HELP!!

[ajhainey]

Mollies do get pretty big - at 3" mine look too big for my 70 litre and they are not done growing yet so I would say even 3 mollies (the min for a scoiable fish) would be too much for a 40 litre tank when mixed with other fish - althought they are lovely...Platies are nice colours - but again quite large (2-3"?) + I found them very dull - they never seemed to do much - could just be the stock I had tho'?

I would think you might just get away with 5 guppies and 5 tetras - assuming they are all about 1" now - thats 10" of fish - maturing to twice that - which is almost exactly what your tank can hold (10" maturing to 20" - according to PFK magazine).

If you really want a variety then you'll have to cut down and have smaller groups....Maybe 3 each of two types of similarly sized tetra and, 5 different patterned (male only) guppies? That should give you lots of apparent 'variety' without the shoals being two small/bioload too much...I especially like my red and black tuxedo guppies - very striking!

Hope that gives you some ideas...

aj xx

 

[Fishy Fishy Man]

I've noticed that you plan to put alot of livebearers in the tank.

Keep in mind that they will breed lik crazy if you get breeding pairs, and the babies will need to be dealt with. Assuming you dont want to keep them all have you thought about what you can do with them? Could your daughter bear to part?

Although baby fish seems really exciting at first, the reality is that after a few batches they will loose their charm, and there isnt a way to stop the parents from popping more out. Ways of diposal include selling them to your LFS and leaving them with your other adult fish to fight for themselves (natural selection if it helps your concience). Personally i think it is irrisponsible to bring babies into the world if you can't care for them.

Having said that one pair of livebearers makes things fun

You can make it hard for other types of fish to have kids however, as they need a more specific environment. This way you can choose when they breed, say when you have the room and desire for the extra fish.

Hope you and your daughter enjoy your new aquarium Great little things, arent they

FFM

 

[freshy]

Hi everyone,
I got two more buddies for the tetra, and I think they cheered him up. I think I'll keep them like that for a week or so before adding more fish. I wasn't really planing on getting this kind of tetra but when I was given one I couldn't leave him on his own.
I did a 20% water change today to bring my levels down because I noticed a raise in the nitrites and nitrates. Could it be due to the fact that the cycle wasn't COMPLETELY done, or to the fact that there are two more fish in the tank?.

And fishy man, you're right I'm too much of a newbie to deal with babies right now. How can I know if the guppies are male or female?

Oh, and I don't have a daughter but a niece; thanks anyway for the good wishes though!

 

[Fishy Fishy Man]

) second dumb mistake ive made

Males are generally smaller, but often longer finned and more colourful. Mature females are full bodied and have a gravid spot which is a dark spot near their vent when pregnant.

The most obvious one though is their anal fin (near where their waste comes out) A females will be fan shaped like a normal looking fin, while a males will be modified for breeding reasons, kinda hard to describe.

You will see the difference though if they are next to eachother.

Hope this helps

FFM

 

[ajhainey]

Also most shops seperate male and female guppies - so as long as you find out what the one you have is - its easy to stick to the same sex for future purchases...

aj xx