Neon Tetras + guppies ok?

[adam_g]

I am planning to set up my first aquarium. Are neon tetras and guppies compatable in the same tank?

How about a siamese fighter with either of these fish?

Thanks for any help.

 

[lizvetica]

i had guppies and neons in my first tank and they were fine. guppies hung out at the top of the tank and my neons hung out at the bottom. good mix for smaller tanks.
hths!

 

[adam_g]

Thanks-

I've just bought a small (36 cm long, 20 cm wide, 25 cm High) tank from my local pet shop. It is really just a cheap tank mean't for goldfish, but I thought I could make my mistakes with this tank, and if I get the bug for fishkeeping get a bigger, better tank.

Question 1- How go I calculate how much water it can contain, with the above measurments?

Question 2- It came with an airpump and small internal boxtype filter. Do you think this will be good enough, considering the type of fish I want to keep?

Question 3- I now need to buy: A heater, a thermometer, a light, gravel, a water testing kit, and possibly a hood (?). Any advice about which types of the above would suit my tank?

Qustion 4- How many guppies and tetras? Any other fish you recommend? how about a bottom feeder?

Living in Japan and not speaking much Japanese, makes it hard to figure things out and ask questions in my local aquarium shop, so any advice is really appreciated.

 

[val]

Search this forum, and maybe the general freshwater for "tank volume" or "tank measurements". There's a calculator that will tell you the volume of a tank for the measurements you have. Or, you could do this the low-tech way. Get a gallon milk jug, or whatever the Japanese sell in some volume, and fill up the tank.

I love airstone, I use them in my GF tanks, so you should use yours if you like the look. If you don't, then don't use it. Space is at a premium in your tank, since it is so small, so I would avoid the box filter. However, if it is a money thing, then use it. Although not in vogue now (we do have better filters) lots of people kept lots of fish successfully in the 60s and 70s with box filters.

Small tanks mean small amounts of fish. I've always thought that more of one species of fish looks better than a couple of these, a couple of those. Since you mentioned a siamese, why not a pair of these for the tank. The females are quite subtle themselves and beautiful in their own right. They seem to prefer smoother waters, so I wouldn't do the airstone and the box filter together with them.

As for heaters, I recommend Ebo Jaegers. If you can't find them in Japan, try on-line at www.BigAlsonline.com. As for hoods, smaller tanks seem to be more easily found with incandescent bulbs; avoid them. Try to find flourescent bulbs instead, but this may be a tall order.

Val

 

[adam_g]

Thanks for the advice- what kind of filter should i replace the box filter with?

 

[Dave Cushing]

Volume is fairly easy to calculate: Length * Width * Height

For your tank 36 * 20 * 25 = 18000 cm^3

This is 18 Liters or 4.7 gallons.

Dave

 

[Locust]

Siamese Fighting Fish (bettas) are great in small tanks, but not with neons and guppies! You could get lucky and get a peaceful betta, but there's a good chance a betta will attack the other fish. I also wouldn't keep a male betta with another betta, male or female. You can keep the females together just fine, though. If you want multiple males then you can get a tank divider. They'll huff and puff at each other, but as long as they're seperated it's harmless.

You'll want a 25W heater, I'm not terribly particular about them but I've heard good things about Tronics (I've got one w/ no complaints), Visi-Therm, and Ebo's.

For the testing kits, you'll want kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

If you don't know about cycling, reading through that sticky would also be a good idea.

Some ghost shrimp would make good scavengers, I think they look best w/ a fine substrate so you can see them digging in it).

 

[adam_g]

Thankyou all, you have all given great advice which I will take into account...

I think I will start with 2-3 guppies, and maybe get some tetras later, when im a bit more confident what im doing and have my cycles all sorted, and hopefully haven't killed my guppies!

Think I might get a couple of those 'ghost shrimp' you mentioned. However, neither of the books I bought mention shrimp in the context of 'freshwater'. One has a couple listed for 'saltwater' tanks. What kind of shrimp am I looking for? how big are they?

Also, what kind of plants should I get and how many, bearing in mind the small tank I have? How deep should I make the substrate, for the plants to root? Should I forget about decorative bits of wood etc. due to the limited capacity?

So many questions! And every answer opens up new questions!

 

[tricksterpup]

Guppies and neons are fantastic together but I think that this tank might be a little small for them. For both, i wouldn't go any smaller than a 10 gallon or 37 liter tank.
A fish that does well in a tank this size besides Betta's is Heterandria formosa, pictured next to my name. Tiny fish, smaller than guppies. Since you are in japan, you might find them easier. But it sounds like you want color and these guys are pretty but lack bright colors.



jim