Sucker fish

[Becs31]

hi was wondering if any1 can help me please I have a 54l tropical tank I have 6 neon tetras 2 female guppies and 4 guppy fry I have had my tank for 2 months now I would like a sucker fish would I be able to get 1 yet?

Thanks

 

[Essjay]

In my opinion I'm afraid there are no sucker fish suitable for a 54 litre tank. Most 'sucker fish' are plecs and even the smallest plecs need a bigger tank. They also make a lot of mess. The smallest sucker fish are otocinclus but I would not recommend those either. They are shoaling fish so you would need at least 6 of them, and your tank is not big enough to grow enough of the right kind of algae to feed otos. They are very picky feeders and a lot won't touch algae wafers.
I used to have a 54 litre tank, which actually held 45 litres of water (the 54 litres quoted by the manufacturer included the air space above the water) so I am aware how small these tanks are.

To be honest, you will soon be fully stocked with guppies. Females can store sperm and give birth for several months without a male. And some of those fry will be male, so the female fry will soon be having babies too. Even if only a few survive, you'll soon have a lot of guppies.

 

[Becs31]

Thank you for ure reply! Oh that's a shame cos I really like them, maybe get 1 when I get a bigger tank then..I had 2 male and 3 female guppies but I'm only left with 2 females now both were pregnant I'm very confused tho I don't know if they've both had there fry cos there still big especially 1 of them I'm wondering if there were a lot more and they've been eaten or if only 1 of them has given birth.. I really didn't know they store the sperm so could They both be pregnant again so quick?

 

[Essjay]

Yes they can. Guppies give birth roughly every 28 days. One of their common names is millions fish for good reason

Young females don't have as many fry at one go as older, more mature females so if yours are still young, there may not have been many fry this time.



I would leave the tank with just the neons and guppies and then if you get a bigger tank you can have more species. In the meantime, can I suggest you look at your water company's website for water hardness. Unfortunately, you have fish that like soft water (neons) and fish that like hard water (guppies) so they don't really go well together. When/if you get a bigger tank you'll be able to choose fish more suited to whatever hardness your tap water is.

 

[Becs31]

Wow! I really don't need anymore then lol... I wasn't told anything about water soft/hard otherwise I wouldn't have put them together.. they all seem fine all my levels are correct I've not had any trouble with my tetras I have had them 4 weeks so far! I lost 3 guppies tho within 2 weeks but the 2 females left seem to be survivors! Now I have the babies they are getting bigger by the day I think they are around 6/7 days old now

 

[Essjay]

Shops will say anything - or not say something they should - just to make a sale. A lesson we've all had to learn is to ignore anything a shop says till you've researched it for yourself - either by asking on here or looking at the fish profiles on Seriously Fish.

If the first fry are a week old, expect more from their mother in about 3 weeks And the other female could give birth sometime during the next month as well.

 

[Becs31]

Yh somebody told me the same thing I've been getting a lot of info off google to be honest.. oh wow I'm gonna have loads lol Think I'll defo need a bigger tank

 

[FroFro]

Yh somebody told me the same thing I've been getting a lot of info off google to be honest.. oh wow I'm gonna have loads lol Think I'll defo need a bigger tank

Now not to sound morbid, but if you have any friends/family that keep fish that require live food, like oscars, guppies would make a nice snack. Especially if you have so many you can't find space for them.

 

[Becs31]

I don't know anyone and I don't think I would do that knowing they're goin to be eaten But I no ppl who have tropical fish tanks so will off load on them