Malibu

I was in there last week and picked up a couple plants and some fish. Been a week now and they're doing wonderfully. Great deals!

Every week, either Saturday or Sunday (unless I'm out of town) I do a 20-30% water change. I check my levels about once every two weeks, unless I've noticed something odd with the fish, or I've added new fish - then I want to check that the levels maintain themselves. I rarely have issues, and the last problem I had was after I used ferts in my planted tank. (a problem I am still trying to diagnose, as it hasn't happened since - I had an ammonia and nitrite spike in a year and a half old tank with no new additions either plant or fish-wise) The way I look at tank maintenance is - I shower regularly, and wash my hands after using the washroom, make sure my house is clean - why shouldn't my fish have a healthy home as well?

welcome! looks like you have a great start on the hobby! Would love to see some pics...

I have not tried any melons, my plecos and otos love Zuchinni. I usually attach a piece to a fork so it sinks to the bottom. When the veggies are floating, my suckers don't touch them, but when they're on the bottom, there is nothing left by the next day!

Hi there! Welcome! I'm just starting up a cichlid tank as well... I will be adding my new babies next weekend, after I pick them up from another forum member here...

Yes - though some people, I have noticed, are a little fussy about names lol that and I actually name my cats and loaches - my pakistani's name is YoYo (original, I know)

Well, I guess I'll start by telling you how I got into fish... I was working at a youth camp one summer, and one of my staff found out my birthday so he bought me 3 goldfish and presented them to me in a 1 liter cup. I decided that I would try to rescue these poor things, but since I had to fly home, needed a way to transport them. So I went and bought a little 1 gallon bowl with a handle on it. I put the fish in there with distilled water and managed to get all three of them home. When I got there, I kept them for a month in that tiny container, doing water changes every 2 days using only distilled water. So when my fiance and I got our own place, the first thing I did was buy a 10 gallon kit and set it up in our living room. Little did I know I needed to cycle the tank... Luckily there was a LFS within walking distance that I had started visiting. The lady who ran the store was a wealth of information and helped my babies live through the cycling of the tank. Until last summer, I still had one of the original goldies - a beautiful Red-capped oranda who was pure white other than her cap. Her name was Malibu. She died last summer at the ripe old age of 5. I now have a 30 gal goldfish tank with a blue oranda named Bombay, a black moor named Amaretto and an orange common named Sambuca. (theme? oh yes... lol) My second tank is a 50 gal setup with tropicals. I have 5 cories, 2 clown loaches, 1 pakistani loach, 7 platys, about 20 tetras - neons and glowlights - a couple of blue gourami and a dalmation molly as well as a 8" pleco named Scooter. I also have a couple of plants in there. I want to do a mostly planted tank and move the tetras into that one where they will have lots of "jungle" to hide and play in. I also have a 3rd tank that I've just started cycling. It's a 60 gal that I plan to house cichlids in... what type? I'm not sure yet... suggestions?