I like to think of myself as a decent fish keeper, I know most of the rules and I'm generally giving as much advice as I'm asking.
But I've had this one problem nagging me since I got my 30 gal in September. Why are my fish having no babies? They're all live bearers for goodness sake (Except the cory's)
My readings are all ok (Except pH, but I'm on well water and can't change that)
Ammonia: 0-.10 (API kit, it's hard to tell, don't freak out at me for the .10)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8 or so.
Temp is 76F
Salt: 1tsp per 5 gal.
Does anything seem overly wrong with my readings?
Btw Tank dimensions: 30Lx12Wx18H = 29.67 gal, so I just round up to 30 gal
Of the stock I have:
2 Platy's (One male, one female) I feel one or both must be sterile because I've had the pair since June with no success
3 Mollies (One male (Lyretail), Two females(one lyretail, one normal) - I've heard it said that with a male Lyretail their... 'ding-dong' can be to bendy to be good for anything, so I'm assuming that the lack of babies is his fault.
4 Panda Cory's (No idea on Genders) but I'm not worried about them, they're not rumored to breed more than rabbits
1 Male guppy: He needs some ladies I know, but for now he contents himself with chasing my male platy
4 Guppy fry (In a separate tank, their mother died shortly after popping them out)
My ratio's aren't optimal but I assume in a 30 gal I have some room to add a few more if I chose. Of the one bunch of Fry I have had from my mollies (When I bough one of the females she was preggo and dropped, but none since) I contacted a breeder and had him take them so I have a way of getting rid of excess so that's not an issue for me...
So does anyone have any hypothesis on why I have had no luck with fry? I think I'm right with the Molly's and his whatever-it's-called being useless, but the Platy's have me stumped (I'm hoping against hope that she's preggo right now, she's gotten fatter and fatter since January, but it wouldn't surprise me if she's just stuffing her face more) And guppy's just aren't my thing, I've had 7 and 6 have died on me (All from the same store so I don't know if it's the store or me, but no more guppies por moi)
Also: If I wanted to have babies, I would need a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio for females to males. (Do I have enough room for all, or should I choose one group and stick to them? I'm paranoid about over stocking)
2:4 or 2:6 Mollies?
2:4 or 2:6 Platy's?
(I'm certain the male Molly is useless as a daddy but I don't know if the male or female platy could be sterile or if it's my tank)
So yeah, there's my baby rant.
But I've had this one problem nagging me since I got my 30 gal in September. Why are my fish having no babies? They're all live bearers for goodness sake (Except the cory's)
My readings are all ok (Except pH, but I'm on well water and can't change that)
Ammonia: 0-.10 (API kit, it's hard to tell, don't freak out at me for the .10)
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 8 or so.
Temp is 76F
Salt: 1tsp per 5 gal.
Does anything seem overly wrong with my readings?
Btw Tank dimensions: 30Lx12Wx18H = 29.67 gal, so I just round up to 30 gal
Of the stock I have:
2 Platy's (One male, one female) I feel one or both must be sterile because I've had the pair since June with no success
3 Mollies (One male (Lyretail), Two females(one lyretail, one normal) - I've heard it said that with a male Lyretail their... 'ding-dong' can be to bendy to be good for anything, so I'm assuming that the lack of babies is his fault.
4 Panda Cory's (No idea on Genders) but I'm not worried about them, they're not rumored to breed more than rabbits
1 Male guppy: He needs some ladies I know, but for now he contents himself with chasing my male platy
4 Guppy fry (In a separate tank, their mother died shortly after popping them out)
My ratio's aren't optimal but I assume in a 30 gal I have some room to add a few more if I chose. Of the one bunch of Fry I have had from my mollies (When I bough one of the females she was preggo and dropped, but none since) I contacted a breeder and had him take them so I have a way of getting rid of excess so that's not an issue for me...
So does anyone have any hypothesis on why I have had no luck with fry? I think I'm right with the Molly's and his whatever-it's-called being useless, but the Platy's have me stumped (I'm hoping against hope that she's preggo right now, she's gotten fatter and fatter since January, but it wouldn't surprise me if she's just stuffing her face more) And guppy's just aren't my thing, I've had 7 and 6 have died on me (All from the same store so I don't know if it's the store or me, but no more guppies por moi)
Also: If I wanted to have babies, I would need a 2 or 3 to 1 ratio for females to males. (Do I have enough room for all, or should I choose one group and stick to them? I'm paranoid about over stocking)
2:4 or 2:6 Mollies?
2:4 or 2:6 Platy's?
(I'm certain the male Molly is useless as a daddy but I don't know if the male or female platy could be sterile or if it's my tank)
So yeah, there's my baby rant.
