What fish to add next??

[Leahaltria]

Hi, I'm fairly new to the whole tropical fish and I've recently added 3 platies (seems 2 are male and 1 female) I have a 55L (around 12G) tank and I'm hoping to add a male betta and a smaller pleco at a later stage! My tank has already been cycled. Could anybody please recommend what fish I could get next! I like the look of cory cats but I know they prefer a sand base and mines is very small gravel. Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there, welcome to the forum

Before we can properly answer you, we do need some more information, I'm afraid.

What are the dimensions of the tank, how long has it been set up and do you know if it's cycled? Do you know if your water is hard or soft?

I feel I have to say, you've already got some potential trouble. You must always have more female livebearers than males as the males are, I'm sad to say, sex mad, and they can harass a lone female to death.

 

[Leahaltria]

Hi there, welcome to the forum

Before we can properly answer you, we do need some more information, I'm afraid.

What are the dimensions of the tank, how long has it been set up and do you know if it's cycled? Do you know if your water is hard or soft?

I feel I have to say, you've already got some potential trouble. You must always have more female livebearers than males as the males are, I'm sad to say, sex mad, and they can harass a lone female to death.

Thanks for your reply. My tank is 40 by 40 (just a big cube) yes it's cycled. I had no fish in it for 4 days and used tap safe and was adding the correct amount of bacteria and my fish seem to of settled in well! It was actually the other way around. As soon as my fish went into the tank it was the female which was chasing the male yet this has stopped and they seem to all be getting along great. I have a few live plants in my tank. I'm not sure if my water is hard or soft and I'm getting that checked at my LFS next time I go (will be Monday)

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid most of those bottled bacteria products don't work. You really need to get the water tested, if you don't have test kits yourself, so you can check on the levels of ammonia and nitrite; if the tank isn't cycled, they could be building up to dangerous levels.

You should be able to find out the hardness of your water on your supplier's website

 

[Leahaltria]

Thanks I'll be sure to do that, referring back to my original question do u have an opinion on what fish would work well in my tank thanks.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd really need to know the hardness of your water before I could recommend species; keeping fish in the right sort of water is very, very important

 

[Essjay]

I would advise against putting a betta in this tank even if the water hardness is perfect for one. Male bettas are not community fish and should be kept on their own.

 

[fish boi]

i think that even the smallest plecos might be to big for your tank. i would go with some small corys and get some "play sand" at home depot our a store like that. otherwise i would take advise from fluttermouth, essjay and bryon as they have all helped me in some way

 

[Leahaltria]

I'd really need to know the hardness of your water before I could recommend species; keeping fish in the right sort of water is very, very important

Okay thanks I'll be sure to find out the next time I'm at my LFS

 

[Leahaltria]

I would advise against putting a betta in this tank even if the water hardness is perfect for one. Male bettas are not community fish and should be kept on their own.

Okay thanks for the advice but it seems many people manage to have a betta in a community tank without problems? I have always wanted a betta in a community tank that's why I researced and found that platies would be the best fish for them to be with?

 

[Leahaltria]

i think that even the smallest plecos might be to big for your tank. i would go with some small corys and get some "play sand" at home depot our a store like that. otherwise i would take advise from fluttermouth, essjay and bryon as they have all helped me in some way

Thanks for the reply! How many would u recommend? I also really lik my gravel so would it not be okay to keep them with it? Or even just have a small section of my tank with sand?

 

[Essjay]

Just because people keep bettas with other fish does not mean it the best thing for the betta.

And bettas are soft water fish while platies are hard water fish; bettas and platies are not really compatible.

 

[Leahaltria]

Just because people keep bettas with other fish does not mean it the best thing for the betta.

And bettas are soft water fish while platies are hard water fish; bettas and platies are not really compatible.

Okay thanks

 

[Leahaltria]

Just because people keep bettas with other fish does not mean it the best thing for the betta.

And bettas are soft water fish while platies are hard water fish; bettas and platies are not really compatible.

Would guppies be good In my tank with platies? I'm really wanting some nice colourful fish

 

[Essjay]

Guppies certainly like the same water as platies, and are suitable for the tank you have. But just to warn you that with male and female platies the tank will soon be full of baby platies. There won't be room for much else in a month or two.
And as Fluttermoth commented, you have a bad ratio of males to females. With mixed sex livebearers, there should always be at least 2 females for every male. Male livebearers exist only to eat and breed. They chase females constantly. Your poor female will be chased by both males; she will never get a moment's peace. The reason for having more females than males is so that every female gets time out while the males chase other females. So the first fish you need to get are 3 or more female platies. But then you will have 4 females giving birth every month.
To be honest, in a 55 litre tank I would take the female back and have just male platies. That way you won't be inundated with platy fry. And the same applies to guppies which also breed like rabbits.


But it seems as though you are doing a fish-in cycle so you can't get any more fish yet. At the moment you will be doing daily water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite at zero. If you add any more fish now, the levels will just go up faster. You need to wait until both ammonia and nitrite stay at zero without having to do a water change for 7 days in a row before you can think of getting more fish. This will take a few weeks yet, plenty of time to decide which fish next.