Dharmafish Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 I am brand new to the hobby and I feel lucky to have found you guys so early on! My husband has kept fish before, but I had only been around people that have filthy tanks, apparently. I was VERY hesitant, think years, before saying yeah maybe... Cut to 5 months later and I am hooked! We saw someone selling a 55 gal locally, with more equipment than you could ever need for several tanks including a great canister filter. The lady loved her aquariums but for health reasons, had to give it up. We started out rather haphazardly, and I'm learning as I go. In some ways I am glad I didn't know much starting out. I did some things that I have learned never should have worked but my aquarium is full and thriving. Since then I have been voraciously consuming youtube content and have learned a lot! . This morning I walked in and there were black molly fry swimming everywhere. I got really excited and stressed everyone out trying to catch them without being set up to do it. Long story short, I have two fry isolated and all my fish are upset from the disruption. Live and learn. I should have known better, but like I said, I was excited. You may notice that I started out crystal clear and am moving towards blackwater. The fish love it and I like the more natural look. Please excuse the tacky deco's, Ive been more interested in spending on fish. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewzero1 Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 I love the blue spots on the fish in the second picture! Is that some kind of SA cichlid? You could spend a lot on plants and decorations but at the end of the day the fish don't care who thinks the decorations are tacky 😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmafish Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 I am almost certain he is a Jack Dempsey. I say almost because I have had a difficult time finding pictures of anything with that pattern with spangles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 @Dharmafish; That is a male Jack Dempsey, I used to breed them and other species when I lived in Orlando, FL and had a LFS that would buy the offspring from me. That Pleco will grow to about 24 inches long, is your tank large enough to accommodate it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmafish Posted December 19, 2021 Author Share Posted December 19, 2021 On 12/19/2021 at 3:16 PM, Gator said: @Dharmafish; That is a male Jack Dempsey, I used to breed them and other species when I lived in Orlando, FL and had a LFS that would buy the offspring from me. That Pleco will grow to about 24 inches long, is your tank large enough to accommodate it? Not at present, but he is growing fast so, I'll be getting a longer tank very soon! I Have quickly discovered that I love Plecos. How do you sex the Jack Dempsey? I have a smaller one as well, that was purchased same time, same size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted December 19, 2021 Share Posted December 19, 2021 @Dharmafish; The easiest way to sex most Cichlids and Gourami's is by looking at the dorsal and anal fins, the ends of these two fins come to a point in the males and are rounded in the females. I can't see the end of the dorsal fin very well (Not your fault), but I can see the anal fin well enough to see that it comes to a point, and the blue spots are more pronounced on the male. If you put two males in the same tank, one will be dominant and the other will become so submissive that it will stay hidden and eventually die from lack of food. If you put a male and female together with other fish in the tank and the Jack Dempseys decide to mate, they will probably kill everything else in the tank. They got the name Jack Dempsey after the boxer by that name, and Jack Dempseys live up to the name, they will eventually eat your Mollies and possibly your German rams. Jack Dempseys actually do better in their own tank with nothing else, but you should be able to buy feeder Guppies at your LFS which your Jack Dempseys will love and you can feed them whole earthworms. If they decide to mate, they will uproot all of the plants in a tank as they scoop out potential nesting sites. To do the research on any fish you have or are considering, google it and you will get a treasure trove of information from keeping to breeding, favored foods, water temps, how to tell the males from the females, how to raise the babies, the whole nine yards. Welcome to the forum, I'm not on here as much as I'd like to be, but I still get on here, and I'm always glad to help. 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atitagain Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Welcome to the forum, surprise babies always seem to be the best babies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigrantor Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) Do I spot a koi swordtail in that third picture? They are currently my only non guppy tank (close enough!). Love to watch them thrive and multiply. Sadly the colony is getting a little too big for the tank that I have, so I’ll need to sell some off soon. Edited December 20, 2021 by Gigrantor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 Welcome! Nice color variety! It really is great to have the forum, and other online fish people. I kept fish about 20 years before I found out that pH matters, and another 5 or so years before I found out nitrates exist. It's SO good to have resources like this! 🙂 I wonder if the lady who loved her aquariums would be comforted - in some way - by seeing that they're full of life. Does it chance that you've been able to tell her? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmafish Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 @Atitagain I was ridiculously happy! I'm not even to the point of trying to try breeding anything. The Black Molly came in the door fat, so I didn't have a frame of reference. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmafish Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 (edited) @GigrantorThat is a platy, most of the tail is behind the leaf and blending in with a white rock. A friendly fish, one of the first to the front of the tank in the morning. Edited December 20, 2021 by Dharmafish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmafish Posted December 20, 2021 Author Share Posted December 20, 2021 Thank you @CalmedByFish! I don't really have a way to let her know but I am certain she'd be delighted. She was practically showering us with stuff after we had talked for a while! Back up filter, nets, scrubbers and scrapers, food etc. The amount I have learned from co-op videos is insane and makes me excited to be part of this forum! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigrantor Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 On 12/19/2021 at 8:00 PM, Dharmafish said: @GigrantorThat is a platy, most of the tail is behind the leaf and blending in with a white rock. A friendly fish, one of the first to the front of the tank in the morning. Nice! Looks almost identical to one of my female koi swordtails. They're one of my favorite tanks, but also the most skiddish. I have to feed the tank and sit very still in the dark for them to show their true personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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