How Many Fish

[tropicaltink81]

hi i have set up a new tank 160 litre aqua one

how many fish would i get im max obviousley ot at once but over a period of months

im thinking molly's
swords
platy
guppy


what other live bearers?

 

[stiffler69]

hi i have set up a new tank 160 litre aqua one

how many fish would i get im max obviousley ot at once but over a period of months

im thinking molly's
swords
platy
guppy


what other live bearers?

Endlers are great also i would go for a steady 7-8 of each breed and see how it goes from there

 

[altselgreen]

160 litres is about 42 US gallons. So, a rough guide, you could get 42 inches of fish in there. The majority of Live-bearers should grow to about 2 or 3 inches. So you could get quite a few fish in there, about 17-20 my guess. But remember you're going to be crowded with babies, so you could put a few adults in and have lots of babies that you have reared.

You've pretty much said the most common livebearers, but you could also have endlers, if you can get your hands on some.

Good Luck

 

[LauraFrog]

Rarer livebearers can also be rewarding but they're expensive, often delicate, hard to find and generally not as colourful - the reason platies, guppies etc. are so common is because they're popular because it's so easy to select for desired traits and breed them true.

 

[dunchp]

Rarer livebearers can also be rewarding but they're expensive, often delicate, hard to find and generally not as colourful - the reason platies, guppies etc. are so common is because they're popular because it's so easy to select for desired traits and breed them true.

Laura,

Maybe in Australia rarer livebearers are expensive, but not in the UK.

I am a wild livebearer nut and I find that they are rewarding and interesting fish although admittedly they are not that colourful.

If you can find someone who has the fish, then you can often get them for nothing or for a few pounds for a trio; not that expensive at all. Finding someone is not that difficult, you just need to ask.

 

[tropicaltink81]

DUNCHP you are so right i love breeding livebearers she was right they arnt that colourfull but they dont cost anything either that are as cheap as chips,my father and i mix and match our fry and our males so our fish dont inter breed this is use full knowing some one with tropical,our neighbour has just set up tank so we will be swaping fish now and again so we dont get interbreeding laura try it u never know u might like theese DULL fish its rewarding raising the fry its a gr8 hobby when you get to many give them to your lfs thats what i do.

Rarer livebearers can also be rewarding but they're expensive, often delicate, hard to find and generally not as colourful - the reason platies, guppies etc. are so common is because they're popular because it's so easy to select for desired traits and breed them true.

Laura,

Maybe in Australia rarer livebearers are expensive, but not in the UK.

I am a wild livebearer nut and I find that they are rewarding and interesting fish although admittedly they are not that colourful.

If you can find someone who has the fish, then you can often get them for nothing or for a few pounds for a trio; not that expensive at all. Finding someone is not that difficult, you just need to ask.

 

[LauraFrog]

Australia has had a lot of livebearers released into its waterways in an attempt to control mosquitos (gambusia, all species of which are now declared noxious) or by irresponsible aquarists who got sick of looking after them. Tilapia (Mozambique mouthbrooder) and other african cichlids have also done a lot of damage. Result being that the quarantine regulations are outrageous, and it's so difficult to get a species cleared for importation that there are some species that are not represented in Aus at all. The Customs people are too good at finding them to attempt to smuggle them, and most Australians are too honest to buy fish they know were brought into the country illegally. I wouldn't, anyway.

I've never even seen most of the species of rarer livebearer (living in a small country town) but the ones that there are are worth fortunes here, over 30 or 40 dollars each. If they're cheap in the UK, you are seriously lucky. Endlers are a bit cheaper, but still about 15 dollars each.

 

[dunchp]

Australia has had a lot of livebearers released into its waterways in an attempt to control mosquitos (gambusia, all species of which are now declared noxious) or by irresponsible aquarists who got sick of looking after them. Tilapia (Mozambique mouthbrooder) and other african cichlids have also done a lot of damage. Result being that the quarantine regulations are outrageous, and it's so difficult to get a species cleared for importation that there are some species that are not represented in Aus at all. The Customs people are too good at finding them to attempt to smuggle them, and most Australians are too honest to buy fish they know were brought into the country illegally. I wouldn't, anyway.

I've never even seen most of the species of rarer livebearer (living in a small country town) but the ones that there are are worth fortunes here, over 30 or 40 dollars each. If they're cheap in the UK, you are seriously lucky. Endlers are a bit cheaper, but still about 15 dollars each.

That is a bit of a pain Laura. Over here there is a good movement of people collecting livebearing fish from the wild, breeding and distributing them. If you join the right clubs, such as the British Livebearer Association and Livingfish then you can easily get hold of some really fantastic wild fish. You still can't get hold of all the species, but I would guess that you can get around 60% of the species over here without too much effort and another 20% with alot of effort. The remainder just aren't available.