Platies And Neon Tetras...a Good Mix ?

[OldMan47]

That would be best, yes. I have rather hard water and have kept neons but they did not really prosper in my water. Many did survive for about a year but they really should live longer than that.

 

[Rich_77]

Got this from Thames Water for my area :

mgl CaCO3 (ppm)
251.5

Degrees Clarke
17.6

Degrees German(DH)
14.1

Degrees French
25.2

Detergent rating
HARD

 

[Rich_77]

I'm a little worried my 'female' guppies might be young males.

How can I check for certain ?

 

[Akasha72]

I'm a little worried my 'female' guppies might be young males.

How can I check for certain ?

check out the main page pinned topics. 2nd pinned topic down "livebearer gender determination" that should help you.

Regarding the water hardness. If your kettle has loads of scale inside it and the taps also 'fur' up then the water is hard. No scaling usually means it's soft.

You can get test kits for testing the water hardness but any local lfs should be able to tell you.

Agreeing about the Neons, they can be hard to keep in the beginning. I tried to keep them as a beginner and they all died.

I have kept both guppies and platies successfully even with soft water. I've got PH problems at the moment, it's normally about 6.8-7.0 but it's dropped to 6 with new sand substrate and a new piece of bog wood. I can't say I've noticed any difference in my platies but this is a short term issue. Over a longer term there could well be problems with them.

Good luck with what ever you choose to stock

 

[Rich_77]

I'm a little worried my 'female' guppies might be young males.

How can I check for certain ?

check out the main page pinned topics. 2nd pinned topic down "livebearer gender determination" that should help you.

Regarding the water hardness. If your kettle has loads of scale inside it and the taps also 'fur' up then the water is hard. No scaling usually means it's soft.

You can get test kits for testing the water hardness but any local lfs should be able to tell you.

Agreeing about the Neons, they can be hard to keep in the beginning. I tried to keep them as a beginner and they all died.

I have kept both guppies and platies successfully even with soft water. I've got PH problems at the moment, it's normally about 6.8-7.0 but it's dropped to 6 with new sand substrate and a new piece of bog wood. I can't say I've noticed any difference in my platies but this is a short term issue. Over a longer term there could well be problems with them.

Good luck with what ever you choose to stock

Thanks for the help

Didn't Travis sing 'Bogwood'...or was that 'driftwood'....anyway.

Hope it all goes well for you.

I'm thinking I'm going to take A LOT of time on the neons...I really don't want them all to die before the tank is ready for them.

I know it sounds silly, but as a kid I've always wanted to have Neons.

 

[OldMan47]

14 german degrees or 250 ppm, is fairly hard water. I would avoid "soft water" loving fish. The guppies should be just great in that water. Platies will also do well in that water.

 

[SwimmerWithFish]

You could add some amano shrimp they are really nice and make the tank interesting and a nice housekeeper isn't bad at all or maybe some corrys they're school fish like tetra and they are really cool. Might be a good idea if you go to your LFS and see what they have and see if the fish you want are all compatible. Good luck on the stocking .

The worker at an independent, well respected fish store told me that the platys will eat the shrimp instantly so I was wasting money. Anyone know if this is true? Sorry, I know the thread has moved on a bit, but I was just wondering. Thanks!

 

[Rich_77]

14 german degrees or 250 ppm, is fairly hard water. I would avoid "soft water" loving fish. The guppies should be just great in that water. Platies will also do well in that water.

Thanks for the help.

I've given up on the Tetras until I move somewhere with softer water