I Don't Know What To Do!

[Dieses Madchen]

So, I have a 40g livebearer community. I absolutely adore my platys and swords, but once a month I am puttin ads on craigslist, and fishing out babies to transition to new homes. I am really thinking about rehoming all of them and switching to egg layers, such as gouramis. I really like the dwarf gouramis and the pearl gouramis..even the sparkling gouramis. Or I could rehome all of the females, keep my males, and add gouramis, but then the males might get aggressive. I know that if I rehome all of my livebearers I will miss them, but its getting to be a lot of keeping keeping the tank from over stocking due to constant baby booms. Any suggestions? I don't know what to do! AHHHH! So many options. I am also rescaping my tank to fully planted..and changing to sand. I do plan on keeping the cories and the bristlenose..

 

[fishyfeet]

add something that will eat the babies, such tiger barbs, or angelfish, im not saying this are good for your tank but there are quite a few fish that love fry, and they will keep the numbers down, di

 

[soybean]

I don't think you'd miss them that much. Livebearers are a pain when the population gets out of control.

You could rehome all but your favourite male and two or three females to keep the numbers lower, and hope the tankmates keep the numbers down for you. If you see any babies, stop feeding the tank and the fish will get hungry enough to chase them a bit longer and actually eat them.

Some people clove oil their newborn fry if the numbers are getting too high. Quick and painless, but maybe a bit extreme. As to whether or not it's more humane than leaving them in the tank to be eaten... well, that depends which side of the fence you fall.

I only have one male guppy and two females. So far I only have 4 fry out of the last lot that have survived and are growing rapidly, and I'll take these to the LFS in a month or two. The rest of the fish eat the rest. Fairly manageable numbers this way.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

The tank is so large that the babies are able to hid really well, hence why i have so many juveniles. I rehome them as fast as I can when I have survivors, but unfortunetely the survival rate is pretty good. I just feel that going in there with the net once a month is stressful for them, as well as me. I love my fish and they bring me a lot of enjoyment, but dang! They need to quit humpin! As far as tiger barbs, they are evil if not in a large school, so that is a route that I do not want to take, because it could have repercussions on the adults in the tank. I may just keep my panda and bumble bee platys, and my velvet wag sword, rehome the rest, and populate with some egg layers that are compatible with platys/swords. The only issue is the pH requirements are different, as platys and sword enjoy a slightly higher pH than most.

 

[soybean]

Locally bred fish should be pretty well adapted to your ph, whatever it is. Unless you're planning on adding some really fussy fish, I wouldn't bother messing with your ph, it can cause more problems than it's worth and is difficult to maintain. I'm sure you could add a gourami with no bother, especially one kept in local water for a while.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Locally bred fish should be pretty well adapted to your ph, whatever it is. Unless you're planning on adding some really fussy fish, I wouldn't bother messing with your ph, it can cause more problems than it's worth and is difficult to maintain. I'm sure you could add a gourami with no bother, especially one kept in local water for a while.

yeah, I am thinking about keeping one or both of the male swords. One of them is particularly old so I don't want to rehome him. I also thought bout maybe doing some different schools on tetras. Maybe a school of neons or cardinals.

 

[soybean]

What is your full stocking at present?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

What is your full stocking at present?

6 x female platy
1 x male platy
2 x male swordtails
4 x albino cories
1 x albino bristlenose
1 x male betta (why i nixed the gourami idea)
12+ x platy/sword juvies (to be rehomed in bout two weeks)

all wrapped up in a 40g tank

 

[soybean]

What is your full stocking at present?

6 x female platy
1 x male platy
2 x male swordtails
4 x albino cories
1 x albino bristlenose
1 x male betta (why i nixed the gourami idea)
12+ x platy/sword juvies (to be rehomed in bout two weeks)

all wrapped up in a 40g tank

Ok. How about keeping 2 or 3 females platys and rehoming the rest, inc the young ones. (Or, if it was me, I'd get rid of all of them unless I had some serious favourites - they'll keep popping babies out long after the male has gone)
Keep one or both swordtails if they're getting on a bit. I don't like rehoming old fish either.
Up your albino cory numbers to more like 8, at least.
Large shoal of tetras, around 15+. Cardinals are very striking, yes. I have 15 neons and they are nice too but pretty unoriginal - there are lots of lovely tetras out there, you could go for a more unusual one. But personally I would go for harlequin rasboras (or another raasbora) - I only have 4 left now, but they are stunning in a large group, shoal nicely, lovely against plants, have interesting little display dances with each other, and most importantly are less nippy than tetras can sometimes be - I'm thinking of the betta here. I got my last betta from a tank full of neons and his fins had been shredded to stumps. Doesn't always happen but it's a risk you take mixing bettas with any fish.
The betta would probably be a problem with a gourami like you say, but that can be one for the future wish list, unless there's any chance of setting up a new tank for him?

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I have a crowntail in another tank with a school of Harlequins. He schools with them lol. Its quite cute. But yeah, with the betta, I know gouramis and guppies are a no-no, and eny other long finned fish. I need to rescape before I up my cories.. I am working with some piece of wood to open the floor up more for them. Once they have the floor, I will add more. That is one thing though, that I like about platys and swords..they are so mild manner they get along with anything. They play with the Betta. I know its a risk keeping bettas in communities. I have a total of 4 bettas, all with different personalities. Two of them are in tanks with other fish, the other two are in their own tanks. I am going to look into a 10 or 20 gallon that I can divide amongst my bettas, that way all of them (with the exception of the one with the harlequins) will have a decent area to themselves. But I am kinda or budgeting for right now as I am puttin together a mbuna tank for my hubby.

 

[This Old Spouse]

After a year, I just rehomed all my guppies. The hobby was becoming more of a chore than a joy, and honestly, I don't miss them nearly as much as I thought I would. Great beginner's fish, but the care was getting to be too much.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

After a year, I just rehomed all my guppies. The hobby was becoming more of a chore than a joy, and honestly, I don't miss them nearly as much as I thought I would. Great beginner's fish, but the care was getting to be too much.

I know the feeling. I love my community, but I am getting worn down with population control lol. Makes me wish I had researched better lol. Well, we learn from our mistakes, and I now know that next time I do livebearers it will be a same sex community!

 

[This Old Spouse]

My guppy career started a little strangely ... my neighbor was going through some tough times and gave me her 5g tank that had 3 male guppies, a Chinese algae eater and a goldfish. So I put the guppies in a 10g and got them a couple of girlfriends, put the CAE in the 55g and rehomed the goldfish. Within about a month I had about 100 guppy fry and the CAE had started terrorizing everything in the 55g. Yes, indeed ... live and learn!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

My guppy career started a little strangely ... my neighbor was going through some tough times and gave me her 5g tank that had 3 male guppies, a Chinese algae eater and a goldfish. So I put the guppies in a 10g and got them a couple of girlfriends, put the CAE in the 55g and rehomed the goldfish. Within about a month I had about 100 guppy fry and the CAE had started terrorizing everything in the 55g. Yes, indeed ... live and learn!

We got a 10g for my children last year for christmas, as they loved looking at the fish at walmart. Originally had 2 blue gouramis and two bala sharks (eek i know!) well, i didnt know about cycling and all that so when the gouramis died i went back to to the LFS and they tested my water....and that is when I learned about fish in cycling. Well thebala sharks died, and I had to get new fish to finish the cycle so i bought the swords and platy. Finished the cycle. Bought a common plec, another male swordtail, and a clown loach (eek another one! I KNOW) Next thing you know, I am enjoying the fish more than anything, upgraded to a 40g,(fishless cycle this time!) now I have 6 fems, 3 males, cories, and albino bn. The 10g is now stocked with a crowntail and some harlequins( the harlequins will be moving soon)and I am putting together a mbuna tank for the hubs lol. I rehomed the loach, and the common lol...lessons learned harshly.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

ive ended up seperating my males and female platys, into two different tanks, and given away a bunch. once you get the numbers down, its easy to maintain them once they are seperated. and now i can enjoy finding a new cool looking female or male, and add them to their respective tank and enjoy them again. and they make good community fish.