Hello!

[101DalmatianMollies]

Hi there! I'm new to OVAS, just signed up today. I've been a fish enthusiast for a long time now, having started with my first Betta Horatio well over 10 years ago. I'm now 15 Bettas later at Sir William Benjamin III (really the first, but the third has a certain ring to it) and now diving into my first 33 gallon tank.

I've had experience with 10 gallon in an area of alkaline water, I used to live in the KW region. I had dabbled in live bearers with Mollies and Platys. Attempted goldfish, and unfortunately failed (poor souls).

Right now I have two freshwater tanks, my 33 gallon "Beastie" that I purchased used from a collegue and my 10 gallon "Little Trooper" tank.

My 33 gal just finished 6 weeks of cycling last week, with 3 red eye tetras, 1 (of 3) albino corydoras and 2 (of 3) assassin snails surviving the process. Last Saturday I added 3 more corys (1 bronze "Bonzai", 1 pepper "Po" and 1 albino "Little Bean" to go with "Sam" the survivor) a Bristlenose Pleco "Plucky" who is the most amazing little cleaner ever! I also added some Java moss and I believe it's the Amazon spear plant as well. I'm preparing for Mollies as I want to have live bearers successfully breed, birth and for some of the fry to survive.

My 10 gallon is host to two bullfrog tadpoles Pet Smart gave me for free. "Froggert" is a fully developed small bullfrog who I'm experiencing much challenge with trying to get him to hunt live food. So far 9 meal worms and 6 crickets have drowned >.<. "Froggle", his counterpart, is not as far developed; he has his back feet but is still mostly a tadpole. So that has presented water level challenges. I've started using a heater to bring the water temperature up as it was quite cold so I think that may be why there is such a difference in development. I pooched my filter for that tank when I lowered the water level, so I have to do frequent water changes due to how filthy these two can be. I had 2 assassin snails in there as I also have a plant in that tank, but I have since added them to my 33 gallon to raise their population to 4. I did add a tiger snail to clean up any uneaten veggie food Froggle leaves behind. Any input on bullfrog care and feeding will be appreciated as I do hope to release these two next spring.

I'm loving the 33 gallon tank, amazed at how often one of my assassin snails, who I have dubbed "Big Mama" gets harassed by the other 3. I'm impressed with Sam since he has survived bloat and getting stuck on the intake column for the filter and damaging his scales. Plucky has made the tank a cleaner place for everyone and seems very enthusiastic about it all!

I can't wait until I can introduce my mollies. I'm currently looking at different varieties. Anyone have a particular favourite?

Anyway! I'm sure you can tell I'm really excited about fish and being part of the aquarium community. I've just learned about Peacock Praying Mantis Shrimp and looking to learn more about them and saltwater tanks, as I have always wanted a clown fish.

Looking forward to meeting you all, and learning more about your setups as well as learning more about fish, their care and different varieties I have yet to hear about!

[sas]

Hi and welcome to the OVAS Forum.

[guck]

Hey feel free to post some pictures.  Welcome.