This Sounds Nooby, But Plz Help Here.

[Hobbit]

ok, I have some questions on guppies or mollies, because Im going to start breeding them again. Last time I did, my dad turned down the heat while I was gone, and ALL of them died. He wont do it again tho, he felt bad. Alright, once my fish spawn, what do I do once the numbers get out of hand? I understand selling is sometimes available, but what if some of our stores dont buy? Can I jsut feed them to their parents occasioally? *tear tear* Or someone said to try out a non aggressive fry control fish (or something, cant remember how he said it) What kind would you recommend? And I'm going to have like a 30 - 40 gallon aquarium. I can have a 5 or 10 gallon on the side too. I'm leaning towards getting mollies right now, any other suggestions? And how old should they be before selling? Sorry for all the questions.... oh yeah... What to keep their tanks clean? Besides filter, I once had a filter in a fry tank and got some stuck in it. What kind of cleaners?

 

[Annastasia]

Yikes, lots of questions! No problem though, it's better to find out now rather then later. Good job on doing research first.

Lots of fry!
That's always a tough question. Survival of the fittest is a normal choice, just to nip it in the bud before it gets too out of control. It's a good idea to have a few stores/places lined up before you breed. Try asking around at some of your LFS. If you want to do "fry control" as you put it...I guess you could try a Gourami, or a school or Tetras or something similar. If you get Mollies, you'll need something fairly large, since they have big fry.

Mollies
They are great fish, very hardy, however they can be picky about the water. It's recommended to add salt to their tank water. If you don't want to add salt, they need hard and alkaline freshwater. If they aren't kept in these conditions, they can be very weak and are very prone to "shimmies" especially, but also fungus and such. If you have soft, acidic water or near neutral, you'll want to add salt. However, that will cut down on the choices of fish somewhat. As for selling size....basically whatever the stores say.

Cleaning
Filter and water changes basically. No fish will clean up waste, just uneaten food. So water changes are essential. If you're worried about the filter sucking up fry, you can either put a breeder net/pantyhose over the intake, or get a sponge filter. I'd only recommend a sponge filter for the smaller fry tank, otherwise you'd need a lot of spongefilters for the bigger tank!

Don't mind my divison headings...that's just so I could make sure I answered all the questions.

 

[Hobbit]

hey, wow thanks, I think I'll go for mollies. I know they could even thin out their own fry, but I would like to have one or two other fish in there and just call it my 'population control officer' or something. What would u recommend for food cleaners? I kind of like those albino catfish things, but do they work good? I've used those suckerfish, cant spell it lol, they can get big, they're bodies are really hard, and in tanks at like dentists offices with the meaner bigger fish, they are in there the name starts with a 'P'. I've used ghost shrimp too. What do you think the best is? I also have 2 cartons of aquarium salt so I can use that. Do they need extra, or just what it says on the box?

 

[Sp3nc3r]

i think you mean plecostomus *also known as pleco*

you could get a bristle nose pleco i think they only grow to about 8"

albino cory great choice i personally like them but already have 2 pleco's

30-40? is that random geuss or do you know the actual number

population control officer lol thats awesome

do you know what kind of fish is going to be ur pco?

 

[Annastasia]

Yes, they'll definitely thin out their own fry.

For food cleaners? Albino Cories are great, but they won't tolerate salt. Neither will Plecos. Or Shrimp as far as I know. I'd say stick with water changes and gravel vacs for now.

What salinity are you aiming for? How are you planning on cycling?

 

[Hobbit]

Im really bad at that kind of stuff, will live plants grow in salt? and sand? And I put some of my salt in my guppies and that was the best aquariums I've ever had. Is a gravel vac one that u use manually?

 

[blitztidus]

It can be, or it can be automatic. Google it or something to get a better understanding what it looks like

 

[Annastasia]

Some live plants will do okay in brackish water. And yes, they'll grow in sand. Perhaps not as well as gravel, but it's possible. I've grown plants in sand almost my whole fishkeeping life. It may be worth it to put some laterite or something similar underneath, so the plants can root onto something.

I'm not sure what you mean by manually. You have to control all of them, if you want to suck things up...none of them will go in the tank, find the dirt, and suck it by themselves.