jean

hi all

ive got my tank all set up, cycled and ready, but i now need to know what fish to buy.

I want easy to look after community fish, as i'm a novice.

the fish that i like are

speckled molly
male and female guppies
neon tetras
red platties
catfish
zebra danio
harlequin rasbora
swordtails
balloon mollies
rummynose tetras
glowlight tetras


Which would be the best fish to pick?

How many fish can i put in my tank its 3ft long x 1ft wide x 1 1/2 ft high?

I read the stuff about 1 inch per gallon but is that US or UK gallons. sorry i don't really understand it.

Also what should the ideal water temperature be for these fish, mine is currently at 22c


many thanks

Goshawk

Sounds like you've got a good size tank for a beginner.

As for fish heres what I'd do. You need to first scale down your list. pick out 5-8 that you REALLY like and you just can't live with out and post them when you figure it out. Then out of those 5-8 it will be easier to figure out a good looking tank for you. Also whats your pH.

jean

the PH is 6.8

i really want

speckled mollies
red platties and 2 other types of platties
balloon mollies
neon tetras
guppies
zebra danio

FL CommunityFans

Those dimensions add up as a 34 gallon tank (approx).

SereneReyn

mollies, platies and guppies are all live-bearing fish... which means that if you happen to get even a single member of the opposite sex of any of them, you'll have babies coming out your ears. not saying don't get them, only suggesting that you be well aware of this so that you can plan for what to do when you wind up with lots and lots of little ones.

most of them like members of their own kind to swim around with, particularly neons and danios... if you go with those, you'll want at least 6 of each.

i would also suggest that you consider a 'clean up crew'. this can consist of loaches or catfish, or maybe a small-growing pleco (NOT a common pleco). catfish (cories are a big favorite) are great about cleaning up excess food that falls into the gravel, and plecos can help keep algae growth down. just be sure you research each fish you want BEFORE you get it. planetcatfish.com has some good info.

what i might go with would be something like this:

3 cories (dwarfs maybe, to keep the size down) = 6 in
6 neons for color = around 9-12 in
a clown pleco = 6 in
and then i'd fill in leftover space (about 10in to work with +/-) with either some mollies, platies or guppies, understocking if possible, and i'd try to stick to either males or females, not both. i don't want babies, personally. i'd probably choose male guppies, because they come in such a great variety of colors. or red swordtail platies would be a nice vivid fish to add.

anyway, i think that'd give you a nice variety. just my 2cents tho! good luck and welcome to fishlore!

OzzyFan

When I started my 23.9-gal tank in January, I bought 5 leopard danios, 5 male guppies, and 5 neon tetras...then a few weeks later, bought some female guppies and other fish. I have yet to see a baby guppy in my tank, 3 months later...4 of my neons died within a week, of some back-covering 'fungus', although the 5th is still alive, despite being the only neon in the tank. The danios, on the other hand, have been breeding and I've get several bigger fry now, and every week I suck up more tiny new ones in the vacuum.

My point is that danios can also breed prolifically, and also that most of my neons and guppies have died, but all of my original danios are still alive and they've been breeding for a good month and a half. I assume I had so many deaths because the tank was overstocked, and the two surviving guppies were the fittest of the 11 guppies I'd bought over the weeks, and the danios in particular are hardy. If you want a tough fish that'll give you babies, go with danios.

jean

thanks for the replies, is it ok to get say 4 male guppies, would they fight with each other ? would that be the same case for say red or swordtail platies too?

jean

thanks for the reply. ive been thinking

so how about

4 harlequin rasboras
4 neon tetras
4 zebra danios
3 male guppies
2 female speckled mollies
3-4 red platies
1 cory

im not sure if this is too many?

also can i just get 1 of a species of fish, or do they get lonely ?

SereneReyn

most people would recommend 3 cories, they seem happier with buddies. and i still think for tetras or danios you want at least 6, which would put you at overstocked with that list. less is better, unfortunately it often means we can't get quite all the fish we'd like.

ozzy has two decent points. i've never kept danios, so i didn't know they bred so much. also, many people would say that neons are 'sensitive' to water conditions, and tend to die easily. (this hasn't been my experience tho).

mrsmuffin

I am still pretty new at this, but I will give you my opinions anyway...

I enjoy my platys much more that my male guppys. Also remember that even if you only get two female livebearers from the store, you are likely to have babies because they could already be carrying.