New 29 gallon, native tank

[Kris P Bacon]

Hello from SW fl. I am soon going to set up a 29 gallon of native (wild caught) sailfin mollies. The peace river is a famous destination for fossil hunters (blessed to live 6 blocks away, as an avid hunter)

I hear mollies like alkaline water. My questions are, can I use well rinsed river gravel/rock from there native habitat? And, failing that as I am on a budget, can I used a bag of well rinsed pea gravel from the garden section?

Thanks and hello MFKs

 

[tlindsey]

Hello from SW fl. I am soon going to set up a 29 gallon of native (wild caught) sailfin mollies. The peace river is a famous destination for fossil hunters (blessed to live 6 blocks away, as an avid hunter)

I hear mollies like alkaline water. My questions are, can I use well rinsed river gravel/rock from there native habitat? And, failing that as I am on a budget, can I used a bag of well rinsed pea gravel from the garden section?

Thanks and hello MFKs

Welcome aboard
Yes but it may be illegal to collect the gravel or rocks from streams,rivers, or lakes. The pea gravel should be safe to use just make sure you rinse it before using it.

 

[Kris P Bacon]

Never looked into that, but fossil collecting is legal with a 5 dollar permit. I plan to add some fossils. I have quite the fossil collection. I will let the gravel bake in the Fl sun for awhile to kill algea and potential pathogens.

 

[Kris P Bacon]

Welcome aboard
Yes but it may be illegal to collect the gravel or rocks from streams,rivers, or lakes. The pea gravel should be safe to use just make sure you rinse it before using it.

Went with pea gravel, just seemed like a safer, biological idea.

 

[tlindsey]

Went with pea gravel, just seemed like a safer, biological idea.

Ok great

 

[Kris P Bacon]

Ok great

My humble tank.

 

[K626]

Welcome . I'm in SE Fl, and my 3 teenage sons go netting and bring home all manner of wildlife. We've kept those mollies in many of our tanks. Cool fish, they're kind of iridescent. They have also brought home invasive fish that they've caught. From salvini cichlid to snake head fry.

 

[Kris P Bacon]

Welcome . I'm in SE Fl, and my 3 teenage sons go netting and bring home all manner of wildlife. We've kept those mollies in many of our tanks. Cool fish, they're kind of iridescent. They have also brought home invasive fish that they've caught. From salvini cichlid to snake head fry.

African jewel cichlids are common here, but I am hesitant to put any in my tank, I have one mature male sailfin and 2 small males and around 8 females. Aiming for a tiny catfish or pleco.

 

[J. H.]

African jewel cichlids are common here, but I am hesitant to put any in my tank, I have one mature male sailfin and 2 small males and around 8 females. Aiming for a tiny catfish or pleco.

Pics of the fish please!

 

[Kris P Bacon]

Pics of the fish please!

Sorry, just a crappy laptop camera. Here are open source pics that are exactly the same as the fish I catch here, plus a better pic of my new tank at night. First the jewel cichlid, then the male, sailfins.