pet store advice

J

jamiya0727

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Oct 16, 2007
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So, I am aware that most pet store advice is wrong, but I still can't help asking at several different stores to compare answers and then come here for the truth. :)

Two questions:
  1. Pet store guy said not to put any other fish in with guppies because they will nip at the guppy fins. I was going to stock some small platys with guppies. Is the pet store guy right?
  2. Two different pet store guys (two different stores) said mystery snails do not count toward the number of fish you can have in a tank. One said it was mostly a territory thing, and the other said that they don't consume much oxygen and that's all that matters. Both insisted that snails do not make much waste and the water quality would not suffer. Huh? I thought the 1 inch of fish per gallon (which I realize is an oversimplification and frequently wrong) had to do with the amount of waste produced and therefore the water quality which results.
Can someone clear this up for me, please?

Jamiya
 
1st guy: right, sometimes... usu. wrong. Wrong with mollys/platies. Pretty much anything that would fin nip a guppy would eat a guppy.

2nd guy: It's really a combination of factors. That's why it's good to ask on here if the stock will work. It's about o2, territory, swimming room, ammonia buildup, and if they will eat each other or not. With the mystery (apple) snails (please, someone correct me if I'm wrong!) : they need to be able to get to the surface of the water. They may climb out of a tank. They do not need a lot of o2 in the water, because they breathe air. They are not territorial, but may get eaten when young. They may be attacked when older. They DO produce a lot of ammonia, but with more frequent water changes, this shouldn't be a problem. Guppies, mollies, platies and apple snails should all get along just fine. What else will be in the tank?
 
Hehe, I'd count a mystery snail the same as a dwarf gourami for bioload.

Oh, and there's quite a few fish that work with guppies. Just don't get anything with a reputation for fin nipping - i.e. tiger barbs, serpae tetras, and such.
 
Big snails like apple snails certainly count, the poop quite a lot. I would say one adult snail needs 2 gallons. In a community tank at maybe a gallon per snail.
 
This is just a little 12 gallon tank (cycling, so not ready for fish yet). I am just exploring options. I was thinking of perhaps 4 guppies, 3 dwarf platys, and 2 snails. I don't think any more would be wise. I have also considered a few corys or otos in place of.....something. Either the platys or the snails. I would love a couple otos, but they sound hard to keep. And I'm out of room. Should get a bigger tank... :)

I have a 6 gallon that has 4 danios, a julii cory cat, and a mystery snail and it is nice and stable. Seems overpopulated from what I know now, but they are all quite happy.

Jamiya
 
Mystery snails are poop machines. I'd give em 5 gallons each in terms of bioload in the long run because they can get pretty big. Mine grew to the size in between a golf ball and tennis ball.

Why not put the inhabitants of the 6 gallon in the 12 gallon, then raise some dwarf shrimp or a betta in a 6 gallon?
 
Heck sometime even my other guppies will nip each others fins!! Especially when chasing the same female!

Yeah I have to many guppies and apple snails in my 2 large tanks but I feed well clean well and change water a LOT!!

Apple snails count trust me!! They eat and therefore they poop and add to the bioload. As far as I know every living thing adds to the bioload in some form or fashion.

There are rules of thumb like the 1" of fish per gal or 1 apple snail per 2.5 gal and they are there for great reasons but sometimes we break the rules. If you do then you have to be willing to put in the extra work time and expense or your tank inhabitants will suffer and you will likely not be very happy either.


Break the rules a little work a little harder spend a little more on food and filtration.... break them a lot well...you just may never get to leave home as for the other (food /filtration/tankspace) its kind of self limiting I guess.


If it were me I'd start slowly then build up to what you feel your tank and you can handle as an added bonus it gives you free tank room when some new cool fish or snail becomes available!
 
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