I need some advice on Guppies and my tank

[Diamante]

hello and thanks for looking,
I was wanting to start my tank up again and had a few questions.
Ive been told u can clean your tank and decor with vinegar water is that correct? and how much do i mix of each?
Would Mollies be a good match for Guppies?
Can i start a tank with guppies or baby mollies without to many dieing or do i have to have adult mollies?
Thanks
Lisa

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Pure vinegar is what I use an just rinse them out well.

I like to start a tank with goldfish for a few months then swap. Keeping guppies or mollies alive in a new tank takes constant water changes but goldfish handle it better.

 

[wolftracks]

For fish here, but I used to breed them for fish stores years ago and had over 100 tanks.

Glad those days are over.

Vinegar is fine and yes they can be put in the same tank as long as the guppies aren't too small.

 

[Diamante]

ok thanks, i have Bio-boost from the pet store. It helps the tank to cycle faster. I dont wanna start with gold fish because i have nowhere to put them once i get guppies and mollies.

 

[Diamante]

Quote:
Ok thanks.

 

[hollyclyff]

Better yet don't put any fish in your tank until it has cycled. Buy a test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, set up your tank without fish and either "feed" the tank every day with fish food, put a shrimp (the kind you eat) in there and let it decompose or just use straight pure ammonia until you get an ammonia reading, then nitrite, then finally nitrate with zero ammonia and nitrite. Then add fish slowly to allow the bacteria time to adjust to the load. Google fishless cycling and you will find more info and complete instructions. There is no need to put any fish through the stress of an ammonia cycle to start up a new tank.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

When I set up my ten gallon, I bought a betta and put him in it. I did 25%-50% water changes fairly often to keep the ammonia down and then I let it cycle for a month. After a month, I added my fish in pairs or trios until I had as many as I wanted. My betta got along fine with my platies. You might have a little trouble with your guppies, but I found the betta was much slower than any of the other fish. He couldn't even catch any he wanted to get after!

Mollies and guppies would be fine together, but remember that mollies can get big! If you have a ten gallon, you might be better off with platies.

 

[Diamante]

Ok thanks everyone.

Can i start with baby fish or adult guppies or would they all die? I'd test the water and make sure nothing gets to high.
Lisa

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Fishless cycling is great, especially if you want to add most of the fish you are planning on having, all at once. Otherwise, you can start with fewer fish, keep an eye on the water quality with daily testing and do water changes as necessary. Live plants are good filters, too, if you want live plants.

Since you are looking at fish that will be breeding, you could also start with just two or three and let the biological filter capacity grow, as the amount and/or size of fish grow. Live plants and daily testing would work well if you do that.

I think you could get babies or adults. It really depends on what you want to do.

 

[Inkheart]

I have had a tank of guppies that have been going for 15 years now. I started the tank by buying feeder guppies thinking they would die off and start the tank cycling - alas they did not - so they are mixed in with my fancier guppies - kinda neat as i have many "miniature " fancies as they are mixed with the little feeders. Any llive bearer will be fine with them - i have had Platies with mine for yyears as they are very docile - but the mollies will befine - just stay away from swordtails as of the live bearers they are the most aggressive