Fish Help...

[misscrosson]

Right now I have a 70 gallon tank (my first tank)... and I have a mixture of 8 mollies and platies... I have done alot of research on these fish... and believe that they are all males...

My question is.... that from doing my research I have found that only livebearers should be in the same tank as each other... and this worries me because I would really like to have a nice community tank with a variety of different fish... other then a tank of just mollies, platies, and guppies...

This is the list of fish that I originally wanted in the tank:

gouramis, rasboras, loaches, corydoras, guppies, platies,
neon tetras, zebra danios, mollies, plecos,rainbowfish, swordtails, and an algee eater

Tomorrow I would like to go to the pet store and get afew more fish to add to the tank... for as I dont want to add all the fish in at once... and I was interested in adding some rasboras or neons because I saw them at my local pet store....

Any advice??

[OrionGirl]

Water conditions? Mollies tend to prefer harder water, but can thrive in softer water as well. And, yes, you can mix non-livebearer's in there--but you reduce the odds of any fry surviving. If that's not a big deal to you, you're fine. I would encourage you to look for a smaller pleco than the commons--ancistrus species generally will stay smaller and be more productive algae eaters than the commons.

[misscrosson]

Yeah... I don't totally care for the fry... I just wanted a nice community tank...

If my fish had babies... then great!.... I wouldn't really even be able to tell if my fish were pregnant... if I did allow for the mollies and platies to have babies before adding fish such as... gouramis that might eat the babies.. would it still be ok to add other fish like... rasboras, neon tetras, and zebra danios??

And how young can the livebearers be before they start having babies? I believe at the moment that I have all males... a mixture of 8 (not sure which are mollies and which are platies)... so how many females would I need to add into the tank?

[anthonylam]

there's never been a rule that says u can only have livebearers with other livebearers... 70 gal is alot to work with.
it'll be ok to add those fish that u mentioned.
normally, ppl would suggest to have more females than males in a livebearer breeding tank. i guess if u want to, add about 4-5 females at least...

[Ripples]

Hi Misscrosson

I've actually got a mix in mine... in my 70g I've got guppies (who originally were just cycling the tank for me - but I never got around to moving them!) with clown loaches, ottos, frogs, shrimp, kribs, red tail black shark, angel and a dwarf gourami. Bar the fact that NONE of their babies have made it through (and my angel's looking plump) there don't seem to be many problems. Initially some fin nipping - but the guppies learnt to stay out of the way.

I might be wrong - but it doesn't seem to hurt my fish
R

[Holly9937]

You've got quite a mix of fish there :laugh: !! I suggest stocking slowly and seeing if you really want that many different kinds of fish. I did the same thing, and have a very ecclectic tank, now I wish it was not so crazy. Also keep in mind that plecos are huge waste producers, you might not want more than one ;) !! A bristlenose would be perfect for your tank, they are pretty good algae eaters, only get about 6-8 inches, and have a unique look! If you decide down the road that you would like some of the fry to survive you could also buy some breeding grass and you will probably have a couple get lucky. I have 3 platys that managed to survive with no intervention, so I figure they've earned a spot in the tank!!

[misscrosson]

How would it be if when I got guppies... I got 3 females and one male?... Would they start having fry with all the other fish in the tank?

[Holly9937]

Any fish will have fry if they can, they just won't get very far :laugh:

[misscrosson]

At the petstore do they keep the male and females apart? I live in a small town... and there was a tank full of mollies and platies... where I picked mine from.. this is the only petstore in town.. and it looks like they are all just male... I'm going into the city this coming weekend where I would like the get the guppies... should I just ask for 3 females and one male? With guppies the females are just plain with not much colour... and the males have all the colours... right??

[OrionGirl]

Yep, adding smaller fish after adding something larger will work. You'll want to consider the aggression more in determining what order to add the fish. Aggressive fish should be added last, to allow the shy fish time to get used to the tank and pick a territory first.

Livebearers typically can start reproducing around 6 months. A ratio of 1 male to 3 females is best, since this will spread the aggression out and give the females a better life. Females are most often already pregnant when you buy them, since they can be fertilized, store the sperm packet, and then impregnate themselves from a single mating several times.

gouramis, rasboras, loaches, corydoras, guppies, platies,
neon tetras, zebra danios, mollies, plecos,rainbowfish, swordtails, and an algee eater

From your list, here is what I would put in the tank:
Pair of moonlight gouramies. Love the color, great fish, should get to about 4-6 inches. Can be territorial, but typically not aggressive. Will spend most of their time in the mid-to-top of the tank. Will eat fry from livebearers, but fish bigger than about 1.2 inches will be safe.

I'd pick one groups of schoolers--either the rasboras or the neons. The rasboras would be my preference--better color, and neon tetras are not teh hardiest fish anymore. 2 schools won't really 'work'--they will tend to mingle, and not look as good as a larger school on one species. I'd go with 11 rasboras.

Loaches--depends on what kind you like. I'm a huge fan of bottom dwellers, and like most all the loaches and botias. For a community tank, I'd go with kuhli loaches--you can have 7-8 of them easily, they'll be social and help clean the bottom without being a huge bioload.

A trio of any of the larger cories (greens or bronzes), or 5 of smaller ones (pandas, skunks).

1-2 bristlenose for clean up.

Fill out the mollie/platy group with an appropriate number of females.

That would be it. I'd skip adding any swords or guppies--the rest of the fish will fill in. Or, skip the schoolers, and add guppies (the mollies and platies will already cross, I wouldn't add the swords to the mix). The bristlenose will be a good algae eater, allowing you to avoid attempting one of the other fish advertised as an algae eater. The rainbows would make a striking addition--but I'd go with a group of 6 and drop the gouramies completely, and reduce the mollie/platy group (ie, leave it as all male--they'll be fne, reduced aggression without any girls, no worries of babies). I personally am not a fan of danios. Neat fish, but in a community, they tend to be too busy, and disturb the calmer, slower fish to the point of hiding. If I get danios again, it will be in a tank with just them and a some kuhli loaches.

[misscrosson]

Wow... that's alot of fish... they wouldn't overstock my aquarium??...

Yeah... if I only had to choose one school of fish I would choose the rasboras..

Well, he's a picture of my aquarium at the moment.... I'm not the greatest at aquascaping... but I've tried my best... I'd still like to add some more things to it...

http://tinypic.com/dght3a.jpg

[OrionGirl]

It will fully stock the tank, yes. That's why I suggested swapping some fish out. I prefer to have 'normal' groups--in other words, 5 neons and 5 rasboras would fit, but they won't be as pretty as the larger grouping. The rainbows are more active fish, but not as thick bodied as the gouramies, and will look better in a group.

If I set this up, I would plan on weekly water changes as well--so consider that in your planning. With less frequent changes, I'd probalby cut 1/3 of the fish--likely the rasboras, and go with the mollies/platies you have now, the gouramies, one bristlenose, and the cories.

[misscrosson]

Well... at the current moment... I've been doing.... 25% water changes... every... 2-3 days... :|

[OrionGirl]

I'm guessing that's due to the cycling issues? If not, you'll be able to support the first load with no problem--as long as you can keep to at least weekly changes. The problem with fully stocking is always the worst case scenario--what happens if you can't do a scheduled change. In my tanks, I make sure they can go 2 weeks at least, then I know I have some flexibility.

[misscrosson]

Yeah... I probably could cutt down to weekly changes again.... I was doing weekly changes before when I started off with goldfish in the tank... which I'm guessing should have been the other way around seeing as goldfish produce alot of waste...

I have another question at the moment... I keep having problems with keeping the temprature at the same level... I have a 300w heater which was the biggest one i could find at my petstore at the time... and it says that it's for a 80gallon tank... and mine is a 70gallon...

At the current moment the tank is at 78 degree fahrenheit and I've been trying to get it to stay at 75 degrees... I thought that heaters were suppose to stop heating onces the tank got at the temprature that it's set to?... right now I've lowered the set temp. on my heater to 64 degrees hoping that this will keep the temp. in the tank lower... and possibly at 75 degrees...

[OrionGirl]

Did you let the heater sit in the tank for 30 minutes without being plugged in? If not, try unplugging it, letting it sit, then plugging it in. This usually helps. Other issue--make sure there's adequate water movement around the heater. And, sometimes heaters aren't calibrated accurately, so you kind of have to learn what the real temp is versus what it says. But, I would still shoot for keeping the tank closer to 78. The tropical fish will be happier there.

[misscrosson]

Yeah... there is alot of water movement by the heater.... and it has been just set in the water before it was plugged in.... I think all I need to try and figure out is what I should leave the heater set to... for it to be the right temp.... I'm sure I'll get it figured out... hehe...

I've been doing some reading... and I was just curious about snails... do they help with ammonia in the tank?... what is everyone's views on them?... and should I be getting some?... plus, how are they to take care of?

[OrionGirl]

Snails don't really help with ammonia directly. Indirectly, they do convert waste to more snail rather than it being converted to ammonia. Of course, many types of snail are rather fecund, and in a tank with lots of available food, they can become too numerous. I like snails, and I use them as a barometer--if the snail numbers start rising, it means I'm slacking. Others detest snails, and do their best to keep them out of the tank. How to get them depends on what kind you want. Common pond snails are frequent hitch hikers on live plants. Others, such as mystery snails, ramshorns, and apples can be purchased. In terms of care--very easy. All will happily go for uneaten fish food, as well as algae wafers, and fresh vegetables. The larger snails will often starve if not feed, so being able to drop in an algae wafer after dark will usually be required.