Suitable Companions

[Lucy1]

I've just recently got a Biorb tank (30L) and have introduced 4 male guppies (2 Dragon Tail and 2 Cobra).

What would be suitable companions for these? I've been thinking of a fighting fish, some neon tetra's and ruddy nose tetra's. Would these be ok?

Also I'm after a pleco to keep the tank clean, but only want one that will stay tiny. Any suggestions welcome.

Thanks in advance

 

[rabbut]

to TFF

Belive it or not, you are nearly fully stocked in that tiny tank with naff filter

Siamise fighters will likely kill male guppies, as their bright colours and long tails make them think they are competing males, and they treat them as such. Most tetras require more swimming space than the 30l Biorb can provide, so they are also out

Most Pleco's are too large for a 30l tank, but ottos should be ok Ottos get to about 2" and are laid back little fish. They need a mature tank though, running with fish in for more than 12weeks, and can be a bit finiky on acclimation. If you can aclimate them and get them eating, provided they don't have sunken in bellies, they are usualy alright from that point forth

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Lucy1]

to TFF

Belive it or not, you are nearly fully stocked in that tiny tank with naff filter

Siamise fighters will likely kill male guppies, as their bright colours and long tails make them think they are competing males, and they treat them as such. Most tetras require more swimming space than the 30l Biorb can provide, so they are also out

Most Pleco's are too large for a 30l tank, but ottos should be ok Ottos get to about 2" and are laid back little fish. They need a mature tank though, running with fish in for more than 12weeks, and can be a bit finiky on acclimation. If you can aclimate them and get them eating, provided they don't have sunken in bellies, they are usualy alright from that point forth

HTH
Rabbut

Hey - thanks for your reply.

I know the tank isn't all that big - but I've been told by several stockists that tetra's would be fine in it if I just got a small shoal? I've started with a small tank as I'm new to fish keeping so didn't want to buy a huge tank when I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing.

I'll leave the pleco for now then, the tanks not been up and running long enough. I'll also leave the Siamese fighter if it'll cause havoc in the tank!

Any suggestions for tiny fish that don't need much room for swimming that I could put in or am I best just to leave the tank to the guppies?

Thanks

 

[lilfishie]

i'd just stick with the guppies for now, you should be ok with another 1 or 2 males though

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I agree with lilfishie, get to know your guppies, your biorb and read, read, read here. You've been lucky enough to stumble on a great place to learn and although its going to sound dissppointing for the moment not run out and buy more fish, you will be much happier if you take a pause now for some learning and observation and then see how you feel.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Athena]

Another word of caution - neon tetras are likely to fin-nip the guppies - so I wouldn't put those in with your guppies, especially in such a small environment.

Just have a variety of male guppies for now, I think. Once you've got used to keeping them, like others have said, you might want to continue with the hobby and get a larger tank. There's plenty of info on these forums to help you get accustomed to the kind of care and maintenance involved, from the setting up of a tank properly, to dealing with fish illnesses and how to treat them.

Regards - Athena

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Lucy1

Welcome to the forum!

It might seem strange, but not only do larger tanks offer more stocking options but they are often easier to care for.

BTW, if you're new to this, let me ask if you have heard about "cycling" a tank. It's essential for the well being of your fish and the members here will help you understand it and get your tank through the process, if necessary.

 

[Schmill]

In addition to above, don't make the mistake of getting female guppies in the Biorb, or else you'll be overrun before you know it - lol

 

[Lucy1]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll stick with looking after and caring for the guppies for now then.

Is cycling the tank where you replace 10% of the water every few weeks? If so, I think I know about that - but as you can all tell I'm still learning so thanks for your help and advise.
I'll have a read through all the forum posts and will no doubt pick up lots of invaluable tips

 

[bae1994]

no cyling your tank is the period before you add fish to get all the good bacteria up to speed and all the water stats ok i presume you havnt done this as you already have fish and by the sound of it you havnt done it so i dont know what you should do from now.

regards
bae1994

 

[waterdrop]

No, replacing water each week is something in tank maintenance that we refer to as the water-change-gravel-clean or "water change" for short. Its not cycling.

"Cycling" is something that comes across to beginners are "really weird" and it involves actually growing two specific species of bacteria on the surfaces of the "biomedia" in the filter (sponges etc.) ... its to carry out something you can read about called the "Nitrogen Cycle."

It takes about a month go grow these bacteria and after that your filter is ready to handle fish!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Lucy1]

Oh right well I followed all the instructions for the set up of the tank correctly, plus I took advice from a local fish supplier and left the tank about 2 weeks, testing the water and making sure the levels were ok before adding any fish. I did read about leaving the tank quite a while but was told that 2 weeks would be ample for the size of tank.

All seems to be going ok so far so hopefully it won't effect the fish. They seem happy enough anyway

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, unfortunately, they'll be happy just for a bit until they start to be overcome by the poisons. Now before we go off making it sound worse than it is, can you tell us again how long things have been? Exactly when water went in, what, if any, other chemicals went in. What water tests, if any, were performed? When fish went in and how long they've been in? Just want to double-check our baseline information.

Then if it appears you're in a "Fish-In" cycling situation, we can start you with the best first steps to take.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Lucy1

Like a lot of our members, you got the usual bad advice from the lfs. Letting a tank sit without either fish or other source of ammonia does nothing to start the process. Now you will need to follow the directions for doing a "Fish In" cycle. That's OK as long as you make it go slow to avoid the ammonia and nitrate damaging their gills and otherwise weakening them.

Let me quickly explain what is going to happen and it will make more sense to you. Your fish eat and absorb water and as a result produce ammonia in their waste products. This is harmful to them much as it would not do you any good to pee and then lay in it. Soon what we call "beneficial bacteria" will appear in your tank and consume the ammonia and convert it to nitrItes. They are harmful to the fish too, but in a short while other beneficial bacteria will develop that will turn the nitrItes to NitrAtes which are harmless in small amounts.

Providing the right conditions and then waiting for the bacteria to grow is the basic idea of cycling. Then, once you have a good bacterial colony growing in your filter media, weekly small water changes will keep both it and your fish healthy.

 

[Lucy1]

I seem to have mixed advise here - The advice I got from speaking to various people before setting up the tank was that I didn't need a "setting up period" and could introduce the fish after just a few days.

I set the Biorb up as per the instructions - dechlorinating the water and adding stress-zyme (I think thats what it was called). I then went to the my local aquarium specialist who advised that a few days was long enough to set up the tank, as long as the heat was regulated and the water was testing ok.

I got some test strips which test for chlorine, nitrates, ph etc and spent the next week and a half regulating the heat and testing the water (I added some "PH up" as the water was testing on the acidic side and I'd been advised to keep it neutral).

Only once the water was testing in the safe zone on the test strips and the heat was stable that I introduced the 4 guppies.

So they've now been in the tank 2 days and when I fed them earlier, I added some bacterial suppliment (which my local supplier also suggested I use) every time I feed the fish to get the bacteria going in the tank.

Is what I am doing wrong? I thought I'd been advised properly by speaking to the guy who owned the aquarium shop