Should I Choose Platies Or Swordtail?

[locust267]

Hi, after having spoken to a few people in the new to the hobby section I have almost decided on what to put into my tank once it's ready.

My water in current tanks stands at 26 degrees, pH high at 8, water is hard in this area.

I will be cycling my 260l juwel vision once I have bought a new external (prob ex1200).

My current fish that will be moving across are:

5 x zebra danio's
3 x mollies
1 x RTBS

Proposed fish are:

1 x Pearl gourami
3 x dwarf gourami (2 female one male)
2 x angel fish
6 x Platies OR 3 x swordtails
1 x BN Plec

Now being in this section I would like to ask:

1) Which would you prefer out of platies and swordtails and why?
2) Should I get male or females?
3) How many ideally should I be keeping in a group of each?
4) Would any of the platies or swrdtails be bullied or become a bully towards other fish?

If any if the above i not suitable could you explain why and provide an alternative?

Many Thanks

Vicki

 

[OldMan47]

My experience would favor the platies over the swords. Swords are a lot of fun but they are very fast moving and can become a bit of a pest toward other fish. For the platies, unless you intend to have their numbers increase quite a bit, it is best to stay with only males. The typical livebearer mix of 2 males and 4 females will put you in the position of not allowing any fry to survive or an out of control population explosion. The failure to survive can be almost assured if you don't provide lots of cover for them because the gouramis and angels will feast on them.
On second thought, there is not much chance of a population explosion with all the predators in the tank. The fish in your mix that is most likely to become a bully is a large female molly. I don't know why but I have often seen a large female molly take over the tank from similar sized fish.

 

[locust267]

My experience would favor the platies over the swords. Swords are a lot of fun but they are very fast moving and can become a bit of a pest toward other fish. For the platies, unless you intend to have their numbers increase quite a bit, it is best to stay with only males. The typical livebearer mix of 2 males and 4 females will put you in the position of not allowing any fry to survive or an out of control population explosion. The failure to survive can be almost assured if you don't provide lots of cover for them because the gouramis and angels will feast on them.
On second thought, there is not much chance of a population explosion with all the predators in the tank. The fish in your mix that is most likely to become a bully is a large female molly. I don't know why but I have often seen a large female molly take over the tank from similar sized fish.

Oh yes, have already noticed this with my small female molly bullying the BRTS!

I do think though that you make alot of sense about the swordtails, plus the fact I have never seen them in one of my LFS that I recall