Neon Tetra Vs Guppies

[c-dub]

Hi All,

I was just getting some personal opinions on what your preference is in a community tank for smaller fish. I understand depending on what other fish you have in the tank would swing you one way or another, but I was hoping just to get a general idea...

What do you prefer in a community tank when it comes to adding some smaller/schooling fish?

Small tetra or Guppies?

Cheers.

 

[roadmaster]

Would for me,,, depend on the ph which would give me a general idea as to whether my water was best suited for guppies that prefer basic,hard,alkaline water with warm temps,or soft acidic water with cooler temps that tetras enjoy.

 

[Harlequins]

Even though i love guppies,i would personally go for tetras has a schooling fish

 

[EllieW]

Ive had both for about a year, it is wrong to have both then

 

[c-dub]

I have had guppies a while but am only down to 3 and tomorrow have the chance to get guppies really really cheap.

Didn't know if I should go ahead with it or if having a lot of guppies in a community tank was a bad thing...

Personally I love tetra and guppies, but I like the idea of guppies having the beautiful different colours and fanning tails.

 

[Squid]

Cardinal tetras. The thinking man's neon

 

[newtothis26]

i have 8 guppies and 8 tetra in my 200 liter tank and they get on fine but i do like the guppies more as they add lots of colour to the tank

 

[OldMan47]

I love my livebearers so my answer was easy. It turns out that the high mineral content and relatively hi9gh pH in my tap water suits most livebearers and is not very friendly to things like neons. Although I have kept neons in the past, they did not do well in my water. They never seemed to last much more than a year in my tanks.

 

[c-dub]

I got 15 male guppies earlier today... a local place had a big sale on them and I got 90 bucks worth of them for 25 dollars. What a sweet saving!

Yeah I've gone the guppies because they're not quite as small and won't fit in the mouths of other things in my tank!

They're oh so pretty too!

edit: I'm Australian so I don't know what the prices would be like compared to you guys hehe.

 

[c-dub]

It looks like Neon Tetra are prefered to the Guppy

 

[Ally555]

I got 15 male guppies earlier today... a local place had a big sale on them and I got 90 bucks worth of them for 25 dollars. What a sweet saving!

Yeah I've gone the guppies because they're not quite as small and won't fit in the mouths of other things in my tank!

They're oh so pretty too!

edit: I'm Australian so I don't know what the prices would be like compared to you guys hehe.

That's a great price! I haven't seen any guppies that cheap where I live (also in Australia).

 

[c-dub]

Yer it was at PetStock they had a sale on them for some reason or another I'm not sure if it was Australia wide or not, I'd say so being a franchise!

Also they have a 20% off everything sale this wednesday for members!

 

[Faffer]

I used to like neons but now I find them quite boring to watch. I've found that guppies are a lot more active and therefore, more interesting to watch. They also come in many varieties, as opposed to all neons looking the same.

I wouldn't say they're a schoolling fish. Most tend to swim around doing their own thing, but they do swim together on occasion, with maybe several males chasing any particular female. They are also very gutsy and fearless (once they overcome the initial wariness of any new additional fish), especially when feeding, and will out-compete most of my other fish for food, sometimes even snatching food out from the grasp of other, much larger fish.

They are also dirt cheap to buy, as livebearers are incredibly easy to breed. If you have a heavily planted tank with plenty of hiding places, you could easily be overcome with them, as mature females can spawn every 1 - 1.5 months. If the tank is fairly open, most of the fry will get eaten by the other fish.

 

[c-dub]

That's true. I have only males to stop that from happening because I'm nearly overstocked as it is.

Another thing I like about Guppies is not only are they cheap but they're a lot hardier I've found.

OH AND WE ALL MENTION HOW PRETTY THEY ARE!!!