48 Litres, 12 Gallons, Fish? Hellpp!

[b_rachel]

okay

so

i've set up my 48litre tropical tank

looks lovely doing the water cycling now thinking of fish.........


i really like bettas!! but have been told they are best alone

i also like dwarf gouramis, cardinal tetras and fancy guppies

anyone think of a good compatible combination???

thanks

 

[Thomas 2507]

1 Dwarf Gourami
3 Guppies (1 Male 2 Female / 3 male)
6 Cardinal Tetras

How does that sound? I would add the Guppies first, then the Tetras, then the Gourami over the period of about a month when your tank has cycled.

 

[b_rachel]

1 Male Dwarf Gourami
3 Male Guppies
6 Cardinal Tetras


thanks thomas!!!! THAT IS SOOO HELPFUL!!! is the above okay ^^^

will the tetras have babies? I dont want baby fish as I am inexperienced and don't want them to die!

1 Dwarf Gourami
3 Guppies (1 Male 2 Female / 3 male)
6 Cardinal Tetras

How does that sound? I would add the Guppies first, then the Tetras, then the Gourami over the period of about a month when your tank has cycled.

i take it betas are best kept all alone in a small tank??

 

[Thomas 2507]

Cardinals will breed occasionally in a community tank but it's not likely and even if they do then the babies probably won't survive.

If you don't want babies then either get three male guppies or three female guppies because once females are impregnated they will have babies every month for about four months.

Bettas are best one their own, yes, but some fish can live with them but it depends on the temperament of the Betta. Laid back Bettas can often live with cories, shrimp and zebra danios but aggresive ones probably won't tolerate any other fish in their tank.

 

[b_rachel]

this may be really naive but i thought you cant tell the sex of fish

if i went to my LPS and asked for 3 male guppies they would be able to do that?!

 

[Shrimper]

Male Bettas can be awkward! Some are fine with certain tank mates like Shrimp or Cory Catfish but others are just mean and need to be kept by themselves. They aren't called Fighting Fish for no reason

If you wanted to keep Bettas you could divide the tank into 3 separate areas and keep 1 male in each section. If your interested in that idea it would probably be best to ask about it in the Betta section!

Personally I would go for the small community idea. Be careful when you choose your Dwarf Gourami... they have a reputation for catching the aptly named Dwarf Gourami Disease so if any of the fish in the tank at the LFS look ill then get one from a different shop.

Edit: They definatly will be able to tell the difference between Male and Female Guppies... The males are very colourful and the females are quite plain in comparison.

 

[Thomas 2507]

Yeah, some fish are harder to sex but guppies are probably the easiest fish to sex in the world - a five year old could probably do it.

Males are usually more colourful with large tails and have a 'gonopodium' which is basically the equivalent of what human males have. They are also a little smaller than females. Females are usually quite dull with smaller tails and a 'gravid spot' when pregnant which is the eyes of the babies from what I know.

But female and male guppies are usually seperated in fish stores, so it's very easy to get what sexes you want. Even if they aren't, they are so easy to sex that even if the workers can't sex them (which they should be able to), you probably could.

 

[b_rachel]

okay thomas and shrimper you have been SOOO helpful and i'm very grateful


could i get

4 cardinal tetras
3 male guppies
1 male dwarf gourami

im just concerned that getting a lot of fish would be bad? or is 6 tetras ^^ in the combination a-okay

last question then i'll shush !

 

[Shrimper]

Its better to ask too many questions than not enough, Any more questions just post away!

You could go for 4 tetra, but they prefer to be in bigger groups so 6 would probably be better.

 

[Thomas 2507]

Tetras are shoaling fish so there are thousands to a shoal in the wild, which is why the recommended minimum is six.

The stocking that I created for your tank is fine - just keep on top of water changes etc.

If you are worried though, just get two guppies.

Remember not to add them all at once. The guppies first, then the tetras and the gourami last over the period of about a month.

Don't mind helping at all just ask away. You can always PM me if you have any troubles too.

 

[b_rachel]

thanks so much for your help

i think i will take your advice

introduce 2/3 male fancy guppies first
then 6 cardinal tetras
and then 1 male dwarf gourami

SO VERY GRATEFUL! should probably go and do my art coursework now...became too obessesed with the forum!!

heres my tank!!:

<a href="http/s94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/b_rachel/?action=view&current=mytank.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http/i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/b_rachel/mytank.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

http/i94.photobucket.com/albums/l85/b_rachel/mytank.jpg

waiting on the live plants.

it's probably a bit crap i dunno, its my first attempt. i like it though

 

[Thomas 2507]

It looks good for a first attempt. You'll probably change it around many times yet, trust me.

Don't let the forum or fish get on top of your work! Trust me, I'm too obsessed now. There's no going back... lol

 

[b_rachel]

god i am obsessed hehe!!!


last last thing i promise

this may sound so daft

the heater gets blimin hot

surely it can burn fish if they swim into it or something?


OFF TO WORK! NEED TO WORK!! byeeee thanks for all the help

 

[Thomas 2507]

Well, the heaters do get hot but they usually have a gage that you can turn up or down and somewhere that tells you what temperature Sagittaria subulatt Sagittaria subulats currently set at.

But just use a themometer to check the temperature - if that's okay then so is the heater.

 

[rabbut]

Just a quick question, and slightly off topic, but here goes anyway;

Thomas 2507, why do you recomend that you add the fish over the course of a month once cycling has completed? The idea of the fishless cycle is to build up enough bacteria in the filter to support a full fish load in one go. Only adding three fish after would kind of defete the object wouldn't it? IMO it would acctualy increase the risk to the fish, as they would have to go through a mini-cycle as the filter bacteria colonie re-built itself.

The stocking that Thomas put forward though would be fine for your tank It is slightly overstocked in the eyes of some members on here, but since most of those fish are low waste producers, it is more than possible to be made to work. Just keep on top of waterchanges. If I were in your situation, b_rachel, I'd add all the fish in one go, as none are overly sencitive. Guppies can be a little flaky, so try and find a stockist whom has local bread, as they are generaly more hardy

the heater gets blimin hot

surely it can burn fish if they swim into it or something?

Though it is possible for fish to burn, as far as I am aware this is only likely to occur with cichlids, as they see the surface of the heater as an ideal spawning site, and then get burnt during the act Most other fish won't stick arround it once it has turned on, as they will feel the heat and move away. The only reason as to why the ciclids would stay, is to guard the eggs that they laid, despite the fact that they would at this point be cooking

If possible, fit a heater guard, to avoid this issue. If one is not available, don't panic as most fish are at no risk. In the 5 years that I have been keeping tropical, I have never had a fish burn themselves, and I have only recently started using guards

All the best
Rabbut