First Tank

[kimmycake]

Hi I'm new to all this and need some advice. My boyfriend is planning on getting a new fish tank and has promised that I can have his old one, The problem is that I don't know what kind of fish to put in it just now it has baby mollies in it but I want something with more colour and that is easy to keep. any suggestions welcome.

 

[ollyhtafc]

What size is it?

I assume you're boyfriend has an old heater and filter to pass down too?

 

[Thomas 2507]

Depending on the size of the tank, I would say some livebearers. Look in the fish species index at the top of the forums home. I have a feeling you will like guppies and platies. They would be a good fish to start with.

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Honey,

Does this mean i'm allowed another tank then?

What tank to get?

Where to put it?

What to stock it with?

I'm so excited!!

Now, how much money am i allowed to spend?..............................................

 

[chicklette]

As suggested we need to how big the tank is. So I am just going to make suggestions and we will tell you if it's adequate for the size of the tank and fish.

If it is big I would go for rainbow fish (I'm not saying add all as they are not compatible), cichlids, freshwater puffer, loaches, tropical, angelfish, tiger barbs, pleco and corys.

 

[kimmycake]

The tank that I am aquiring is 70lts and has a has both a heater and filter, as there is already fish in the tank at the moment the filter is already cycled. I like the look of Guppys and would like an all guppy tank but unsure of numbers as I know that the breed really well and I don't want to have it over stocked. Any advice is appreciated.
KC

 

[rabbut]

With guppys in a 70 litre, I'd go with `1 male and two females only. After a couple of months you will have 25+ fish, and it's time to re-home. I'd trade in the lot at your LFS, in exchange for 3 new ones, 1 male 2 female again. I say trade in the lot, as allowing siblings or parent-offspring breeding weakens the gean pool, and increases the risk of deformed offspring.

I assume that this 70 litre has sufficient filtration for adverage stocking, therefore 25 is the most I'd allow in there, as this brings you up over 2 inches per gallon. Guppies are low waste proucers, so it is doable, but you would have to be prepaired to move fish on.

At the LFS in which I work, one customer set up a 4 foot tank. 1 year later he had 3 1 foot tanks, all full of only guppies, stocked to close to 3 inches per gallon. Needless to say, he needed to get rid of a few, so for about 6 months, we were getting local bread guppies only. They were nice, with a bit of endlers live barer in them. Just goes to show how quickly they multiply, as he claims to have only purchsed 6 as "starter fish" from one of our competitors. He has since left the hobby, so we don't have any local breads any more. The imported stock we now get is very shoddy in comparison, even though inbreeding was evident in the fish he was supplying.

HTH
Rabbut