fishdogs Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Hello everyone! I unfortunately lost a Molly fish today. He was about 4 years old and lived in a previous tank. I am looking for ideas for a new fish as I currently have a 20 gallon high tank with 2 mollies, 6 Pygmy cories, and two nerite snails. Could I possibly get one platy fish and would it get along with the mollies? Could I get a honey gourami and just keep the mollies as a pair? Any other ideas? WATER PARAMETERS: CURRENT TANK IS A YEAR OLD!! pH: 6.4? My test strip isn’t horribly accurate with that but I know it’s slightly acidic gH: 250 kH: 0 Cl: 0 NO3: 0 NO2: 0 Temperature: 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 On 8/2/2024 at 5:31 PM, fishdogs said: 20 gallon high tank with 2 mollies, 6 Pygmy cories, and two nerite snails. You have room for several more fish. Platies get along with everybody, so you're good there. I'd get 3 honey gourami, they're peaceful and they like to be in groups 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scapexghost Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Keeping a molly for 4 years in 6.4 pH is crazy impressive if that strip is accurate. Both your ideas are good imo. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 On 8/2/2024 at 6:59 PM, Scapexghost said: Keeping a molly for 4 years in 6.4 pH is crazy impressive Never thought of that. @fishdogs mollies and platys would both prefer ph above 7 and hard water. All live bearers do. And snails for that matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishdogs Posted August 2 Author Share Posted August 2 Do things like proper pH work? Or any suggestions? I currently only use seachem equilibrium which seems to take care of the gH issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 Try Seachem alkaline buffer. And maybe acid buffer. Used Together you can target a specific ph. It’s what I use with ro water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scapexghost Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 On 8/2/2024 at 6:14 PM, fishdogs said: Do things like proper pH work? Or any suggestions? I currently only use seachem equilibrium which seems to take care of the gH issue. Whatever's been working for 4 years don't change now. Platies are more adaptive to pH than mollies anyways 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 2 Share Posted August 2 The thing I worry about is the pygmies. They like lower ph and softer water. So, if you change things at all, maybe aim for a neutral ph. that should satisfy everyone. And, yes, job well done for 4 yr old mollies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricksonAquatics Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 (edited) If you like the mollies enough, I’d up their numbers. Maybe get like 4 more to give them a little school. But if you’ve got your heart set on Platys they’ll get along with the mollies well too! Honey Gourami will be a nice edition. You can get one for a centerpiece fish or - as @Tony s mentioned - 3 for a little trio! Edited August 3 by EricksonAquatics 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 A school of mollies in a 20 is bad idea. I’d stick with platies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennie Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 I would not add ton of buffers and lean towards creating a stable parameters all the time but instead lean towards the fish that are suitable for my tank You add Equilibrium to reach that gh reading I guess? If so, I would lean towards acidic and soft water fish instead of platies Gradually turn your stocking into a this type of fish so you wont have to deal with preparing water all the time and buying so many products. Hobby may feel tiring if you need to do ton of work rather than spending such time to sit and watch the tank 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mynameisnobody Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 @Lennie I couldn’t agree more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 Add a trio of honeys. Or platies imo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricksonAquatics Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 There’s a billion tetra species that do well in softer water you could try instead of more livebearers! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 If it’s the mollies and snails combination that you really love. That’s great, just understand it’s going to take a bit more work. I understand completely. We keep what we like. What moves us. Very doable. Just make sure everything’s stable. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitecloud09 Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 On 8/3/2024 at 10:56 PM, Tony s said: If it’s the mollies and snails combination that you really love. That’s great, just understand it’s going to take a bit more work. I understand completely. We keep what we like. What moves us. Very doable. Just make sure everything’s stable. Yes some Oreo mollies with mystery snails would be a perfect combo. This kind of mollie. Idk if this is what you call em tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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