setting up guppy tank?

[bettamum]

hello everyone i have a ~70L tank that has been cycled and decorated. i am planning to put guppies in here, and i would like to know how many would be a good number for the tank size. also, what kinds of tankmates would go well with them?

the dimensions of my tank are 60x30x36cm (2x1x1ft)
i have attached a photo of the tank. it is only half full of water because i am doing a water change right now.

i have two corner sponge filters at opposite ends of the tank. i also have two heaters, one 25W and one 100W. my gravel is freshly vacuumed and as you can see from the photo i have quite a few plants.

 

[fluttermoth]

What are the pH and hardness of your water? If your water is soft and acidic, it won't be suitable for guppies, which really need hard, slightly alkaline water to thrive.

 

[SnailPocalypse]

As I can't offer too much help as I am jut going to get my guppies today for my 5.5 gallon(which I am limiting,if they breed up to 6-7 guppies)but I can say a ratio that is good to start with is 2 females to every male.Then let them breed up the numbers.

 

[bettamum]

What are the pH and hardness of your water? If your water is soft and acidic, it won't be suitable for guppies, which really need hard, slightly alkaline water to thrive.

hey! ive done my water tests today. there was no ammonia, nitrates or nitrites. my ph was 6.8 which is a bit too low for guppies, but i put some ph up into the tank which should raise it to about 7.2.
ive put some gh conditioner into the tank too, 7 tablespoons according to the instructions of my local fish shop. i dont have a gh tester, but im going to buy one later today.
i will check the ph and gh again tomorrow, once the waters stabilised a bit. i will post the levels of both of those again then.
i wont be buying any fish until the water is perfect for them, dont worry.

 

[bettamum]

As I can't offer too much help as I am jut going to get my guppies today for my 5.5 gallon(which I am limiting,if they breed up to 6-7 guppies)but I can say a ratio that is good to start with is 2 females to every male.Then let them breed up the numbers.

im going to get a monogender group of guppies. im pretty new to the hobby and dont feel confident trying something like breeding haha.

 

[NickAu]

6.8 which is a bit too low for guppies, but i put some ph up into the tank which should raise it to about 7.2

I would forget about Guppies, With a PH of 6.8 I would look into soft water fish, Something like Galaxy rasboras, Tetras, Gouramis, Rams, Cories, Kuhli Loaches.

 

[Essjay]

With a pH of 6.8 the water is most likely to be soft and guppies need hard water. While it is possible to make the water harder, it is much easier to keep fish that like soft water. Adding pH up won't make the water harder, so it would be better to stop using that and keep soft water fish.

 

[bettamum]

I would forget about Guppies, With a PH of 6.8 I would look into soft water fish, Something like Galaxy rasboras, Tetras, Gouramis, Rams, Cories, Kuhli Loaches.

Adding pH up won't make the water harder, so it would be better to stop using that and keep soft water fish.

the gh conditioner should raise the water hardness, right?
i suppose i could look at other fish, but id really like to try and get guppies if i could

 

[Essjay]

What do you mean by gh conditioner?
If you mean the pH up, then no it will only increase KH and pH; it won't increase GH. Assuming you mean pH Up by API, that contains just sodium carbonate according to API and you need to add calcium and magnesium to 'harden' the water.
You would be better using remineralisation salts of the type used by fishkeepers who use RO water. These contain several minerals not just sodium carbonate. But you would have to make sure that when you do a water change, the new water has exactly the same concentration of these salts as the water still in the tank. You would need a GH tester to make sure that the new water is the same hardness as the old water which would mean testing each bucketful of new water at every water change.
And you would have to keep a spare pack of salts in the cupboard at all times in case you ever needed to do lots of water changes as you would not be able to use plain water to do an emergency water change.


This is why it is better to get fish suited to the water rather than try to alter the water to suit a particular fish.



Nearly forgot!

Have you checked the hardness of your tap water? That should be somewhere on your water supplier's website. You need to make a note of the unit as well as the number as they could use one of half a dozen units.
If you can find the hardness, post it here and we can tell you if the water is too soft for guppies. Your pH does suggest soft water though.

 

[Demeter32]

Using additives for raising/lowering tank parameters isn't a very reliable method. Firstly, you will have to add whatever it might be to the water every single time you do a water change, which means you have to have a constant supply of it (which adds up $$) If you accidentally mess up the dosage then you could end up stressing the fish and possibly killing them. Also some additives only temporarily change the levels, which could lead to parameters swings, causing shock to the fish, stress, and death.

What I and the others are trying to say, it's better to match the fish to your water parameters out of the tap. Changing the fish you plan to keep is far easier than changing the natural levels in your water.

 

[bettamum]

What do you mean by gh conditioner?

 

[bettamum]

thank you both for the very detailed replies. i can see how keeping guppies will be too difficult now.
i found this on the water providers website:
"The typical hardness level of water delivered in South East Water's area is between 12 – 45 mg/L. This means that the water being supplied to South East Water customers is considered "soft" by international standards."
i know NickAu gave me a good list of softwater alternates, but does anyone else have any suggestions? id like colourful fish that arent too pricy. id prefer if i could tell them apart as i like to name them, but that isnt compulsory.
thank you all for your help and detailed responses! youve definitely saved some fishy lives!

 

[NickAu]

If your tank is heavily planted, Female Bettas.

My Betta sorority

 

[bettamum]

If your tank is heavily planted, Female Bettas.

those look really cool, id have to get some more plants but thats no skin off my back.

 

[NickAu]

That tank is 65 liters and has 4 female bettas, a mystery snail and 5 soon to be 10 Kuhli Loaches, and a bunch of feeder shrimp for the girls to hunt in it.

The plants are Crypts and assorted Anubias on the bottom Water sprite Duckweed and some Hornwort as floaters..

I think this is what people mean when they say " some floating plants"