Molly bothering Koi

[compulsiveguile]

Originally Posted by brian1973

Im not going to beat you up..welcome to the tank..

Obviously you care or you wouldnt be here..I dont think anyone is going to give you the exact answer your looking for due to the facts doc stated above..he knows what he is talking about..and to second what he said..really doesnt matter what your roommates think those fish if left in that tank will be dead within 6 months or so in my opinion...

...Again welcome to the tank hopefully you will stick around and learn as much as you can and find out how enjoyable this hobby can be.

I appreciate that. I am hoping to learn a bit about all this aquarium stuff. It's quite a bit more involved than you'd initially think...

Ha ha, my situation's a little more complicated. The thing is that I have to convince my roomie to get rid of things that HE bought. I'm the one who purchased the molly and 2 guppies... which seem to be the right kind of fish for this size of a tank. The pleco, koi, and rainbow shark are all his... and a good deal more expensive than mine. Gotta love it...

I'll pass along this info and see what he says.

[brian1973]

Originally Posted by compulsiveguile

I appreciate that. I am hoping to learn a bit about all this aquarium stuff. It's quite a bit more involved than you'd initially think...

Ha ha, my situation's a little more complicated. The thing is that I have to convince my roomie to get rid of things that HE bought. I'm the one who purchased the molly and 2 guppies... which seem to be the right kind of fish for this size of a tank. The pleco, koi, and rainbow shark are all his... and a good deal more expensive than mine. Gotta love it...

I'll pass along this info and see what he says.

Suprisingly guppies may not be the right fish for this size tank either..lol..it depends on the sex of each..females are typically prego when purchased..they are live bearers..think of guppies/molies/platies as the rabbits of the fish world..if you have a m/f you may, probably will, quickly become overstocked just from babies..lol...but yes size wise they are correct for this size tank..just have all males or all females.

Let him read what we have said...He will have only wasted money when they die.

[compulsiveguile]

Originally Posted by brian1973

Suprisingly guppies may not be the right fish for this size tank either..lol..it depends on the sex of each..females are typically prego when purchased..they are live bearers..think of guppies/molies/platies as the rabbits of the fish world..if you have a m/f you may, probably will, quickly become overstocked just from babies..lol...but yes size wise they are correct for this size tank..just have all males or all females.

Let him read what we have said...He will have only wasted money when they die.

Ah man! Alright... yeah give me some time to hopefully get this mess under control

[jo3olous]

I don't think any of the fish will exactly die right away but;

If typical fish behavior occurs:
-The redtail shark is very territorial and should be bouting the pleco for hiding places and surface area eventually
-The Koi will outgrow the tank or die of stress
-The pleco if common will outgrow the tank, and is such a big bioload (poo/pee) that constant water changes and paremeter readings will be necessary
-The livebearers (guppies) will produce tons, but it's not like the fry will survive with all those other fish in the tank! (food!)
-The Molly must hate that koi (lol)

How big is the koi anyway, if it's still a juve it might live in that tank longer than we think. The main issue is that everyone is pretty much right about stocking issues (both bioload and tankspace for each fish)and you might not see the effects of it right away, but rest assure they will all die from stress, not old age. ~ Just my 2 cents on what can/will probably happen to the fish

[compulsiveguile]

Originally Posted by jo3olous

I don't think any of the fish will exactly die right away but;

If typical fish behavior occurs:
-The redtail shark is very territorial and should be bouting the pleco for hiding places and surface area eventually
-The Koi will outgrow the tank or die of stress
-The pleco if common will outgrow the tank, and is such a big bioload (poo/pee) that constant water changes and paremeter readings will be necessary
-The livebearers (guppies) will produce tons, but it's not like the fry will survive with all those other fish in the tank! (food!)
-The Molly must hate that koi (lol)

How big is the koi anyway, if it's still a juve it might live in that tank longer than we think. The main issue is that everyone is pretty much right about stocking issues (both bioload and tankspace for each fish)and you might not see the effects of it right away, but rest assure they will all die from stress, not old age. ~ Just my 2 cents on what can/will probably happen to the fish

All that you say makes sense. The koi is relatively small right now. I know they get huge, but how fast are we talking?

[bunker_1]

I know someone that had one grow 6 inches in a couple of months. I do not know if that is typical or not. I would think that when it is time for him to start growing, he will dominate the food supply.

[FroggyFox]

they grow pretty quickly...but all fish are healthier and grow faster when they are in ideal situations. In other words, if your fish are competing for food and space right now they will be less healthy and grow more slowly than if you had them in a much larger tank. Of course, like someone pointed out, the Koi would do much better in completely different water conditions as they are a coldwater fish.

Mollies and gupplies also do better when there are more than one...either a bunch of females, a bunch of males or at least two or three females per male.

Perhaps you could have your housemate come here and read this thread? It really would be best for the fish if you re-homed most of them and really decided what would be best in the tank.