my set up as promised.

[LilOne]

Here is a picture of my set up.  Of course all advise is always welcome.

Here is the stock:

1 narite snail

6 guppies 4f/2m

1 baby beta (supposedly male)

2 black khuli loaches

running a hob filter and a sponge filter partial water change 1x weekly at minimum.  and air pump on bubbler for a 20/60 gal

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

It looks like you have some decent cover to protect the fry. Whimsy comes to mind which is totally in line with keeping guppies. My son has a sponge bob setup and we started out with guppies. 

What are your parameters? pH and gh are important to get the most out of your moms and fry. 

Eventually, I think the beta is going to be your biggest problem with this setup. He will eventually hunt when the guppies are asleep and they usually sleep on the bottom of the tank. I'd keep an eye out. You never know if the guppy parents will predate on their fry, it can happen. I use pond plant baskets in my tanks to give the fry a spot to go into that the parents can't get to. Essentially any vessel with holes in it that are small for the fry and not big enough for the parents works. I use airline tubing under the rim of the baskets to get them to float at the surface. It also allows you to make sure they get their fair share of the food. 

[Guppysnail]

Looks like a lovely fishy playground. I looked at those heaters at one point but had not run across anyone who used them. I would love to know how thy perform long term. I do recommend at minimum another method of monitoring temps. I have other digital heaters that work great and stay stable but the display temp is not correct. Inkbirds are awesome because they also stop power to the tank if the heater gets stuck on an overheats. The non WiFi ones are reasonable price and easy to use. 

[LilOne]

On 3/21/2022 at 5:39 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

It looks like you have some decent cover to protect the fry. Whimsy comes to mind which is totally in line with keeping guppies. My son has a sponge bob setup and we started out with guppies. 

What are your parameters? pH and gh are important to get the most out of your moms and fry. 

Eventually, I think the beta is going to be your biggest problem with this setup. He will eventually hunt when the guppies are asleep and they usually sleep on the bottom of the tank. I'd keep an eye out. You never know if the guppy parents will predate on their fry, it can happen. I use pond plant baskets in my tanks to give the fry a spot to go into that the parents can't get to. Essentially any vessel with holes in it that are small for the fry and not big enough for the parents works. I use airline tubing under the rim of the baskets to get them to float at the surface. It also allows you to make sure they get their fair share of the food. 

this tank is simply for my pleasure although one pair will be pulled for my breeding program and replaced with a different pair.  I am just starting getting what I need for breeding and with the exception of this one pair, I will be paying much more for my guppies to start my breeding program.  I do not really know the water parameters yet.  I am planning to get a water testing kit but have yet to get anything other than the strips.  (I set up tanks for years without checking parameters and had much success but I now know better lol).  I am in search of tanks for my breeding program and hoping I can get what I need without having to purchase brand new and spending an arm and a leg.  This may actually take a lot of time to get actually started.  To get the guppies I want to start out with I am saving my loose change to pay for so I am not actually taking the money out of paychecks that pay for our bills and other animals as well as other hobbies.  I have a 16 yr old pit and a bearded dragon (would have never thought a bearded dragon could be so expensive to feed and so picky on what it and how it eats silly girl has to be handfed XD).  I will post parameters as soon as I have my testing kit.  even two of my females tend to go after the fry when they are born in that tank.  I put in something for them to hide so hopefully a few can survive and keep that tank stocked.

 

Guppysnail,

   Thank you.  yes I will certainly be getting another way to check the temp.  I have had this for a month or so and so far seems to do well.  I will need to pick these things up for my breeding tanks as well.  I will most likely be buying brand new heaters as I am not so sure I will trust used ones.  

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Petco is having their 50% sale now. Would be a good consideration in the future as you budget. Used tanks it is touch and go- if it was used for an animal they could have compromised the silicone - you have a beardie so you know. If it is old the glass could be thicker, tempered or better then the new ones. It is a crap shoot. A lot of times they don't actually know what size tank they have. I went out thinking I was get a 33 L and it was just a 20 l. Saying that I still hunt on FB Marketplace.   

Your breeding program sounds great. Good luck with getting the scratch together for your project. 

Females are brutal on fry, they are hungry and don't care where they get their protein from. I had a couple female Endlers that were the size of a molly.