community fish

[mslane]

I want to have a tank of guppies for my classroom tank, but I like platys too. Could they get along in the tank?
I also have lil snails growing in the tank, so I was thinking to add a loach or two in there.
Would they get along with a cory cat?

[Butterfly]

How big is your tank? The answer to that will determine what kind of loach you get. Since loaches like buddies and corys like buddies that might not work out too well. Guppys and platys would be fine and really pretty also. I applaud you for wanting to put a tank in the class room. What age children will be enjoying this tank? Give a yell if you need anything.
Carol

[mslane]

It's a ten gallon tank, in which I put some live and plastic plants in. I bought these bulbs at Walmart and the kids and I threw them into the water. It's been a few days and two of them have actually began to grow. I was thinking the yo yo loaches would be good since they don't grow very big. What do you think?

[Gunnie]

I think the minimum size tank recommended for yo yo's is a 20 gallon long. You should have at least 3 of them for them to be happy, and they need a little more room to romp than a 10 gallon provides. They are great fish though!

[Butterfly]

Yep yoyo's are great, but their very active and need lots of hiding places. a trio of guppys(1male and 2 females) or a trio of platys would make a good display. a couple of cory cats would be good and the 10 gal would be stocked to capacity.
BUT before any fish are added the tank needs to be cycled. Hope that helps.
http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm
Carol

[mslane]

would it make a difference if I added those feeder guppy fish instead of the fancy ones? Are they the same size as the fancy ones, or smaller?
My class is very excited about the Mickey Mouse platys.

[Butterfly]

The tank needs to be cycled before it has fish of anykind in it.
The Mickey Mouse platys are very nice, I had blue ones , feeder guppys are rather plin looking but the kids will like them anyway.
Carol

[mslane]

thanks, will do.
You say blue ones? I don't think I have ever seen those. The ones I usually see are yellow, red, orangey colored. Those must have been beauties.

[Butterfly]

Yes the blue ones were gorgeous. Good luck
Carol

[mslane]

say, do corys eat snails? Is it just loaches?

[Gunnie]

Corys don't eat snails, only loaches and puffers eat snails.* Corys eat the flakes that fall to the bottom, along with veggie wafers, plankton sticks, earthworm sticks, etc.*

[mslane]

My classroom tank is thriving! I have 2 blue platys ( one is the Mickey Mouse kind) 2 red platys ( I didn't realize until after I bought one that the tail and the fin were torn ) 1 oto cat and 1 common guppy ( I bought 10 but the others died). the guppy was pregnant and of course I only spotted two babies in the tank the next day. After all the platys arrived I don't see any babies. ( I will be more mindful next time).
Questions
do tails and fins regenerate?
how long is the gestation for platys and guppies?
how can I determine the sex of my platys?

[Butterfly]

With good water quality fins and tails will re-grow. Watch carefully for fungus or infection.
Gestion for guppies and platys are about 28 days. They can have about 4 batches of babies from one mating.
Heres a little info on sexing guppies and platys are sexed the same way.
http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/prof...ybreeding.html
Hope this helps.
Carol

[mslane]

My question is, I have recently acquired from one of my students a pair of female bull frogs!!! She was concerned since we lost the ADfrogs and asked her uncle for his frogs from his tank. You see, her uncle had them as tadpoles in his fish tank and when they became frogs they needed their own tank. They are about 2.5 inches long not counting their legs. Do you know if they eat feeder fish? I know about the crickets and worms.

[Butterfly]

Are they in your classroom tank? if so they will eat anything that fits into their mouth. Otherwise I don't know alot about bullfrogs. maybe someone more knowledgeable will come along.
Carol