Which livebearer is easiest to breed and maintain?

[bimmerboy]

Hi all, this is my first post. I'm not really new to the fish world as I've had a fresh and saltwater aquarium before. The saltwater was a labor pit and I'd like to put livebearers in that tank.

So what would you guys recommend? I like Guppies because of there fancy tails... but they also seem to be the more difficult to raise.

Also, I just want to let the tank "cycle" on it's own... I'm just going to add alot of plants... some real some fake for everyone to hide in and let it be. Maybe start out with 2 males and 4 females and that's it.

Any first time suggestions would be great.

Also, I've put the "standard" 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons and the tank is at 78 deg. Does that all sound right?

What algae eater is everyone using?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

to the forum. Introduce yourself in the newbie section.

For fishless cycling you'll need chemicals, so it won't quite do it "on its own".

Actually, mollies and swordtails are the hardest to keep, IMO. Guppies and platies are very easy to keep, breed, and raise. If you want color then I'd say go for guppies.

The salt isn't necessary unless you have mollies. It's gratuitous, IMO, but some people like to add it. High temps => lots of breeding => lots of fry => the parents wear out earlier.

Otocinclus are the most widely kept algae eaters. They stay small (2").

 

[GuppyDude]

im cyceling my tank right now, iv got plant bulbs in there growing so i dont wanna add anything yet. all iv added is sum chem. that clears water and removes iron and a tablespoon of salt. im letting my filter run to keep the water oxagenated and clean of dust and other stuff. im probably gunna leave it this way for a month b4 addding fish because id like to get it all planted up with live plants. i think this is ok but i dont know wat u mean tempestuousfury by needing chemicals.

 

[fish_boy2004]

Hey there and I also welcome you to the forum. I would recommend maybe a mixture of platies and guppies. Both are really prolific breeders, and there colors are really attractive to the eye. Hope this helps and good luck

 

[sadfishowner]

I have all three, guppy, platy and molly...I have 3 sail fin blk mollies, there my fav. but very hard to keep alive...if i bring any new fish in to the tank they will start having fungus growing on them, I mean really bad. I love them tho. to me the guppies r the easest, my platy's r hiders, and i don't like that.

 

[Juggernaut22988]

I think it would have to be guppies for most birth and maybe platties for least maintainance
Generally, guppies are easy to maintain but when they have fry, the tank gets a bit dirty after a while... so I guess platties....

 

[I love fishies]

When I started my tank I had just platies then I bought some guppies. They are both great... I really like my platies they are always swimmin around, I don;tunderstand how some people say theirs hide..hmmm... either are great
I just bought a plecostomus a couple days ago, he hides under the heater the whole day and comes out at night.

 

[cpowell]

We have had guppies, platies, and mollies. I would say guppies have been the easiest to breed and keep alive. I don't have good luck with mollies and all the fry that I did have ended up passing away shortly after they were born.

 

[yhbae]

Platies & guppies are very easy to keep and breed. If you don't care about the look of the tank, you can fill the whole tank with java moss and the nature will take care of it by itself. (You still need to do the water change, of course).

Every few days, I net out larger fries to the grow up tank.

I've been raising and selling the fries to my LFS but I am moving away from them since I only get $1 per fish at 1 inch. They are super easy to breed and raise but they are super cheap!

I'm going to switch to African shellies & julies...

 

[canarsie11]

what about swordtails?

 

[White Whale]

White clouds are easy to breed and very hardy. These fish can help cycle a tank right from the get go.

 

[fishrock]

for me i would say platy and guppy. i like molly's but they can be aggressive.

 

[canarsie11]

what about swordtails?

?

 

[Nauplii]

IMO mollies are the easiest..................

 

[balloon molly]

mollies are easy but you will need salt,and some fungus medicine,since mollies are prone to it but if the fish are healthy they will get over it quickly