Possibly Pregnant?

[Phil Crane]

well got 2 a week ago and the white one is exactly the same but diff colour of course when we bought them but ive noticed the spotted one has got a bit of a belly on it now so im wondering if its pregnant, i took a picture the best i could to see if you guys can help me decide on if it is or not long shot but worth a try because i dont want to keep it in the breeding tank for ages and its not pregnant

pic below

 

[soybean]

If it is female and has been kept with males recently, yes it probably is pregnant.

Are you planning on saving the fry for some breeding program or any other specific purpose? If not please just let nature take its course in the tank rather than keep that big fish in that tiny box on the off chance it will give birth - it's so stressful for them and can actually cause problems with pregnancies and birth anyway. Far better to let her give birth naturally in the tank and provide natural cover like plants and java moss, and net any babies you see if you really want to keep them.

 

[Phil Crane]

ok ive taken it out and i think i will get some more plants then for rite across the back of the tank to be safe more than sorry if some of them do get pregnant as i have 2 of each fish apart from neons were i have 8

 

[soybean]

Good plan. You will probably get a few babies but that comes with having livebearers. What size is your tank out of interest?

 

[Phil Crane]

4ft tank

 

[soybean]

Yes definitely add some more plants, all your fish will benefit and feel more secure. Could also up your neon numbers, a larger group looks good. Can't tell what the fish in the middle are (small screen) but if they're tetras they need to be in a group as well.

 

[Phil Crane]

does getting different type of tetras count or just stick to getting say 4 of each type would 4 be classed as a group? and i might look at getting another 10 or 12 neons to add to them lot, just searching the net to find a nice backdrop for the tank

 

[soybean]

No they must be in species groups, different types of tetra won't shoal together. And you really should be looking at a bare minimum of 6 per species. But one large group of one species tends to look more effective than a few smaller groups of different fish - but it's down to personal preference.

Lots of people find a plain black background is very effective as it makes the fish and plants stand out - plus it can be done very cheaply.

 

[Phil Crane]

black background can be easily printed off the computer and taped up together and put on the outside back of the tank, or maybe some of the coloured film liek they use on lighting and stuff, i will look at getting 2 of each more of the fish i have 2 of then and top up the neon count thanks for the advice

 

[soybean]

black background can be easily printed off the computer and taped up together and put on the outside back of the tank, or maybe some of the coloured film liek they use on lighting and stuff, i will look at getting 2 of each more of the fish i have 2 of then and top up the neon count thanks for the advice

You could use a bin liner just as easily!

Like I said, you need a minimum of 6 per type of tetra - so if you only have 2 individuals, you will need to add at least 4 more of them. All shoaling fish benefit from being in large groups.

And you're welcome

 

[Phil Crane]

no problem just been looking at a online site that sell and deluver the fish and 3.95 per neon daylight robbery i only pay 90p for a neon

think i will goto my local store tomorrow and get 4 of each of the others will only cost me 10 pound for 4 molies 4 tetras and 4 platties, dont know if im aloud to post the site so i wont. what plants would you reccomend if you dont mind me asking

 

[soybean]

Mollies and platys aren't shoaling fish - the neon tetras are. Do you have any other tetras or is it just mollies, platys and neons?

Remember the more livebearers you add the more babies you will get. Have you kept them before? You can get overrun very easily, even if you don't save them. I started with three platys and 12-18 months later delivered around 80 young ones to a shop.

Maybe one more platy, and maybe take the neon numbers up to about 15. Then you still have room to add other fish if you like - mollies get pretty large so I wouldn't add any more of those for now.

Can I just check you cycled your tank's filter (testing for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate)?

Plants - you could try anubias (which needs attaching to a piece of wood or stone), amazon sword, types of hygrophila - the tall bushy one on the left side of my tank is Wisteria (hygrophila difformis) which I can't stop growing and provides great cover for fry. Also java ferns and java moss - these also need attaching to something but are good basics.

 

[Phil Crane]

Below is everything i have in my tank, yes my tank was cycled without fish got donations from my brothers tank left it for a week then went and got my water tested in 3 different places and they all said the same results so i was then pleased to starta dding fish.

Could you apart from telling me how many of each of the below i could do with getting tell me what other fish i could safely have together with these fish i already have, i am amazed by quite alot of them so would like to see what you think before i go buying them incase i cause gang wars in my tank haha.

• 2 bleeding heart tetras
• 8 neon tetras
• 1 silver sailfin molly
• 1 baloon molly
• 2 sunset platys
• 1 pleco

 

[soybean]

Remember not to add more than a few fish at once else you risk overloading your filter. Even though you got media from your brother, if you didn't have any fish or add any ammonia in the week you had it running you could've had a significant drop off of bacteria, as they feed off the ammonia. So stock very slowly and carefully, keep checking your water (invest in a kit) - don't take it for granted that your tank is fully established. In fact I would be reluctant to suggest you add any more fish until you've posted your EXACT water test results here, and I think you should be doing partial water changes more than once a week. I'm not convinced you'll be fully cycled and I think you'll need to stock very slowly.

• 2 bleeding heart tetras - At least 6. The size and shape of these do make a good contrast to the small slim neons. Get these up to 6 and then see if you want more in the future - no rush.
  
• 8 neon tetras - I think 15 make a good number, they're small so larger numbers are effective.
  
• 1 silver sailfin molly
• 1 baloon molly - I'd stick with the two mollies.
  
• 2 sunset platys - do you know if you have males or females? I'd be tempted to stick with two for now as well and see if you naturally get more anyway if babies survive.
  
• 1 pleco - do you know which kind? Some get huge. It would probably appreciate some caves and bogwood.

To start with I don't recommend corys with the substrate you have, just incase you wanted some of these.

And to be honest I think you already have a good mix - fish occupying different levels, different colours, different behaviours. Are there any other kinds in particular that take your fancy? It's easier to rule things out or agree with suggestions than come up with a list of fish you may not even like.

 

[Phil Crane]

heres a pic of the plec for you as ive tried working out which one it us but cant seem to match it up to the ones i know .

as for the platys i dont know how to work out which is which sex wise.

as for fish i would love to have i know some of them i probally wont be allowed to mix:

• red tail sharks
• angel fish
• siamese fighters
• ruby barb
• guppies

heres my baby plec