in from time to time, should I up the amount?

Ok I also finally got some Java Moss, and I was wondering, to tie it down I just wrapped some around my DW(see pic) and put some under a rock to hold it down? Is this ok?

OK so I got a 48G with 2zebra danios, 2serpea tetras, 1 DW gourami, 1 Keyhole Chichlid, 2 bronze cories, and now 1 Pleco(BN) and 2 mollys.

So what can I add? I might re-populate the serpeas. I was thinking 2more female mollys and a few more cories, can I get a diffrent species of corie? or should I stick to the same species? And should I get the same type of molly or can i get any molly female, excluding sailfin?

Anyway I gusse that is pretty much filling it out right?


here are the pics and sorry for all the questions.

Molly:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3679.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3667.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3666.jpg


Java Moss:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3670.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3665.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3677.jpg

PLECO:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3676.jpg


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3672.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3671.jpg

Well thanks alot...



10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

ok,
lets start with the molly, i think that it is a longfinned variety of a sailfin molly, I would not ,add more but instead, increase the tetra and cory school.
the pleco might be bristlenose but I need a clearer picture to be sure. The Java Moss, is fine the way you put it, you can also tie it to a rock or piece of driftwood.
You do not need any salt, they do not need it.

-Vincent

I dont have any idea as to the Java moss, but i want some badly. I suppose the "under a rock" idea is good, as long as it dosent flatten its leaves out of block the light out from it(hardly matters though)...

For the pleco, i HIGHLY doubt that is a BN. I dont know what spot algae is, got to keep reading! I am willing to put a finger on the OK for spot algae as BN could eat this, maybe by accident if not on purpose.(I also WANT one of these) but who knows, it could be a BN.....

Finnaly the mollies. That is a dalmatian sailfin(maybe) lyretail. And yours is possibly the best specimen ive ever seen!! It would be a shame if you dont try to breed them. More Females most Definately(1male:3female). What fish store do you go to?

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OK I am thinking of adding 2 females cores and tetras, sounds good to me, oh and...I hope its a BN lol I really think it is I will work on a better pic later, and I am definitall breeding them.(mollys that is)

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

The pleco you got is without a doubt a Common Bristlenose Pleco. It appears to be too young to tell whether it is a male or female though. It cannot eat spot algae, due to the fact that the stuff is just to difficult for the fish to scrape off the glass. Also, it will not eat the hair algae I see growing in there (generally only SAEs and Florida Flag Killies eat that stuff).

The pair of mollies should be fine just as long as the female isn't harassed too much. Salt is not mandatory when keeping mollies, and fish such as plecos generally do not tolerate it well. Therefore, it would be best not to add any more salt to the tank. The way the moss is arranged will not hurt it, but it generally looks better when tied to the object and allowed to grow from there.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Nothing really eats spot algae. It's too hard. I'd skip the salt completely. The mollies won't notice and the other fish will be much happier with absolutely no salt added to their water.

You really should increase the schools. Danios, serpaes, and cories are all schooling fish that do best with a group of 6+. You could possibly fit that many but serpaes are known to be nippy and if you aren't careful could go after the slower moving fish like the gourami. Generally when kept in larger groups such fish are more likely to harass each other than other species but if they take an interest in another fish in the tank 6 of them can do far more damage than 2. I'd increase their school slowly and keep an eye on them. The cories would be alot more active and often spawn when kept in larger groups. I'd at least add 2 more and try for 6 if you have the space. Depends how well you want to fill out the other 2 schooling species in the tank.

My Dwarf Gourami was living with 9serpeas and he was fine to hold his own. Oh man now I am mad The only reason I got the Pleco is because I wanted him to eat the thread alge(not hair) and spot alge, I just cant remove the spot alge, I tryed using a razor(shaver) and like a idiot I scrachted it. What can I do to stop these 2 algea's? Its a glass tank...Thank you very much

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

I usually do get rid of such algae with a bladed scraper, you have to be careful to apply even pressure on the blade though, think of it a bit like shaving, that way you wont scratch the glass. Failing that I find those metal pan scraper pads quite effective, and so much cheaper than buying petstore scrapers. This is the only solution, because I have flying foxes, ottos , amano shrimp, multiple plecs etc. None of em can shift it.

Mollies appreciate salt, but a lot of the selectively bred ones like yours are aften so shortlived, to be honest I dobt not adding salt makes a difference anymore, besides the cories are a bit salt intolerant.

When you put the java in, tie it to something solid,near the lights and away from where the fish are most active. it only tolerates being lifted out of the gravel a few times before even it starts to fail from being repositioned all the time. Give it a few weeks grace to get used to the move and the changed conditions, and it shouldstart to really take hold.If you move it too much you just end up with dead moss bits. I used to tie it to bogwood with fishing line,or the netting they wrap oranges in. Sooner or later it takes, the trick is to not keep touching it until it gets firm footholds, and try not to put it where the fish poo the most or it will get clogged and begin to die. Stick it in a nice well lit corner and it will start to spread.

someone mentioned hair algae, so I thought I would just get in a little recommendation, if you can find them, florida flagfish are a fantastic algae eater, and they are mostly community and plant safe, I don't know about java moss. be careful not to get any males though, they do get aggressive when breeding.

as for the other things you could add, I would definately get some more cories, you never see them at their best until you have a large group. so I would suggest at least 4 more cories.

alot of people say that you should keep two or three females to each male molly, but I've never seen any kind of aggression displayed towards a single female, so I wouldn't worry about it. as for the salt, if it was a livebearer only tank, I would suggest adding some, but since it is a community, don't, most fish don't really appreciate it.

I don't know about the pleco, the pictures are blurry enough it could be alot of things, kinda looks like a clown pleco to me, but it may not be, I'm not really familiar with bristlenose. as for the spot algae, nothings gonna eat that, so you'll have to deal with it yourself.

proud father of a bunch of baby haps. http://picasaweb.google.com/Sktchy/BABIES

kinda looks like a clown pleco to me

That was my first thought after seeing the tail markings in the first two pics.

This is my clown plec:



Attached Image:


~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

The distinct spotting on the head and white tips to the caudal fins give it away as a Common Bristlenose.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Re: Your Java Moss.

Quick solution (albeit unsightly for a few weeks) is this. Hold it in place with a plastic coated cable tidy. You won't have to leave the cable tidy there long, the Java Moss will soon attach itself to your bogwood. Takes about 4 weeks maximum in my experience. Once it's attached, it grows like stink. I must have harvested enough surplus Java Moss from the Panda Fun Palace in my time to resurface my living room floor and then some!

You'll soon find yourself harvesting excess green fuzz from your Java Moss cluster once it's attached, and if you have other pieces of bogwood to attach it to as you harvest surplus growth, you can soon end up with an Amano-style jungle! Which will please your fishes immensely if mine are anything to go by - my Cardinals keep picking interesting things off it, and my Pandas spawn in it at a rate of knots!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ohh I found a SAE today can I squeeze it in? If they eat spot alge I would love them in my aquarium? What do u think?

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

SAEs will eat the filamentous algae in your tank, but not the green spot algae. They grow to 6", are highly active, and generally prefer the company of their own species, so I would recommend bringing something back to the fish store before you add any SAEs to the tank.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I was reading the posts and I thought I would jump in and give my thoughts, Any army of otto's a must , Florida Flag Fish a must for all hair algees. A good looking suckmouth I like golden but some say they get large others say no. As for snails and all planted tanks have snails. if you can see then or not. I using pea puffers. I know puffer in community tank. Yes, hefish only get 3/4" full grown an the only thing I see them bother is each other and thats only if the see each other. I have 5 in a 56gal (Custom) with a schools of other fish and nothing. I think is a bette choice than clown loach just because they get large and need company to be happy. Also ghost shrimp are a good choice they clean up the tank. As far as the green alge on the glass I have not come across any fish that does that. the best is "magna-float" just make sure you get the right size for you tank. the big one is for thinker glass large tanks.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Hi there,
the Mollies are the lyretail form of the Sailfin Molly.
This is the largest molly species, acheiving sizes of up to
6 inches in good quality male specimens. Ive found sailfins dont breed as much as other livebearers, and have never ever had a problem keeping just a pair. (All LFS in my area sell "show sailfins" in a m/f pair).
As mentioned, Mollies do just fine without salt.
They are picky about nitrAte levels though, so keep up on the water changes.

The pleco, from what I can see from the really black pictures, looks like a bristlenose.
The Java Moss will be fine weighed down with a rock, thats what I have done with mine. Its growing great.

For what you should add, I would add 3 more Zebra danios, 3 more serpae tetras, and 3 more bronze cories.
That would put you at:
5 Z. Danios
5 Serpae Tetra
1 Dwarf Gourami
1 Keyhole
5 Bronze Cories
1 Pleco
2 Mollies

I wouldnt say that tank is fully stocked at all. Very lightly stocked.

I think you could add a pair or trio of SAE. At 6 inches each, they would complete your stocking after adding above mentioned fish.
I know someone mentioned Otos, but in my experience Otos cannot even keep a 10g algae free, I doubt they would even dent a serious algae problem in a 48g.
They pretty much only eat soft green algae.
SAEs eat thread/hair algae, black bush algae (what you are calling spot algae I think Linkin) when its young, staghorn algae, and many others. SAEs pretty much do it all.
For the black beard/bush algae stuck in spots on the front of your tank, Use an old bank or credit card. They work great.
Also, Bigalsonline sells "algae sponges" that scrub that beard algae off like lickety split. They have a rough scrubby side, that doesnt scratch glass but roughs off the algae. Work great. Ive never found another sponge that works as well.

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Yes, I agree on So very Sneky about mollies. I used to have a Lyretail dalmatian molly, and because i neglected to do water changes before i had plants, the nitrAte went sky high 40-50 ppm. My mollies contracted ick and died..

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Sweet, the credit card worked great thanks alot... and I think the PLeco is one of the most beautiful fish I ever saw, but hes a lazy bum, he hasent cleand any of my soft green alge yet...well cleaned my rocks but not my back wall.
Well if I love the stocking Idea you gave me but I am on the fence for getting more serpea tetras, I might just get another 4-5 cories of a diffrent species, with the java moss they might breed. I might go with 2 SAE's but I have to make my Cave alot bigger then it is and mabet add another on the other side.

Sweet nice to see my aquarium finnally lokking great and clean, hope the Pleco and SAE's can keep it this way. Oh and the molies.

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

SAEs are not cave dwellers.
They are predominantly mid water swimming schooling fish,
that prefer to rest in clumps of plants or on driftwood.
They rarely use caves if more desirable locations are provided.

If you plan on getting a different species of cory cat,
I would return the bronze corys.
Its not really fair to keep a lonely pair without any
company.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
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WOOO I just got back from the PetStore with some new fish, I got what i think are 3 SAE's and 3Serpea Tetras.

I am sorry for my crappy camer, and the bad lighting but please do ur best I hope they are SAE, the funny little guys.

This is the smaller one:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3702.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3701.jpg

This one is a little bigger:
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3700.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3698.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3697.jpg

The third one I cant get a nice pic but he looks very diffrent from the other 2:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3699.jpg

And all 3 in the bag:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/Xlinkinparkx/IMGP3696.jpg

well thanks...

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys