Setting Up A Guppy Breeding Tank

[Fire_an_Ice]

Ok...I always promised myself that I'd have only the one tank (besides which the earache from my better half wasn't worth it)...That's lasted about 5 months, so I was doing reasonably well. However, Guppies being what they are (the rabbits of the underwater world ) I now have a large number of fry coming and looking accusingly though the glass whenever one of their bretheren gets eaten. As my better half has taken to exclaiming "Look at the cute lil' fishies!" each time SHE sees one, the time has come to introduce a breeding tank ... What I need to know is if I can short circuit the fishless cycle of a new tank by:

1) Using water from the original
2) Maturing the new filter medium in the old tank? (have read that this can be done, and another article
that forbade it?

and then the REAL newbie bit:

What am I going to need to put in a breeder tank? Air stones? Gravel? Plants?

Please help a relatively inexperienced fish head out!

Thanks folks

F+I

 

[dwarfgourami]

HA, MTS claims another victim!!! Gets us all in the end.

Maturing the filter medium in the old tank should be absolutely fine. Two weeks should do it. You can also use a bit of the old gravel in the new tank. Water contains little in the way of beneficial bacteria, so won't cycle the tank, but since you're transferring fry I would transfer them with some of the old water anyway, to make it less of a shock for them.

They will probably appreciate some plants to shelter in.

 

[pieman]

Whats MTS?

You mentioned this to me aswell

 

[Annastasia]

Take a look at the article I wrote on the subject: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=116162

See if that helps you out at all.

And MTS stands for Multiple Tank Syndrome.

 

[Fire_an_Ice]

Annastasia...Genius! Answered all the questions in one fell swoop. Many thanks.

Been to see the Doctor today about MTS. Apparently there's no known cure...

Cheers and Beers to all that replied!

F&I B)