New Tank

[James007]

I am cycling a new tank (63l) and planning for the fish that will go in the tank.

The livebearers I was looking at were 3 male guppys (don't want/have the capacity to deal with fry plus the males look much better) and 2 Female Platys (same fry reason)

Having read Annastasias article I am concerned that I will have problems with the guppys.

As mentioned I don't want to have to deal with the fry problem and also don't want to have to get a large group of the same fish that will eat into my tank capacity.

Any suggestions?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Were you planning any other fish in this tank? Otherwise, you could happily fit in a couple more guppies, making the numbers up to 5, which seems to be the magic number here. Post us your other plans, and let's see if we can work round them.

 

[James007]

Also hoping to include:

Male Betta, 3 Pygmy Corys, 2 Dwarf or Chocolate Gourami, 3 Marbled Hatchetfish and 2 shrimps. Hence not really having the room for more than about 2 platys and 3 guppys. Ideally would like to include some tetras in a few months but think there will be no room at the inn by then!

 

[basia]

I would suggest more than 3 pygmy cories, they are much happier in larger groups. Male Betta may attack male guppies because the tail attracts his attention.
Just a warning, I bought 3 female platys because I didn't want fry - they all gave birth to fry!

 

[Annastasia]

Hi

Yes, 5 seems to be the magic number with Guppies. It just seems to spread out any major aggression that would happen against one. I guess it's too hard to coordinate an attack with 4 Guppies on one. Anyhoo, I would definitely not suggest you get a male Betta with Guppies. The Guppies' fins will be prime targets for nipping, and they could possibly be killed/terrorized to death. It's just not a good match. If you don't have the Betta, that would give you room for a couple more Guppies. If you do have the Betta, you can't have the Guppies, so it will work both ways.

Your tank is about 16 US gallons. I think you're aiming for too many fish in there, myself. I would go (If there's no Betta):

Pick either Platies or Guppies
Upgrade the Cory school to at least 6
Possibly just get one Gourami, as it can be hard to find females, and two males may fight. (But ask in the Gourami forum, I'm no expert)
Pick Hachets or Tetras, and get a school of at least 5, more is better OR Get neither and get the Platies and the Guppies.

It's very common to want to overstock the tank when you're new. It happens to all of us. If you don't have the Betta, you can still keep one in a small tank of his own. Head on over to the Betta section for more information on them, and you'll see a lot of people keep them in small little 2.5gs, or 5gs or such.

 

[James007]

Great advice as usual - thanks.

I already have a Betta and Platy from my old tank that I an upgrading from (20 Litre). So I assume that I either write off the guppys or leave the Betta in the small tank. Or if I just put one Guppy in, would this reduce the chance of the fighter attacking or is he going to do it anyway. NB. I've heard that the Bettas can vary a lot in temperament. Mine is vey placid and has lived with Platys, shrimp and a gourami - I have never seen him flare up.

PS - are Gouramis ok on their own?

 

[Annastasia]

Ah, okay, so you have the Betta. I'd say leave the Betta in the small tank, as they tend to be happier without a lot of action going on around them, since they can't move all that fast. Also, it would limit if you got Tetras or Hachets later on. Just one won't make a difference, if anything, he might get terrorized even harder. It's good your Betta is placid, that open uo your options. But some can get worse when put in an community enviroment. It's up to you though, you can try it if you want. At least he has a place to go should he get aggressive.

Yes, Gouramis are fine on their own. You'd be best off asking in the Gourami forum about those two together, it's possible they may work. I'm no expert with Gouramis.

 

[Nevergone815]

funny you mentioned that annastasia about being new to the fish world and wanting to overstock. i have to admit that i too have done that. i actually had to go out and buy another 10 gal so that all my fish would have room and i still had problems. i even got rid of my neon tetras (gave away to good home) and fry (fed to male bettas). i still have that problem. if you check my tank layouts you will see that i am having problems. i just recently bought a male tuxedo sword (it was so pretty) and a male sunburst platty (i didn't have any) well i have to rearrange my tanks now and find a home for the algae eater since i beleive that it is a chinese algae eater and they get up to 10" long i was reading. most of the time 5-6" in captivity. i want a clean up crew in every tank and i want to put so many "pretty" colorful fish in there. my first tank has been cycling about 2-3 weeks (w/ fish), and my new one cycled 1 week (w/o fish) and 1 week (w/ fish) so far. i have ammonia probs and all that good stuff even though the advice of annastasia helped me solve that problem. i plan on upgrading to a 20 gal soon (when i get the money to do so- probably over the summer)

James007 i can't tell you about Gouramis because i have no expereience with them, but all i can tell you is listen to anna. even though she is the mod for livebearer section, she knows a lot about other species as well.

 

[James007]

Thanks Guys.

I have my Betta in my old 20 litre tank with a platy and 2 amano shrimps whilst my new 60 litre cycles (2 weeks in this weekend). I leave the Betta in there and just transfer the platy and shrimp to the new tank this weekend.

Anna - if I go ahead with your recommendations do I put them in in the order below with about a week in between:

5 platies or guppies
6 pygmy corys
1 Gourami
5 Hatchets or tetras

 

[Annastasia]

Sounds good to me.

It would depend on what fish you got, as for the order. From what I get, you are fishless cycling, in which case you can add a bunch of fish at once. In fact, it's recommended to keep the bacteria going. I'd add in the Platies first. After that, it's tough. Pygmy Cories can be a little delicate, smaller Gouramis aren't as hardy as larger ones, and some Tetras need a mature tank. What kind of Tetras were you thinking? Depending on the kind, I'd probably add those next. Then the Gourami and Cories could probably go together, a few weeks later, since it shouldn't be a problem as the Cories waste is so small.

 

[James007]

Thanks again.

I was think of something small and flashy like a shoal of neons or cardinals. Is it true these need about a 3mth old tank before moving in?

 

[Annastasia]

I'm not sure if that's totally true or not. I've heard mature tanks are better, but I can't tell you how mature, or if it's even needed. You'd be best off asking in the Cyprinids, Characins and Atherinids section for that. I don't know if you'd want Guppies with Neons, as I've heard Neons can be nippy with Betta's fins, so I don't see how Guppies would be any different. But I've also seen many tanks with Neons and Guppies peacefully together. So much contradictory information out there.

 

[James007]

Great thanks Annastasia - will do.

Congrats on the 'promotion'