Fish

[Debbie_19]

I bought my new tank today it is a 80l one made by Juwel. I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions of what I should keep? I am a sort of begginer not too much experience yet and would like to keep a few fish that are nice to look at but quite easily kept. I would also like to try and breed some so ones that are easily breed would be helpful.

I would like to mabey keep a couple of different types of fish but this is not essential?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[billpayers]

hmmm by sounds of it your leaning towards wanting a community tank therefor id suggest tetra's as an attraction, and livebearers for your breeding side. i.e. guppys, mollys, platies, swordtails all of which is pretty much male and female then fry ... no matter what fish its always a pleasure to watch.

 

[Majjie]

Hi Debbie

Congrats on the tank. Are you going to fishless cycle your tank? There's a good pinned topic on here that tells you all about it.

As for the fish. It all depends what you like.
If it was my tank, I think I'd have some female platys, some male guppies and a trio (1m/2f) of the smaller gouramis - dwarfs if you can get some healthy ones, or honeys - or even Indian (or Banded) which are a bit bigger (so you'd have less room for other fish).

If you really want to breed - then get one male platy as well - but he's likely to be a pain - chasing the girls all the time.
Guppies are also easy to breed - but the males are much prettier and you'd need a couple of females to each male. Shop bought guppies can also be very weak and not live long.

Let us know what you decide on.

 

[Debbie_19]

Yes I am going to do a fishless cycle. I am going to get the tank all set up in about April time but fish will not be going in till July time when I come back from my holiday as will have to buy things for the tank every now and then as cannot afford to go out and buy it all at once and want to take my time to get it looking really nice. So I will have plenty of time to get water right etc and I also want to do some research on the fish i finally deicde to keep so will give me time to do this too.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[Debbie_19]

If i decided to go for a one species tank has anyone got any suggestions there as what would be a good fish?

 

[n3ont3tra]

For a species tank... hmm... maybe some kind of tetras, pretty much whatever you want, their all pretty easy. Or maybe some kuhlie loaches. Most people don't really like them, because they don't some out much, but if you got a lot, like you could with a 20g, then you would see them more. You could probably get at least 10, and you'd probably always see at least one. It might be a little boring in the middle of the tank though, so maybe you could get them and a small school of tetras or some livebearers. Also, you could have a corydoras species tank. There's loads of different kinds of cories and they are peaceful schooling fish. For the smaller one inch varieties you could probably have close to 20, for the 2 inch ones I'd say from 8-12 and larger than that about 6.
I would suggest just going to a fish store near you and seeing what you like the most, then we'll tell you about it and whether it's easy or not.

 

[fishboy619]

no way would 10 kuhlis go in a 20 gallon, no enough floor space.maybe 5.nor 20 corys, for any kind.for pygmys, i would say 8 pushing it and for other species 5.they need room to move about and each has its own territory.sorry to disagree but just my opinion, a community would probally be best for beginners, cories on the bottom, tetras or/and livebearers(guppies or platies are best) and maybe a few other fish you like if they are suitable.its a good idea to look aroung fish shops then reporting back to hear our opinion.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Agreed. If it was me i'd go for a community tank based around some centrepiece fish. Be it a school or a single. Just find something you like the look of then find out how easy it is to keep.

 

[confusion]

I would go for some sailfin and/or golddust mollies. I've really grown to like them. They're pretty hearty and aren't hard for a beginner, and they breed handily.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Kuhlies are skinny fish, although they grow 3 inches. They like to cram themself in small spaces anyway, IME.

 

[Debbie_19]

I would go for some sailfin and/or golddust mollies. I've really grown to like them. They're pretty hearty and aren't hard for a beginner, and they breed handily.

I think I will mabey go with mollies, platies, swordtails etc. But would like a centrepiece fish. Can you suggest any that would go with the livebearers. I know that mollies do better in slightly salter brackish water so what else would go ok with these?

 

[dwarfgourami]

I would go for some sailfin and/or golddust mollies. I've really grown to like them. They're pretty hearty and aren't hard for a beginner, and they breed handily.

I think I will mabey go with mollies, platies, swordtails etc. But would like a centrepiece fish. Can you suggest any that would go with the livebearers. I know that mollies do better in slightly salter brackish water so what else would go ok with these?

Sailfin mollies are really too big for this tank- they are pretty magnificent 4-6 inch creatures. Swordtails are also quite big and VERY active, so I think they too deserve more swimming space. If you want livebearers, I would go for some smaller species: female platies would be my choice. Or if you can find them, something like merry widows or endlers. Platies don't need salt, so this would give you a much wider choice of other fish.
Or else, a school of harlequin rasboras. Or a trio of cherry barbs. Or a trio (1 male, 2 females) of honey gouramis.

Then I would go for a school of corys at the bottom; they are really very endearing little creatures, and totally peaceful. The only thing with corys is, they do need either sand or smooth small gravel (pea-sized is fine)- sharp gravel will damage their barbels. They also need some hiding places, but that's easily arranged and will add to the interest of the tank.

 

[modaz]

[Mmmmmmm i would start of with a couple of schols of hardy fish just to help get the balance right and mature your tank a bit.

black phantoms are placid things and its easy to tell the differnce in sexes
black noens would be good choice as well

then after about 3 weeks you can start to introduce more sensitive fish