Introduction And Advice

[Symo420]

Hey guys!
Although I've been on here for about 2 days now, I thought I better finally introduce myself. I was also informed this was the best place for advice on setting up tanks, community sizes, etc. Anything you know will help me greatly, so feel free to write lengthy and detailed responses. I'm pretty new to the whole fish hobby

Betta Tank (21L)
After a bit of trial and error (and some recent fin nipping by neons!), I've removed all but the Betta from the tank. He seems much happier today, even looks slightly brighter with fuller colours. The tank does however have a slight waste food problem. He is fed on mini Betta pellets, and can sometimes be blown around by the filter or not eaten. They can also be tricky to pick up with the net due to their size. Would there be any companions that I could put with him, even with the tank size as small as it is? I've read on another post that 6 pygmy Corydoras could live comfortably, but I wanted to confirm first. Shrimp aren't an option, as I tried this earlier in the week with some cherry reds, and he just ate them. Opinions?

Guppy Breeding Tank (2ft/69L)
This tank is still developing (in signature below), and was only set up on Saturday night. Currently it houses 1 Bristlenose Catfish and 3 Neon Tetra (from the Betta tank). Ultimately I would like to stock 2 male and 4-6 female guppies for breeding, 3-5 Kuhli Loaches, and about 10-20 Cherry Shrimp. Would this total combination work, or am I going to have to make some changes? The neons can more than likely be re-homed, but I wouldn't mind keeping them. There is 2 female and 1 male, so is there a possibility they may even breed? Also, with my plant situation, I have a Java Fern resting in the volcano rock and a Moss Ball. I've got 10g of extra Java Moss on its way which I'm going to put inside the Budda for the fry to hide, figuring this will we way better than using a breeding net. The fern has some black spots on it, so is it best to trim part or whole of the leaves, or just leave it as is? Any other tips for this tank would be much appreciated, as this is my first larger sized tank and my first attempt at breeding.

Corydora Tank (2ft/?)
My girlfriend is obsessed with Corydoras. She owns a Bronze female, and both Albino and Panda males, but all are in a small tank. We came across a 2ft which is slightly longer and skinnier than my 69L, so I'll safely assume it's about the same volume. Her plan is to buy breeding trios of all three, and possibly one more trio of another species. I know that it's better off sticking to one type, but she'd like to have a variety if possible. My biggest question for this tank is which plants are most favorable for Corys? So far we've come across Java Fern and Anubias as good possibilities. Obviously the ground will be covered in a nice layer of sand, but any other ideas on decorations and such? And lastly, whats the best way to go about setting up this tank from the very beginning?

Sorry bout the wall of text, and the hundred questions, but I'm here to learn
Thanks!

 

[colleen0309]

G ood morning and welcome!

 

[Symo420]

G ood morning and welcome!

Did you even read what I'd written?

 

[the_lock_man]

Re your 21l, you could try Amano shrimp, they are somewhat bigger than cherries, my betta ignored them when they were housed together. They will happily scavenge any left over food.

Re your proposed Cory tank. Cories of any species do best in groups of 6+, as they are a shoaling species. I would suspect that the Albino is an Albino Bronze (C. aeneus), and therefore will probably shoal well with the Bronze female. I would say that you would be better off having groups of 6 Bronze and 6 Panda.

Re the guppy tank. I would suggest that you ensure that the filter is fully cycled before introducing more fish. THere is an excellent thread in the Beginners Resource Centre on fish-in cycling, which is what you are doing. The basics are that you need to keep ammonia and nitrite levels down below 0.25ppm at ALL times, by doing large enough water changes that the levels of those two poisons are no higher than 0.25ppm at the time you do your next water change. This may mean doing large water changes multiple times per day. Have a good read of that article, it'll explain in greater detail than this.

Once your cycle is established, only add fish a few at a time, and leave a couple of weeks in between additions.

Also, in terms of your stocking, the neon tetras are again a shoaling species, and would do best in a group of 6+, but the more the merrier! Also bear in mind that if your breeding of guppies is successful, you have to allow tank space for the babies, so it may well be best to rehome the Neons.

Hope this helps.

 

[Davehutton92]

hi and welcome

for the 21L amano shrimp would work or you could just leave the betta in on its own wait forany uneaten food to sink then vacum the gravel evry so often this should pick up any bits.

for the guppy breeding tank make sure the tetra are in suitable shoals (6 is a minimum really)

as for the cories im not too sure there are plenty of people that will be able to answer in more detail tho

remember to cycle your tank (go to the resource centre to find out how)

and as for the plants try the planted section your more likely to get a suitable answer

 

[hanny93]

Or you could just reduce feeding?

 

[colleen0309]

G ood morning and welcome!

Did you even read what I'd written?

Yes I read every word of your post. I was welcoming you to the forum. I am sitting at work and don't always have time to sit and give a detailed post to everyone. But I do feel it is very important to welcome new members, even if I don't have the time to give a detailed response.
Your betta tank... pics would be nice. IMO 21L is pretty small for alot of fish. If the food is "getting blown" around the tank before the betta has a chance to eat it, the filter may be too strong. Try turning the filter down or off when you feed.
Your guppy breeding tank... You said you set it up Saturday night. Did you cycle? Did you use mature filter media? If not, you will probably have an ammonia problem in the near future. If you haven't cycled your filter, you might want to go to the beginners section and read up on doing a fish in cycle. The plants you have chosen are good for fry. If it was me, I'd remove the leaves with black spots.
Your girlfriends corydora tank... Yes the cories would be happier with all of one kind. As for plants, you might try some different kinds of swords. My cories like to sit on the big leaves of my oselot sword.
Once again, I'm sorry if you felt my first post was lacking. You were not in the middle of a crisis, and sometimes I don't have time to do anything except welcome new members, unless they have an emergency.

 

[nehpets81]

Betta Tank - Depending on the temperment of your Betta, he may just be happier on his own. I was having problems feeding at times, with the food getting thrown about all over the tank due to the filter so I now turn it off for a couple of minutes when I add the food. It has made a remarkable difference to the amount of food the fish can actually get to.

Guppy Breeding tank - that's a good ratio of male to female guppies, I should think you will be overrun in no time. Definitely agree that plants are better than a breeding trap for the fry. What is the hardness and ph of your water? Although the Tetras will probably be fine in hard water, I don't think they will breed unless the water is soft and acidic. (As it happens, totally the opposite kind of water that Guppies prefer..) Also, the neons would be happier in a larger group

Cory tank - I can see where your girlfriend is coming from, I have a soft spot for the Cories too! As mentioned they would also be happier in larger groups of the same kind and as far as plants are concerned, mine seem to like the Java Ferns, Amazon swords and Hornwort. The hornwort attracts a bit of algae in my tank and the Cories seem to like balancing on the spindly stems, pecking at it.

 

[Symo420]

Exelent, thanks for all your help! I'll have to try and track down these shrimp you speak of, like i said ive only seen cherrys in my area.