afaik, (although im willing to be corrected here) swordtails dont do so well in pairs - if you get 1m 1f the female might get stressed from the males attentions. may be ok if you go for an all male tank... im not sure if mollies and swordtails will inter-breed - if so you may like to keep just one sex of all. also mollies and sailfin mollies will probably hybridise.
Stocking Advice Please
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NewBea
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You see fish shops never tell you any proper advice!
You see fish shops never tell you any proper advice! Grrrhhhh! I don't even think the guy was checking for sex on any of the fish when he bagged them. I think I have 1 male and 1 female swordtail. So I should get another female really?
I just read that swordtail can hybridise with platies, however the site didn't mention hybridising with mollies.
It's a lot harder to make the right choices of fish to go together than I thought!
You see fish shops never tell you any proper advice! Grrrhhhh! I don't even think the guy was checking for sex on any of the fish when he bagged them. I think I have 1 male and 1 female swordtail. So I should get another female really?
I just read that swordtail can hybridise with platies, however the site didn't mention hybridising with mollies.
It's a lot harder to make the right choices of fish to go together than I thought!
it is a bit of a minefield lol 
yeah i'd get another female swordtail, provided your tank is not already overstocked. you can tell the sex by looking at the fins underneath just infront of tail fin... if it looks like a stick its a male, a triangle and its female that goes for pretty much all livebearers. I'm sure someone will be along soon to tell us if swords and mollies will get it on
yeah i'd get another female swordtail, provided your tank is not already overstocked. you can tell the sex by looking at the fins underneath just infront of tail fin... if it looks like a stick its a male, a triangle and its female that goes for pretty much all livebearers. I'm sure someone will be along soon to tell us if swords and mollies will get it on 
Swordtails and platies can interbreed, they are both in the genus Xiphophorus. Many of the fish in the shops are hybrids.
Mollies and guppies are both in the genus Poecilia, and can interbreed though the offspring don't usually survive. And of course endlers, also in genus Poecilia, can interbreed with guppies - most endlers in shops are hybrids,
Fish in the genus Xiphophorus (swordtails, platies) can't breed with fish in the genus Poecilia (guppies, mollies)
The problem with male livebearers is that they are very insistent when it comes to breeding. They can harass females and stress them. This is why you need more females than males, so that each female gets time off while the males chase other females. If there are no females of their own species, they'll try to breed with other males, and any other fish in the tank.
Your different types of molly will breed together, and your swordtails will breed with any platies you get. It might be better to get another one or two female swordtails rather than platies. You can mix the colours, you don't have to get all the same.
Mollies and guppies are both in the genus Poecilia, and can interbreed though the offspring don't usually survive. And of course endlers, also in genus Poecilia, can interbreed with guppies - most endlers in shops are hybrids,
Fish in the genus Xiphophorus (swordtails, platies) can't breed with fish in the genus Poecilia (guppies, mollies)
The problem with male livebearers is that they are very insistent when it comes to breeding. They can harass females and stress them. This is why you need more females than males, so that each female gets time off while the males chase other females. If there are no females of their own species, they'll try to breed with other males, and any other fish in the tank.
Your different types of molly will breed together, and your swordtails will breed with any platies you get. It might be better to get another one or two female swordtails rather than platies. You can mix the colours, you don't have to get all the same.
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NewBea
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All very useful, Essjay!
I think I will avoid platies - guppies probably look a bit more attractive anyway. I will get one more female swordtail and 1 male and 3 female guppies then; and leave the number of mollies as it is (2 sailfins and 4 standard mollies - just checked sexes and it looks like I have 1M-1F sailfin and 1M-3F standard mollies).
Does anyone know if dwarf chain loach would be ok with guppies in the tank? I read somewhere that the chain loach can nip at fins if the fish is slow moving. I don't know if that applies to guppies (they usually have nice large fins)
Also would anyone be able to suggest any alternatives for dwarf chain loach? Something that doesn't grow too big (max 10-12 cm or so, preferably smaller)
My loaches have never nipped any of my fish. But they do have the habit of ignoring other fish to the extent that if another fish is in the way of where a loach wants to go, they 'run over' it.
As bmonki says, cories are another option of you have sand or smooth gravel - loaches need that too. I would go for one of the smaller species of cory (pygmy, habrosus or hastatus) or maybe panda cories as they are smaller than the other kinds.
As bmonki says, cories are another option of you have sand or smooth gravel - loaches need that too. I would go for one of the smaller species of cory (pygmy, habrosus or hastatus) or maybe panda cories as they are smaller than the other kinds.
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NewBea
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DD that's funnyThe only thing is that I have gravel and that's on the larger side - so it wouldn't be ideal for them I guess. Such a shame as they look lovely and I really wanted some in the tank! Maybe I have to delay buying them until I get a new bigger tank that is set up differently.
I think your tank is to narrow for Zebra/Leopard Danios - in "size" terms it's ok, but they really like to zzzzooooooooooommmmmmmm around in the tank, so I personally feel that a 3' long tank is a minimum for them. They come from fast-flowing mountain streams, so to be able to cope with water flowing that fast, they are capable of quite startling speeds in the still waters of an aquarium. They also like much cooler water than the rest of your choices - one LFS near me keeps them with their cold water stock, not tropical.
I think if you dropped them completely, and didn't go for something else instead, you'd be ok in a 100l aquarium.
The only thing is that I have gravel and that's on the larger side - so it wouldn't be ideal for them I guess. Such a shame as they look lovely and I really wanted some in the tank! Maybe I have to delay buying them until I get a new bigger tank that is set up differently.
play sand. £3 a bag from argos/toys r us. you'd only need one bag.
Dwarf chain loaches have a temperature range 24-30 degrees and the optimum certainly isn't in the lower range
Zebra Danio and leopard danio for example prefer cooler temperatures below 24 degrees. So it's not wise to house these fish together.
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NewBea
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ah, they are lovely!
What do you reckon? These gravels are too big, aren't they?
(I hope you don't get "blinded" by the colours - it was set up for my 3 year old as a birthday present and I have the pleasure of maintaining it with him occasionally feeding the fish supervised
I was trying to attach a picture of the gravel but for the life of me I can't get it to work - never attached a picture before.
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NewBea
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ah, they are lovely!
What do you reckon? These gravels are too big, aren't they?
(I hope you don't get "blinded" by the colours - it was set up for my 3 year old as a birthday present and I have the pleasure of maintaining it with him occasionally feeding the fish supervised)
I was trying to attach a picture of the gravel but for the life of me I can't get it to work - never attached a picture before.
upload a photo to photobucket.com, then copy and paste the
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