Tanks, Cichlids, and Goldfish

So quite a lot has happened since last post!

My mom brought home her Rio Grande Cichlid (I THINK that's what it's called) named Pebbles to put in my empty 50 gallon after seeing him going crazy in the tank in her classroom.  This guy is about 5-6 inches long, pretty deep bodied.  The tank he was in was a 15 gallon at best, being low and wide.  There is a plethora of gravel in there, hosting all sorts of bad bacteria, and also limiting his space even more.  (I mean, there's a good 3-4 inches of gravel in there.)  The crazy activity was him swimming frantically, banging the glass, and trying to jump out.  Now that he's in the 50 gallon, however, he's been much calmer and overall, happier, according to my mom.

Pebbles the Cichlid

The kids at her school miss him, (were actually angry that he was gone, haha) and I don't blame them.  He's very personable and interactive.  What my mom and I are thinking of doing is to take the 50 gal back to the school (where it came from anyway), leaving him in there, and I would buy and cycle a 75 gallon that was on sale at petsmart for my future goldfish.  If it's not too over my already strict price range, though. :B  50 gal would be my lowest, though.  I still want a big tank.

As far as new goldfish go, I've been told that my mom may be given a goldfish from a very kind man at the school.  So we'll see!  Either way, it's about time I get another goldfish.  I've learned what I've learned from my calico ryukin, and I feel more prepared now.  Especially to resist the temptation of not quarantining and not fully cycling.

We'll see what happens, though.  Nothing's set in stone yet.  The only thing on the agenda for Nano is to get some anacharis!  He's been picking at the brown algae on my fake anacharis, and I think it's time for some real plants.  Oh!  And I decided to buy some Pro-Gold from GoldfishConnection for him.  It seems to be getting great reviews, and I need some sort of staple to mix in with his zucchini, peas, broccoli, and bloodworms. ;)