New from Carrollton Texas

[Joy]

Hi Im a :newbie: to this site. I live in Carrollton Texas with my husband John. I got my tank from a lady that didnt take care of it. I was told it was a 50 gal tank but it turns out it was a 20 tall. She also said that the 45 fish in it was all related and that they were Gourami's.I have been trying to look them up on the internet and I havent seen a Gourami that looks like them. They do however kind of look like a Hornet Cichlid. Since the tank was over populated I have given away around 25 of them and still have more to give I've had a tank most of my young life. However, I was young and didnt know about ph and all the other stuff. I just floated them for 30 min and let them out of the bag so all this other stuff is new to me. The fish I now have I was told they were egg layers...I really like the fish that give birth to live fish. I think its really neat to watch ...I love the idea of tradeing fish but I dont want to trade at the beginning because I dont know the adult way of telling if a "traded" fish will wipe out my tank.

So Im looking to learn from this site so I can have a beautiful tank. and any input would be great!

Thanks
Joy

[tsunderl]

Hi Joy and Welcome! First glance of your pic tells me you do indeed have some sort of cichlids, not gouramis. I'm sure someone can ID them better than I can. You will definately learn lots and if you have questions, ask away. We're all here to help and learn.

Do you have other pics of your tank? Oh, and beware of MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). It runs rampant on here and there's no cure!

[jessie.doodle]

Hi Joy!!:welcome: Nice to have you here! And yes, please post some pics we would love to see them!!!

[Haiven]

Possibly convicts?

[kewlkatdady]

tough to tell...
I'd say they are convicts also.

[REYREY]

BUENO!!! Welcome to our litle watrer filled world... MTS... yep.... that is a chronic illness around here...

look foward to trading with ou in the future!!!

[biggin]

Welcome to the site. Glad to have you.

[cheeto_1983]

howdy

[EAST_TX_RN]

Welcome Joy! You have found the right site to help you wish your fish! I have learned so much since I found this site, and everybody is so nice too! We have a crazy sense of humor too. If you want to post some larger photos, join photobucket.com and upload the photos, then direct link them here in the little postcard icon in your window. Just delete the http:// first in the pop-up.

[supersmirky]

Welcome to the box! Glad to have you here!!

:welcome:

[dcacjc]

Welcome to da box!!

I agree thay look like convicts or maybe Houndran Red point 9because of the spots on thier side). What color are they?

[Misty]

Hi Joy!
Grab a drink and get comfy! Wind your way through, take care to avoid the B.S, and be open to making some strange friends!

pssst...it's the others...they're the strange ones!:brandy:

[bra8ndy8]

I think they are convicts too.....and they are good at over populating!! Welcome to the site....glad to have you here! We need more women!!

[Joy]

I was told the fish I had were african cichlids and I have given away all but 5.
My husband talked me into doing a couple of trades so now I have......
2 small catfish
5 african cichlids (already had)
3 rosy Barbs
2 yellow Gourami's
and a bunch of baby guppies in a breeder net.(which I dont like)
I'd love to get any color of Mollies for the tank

and yes this is catching...I have already been thinking about getting another tank for those guppies because if I let them out they will be eatten.lol

Thanks for the warm welcome!!!
Joy
P.S. As far as other pets I have 7 Maltese Dogs and 3 cats.

[tsunderl]

Hey Joy, I wouldn't recommend putting mollies and cichlids together. Mollies are quite passive for the most part and some cichlids can be downright mean. The mollies and guppies would go together in another tank with no problems. I see many tanks in your future. lol

[supermome]

Oh, and beware of MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrome). It runs rampant on here and there's no cure!

And it is highly contagious.

Welcome to the group.
As someone who joined fairly recently and knowing nothing about the fishtank I got, I can honestly say that this group is great about helping and answering questions (even the stupid ones).

[lellison]

:welcome:It is great to have you here

[AndrewH]

Welcome to the site Joy.

The catfish, gouramis, guppies, and barbs should all go nicely together but like tsunderl said, most african cichlids will be to aggressive towards the other fish.

Generally speaking, you either have a cichlid tank or you have an everything else tank ;). Also, most cichlids require (or do better in) the high pH ranges (7.5-8.5) while the other fish in your tank would do better in 7.0 (neutral) or slightly acidic 6.0+. And just for reference each pH point (from 7.0 to 8.0) equals a 10 fold change. Meaning 9.0 is ten times higher than 8.0 and 100 times higher than 7.0 :D.