What Would You Do With.......?

[Debbie_19]

I have a new 80l tank which is about 2.7ft long. I have started building it up slowly, put the gravel in (black very fine gravel, feels like sand but it is actually granulite so not sharp etc) Have put in a few rocks and caves and some plastic plants, going to add some real ones too though.

Anyway my problem is that I still don't know what fish too keep, there are so many lovely ones out there. Would like it to be a community tank with relatively pieceful fish. Would like at least one type of fish in the tank that breeds quite easily as would like to try this. So mabey something like platies. I am quite new to this so something quite easy to look after. I have got another tank at the moment with 3 female siamese fights and 2 aquatic frogs. Had these for about 4 months now and not lost any so far (touch wood)

So just wondering if anyone can suggest a wee set up of fish for my new tank? As I keep thinking I have decided on all the fish I want but end up seeing more and changing my mind, theres just so many. All suggestions welcome!!!!!

Thanks Guys.

 

[bobbicus]

hiya

a 80l !!!!!!!! after putting rocks in there and substrate etc etc it will NOTbe 80litres -need to work out how much water volume you have for the fish.

live bearers seem to breed easily and readily as female platys store sperm!!!! (poor loves)

suppose it depends if you ever "see" a fish that you really like and decide to take a cupple or as many as you can have in your tank - home!!

my 2penny...

rob

 

[Debbie_19]

hiya

a 80l !!!!!!!! after putting rocks in there and substrate etc etc it will NOTbe 80litres -need to work out how much water volume you have for the fish.

live bearers seem to breed easily and readily as female platys store sperm!!!! (poor loves)

suppose it depends if you ever "see" a fish that you really like and decide to take a cupple or as many as you can have in your tank - home!!

my 2penny...

rob

It is about 80l with the rocks etc, it works out at 102l before rocks and substrate etc. So have already worked that out. Thanks for the post.

 

[bobbicus]

hiya

kewl - was gonna add in previous post - hope i aint telling you how to suck eggs,...........and in this case - i was!!!

must admit only into angels atm BUT some colourings of guppies are quite nice - like a electric blue and varying shades of blue (smart)

u any preference or spoilt for choice?

rob

 

[Debbie_19]

hiya

kewl - was gonna add in previous post - hope i aint telling you how to suck eggs,...........and in this case - i was!!!

must admit only into angels atm BUT some colourings of guppies are quite nice - like a electric blue and varying shades of blue (smart)

u any preference or spoilt for choice?

rob

Yeah I am just spoilt for choice just don't know what to get, so many lovely fish to choose from these days.

 

[bobbicus]

hiya

hehehe - yeah choice - sometimes is a hinderence!!!! - suppose going to a store with a wide selection is good to see the variation in species and colorings - HOWEVER - prob leave you even more confused as what to get.

if you did get a "unsual" colouring of a fish - you could breed them to sell to a shop that cannot get hold of them!!! hehehe

rob

 

[LisaLQ]

80l is too small for angels sadly.

But it'd make a nice cory tank You could have some rasboras or small-medium tetras, and a group of 5 cories, and those cories will breed for you. But saying that, then you'd need spare tanks for growing on etc etc. Platies are an option, but it's getting them to stop breeding that's the problem - once you're stocked you're stocked, and it's hard to find homes for them as they're so readily available.

I dont know if there's any suitable, but maybe some dwarf cichlids would be an option? Bit trickier than platies, but loads of personality

 

[AndreaC]

It is hard to decide as there are so many types of beautiful fish out there.

I ended up starting with mollies. Easy to breed and will very soon have fry.

Good luck on your choice, let us know

 

[Darkehorse]

Mollies are good for breeding:

Read this article:
http/www.fishforever.co.uk/livebearers.html

For non breeding yet attractive fish that's different than your normal neons or platys, try dwarf rainbows. Very pretty.

-Darke

 

[Debbie_19]

Thank you for all your help, been great. I would like some fish with a bit of personality about them. My mum keeps mollies so don't really want to keep the same thing in my tank. Think I will def go for some small corys (cause they are so cute) so made up my mind about them, think I will go for Juli corys or something similar.

I had thought about a pair of rams but didn't know if my tank would be large enough. It is actually 102l but i took some off for plants, caves rocks etc.

 

[Nevergone815]

Depending on the demensions of the tank a breeding pair of angles could happen in this tank. It would need to be higher than long of course (80L works out to roughly 20 gallons (US) of water volume if I'm correct), a 20 gallon high is more than enough. But I wouldn't recommend them to someone who really just wants a nice simple tank as angles can get pretty aggressive when spawning.

As for cories, you could have them, and if they breed, that tank will be alright to house them in (providing you don't get to many, but that's where you have to kill some (i.e. feed them to other fish, though I'm not sure cories are a great choice for that).

Platies reproduce yes, but most of the time the fry die in the tank from the parents or another fish, so this does't become a problem in most cases. You could always feed the fry to your female bettas as they love them (I know this from personal experience). IMO, if it is a common livebearer, the only use it has besides making a tank look pretty is to reproduce and use its fry as feeders for larger fish like your bettas. Don't get me wrong, I've had tons of livebearers throughout the time I've kept fish, but recently I've become a cichlid enthusiast!

Speaking of cichlids, you could get dwarf species yes, but avoid apistogrammas. IME they aren't the most hardy of fish, and water condiditons can be difficult to maintain depending on your original water readings. If you go this route, test your water you are going to use, before putting it into the tank, and with using as little buffers/chemicals as possible, adjust the stats to match the range. You could do rams, though as much prettier as they are, try to avoid the Blue Rams, they have been so inbred, go with the other types that aren't as weak, such as Gold or Bolivian rams (2 different species).

Also, in a 20 gallon, you could do a breeding pair of convicts, but only they would be in the tank and you would need to bare it out a little.

My suggestion is to go with maybe a trio (1m,2f) of either platies or swordtails and then a school of say 5 neons and then a group of 3 cories. I've done this and it was great. No troubles in the tank. Sure some may say that's overstocked, but if you actually keep up on your tanks and keep up maintanence then its alright. I've always been one to overstock tanks with "unconventional" stockings. Always remember, what works for one person, doesn't mean it works for another. It depends on what you are willing to do and the individual disposition of the fish you keep.

I hope that helped

Edit: Typos that I could spot...

 

[vinylman]

Not that I'm trying to put you off breeding or anything like that, BUT - a lot of newcomers are attracted by the IDEA of livebearers like Guppies or Platys. The first brood is a thrill, believe me. But a year later, when your fish have had their 11th or 12th lot, the glow may dim a little. Ask at your LFS first to see if they would take fish off your hands for store credit or food, plants etc. If they will, great. But if not, You may be stuck with a lot of fish no one wants, and will seriously overstock your tank if you leave them where they are.