New 7-8 Gallon Tank

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I'm just wondering what I could put in the tank.

I have been contemplating a singular betta fish and another option is about 4 male guppies. I've also saw some Jamacian Blue Guppipes but they only sell them in breeding pairs; if I got a pair and they bred; I can sell the fry to my LFS - would this be an ok situation too?

I'm wondering what are the pro's and con's of each of my 3 situations?

Thanks

 

[waterdrop]

There are certainly other members better than me at advising on the stocking of small tanks but I'll throw in my 2 cents: I like the first two ideas better (the beta or the male guppies) just because breeding fish that produce fry can create a need for more water volume much faster than beginners usually imagine (if they are imagining in that direction at all!)

Fish fry are small but they are energetic (they move fast and eat frequently to supply energy for all that movement and growth.) That energy translates into lots of water moving through their gills and that creates more ammonia (since ammonia as well as CO2 come off the gills.) This is why fry produce increasing bioloads to the tank's nitrogen cycle processing system.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

I think I agree with the first two better too.

The Jamacian guppies apparently only drop about 10 fry per batch according to my LFS and are slower than normal guppies (I have asked a member on here who has them but I am awaiting a response).

I'm not a beginner fish keeper but I would certainly be a beginner to live bearers.

How does ammonia come off the gills? I'm not criticising I'm interested; I've never kept tropicals before .

 

[fishyfeet]

what about a small group of neons, in the right setting they can look stunning, di

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

ooooh I had thought about neons too; but I thought they needed to be in a larger tank as they were energetic? Or am I getting my wires crossed?

 

[Assaye]

I don't think neons are a good idea. A 10 gallon/45 litre tank is rock bottom for them, in my opinion. They are active fish that need well planted tanks and loads of dark spaces to feel secure. I have mine in a 65 litre and despite there being only 6 of them, they use all the space.

A male or female betta is a good idea. You can also get little microrasboras and very small tetra species (such as green neons and ember tetras) that might be suitable. Other options include a mini-community with sparkling gourami (or other small dwarf species) and some shoaling fish, or maybe even a trio of african dwarf frogs.

Endlers are an interesting alternative to guppies. In fact, there are quite a few tiny and very pretty livebearer species to look at.

 

[waterdrop]

"How does ammonia come off the gills? I'm not criticising I'm interested; I've never kept tropicals before?"

Animals that eat high-protein diets have a lot of excess amino acids from the process. Sub-chains of these organic units, with carbons holding them together, get converted to carbohydrates, ketone bodies and fatty acids but most of the excess parts that involve nitrogen atoms are usually secreted. Mammals (like us for example) are very sensitive to ammonia too but being terrestrial creatures we have more of a need to conserve water, unlike freshwater fish, so an elaborate system of kidneys and urea have evolved for us to help extract water for us before we get rid of our ammonia. Fish are actually more tolerent of ammonina and changes in ammonia than us but like other animals they can't tolerate much of it in their muscles or other tissues so they secrete very significant amounts of it out the gills.

Understanding just exactly *how* they get it out of their tissues and secrete it out the gills is still, to my knowledge, pretty leading edge science and waiting for various kids to get awarded their PhDs for figuring it out for us! But I believe there are about 5 leading theories and 3 of these are believed to carry more weight. Direct excretion of NH3 is one of these three and probably the one for most normal freshwater species.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

"How does ammonia come off the gills? I'm not criticising I'm interested; I've never kept tropicals before?"

Animals that eat high-protein diets have a lot of excess amino acids from the process. Sub-chains of these organic units, with carbons holding them together, get converted to carbohydrates, ketone bodies and fatty acids but most of the excess parts that involve nitrogen atoms are usually secreted. Mammals (like us for example) are very sensitive to ammonia too but being terrestrial creatures we have more of a need to conserve water, unlike freshwater fish, so an elaborate system of kidneys and urea have evolved for us to help extract water for us before we get rid of our ammonia. Fish are actually more tolerent of ammonina and changes in ammonia than us but like other animals they can't tolerate much of it in their muscles or other tissues so they secrete very significant amounts of it out the gills.

Understanding just exactly *how* they get it out of their tissues and secrete it out the gills is still, to my knowledge, pretty leading edge science and waiting for various kids to get awarded their PhDs for figuring it out for us! But I believe there are about 5 leading theories and 3 of these are believed to carry more weight. Direct excretion of NH3 is one of these three and probably the one for most normal freshwater species.

~~waterdrop~~

That is very interesting; thank you