Please Help

[animal lover]

hi

i am a beginner and was think in about getting 3 guppies 3 platies and 1 striped otocinclus but i do not know wether this is a good idea.
i am getting a 32 L tank and dont wether this is big enough?
i have only ever had 2 goldfish befor as this is a big step for me getting a tropical tank i really need help.
a striped otocinclus is sold as a algae eater but i have found out they also need vegetables which i have no problem with its the bloodworms that bother me.
i have a phobia for blood and dont know what would happen if any of the other fish ate it.
would they get ill?
is it a good idea getting a striped otocinclus?
and i also need help on how to look after guppies and platies.
please help really need it!

 

[mark.w.jones]

hi

i am a beginner and was think in about getting 3 guppies 3 platies and 1 striped otocinclus but i do not know wether this is a good idea.
i am getting a 32 L tank and dont wether this is big enough?
i have only ever had 2 goldfish befor as this is a big step for me getting a tropical tank i really need help.
a striped otocinclus is sold as a algae eater but i have found out they also need vegetables which i have no problem with its the bloodworms that bother me.
i have a phobia for blood and dont know what would happen if any of the other fish ate it.
would they get ill?
is it a good idea getting a striped otocinclus?
and i also need help on how to look after guppies and platies.
please help really need it!

Platies http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=46309

Guppies http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=34091

32 litres is only 8.4 US gallons. So you can only have 8 adult inches of fish in there. This doesnt really give you a lot of options. Guppies and platies get to around 2" each so youve only really got room for 4, maybe 5 of either species. Thats about the minimum group size as well so you cant really go for both species in your tank. If you go for them make sure you get all females or all males (if you go for all males keep an eye out for aggression). There will also not be room for your oto.

If you want to go for a few more fish id go for a tetra species (not neons). Theyre egg layers so you wont really have to worry about whether you have males or females as they are highly unlikely to breed under normal conditions. Also, a lot of tetra species are smaller so you may have room for your oto.

Not sure if your oto needs to be in a group or not as I havnt kept them. Otocinclus affinis (Dwarf or Gold Oto) is the smallest as far as I know. Reaches about 1 and a half inches. see if anyone elso who replies knows more.

ps Please fishless cycle your tank before adding fish. Follow the add and wait method in this post. Ammonia available in homebase with other cleaning products. Pipette in most fish meds.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...3861&hl=methods

 

[dwarfgourami]

I wouldn't worry about the bloodworms; as long as you don't feed them every day, most fish are going to benefit from them. I feed it to my guppies and platies twice a week. Tetras would benefit too; it's the sort of food they eat in the wild. And there isn't lots of blood, honestly. It's just a name, because of their colour. You can buy them frozen or jellied (TetraDelica). I find the jellied ones are really handy as they come in easy-to-dose sachets, you just squeeze out as much as you need. My platies and guppies feed from my hand, straight out of the sachet.

Anyway, jonesy has given good advice about stocking, so work from that.