I have a 50 gallon that currently has 3 fancy guppies; 3 mollies; 3 cory cats; 2 platies; 4 zebra danios; 3 neon tetras; 2 african dwarf frogs; and about 15 babies of a variety of sizes. I'm not planning on adding more fish unless necessary (females getting bullied; lack of schooling; etc.) If I change my mind am I safe to add more fish? If so what kinds?Will nature takes its course with the fry; or do you think I will have many fry growing into adults? Any suggestions for my tank (best temp; ph; etc. for my tank combos)? Also, I lost a guppy to a freak filter accident and they next day her mate died is this coincidence? Is it necessary to put netting over the filter? Please give me any info you think I need; ty.
Things I already know so please don't give me these answer or anything completely basic like do water changes; ty. If you think something is basic but unique feel free to let me know.
1. My tank is not overstocked
2. Fish eat their fry
3. Proper General Maintenance
Answers:
You could buy more fish since most of yours are smaller, but make sure you have more filtration than you need. I would add some different tetras they come in so many colors and sizes. The mollies will prolly eat the fry unless you have good hiding places, hard one to call without a picture. I'd say keep the tank about 75-78 F and a ph of about 7.4-7.6 lower ph will help keep amonia down if it becomes a problem but only so much.
If you want the fry to live i'd place a fish net over the filter intake other wise don't worry about it - a pain to clean. It's probably a coincidence about the guppies mate but we don't know what fish think yet.
I would also suggest doing some research into planted tanks - it could really increase the look of your tank as well as water quality ( extra oxygen will increase the number of fish you can have) - but it does take work to do it right.
Hope i helped
you could put a sponge filter in your tank to prevent the fry's getting caught
If you have enough live plants in there, yes fry will grow to adult hood
And no you're not overstocked
If you like bettas, you could put at least 5 FEMALES in there
3 more neons
2 more zebra danios
And forget the 1inch of fish per gallon, that's absolutely BS
hope that helps
good luck
EB
You need to get rid of one or 2 species all together, and get more of the same ammount of schooling fish. You can add at least 10 more guppies, 10 more mollies, 10 more danios, and 15 more neons. Your tank is large enough to house that many fish. The TRUE inch to gallon rule (if you have good filtration and aeration) is 1/2 inch to 1 gallon. When fish arent in a large enough school, it can cause health and anxiety issues, because schooling is a natural defense mechanism.
In a tank like yours, you can get two slightly smaller filters (like two 30 gallon filters) and run them at half power at opposite sides of the tank, this will allow less suction coming from one filter.
Temp: 75 - 83 degrees farenheit.
Ph: A balenced 7.0 is good for your varieties or fish.
Dh: Dont worry about it unless you are into skilled breeding.
If you dont have one already, you need an aerator to make bubbles and/or live plants.
If you have any other questions, email me at thms_stpn@yahoo.com.
Good luck! (not that you need it) ;-)
1. get rid of the guppies they will slowly over stock your tank for you.
2. Not all fish eat their fry and I have witnessed baby guppies not be eaten by the parents and grow up to be an adult. Some fish like Afrian Cichlids are mouth brooders where they house their babies in their mouth.
Test your water if you have a fish loss. make sure you test for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates. Make sure all filters are running and are not clogged this happend to me once. Filters became so clogged it was not able to filter the water and I lost some nice fish. but probably just a coincidence. Add more fish if you feel that its safe, it seems you know enough. Good temp range is between 76-80 degreess the cooler the water thought the more dissolved oxygen is in the water, allowing you to house a little more fish. A good pH for livebearers is around 7.4 to 8.0.
I would add enough danios and tetras to bring both schools up to at least 6 - especially for the neons.
I think your tank is fine otherwise (depending on the species of all the fry, but you should be okay here). It would be good to have some plants (real or not) for the tetras, since they like some cover if the mollies (especially if you have any males) get a little territorial, or the danios get a little too active.
I wouldn't worry about fry from the cories, danios or tetras - the other fish will eat the eggs/fry. Probably even some of the guppy and platy fry will be eaten by the mollies, but don't count on all the fry being eaten. If there are places to hide, the fry of the smaller species will find them, as well as the molly fry - not all livebearers will eat their young, and I've had the tanks full of surving fry to prove it. Eventually, you may have too many fish if a good number of the fry survive.
The best temperature for the mix would be in the mid 70s, around 76o, without knowing the type of cory - some prefer a little cooler of temperatures. The best pH is whatever your source for water is naturally - pH is something you shouldn't try to adjust unless you have species with very specific needs (like discus or African lake cichlids), or your natural water is at an extreme range. Most community fish as you have are quite adaptable, and will be fine in a range from 6-8.
If you have fry in the tank, or are worried about another mishap with a guppy, you can get a foam sleeve that fits over your filter intake. This keeps the fish out, but does tend to clog more easily, so it will need to be cleaned often, or it will slow down the filter's ability to move water. Netting could also be used, and how much it would clog vs keep fry out would depend on the size of the mesh.
Sounds like you have space for more fish, but ignore that guy who is suggesting 80 more fish or something. A 50 gallon is big and your fishies are on the small side, but they already add up to 20 fish plus 15 babies, and they will all grow to 2-3 inches each or more. If they are going to keep having babies, maybe you should just enjoy those. Otherwise, I would add a couple more dwarf frogs since they are happier in groups, same with the ohter ones -- unless the babies already are some of their breeds. If so, you are probably fine, just enjoy them growing up!
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