Help on which fish to buy and where please

[Tycho]

What about sailfin mollies? Not sure if they are suitable for hard water but my lfs had some when I popped in at lunch time and they looked very pretty!

[Gingerlove05]

Any of the livebearers (endlers, guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies, limias and goodeids) are suitable for hard water, they will breed like rabbits (except the limia and goodeids if I remember correctly)
The variation between them is tank and temp compatibility, mollies can get pretty big depending on species genetics (upto 8 inches in some species I believe).

[PaulVerrall]

What about sailfin mollies? Not sure if they are suitable for hard water but my lfs had some when I popped in at lunch time and they looked very pretty!

Yeah they look cool thanks!

[PaulVerrall]

Any of the livebearers (endlers, guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies, limias and goodeids) are suitable for hard water, they will breed like rabbits (except the limia and goodeids if I remember correctly)
The variation between them is tank and temp compatibility, mollies can get pretty big depending on species genetics (upto 8 inches in some species I believe).

Cool cheers, I'll avoid the breeders as the wife won't suffer another tank in here just yet! Lol.
Goodeids look interesting!

Going to have to show some restraint here, I want some of every type of fish at the moment!!!!

[Ric]

..and when you know how to show restraint, let us know how - MTS (multi tank syndrome) is quite an epidemic amongst fishkeepers

When you listed your equipment at the beginning you did not mention a heater? Will you be going for a temperate / cooler water tank? In that case barbs would be good choice - rosy barbs / golden barbs / ruby barbs are all active fish best kept in a shoal.

[PaulVerrall]

..and when you know how to show restraint, let us know how - MTS (multi tank syndrome) is quite an epidemic amongst fishkeepers

When you listed your equipment at the beginning you did not mention a heater? Will you be going for a temperate / cooler water tank? In that case barbs would be good choice - rosy barbs / golden barbs / ruby barbs are all active fish best kept in a shoal.

I have an aqua 300w heater with the protective cover over it. It's running at 25° at the moment while the tank cycles

[Gingerlove05]

I know when i was looking at goodeids, there was another forum member from another place, he kept redtail splitfins (Xenotoca eiseni) but specified they were in a species only setup as they can be buggers in a community, so be sure to check out behavioural compatibility and species that would suitable (eg species they might be found with in the wild)
The limia and goodeids are rarer livebearers.

[Fishtales]

..... I can't imagine buying a fish and having it posted to me?! Maybe that's a thing now but I can't imagine it's good for the fish, but what do I know?! Lol

I think a lot of fish do considerable journeys to make it to lfs so I don't believe getting them delivered from reputable sources are a bad thing. I do this out of necessity. However there are much more benefits to collecting fish yourself if able. You have an opportunity to see the condition of them and their environment. You can select your favourites for colour etc instead of them being randomly selected for you. Also when needed/possible you can pick the sex of the fish you want.

[PaulVerrall]

..... I can't imagine buying a fish and having it posted to me?! Maybe that's a thing now but I can't imagine it's good for the fish, but what do I know?! Lol

I think a lot of fish do considerable journeys to make it to lfs so I don't believe getting them delivered from reputable sources are a bad thing. I do this out of necessity. However there are much more benefits to collecting fish yourself if able. You have an opportunity to see the condition of them and their environment. You can select your favourites for colour etc instead of them being randomly selected for you. Also when needed/possible you can pick the sex of the fish you want.

I never thought of how the fish get to the shops, good point! All I had in my mind is the fish in a box rolling around the back of a DpD van!

[plankton]

All the fish that fr449y mentioned will usually take hardish water.
The blackskirt tetras can be problematic though, and do need it warmer than people think to avoid problems.

Oh, forgot to mention.....real sailfin mollies should get to around 8", sometimes a bit more for females.