I Give Up

[slingham64]

I finally got my tank to cycle... Exciting I know.

Went to my LFS yesterday, (changed LFS after the goldfish cycling suggestion), talked to the owner, whose been doing this for 30 years. Went in with the intention of getting 4 Zebra Danios for my 10 gallon. Told him my plan, 4 Zebra Danios, 2 Platys, 3 Cory Cats, an some Ghost Shrimp. SHOT DOWN. Said that i should go with a school of platy's to bring a nice color to the tank, took me over to the Platy tank, got 4 Platy's, 2 are the Mickey Mouse Platy, one's just a good looking orange tone, an then 1 male platy. We then went to another tank an he gave me 2 White Platy's that have long flowing tales, didn't get the name though on those. He said this would be a great start to my tank and that I should come back in a week or two an they'll test my waters and I can move on with the Cory Cats. I asked about the ghost shrimp an he said unless I was feeding them to something they wouldn't really show up in the tank, hence "GHOST".

I'm just confused cause it's going against everything I've been told on here. I'm just going to start doing what he says, cause his store displays are simply amazing, but I know for a fact that the 6 platy's aren't going to go over well in this forum.... Please don't hate me.

P.S. I also have one Tiger Barb in there who loves the new company, no fin nipping or anything. Another contradiction. CONFUSING!!

[xoolooxunny]

the general rule of thumb I continue to hear about fish keeping is that what works for one person, may not work for another. Also, your fish store owner may be acting and suggesting out of personal preference, so you too have a lot of experimenting to do to see what works well with your tank. And another thing, I have ghost shrimp in my ten gallon, and as i am sitting about 10 ft away from the tank right now, i can see at least 4 of them swimming around. If you want some ghost shrimp, go for it, they're cheap and help keep the tank clean.

[Drumachine09]

Well, sometimes, when the LFS doesnt let you buy stuff, its a good thing. I was going to get a purple mushroom (soft coral) yesterday, but the lfs guy gently shot me down because i dont have enough lighting. I dont know about this all platy junk though. Its kinda iffy. I liked your plan better. And you can see the ghost shrimp. If they get fed enough, they get small blotches of color on them. Plus, they are interesting to watch!

keep on keeping on. I would say return the platys and go to a different, more impartial (yet still high quality) to get your set up.

[gm72]

I agree that sometimes it is good that LFS people don't sell certain fish to certain people or certain combinations. BUT! I think instead of letting the guy push you into a combination, ask why your suggestion would not work. xoolooxunny hits it well when it was suggested that the person may have been acting out of personal preference.

For a non-fish example, I love my house paint scheme inside--every room is a different, quite bright color. Nothing wrong with it, but you might prefer to have muted browns and whites instead.

I say go back and clarify with him why he didn't "bite" on what you suggested as to stocking. Your suggestion would have worked, I think.

[Chrona]

I finally got my tank to cycle... Exciting I know.

Went to my LFS yesterday, (changed LFS after the goldfish cycling suggestion), talked to the owner, whose been doing this for 30 years. Went in with the intention of getting 4 Zebra Danios for my 10 gallon. Told him my plan, 4 Zebra Danios, 2 Platys, 3 Cory Cats, an some Ghost Shrimp. SHOT DOWN. Said that i should go with a school of platy's to bring a nice color to the tank, took me over to the Platy tank, got 4 Platy's, 2 are the Mickey Mouse Platy, one's just a good looking orange tone, an then 1 male platy. We then went to another tank an he gave me 2 White Platy's that have long flowing tales, didn't get the name though on those. He said this would be a great start to my tank and that I should come back in a week or two an they'll test my waters and I can move on with the Cory Cats. I asked about the ghost shrimp an he said unless I was feeding them to something they wouldn't really show up in the tank, hence "GHOST".

I'm just confused cause it's going against everything I've been told on here. I'm just going to start doing what he says, cause his store displays are simply amazing, but I know for a fact that the 6 platy's aren't going to go over well in this forum.... Please don't hate me.

P.S. I also have one Tiger Barb in there who loves the new company, no fin nipping or anything. Another contradiction. CONFUSING!!

To be honest, I think the original fish list would be overstocking the tank by quite a bit, since 4 zebra danios already puts the total "inchage" over ten. Plus you still have two more platies and 3 cories. 6 platies is still overstocking a bit, but better than before. Not sure why he led you to the platies though lol. Also, if you are worried about the visibility of the shrimp, go for some cherry shrimp.

[kimmers318]

Okay, first off, always take things from a petstore with a grain of salt. Yes, your original stocking plan may have been a little overboard, but IMO all of your fish with the exception of the platy are fairly low on the bioload. Did you explain to him that you cycled the tank properly? Sometimes a fishstore will recommend platy or danio when someone has NO clue about cycling. Platy are a great fish in their own right, but if you get just one male with any females you will soon be overrun with platy. And purchasing a female usually means you will have babies in the near future.
It is not unusual to be confused about the conflicting information you get, just remember, most LFS are there to make $$$$, those of us on AC who are giving advice based on our experiences are not making a damn dime on it, so it doesn't effect our bottom line, we are only here to give advice for the betterment (is that a word?) of the aquatic hobby. I have platy, and I have cycled with danio, both are great fish for their own reasons, I just prefer not to own anymore for personal reasons.
If you like your platy, try to determine if they sold you all male or female or if you got a mix of the 2 and then decide if you want to keep them. All males are liable to fight, females most likely won't fight, but chances are they are pregnant already, and of course if you have both, you WILL have babies.
Keep us posted on how things go and try not to fret too much.

[Drumachine09]

It is not unusual to be confused about the conflicting information you get, just remember, most LFS are there to make $$$$, those of us on AC who are giving advice based on our experiences are not making a damn dime on it, so it doesn't effect our bottom line, we are only here to give advice for the betterment (is that a word?) of the aquatic hobby.


Exactly.:thumb:

[crackatinny]

I had 6 tiger barbs in a community tank, as I had read everywhere that they won't nip in a school of 6, one morning I found a molly on the bottom of the tank alive but totally finless, this happened overnight, needless to say it ended up dying. I ended up putting them in a cichlid tank, after a few days of fighting between themselves two where killed, the four remaining went another week without problems untill they started fighting again, and another killed, the three have now been OK for a couple of months.
Just another example of what works for some don't for others.

[slingham64]

I went back last night to my LFS. As far as the guy "being in it for the $$$$", trust me, he didn't make any on me, he gave me most of the fish. But I clarified what I set up, and what I was stocked with. This is the official fish list of my tank, and after going over everything with him, I'm happy with what I have, probably a little much for the tank, but I'll be cleaning a little more than I had planned.

4- Sunset Fire Wag Platy's, 3 Female, 1 Male

2-Silver Lyretail Molly's

1-Tiger Barb (who I think's forgotten he's a Tiger Barb)

They've all been getting along great, I've been keeping a close eye on the Tiger barb to make sure he doesn't snap, I kinda relate him to a well trained Pit Bull. When they're raised correctly, they don't tend to attack humans, but they are prone to snapping lol.

But I really appreciate all the help I get on this forum, and I appreciate the help I've gotten at my LFS. I just will make sure I'm on my game whenever I go in. An after thinking about it, I want some freakin ghost shrimp!! Gettin a few tonight! Haha.

[Glasstapper]

There's more than one way to skin a cat.



Well, that's what my Mom would tell me and my brother when we would fight about how to play a certainl level on a video game to get the most points. hehe. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that your LFS advice, and the advice you get here are both correct. It's just up to you to decide which way you want to skin the cat.


(I always thought it was a pretty gruesome phrase and was horrified by it as kid, but I get it now.) ;)

[slingham64]

There's more than one way to skin a cat.



Well, that's what my Mom would tell me and my brother when we would fight about how to play a certainl level on a video game to get the most points. hehe. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that your LFS advice, and the advice you get here are both correct. It's just up to you to decide which way you want to skin the cat.


(I always thought it was a pretty gruesome phrase and was horrified by it as kid, but I get it now.) ;)

I like the way you summed that up, that's kinda the direction I was thinking. There's no one right way, but there are also many wrong ways. With the advice from you guys an my LFS, I think I'll be just fine.

[gm72]

You will be! Interesting that your barb is getting along with the platys. Very cool.

[slingham64]

You will be! Interesting that your barb is getting along with the platys. Very cool.

Yeah it's really wierd. When I put the Platies in, he went right for him. So I grabbed him and put him in a bag for about 20 minutes, put him back in the tank, and he hasn't cause a single problem since. I think he knew he was being punished haha.

[gm72]

Punishing him in a bag, I can just hear him thinking "well heck, THAT didn't go well!"

In my daughter's tank we had a school of black skirt tetras, and one bully kept nipping at the other fish (red serpaes). We now have him in with neons and glowlights. Happy as can be.