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First breeder tank help


Bettaboiii
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Hello all, I just got a 25 gallon aquarium and i decided that after 4 years distance from the Disaster that was my first guppy tank  I want to try breeding livebearers again! I have been looking up things online to try and decide what livebearer you go with. Guppies are Way more plentiful where I am, with swordtails being the next biggest in stores. I am personally interested in either Veriatus platies or trying out guppies again... I am apprehensive about guppies since even though I did my research last time it ended in a massacre out of the Blue and I can't handle that type of loss again. But thats where you lovely people come in! 

I am hoping that you all might have some tips and tricks to tell me as well as help me figure out which fish to get. i like the look of veriatus platies but they are hard to find around here but i also like that guppies are a bit smaller. The problem is I have no clue why my last guppy tank failed, one male just became super agressive and became the sole survivior in the tank over the course of 3 days. that was a 10 gallon though so it may have just been the size? a shame i just had got my first generation fry.... But anyways I've rambled on long enough! I would love to take a real departure from only doing betta tanks so I really appreciate the help!

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Guppies 🥰. I am not certain what you mean by massacre but if you could tell me a bit of what exactly happened (stock male female ratio things like that)I might be able to help. I’m not an expert but I have raised many generations of guppies. Also any other tank inhabitants please

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So I would recommend platies simply for the reason that they will be a bit less in-bred, and therefore hardier. Although it probably won’t make a significant difference, I just feel like platies are tougher. I’ve also had a total guppy disaster when I was breeding lots of endler guppy hybrids. I probably lost 100 fish in a month from some combination of problems - the only one I could identify was flukes, which I treated, and then they just came back. So anyways, I’d say if you wanna try platies, go for those. As lovely as guppies are. To be fair you could go with both and it’ll probably be a similar outcome. The benefit of guppies would be that it is much easier to sex the fish and make sure you have a good male to female ratio.
The most important thing about the fish you get will be where you get them from. Either get them from a hobbyist who has really healthy stock, or from what you guys in the US call a ‘mom and pop’ shop - don’t get them from a chain store like PetSmart or whatever. 

Second thing - it’s awesome that you’re using a 25 gallon tank, that’ll make it way easier. So the main things to keep in mind when setting the tank up will be these: 

You want to use lots of plants. That’ll always make your job easier as a fish keeper. Since you keep bettas I assume you’ll use water conditioner, as well as a heater and a filter, which is definitely good. Try to use an inert substrate - it’s usually cheaper anyways. And make sure you cycle the tank for a good month. Guppies and platies are so simple that that’s all the general advice you should usually need. 

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Some data will help - as mentioned water hardness matters which is why kh and gh are discussed. They do better with minerals and a little salt in the water. Plants and appropriate hard scape help- sight breaks are important for female guppies to prevent the males from harassing them. A ratio of 1 male to 2 or more females is recommended. Male only tanks can work as well. Crushed coral is helpful for maintaining the hardness and keeping it stable. 
 

Other livebearers- I’ve got a fair amount of experience with mollies and platys not swords. I think both are great. Mollies can get bigger. Some mollies are brackish while others are true fresh water. The variety of mollies now are fantastic the wild types like sailfins get huge. While the more common like black mollies and some of the lyretails are a little smaller. Platys are great - variatus like it a tad cooler than xiphophorus maculatus which is the more common form found in fish stores. My favorites presently are teacup platys a dwarf species. 
 

I hope you give livebearers another chance it can be very rewarding and fun. EE194D84-D7BC-41F7-A670-53194F863679.jpeg.fbfe2293f90d9f0f0dca48d4315042c9.jpeg

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