A Few questions on...

[DaisyGirl]

I have a few questions regarding my fish,cycling,and stocking.

1. How many African Dwarf Frogs can comfortably live in a 2.5g hex? And what tempurature do they require?

2. Ok: So I have a few tanks: 1 10g thats empty for now, 1 18g that has a few goldfish. The 18g has the cycled filter from the 10g, and a cycled filter for a 20g. On to the question: If I put the cycled 10 filter in the 10g once I set it up, the bacteria will die because of lack of ammonia. But, I need the tank to cycle before I put the fish in. Can I just put it in once I get the fish home?

3. Is a platy trio, a dwarf gourami, and 4 cories a good idea? I know I've asked this a trillion times, but I really wanna know before I buy the fish. I think platies are sort of boring, and I really want to have fish that are really colorful, and very good personality. Any Other suggestions? Or do the platies sound good? (Note: I do have a place for some of the surviving fry to go.)

 

[Harlock]

1. No clue. I've never kept them. Leopardess wrote a great article on ADFs that is in the Article forum. I suggest reading that for stocking info. If it's not in there, perhaps Leopardess will drop in for a peek. I defer to her as I have never kept or researched these amphibians.

2. You have hit the nail on the head. You change the filter over to the ten, add the fish and keep your fingers crossed. A filter will lose the cycle with no fish or ammonia present. It's that simple. Depending on the fish load in the 18 that the filter is coming from, you may still see a mini cycle, but usually nothing compared to a real cycle. Just keep an eye on the regular toxins; ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and be prepared to do a 50% water change until things settle down.

3. I am not prepared to answer this one because I do not know for which tank you are asking about this combination. I will make an observation though: if you don't want platys, why are you thinking of getting them? Are you wanting to breed and the platy just seemed like the only choice in your mind? If this is the case, have you researched all of the different color strains of guppy available out there? You can pretty much pick a color and go from there. Let us know why you are leaning toward platys and maybe we can help with pointing you in the direction of a different fish more suitable to your desires.

 

[DaisyGirl]

I like the platies because they are cute, I just didnt know i they were boring or had a personality. This is for the 10g. The 18g definetly has a nice fishload with 4 goldfish in it till summer. I was curious if anyone had ideas for a better fish than platies

 

[Harlock]

Well, if platys are anything like mollys, then they will have some personality. My mollies are everywhere in my 29 gallon tank. They use the entire tank an I couldn't tell you where they spent the majority of the time. Top, bottom and mid level tank dwellers is all I can say. Also, they tend to explore everything in the tank with their mouths. They will now and then scoop up some sand in their mouths and spit it back out. They like to pluck algae off the sides of the tank and plants. they nip my hands in arms when I do maintenance. And, of course, they are livebearers, so that's kind of fun too. Again, I have no idea on the platys. They may be about the same. Maybe someone that has had platys can chip in.

 

[Leopardess]

1a) 2 frogs
1b) Same as most tropical fish. Between 72 - 82 is fine.

2) Harlock answered it.

3) I wouldn't mix platies with a dwarf gourami. I think the bright color and their larger size will entice the gouramis "aggression." Also, for a 10g, I think that the quarters are too close for them to get along.

I would suggest something like neons along with your gourami and cories (but only 6 or so) and I would keep up on the water changes. That is quite a lot of fish for such a small tank. If you can, maybe try to find dainty/dwarf cories which are a little smaller. Or even getting 5-6 pygmy cories in place of the regular cories. I love mine and they are very cute and tiny (about 3/4" average).

Please read the link in my signature if you haven't ventured over there yet

 

[DaisyGirl]

thx leopardess, i have read your article, thanks, i think i missed the part on how many frogs you can have.

I guess I can try a smaller fish, even though I would only have 3 platies, but I'll see for some others

 

[Dog]

Here are a few points I would like to add about your cycling and filter questions.

• You can add the filter at the same time you add the fish. The filter is cycled and will have enough bacteria to clean the fish waste. You will have to stock slowly if you do this so the bacteria can catch up. (Add a few fish every week or 2)
• You can add the filter and feed it ammonia just like you were doing a fishless cycle. If you do this you will be able to fully stock the tank all at once because the filter will have a full bacteria load plus all of you decorations and the tank will have bacteria colonies.
• Or you can add the filter the same time you fully stock the tank. But you will have to watch water parameters and do water changes if they are required or frequent water changes* for 2 or 3 weeks if you can't test the water.

* By frequent I mean every 2 or 3 days.

Oh yeah and I think the rule of thumb on ADFs is 1 gallon per frogs.

 

[pisces22]

I have three lovely red platies in with a dwarf gourami (stunning fish) and there are no problems whatsoever-im not sure if this is just an individual case or the norm, bu ti think your stocking idea sounds great.

platies are entertaining-for me any how-and platy babies are inevitable and adorable!

 

[Harlock]

Generally, dwarf gouramis are much much, much less aggressive than their larger cousins. They are, in fact, a nice and peaceful community fish. Also, the Platys will be large enough for the gourami not to really bother. Additionally, even regular gouramis are peaceful enough when it is just one of them and no other labyrinth fish are present. Stick with your original stocking plan, Daisy, it will work.

 

[Leopardess]

IME, dwarf gouramis *are* less territorial than their full size counterparts, but that hasn't meant they've been nice. Other fish around their size seem to attract their aggression (using that term lightly) as well, especially nice brightly colored fish like platies (afterall, they are in the labrynth fish family with bettas and paradise fish).

I had to remove the most peaceful of my 3 dwarf gouramis from a community tank because he would not leave the rainbowfish alone and another would not tolerate harlequin rasboras.

There are exceptions to every rule. Just be aware it may not work and it is by no means guaranteed. I err on the side of peaceful caution