Some Advice

[Chris #]

Hi There,

I've read the Faq's but I could do with some more help.

I've had tropical fish before but I started back.......recently after a 20year break. I only introduced fish to the tank yesterday.

The plan for my tank is to have mainly guppies which I want to breed in the community tank without using any fry traps etc...

In the tank at the moment are 8 guppies and one red tail shark. Tank dimensions are 30"lx18"hx12"d

To do this I have planted the tank with bushy plants (these are mainly on the bottom not rising more than 8").

My first fry were born this morning and I'm pretty sure nearly (if not all) all of them have been eaten.

I was wondering if I have set the environment out right for a few of them to survive - or have I missed something?

Thanks for your help,

Chris

 

[modaz]

Firstly, welcome to the forum,ideally you should have floating plants as well b/c guppy fry will head for the surface within 10 mins of being born so they need the cover there as well, you prob got a very hungry shark as well and is really in a far too small tank for it , I would rehome the shark and replace with something that fully grown would be smaller. maybe a good clean up crew of special cories.

 

[Ben L]

yeah dense floating plants are a haven for any fry and give the best chance of survival

 

[Chris #]

Thanks!!

I'll sort the plants out.....


One question about the Shark - I thought they only grew to around 3 inches? have I got this wrong?

 

[-germ-]

No, they can reach 6"

 

[kewskills]

 

[Chris #]

Well some good news - I've got four left!!!

They are hiding in the back in all the bushy plants........


How long will it be before the others loose interest and stop eating them?

Would be great if even one survived......

 

[theotheragentm]

If they fit into another fish's mouth, they will always be seen as food. You've seen fish dart for poo, because it's floating and looks like it fits in their mouths. Some fry will never be eaten, but there's not really an explanation for this. They swim out in the open and never get touched even though they're definitely small enough to be a snack. Provide hiding places and you should be okay. Java Moss makes a good hiding place and it clean up the water a bit. It's a no fuss plant that grows almost anywhere.

 

[Chris #]

Well some good news!!!

Five fry managed to hide and stay alive!!!!

So I've got some new additions - Thanks for the advice about the plants!! I've also added some pebbles......................


How many should I expect to make it to fully grown?