Hello fish lovers!

[spuffy]

I am so glad to have discovered this forum. My name is Daniella, I recently turned 23, live in Texas and work as a dog and cat groomer which IS as awesome as it sounds! I have a 5 gal hex freshwater tank and am always researching ways to improve my little fish community, and luckily I found this place. I have a red betta named Fred the Fourth (being the fourth betta I've owned in my life - all named Fred) and I've had him for about a month now. Recently I have added two black mollies named Agador and Spartacus, two silver/white mollies and two neon tetras I haven't named yet as well as two small Chinese Algae eaters.

Everyone seems to be doing well and only occasionally Fred will get territorial with the new mollies (he doesn't nip however - which is nice) but he backs off once they do. I have at least two live plants, I don't know what type but they kind of look like elephant ears. I have hard water which I have since treated the tank for with those fizzy drops and the ph is now in the early 7.0s and the temp is 74-76F degrees. I haven't ever owned any mollies or tetras just bettas so if anyone has any suggestions about these new fish I would love to hear from you.

[Dwarf Puffers]

Hate to break it to you, but the chinese algae eaters will get something like a foot and agressive, the mollies 3-4", and the neons need atleast 4 more friends, and any of the above are overstocking you're tank. Mollies are also nippy.

But anyway... :welcome: to AC!!

[plantling]

:welcome: And I know how easy it is to overstock but for the health of your fish, you should rethink your stocking. Perhaps the fishstore may take some back? Anyway, welcome to AC and please don't be afraid to post your questions in the other forums like general freshwater or aquatic plants. Good Luck.

[spuffy]

Maybe they aren't chinese algae eaters they are really tiny like one inch. I was told they would be okay. I know the plecothimus (sp?) get big so i did not want them. And I do plan on getting a bigger tank when the mollies get bigger, they are smaller than the betta now. And those darn neons are hard to catch! I was lucky to get two. The algae eaters I have are striped down the side what could they be? Also what size tank do you recommend when I do get a bigger tank? Here's a picture of my tank :
http://a492.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/102/l_ad23dc1f7c437a2a447b98b55def544b.jpg

[plantling]

I got some oto catfish from PetSmart for about $1.50/ea. They are supposed to stay about 1 and a half inches long. And they have a suckermouth. Maybe and hopefully this is what you have because the Chinese Algae eaters do get big. Here's a pic of one of my oto's:
25174

Oh and here's one of my favorite sites for plants and other useful info like algae and at the bottom of the page there are pic's of some algae eating fish.

http://plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

[spuffy]

Oh this is great! That is what I have and I bought them from Petsmart too. I have been feeding them the algae tablet things. Thank you so much for replying. I really do want to keep my fish as happy as possible and I didn't know that my 5 gal tank would not be big enough. Should I move some fish to another tank, and what size do you think would be best? (I would have to purchase another tank first, however.)

Belive it or not I just wanted a bigger home for my betta and then he looked kinda lonely, and I heard mollies are schooling fish so i got 4, first the black then the white. The white ones are rather small and the black ones are the only other fish almost as big as the betta, so I figured the 5 of them would be comfortable together with the 4 tiny ones. This is my first real tank and I sure appreciate all your helpful answers. Daniella.

[Reefscape]

Welcome to AC!

Niko

[Weezer]

Hello.........:welcome:

[H3D]

Welcome to AC! :dance:

[Dwarf Puffers]

Great to hear they're otos. You're lucky to be able to get them to eat something besides algae, I had 1 in my 30g and he would only take algae. My sightings of him would just diminish and diminish and now I don't see him any more, poor little guy :(

I'd say a 20g could support all you're fish, or a 10g for the betta and 6-8 neons, and a 15g for the mollies. Add both otos to whichever tank you'd like.

[mee-mee]

Welcome to the AC...and ya got a beauty for a betta....

[Kyohti]

Welcome to our community!! It's always a pleasure to meet new people interested in sharing their love of the hobby with others. :)

So you have mollies, otocinculus, a betta, and neons? Sounds like a good start. You may want to consider splitting them into two separate homes, though, as mollies like to have space and grow to be up to 3 inches or so.

Just a suggestion... otos like lots of live algae cultures and live plants in order to thrive. I have friends who have had 20-gallon tanks coated in thick green algae, top-to-bottom, added a pair of otos, and had a squeaky-clean tank inside of a month. They loooove their algae and are finicky towards other foods. You'll want to set up a larger tank and fascilitate algae growth to supplement their diet. They are like the tiny cows of the aquarium world... tireless grazers. ^_^

Neons are fantastic, amusing little fellas who also enjoy a lively environment full of plants with some open swimming spaces. They can be nippy toward bettas once they get bold enough. They like to be in shoals of at least 4-6, preferably more, and you'll see better color and behavior out of them. They will be less likely to hide away when in groups, so you'll enjoy them more.

My suggestion... depending on your wallet, the mollies, otos, and neons should probably go together in a large community aquarium. You can get a 29 setup from Wal-Mart at a fairly reasonable price if you save up. Keep the same number of mollies, buy maybe one more oto, and 4 more neons and see how you like your new setup from there.

As for the betta, I'd buy him a nice brig's snail and perhaps a quartet of harlequin rasboras for that tank. That will provide you with some color and visual interest with more swimming room and less inter-species conflict. All of this is mere personal suggestion based on personal experiences of course. Don't let people pester you too much about your choices or scare you into thinking you aren't competent in what you're trying to do.

After all, they are your fish and you are the one responsible for them and their happiness. Regardless, I'm sure you'll make good choices for Fred the Fourth and his buddies. He's a superb little fish and I'm sure he's in good hands.

And again, warmest welcome to AC!!! :clap: :clap: :dance: :clap: :clap:

[Rbishop]

Welcome to AC!

[ct-death]

Welcome to AC! ;)

[jm1212]

enjoy your stay!

[J double R]

welcome aboard! :D

[Mgamer20o0]

Welcome to AC.