Advice please.. All Male guppies in one tank??

[Amy123]

Hello, I am looking in to getting fish, I have found a 12 g tank that I like and have done some research on guppies and neons. I know they get along well together so if possible without over crowding i would like both. I have never owned fish before so i need some advice, i want to ensure the fish are happy and healthy so any extra tips are welcome

I know that guppies breed like crazy so would like to avoid that by getting all males. Everything i have looked up has contradicting answes about keeping all males, is this a good idea or should I stay away from all males and also how many could i have along with a few neons and shrimp. Or should I choose one or the other

Like i said i want to ensure they are happy so dont want to over crowd, i know it is not the biggest of tanks but its all I can fit in my home.

Thanks in advance

 

[Demeter32]

12gal is a bit too small to keep a happy school(8+) of neons. I think having all male guppies is the much smarter thing the do that having mixed genders. You could probably fit 7 or so guppies and a handful of shrimp in there so long as it is well planted (fake or real) and has a decent filter.

What kind of shrimp are you looking into? I'll warn you before hand that they like to climb out of tanks and there are many "ghost/glass" shrimp out there that happen to be the carnivorous type with long claws and they happy snap up smaller fish like guppies.

 

[Amy123]

12gal is a bit too small to keep a happy school(8+) of neons. I think having all male guppies is the much smarter thing the do that having mixed genders. You could probably fit 7 or so guppies and a handful of shrimp in there so long as it is well planted (fake or real) and has a decent filter.

What kind of shrimp are you looking into? I'll warn you before hand that they like to climb out of tanks and there are many "ghost/glass" shrimp out there that happen to be the carnivorous type with long claws and they happy snap up smaller fish like guppies.

Thank you for your reply.
I haven't started researching shrimp yet as I wanted to decide on what fish so I can choose the best to go for. Do you have any suggestions? I have also been reseaching on hard water? Where i live it is moderately soft. Is there anything I can do to increase this? Sorry for the questions, Id rather spend a long time researching to get it right than jump right in and get it wrong

 

[Essjay]

It is much easier to get fish that suit your water rather than try to alter it to suit a particular fish.

How long and wide is the tank? If it is 18 x 12 inches or bigger, as an example a shoal of ember tetras would work. There are other small shoaling fish that would also be OK as well.

 

[Amy123]

It is much easier to get fish that suit your water rather than try to alter it to suit a particular fish.

How long and wide is the tank? If it is 18 x 12 inches or bigger, as an example a shoal of ember tetras would work. There are other small shoaling fish that would also be OK as well.

It is 40 x 40cm square tank, someone i work with has guppies so I didn't think it would be much of an issue before I started researching it

 

[Essjay]

That might be OK - 18 x 12 inches is 45 x 30 cm - though it doesn't give quite as much swimming length as the recommended minimum.


There's a difference between thriving and surviving. A fish needs its requirements met to thrive, and keeping guppies in softish water is not meeting their requirement for hard water I'm afraid.

 

[Amy123]

That might be OK - 18 x 12 inches is 45 x 30 cm - though it doesn't give quite as much swimming length as the recommended minimum.


There's a difference between thriving and surviving. A fish needs its requirements met to thrive, and keeping guppies in softish water is not meeting their requirement for hard water I'm afraid.

I will start looking at other options then, i want thriving fish, maybe a tank that has more length too thank you for your help! Much appreciated

 

[Essjay]

There is one fish that would definitely work, if you don't mind having just one fish in it - a betta (siamese fighting fish) These fish are better alone as they aren't community fish, though a snail would be OK with one. But you may want more fish than just one in a 12 gall tank. There is a care sheet in the Bettas section on here.

 

[Amy123]

There is one fish that would definitely work, if you don't mind having just one fish in it - a betta (siamese fighting fish) These fish are better alone as they aren't community fish, though a snail would be OK with one. But you may want more fish than just one in a 12 gall tank. There is a care sheet in the Bettas section on here.

I have looked at then actually, I would prefer more fish but if 1 betta fish would be better suited to the tank size / soft water than I would be more than happy with one. I will do more reaserch on them

 

[Byron]

It would help to pin down the exact hardness (GH, general or total hardness). You might be able to find this on the website of your municipal water authority. Give us the number and the unit of measurement they use. If your water is fairly soft ("moderately soft" can mean varying things, the number will tell us) you have several options as there are some lovely and colourful "nano" fish from soft waters.

 

[Amy123]

It would help to pin down the exact hardness (GH, general or total hardness). You might be able to find this on the website of your municipal water authority. Give us the number and the unit of measurement they use. If your water is fairly soft ("moderately soft" can mean varying things, the number will tell us) you have several options as there are some lovely and colourful "nano" fish from soft waters.

This is what I have found?

 

[Byron]

This is what I have found?

This is exactly what I meant...these numbers indicate very soft water, less than 2 dGH (1 dGH is 17.9 ppm, which is equivalent to mg/l). "Moderately soft" would be much higher, perhaps around 5 to 7 dGH. May not seem like much, but to the fish, this is crucial.

And this is good, as you have many options now. There are "nano" sized fish like the dwarf rasboras in the genus Boraras--look up Boraras brigittae, B. maculatus, etc. Or the Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae). The pygmy cory (Corydoras pygmaeus) would fit in too. [Look up these species on Seriously Fish.] All of these are shoaling fish, requiring a group. With live plants, even if only floating, you could for example have a group of 12-15 of one of the Boraras or the Ember, and a group of 9-10 pygmy cories. You might find some shrimp; I'm not up on shrimp but I believe there is one or two species that manage in soft water, but others can confirm.

There are other species I would have to dig up, going from memory here, but you get the idea. You could have a lovely tank with soft water species.

Byron.

 

[Amy123]

This is exactly what I meant...these numbers indicate very soft water, less than 2 dGH (1 dGH is 17.9 ppm, which is equivalent to mg/l). "Moderately soft" would be much higher, perhaps around 5 to 7 dGH. May not seem like much, but to the fish, this is crucial.

And this is good, as you have many options now. There are "nano" sized fish like the dwarf rasboras in the genus Boraras--look up Boraras brigittae, B. maculatus, etc. Or the Ember Tetra (Hyphessobrycon amandae). The pygmy cory (Corydoras pygmaeus) would fit in too. [Look up these species on Seriously Fish.] All of these are shoaling fish, requiring a group. With live plants, even if only floating, you could for example have a group of 12-15 of one of the Boraras or the Ember, and a group of 9-10 pygmy cories. You might find some shrimp; I'm not up on shrimp but I believe there is one or two species that manage in soft water, but others can confirm.

There are other species I would have to dig up, going from memory here, but you get the idea. You could have a lovely tank with soft water species.

Byron.

Thank you I didn't realise how much came in to fish keeping, glad I decided to do some research. Thank you for all you help. I will look in to some of the fish you mentioned.