Started Over....

[aparker2005]

Hello everyone,

I just started my fish hobby all over. I had 4 angelfish with a red eared slider turtle for about 2 years. 2 angelfish died and I got rid of the turtle, and I had the other 2 angelfish for about a year. They laid eggs all of the time but never lived past fry age. Anyways, my mom and I cleaned out the entire tank this weekend. I went out and bought 2 guppies, 2 platys, and 2 dalmation molly's. I have a 28 gallon tank, water temp. at 79 degrees. I am wanting to breed them and raise babies. I used to have guppy's and molly's a long time ago, and I never took the babies out, and they always lived..........most of them at least. This coming week, I'd like to get a few more plants to make it look better and have the babies some more places to hide. I also wanted to pick up 2-4 more livebearers..........mainly swordtails and sailfin mollies. Will 10 fish be too many in this size tank? Will the mollys, guppies, swordtails, and platys breed okay with all of the other fish in the tank? If I get a pretty good amount of plants for them to hide, will some of the babies end up living? I don't have any other tanks to put the babies in. Also, would some floating plants be good? Should I get live or plastic? I have all plastic plants right now. Thanks!

 

[01edmn]

if i was you i'd get more females of the ones you have got so the males have more to harass also 10 is ok aslong as you plan to sell the fry got eny pics

if i was you i'd get more females of the ones you have got so the males have more to harass also 10 is ok aslong as you plan to sell the fry got eny pics

 

[Jozlyn]

Anyways, my mom and I cleaned out the entire tank this weekend.
It sounds like your tank isn't cycled yet, your fish are probably going to die. Even if it was cycled by the Angles, your filter media wouldn't be able to cope with amount of fish you've added in one lot. You need to read this http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099 and this http/www.fishforums.net/Step-by-step-Gui...ce-t171045.html

I went out and bought 2 guppies, 2 platys, and 2 dalmation molly's.
Are they male or female? If they're female they're probably all already pregnant. If you have a pair of each you need to up the numbers of females to a minimum of 3 females to every male so your females don't get chased to death by the male wanting to mate constantly, after you've cycled your tank.

Will 10 fish be too many in this size tank?
Yep 10 will be fine, but once you have fry you'll be overstocked in a matter of weeks. Have you given any thought as to what you're going to do with the hundreds and hundreds of fry you'll end up with? The guppy will have a minimum of 30 (and maybe even up to 80) fry per month for the rest of her life, if you leave the male in with her. The platys and mollies will have a minimum of 30 (and maybe even up to 100) every two months for the rest of their lives, while the males are in with them. And even if you were to take the males out, the females will continue having regular batches for fry for the next 6 - 8 months. There's some info on breeding livebearers here http/www.fishforums.net/Livebearers-FAQ-...des-t88199.html

Also, would some floating plants be good? Should I get live or plastic?
Floating plants are great and live plants are always preferable to plastic as the fish you have like to have a nibble on them now and again. This is a good place to start for plant information http/www.fishforums.net/Common-Aquarium-...nks-t22604.html

Will the mollys, guppies, swordtails, and platys breed okay with all of the other fish in the tank?
Yep, and they'll eat their own and each other's fry too!

Good luck

Edit > Just re-read this, I sound a bit harsh, sorry I don't mean to be.

 

[scorphonic]

My god these mollys, swordtails and guppies are nymphomaniacs.

I got some yesterday. Nearly fully stocked the tank in just 6 days...all stats are perfect. So far I have seen the male molly mating with the female and the swordtails have not even approached the small male!! The tiger barbs have been busy at it since day one!! The bala sharks are also getting jiggy with it in there...and I know that this is a very very rare thing to happen in a tank.

I'm new to the hobby...and I just wish I was a fish!

 

[aparker2005]

Well, I guess I didn't let the tank sit long enough. I've never let it sit for more than a couple of hours though, and all of my fish have always lived a fairly long time. If these die, I'll know to let it sit longer before adding more. Thanks for that link!

All of the new fish (guppies, platies, and mollys) are pairs. The female molly and guppy are pregnant right now.

If I get swordtails and sailfin mollies this weekend, should I get pairs of those as well, or can the male molly I have already mate with the female? I really like the male swords and saifins.........they're pretty lol

 

[Tolak]

You won't see too many fry from the livebearers, but you will see some fat & happy angels.

 

[Jozlyn]

It's not a matter of letting the tank "sit", you need to cycle it, if you'd read the information on cycling you'd know that.

You didn't read what I wrote properly, did you? Just picked out the bits you wanted to hear? If you had you wouldn't be considering buying anymore fish until your tank has cycled properly. And then when you do buy more fish you need to get at least 2 more female guppies, 2 more female platys and 2 more female mollies (these can be sailfin if you wish) and that's all! Do not buy live bearing fish in "pairs", the minimum is 3 females to every 1 male No Swordtails, when you get your male to female ration right your tank is full, given that you have to allow for the 100 or so fry you might have in a couple of weeks in there as well. Don't count on the other fish eating them either!

If your fish survive the cycling process, this will take a couple of weeks, the males are going to mate/chase the females to death anyway, this will probably only take a couple of weeks too, maybe less if the boys are really agressive. If any of your females live to give birth odds are most of the fry will probably be still born due to the stress the mother is under in a cycling tank and being constantly harrassed by the male or they might just abort the pregnancy altogether.

I've never let it sit for more than a couple of hours though you've been very lucky then, are you using dechlorinator?

What are your water test results, can you post them please, Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. In the mean time start doing 50% water changes daily and keep your fingers crossed.

Please, please, please get your tank right, before you get anymore fish.

 

[aparker2005]

I bookmarked the page.........I am at college right now and won't be home again until this weekend. Yes, I am using dechlorinator. I've also never really known anything about the amonia, nitrate, or nitrite. I have just always kept the tank clean, took chlorine out, and kept temps right.........and some how all of my fish have always survived great. Guess I am pretty lucky? I'll definitley be reading more into those pages you linked

 

[Jozlyn]

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. yes, you have been really lucky

Get a liquid based master test kit to do your water tests with, the paper test strips are rubbish and very inaccurate.

Also, I was just thinking about the male/female problem you currently have. If you can get a divider for your tank and put the boys on one side and the girls on the other that should suffice until your able to get the ratio's correct.

Have you given any thought to what your going to do with the potentially 100's of fry your going to have? Don't count on the other fish eating them to keep their numbers down! And don't forget that all of them are going to breed too! You have the potential to have 1,000's of fish in your tank by the end of the year!

 

[aparker2005]

I really haven't thought about what I'm going to do with them if I do end up having that many...........I have a few people I could give some, but other than that, I'm not sure. I just like these kind of fish because they're so pretty and fun to raise/watch

 

[aparker2005]

I will also be getting a Plecosthomas(suckerfish) eventually to help with algea and cleaning. I used to have a few Cory Catfish to help clean it as well. I loved them and they lived for a long time. Would they be okay with the guppies, mollies, and other livebearers in my tank? My water temperature for the guppies and mollies is around 75-78 degrees right now.............will that be okay for the Cory's? Thanks

 

[Jozlyn]

Well in that case seperate the boys and girls and don't get anymore girls till you do work it out. With the 3 girls you've got already (providing you move them away from the boys) your looking at a minimum of around 500 fry (and probably a lot more!) over the next 6 - 8 months. Female livebearers store sperm and use it to keep fertilising eggs for the next 6 - 8 months. That's a lot of baby fish to find homes for. You'll also need to make or buy some fry food for them too (you'll find info' on that in the pinned topics in the livebearers section).

You're quite right they are pretty too look at and they are fun to raise, but they are living and breathing creatures that you are responsible for, you need to work out what you're going to do with the fry, if you choose to breed them you are responsible for finding homes for them.

Perhaps you can take them (the females that is) back to the store you got them from and swap them for males instead, male guppies are much prettier than females, male and female mollies look the same, as do male and female platys (except for their anal/gonpodial fin). Or get another tank to keep the girls and fry in.....

Sometimes the LFS will take some (many wont due to contamination issues) and they might give you a store credit for them, or not.

 

[Jozlyn]

Yep the corries will be fine, but you need to cycle your tank first! They do not take well to uncycled and new tanks, you're best to wait a couple of months before you get any and also sort out your fry problems first too!

You do realise that a Royal Plec will get to around 60cm's (24") right? That's a big fish, what are your tank measurements?

 

[aparker2005]

Yeah...........the biggest one I've ever had got up to about 5"........had him about 6 years and he didn't grow anymore after that length. Not sure how long/wide the tank is.....I'll check when I get back home

 

[Jozlyn]

It was probably stunted from being in too small a tank.

And unless your tank is over 2.5 meters (8 feet) long I wouldn't even consider it. I don't know what their temperament is like and whether or not it'd get along with your current fish. But from a viewing perspective it'd look ridiculous having a fish around 10 times bigger than any of it's tank mates!

What about a bristlenose catfish, they stay small and do an excellent job of tank cleaning, they're in size proportion with the rest of your fish and are not aggressive at all, along with being loads of fun to watch. Whatever you do, do not get a Chinese Algae Eater, those fish are nasty.