Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I’ve been setting up tanks for my kids rooms. The first project was completed- a shell dweller tank which has turned out great. Now my oldest saw some fancy guppies and he’s hooked and wants to breed them and sell them to the LFS. Hea seen me trade in Endlers and RCS so he sees a way to get more Star Wars toys or fish stuff. He’s 6 by the way. Too funny. on to my plan - 20 g high, coop sponge filter - I’ll season before it goes in, Eheim heater, and Aquaneat blue and white with a 6 hour photo period or so to start 2 hours in am and 4 hours in evenings around his bedtime. this has all been bought but not setup yet. My wife is picking out the furniture it will sit on and as of yet we are still deliberating. I have a Kasa timer for the lights. Substrate is stuff I have on hand aragonite sand and crushed coral with some substrate from another tank along with laterite, sterilized garden soil and pumice in a small quantity underneath maybe with some osmocote as well. I’m going to cannibalize my other tanks for plants - Val, dwarf sag, anubias, moss, guppy grass and hornwort along with some water lettuce to help the tank get over the algae hump. Should I do some rock and or wood or leave it planted and open? I'm thinking 2 trios of guppies. He picked out some Platinum Galaxy Tigers and I think he’s got great taste. Gorgeous fish. Thinking I get them started and then add in some otos 3 and dwarf corys maybe 6. The staging of stocking is a question it’ll be fishless cycle but Iafter cycling I was thinking guppies, then otos then corys. I may also have some amano shrimp or neos around could throw some in. Thoughts? all criticism appreciated and requested. Want to do right by the fish as if things crash I’ll have a crying little boy to deal with. Thanks. picture is of his brothers shellies. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 I think with you puting plants in the tank you would be better off going with an 8h photo period 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Appreciate the feedback I’ll go with 4 and 4 then with a couple hour rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Honestly since guppies eat algae and you're setting them up really well to breed like crazy, crank that light up way more. I have my lights on in my livebearer tank 12 hours a day at least and I still don't see a scrap of algae. I definitely wouldn't put otos into that situation. I think with that level of hardness and a planted tank, do 8-10 solid hours of light per day, dose with easy green, and get ramshorn snails or a couple mystery snails for clean up (but guppies are good eaters, so there may not be much to clean up!) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Obermiller Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 (edited) I agree with @Kirsten, no otos for at least 6 months. Unless you get really lucky and get otos that eat algae wafers, then they will most likely starve out. The corydoras could be your "clean up" (make sure you still feed them) grew for guppies. Do a pygmy type like habrous (my favorite of the pygmies) and you could do like 8 of those. Also corydoras that are bigger would chump down on the fry. So if he is breeding for some type of income it wouldn't be best to have say bronze size corys in there. The pygmies might leave them alone though. I never tried pygmies with guppies so I don't know what the outcome would be. Here is the link to Aqua Hunas Pygmy cories https://aquahuna.com/collections/catfish/products/pygmy-cory-6-pack Edited February 5, 2021 by Paul_Obermiller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirsten Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 My only concern with corydoras is the water hardness + high pH you're going to get with the aragonite and crushed coral (plus whatever hardness is in the water). Mystery snails are big and tons of fun to watch and breed, and they'll love all the calcium from that coral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph’s Fish and Plants Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 For stocking order definitely go with guppies first. Then add whatever else. I have 7 habrosus cories in my 20 long and I’d love to add a few more. My concern numbers wise with the cories is that the 20 high wouldn’t have as much horizontal space. The pigmy Cory species however would utilize a lot of that vertical space as well, so I’d lean there for a Cory species. Id wait to add shrimp till the tank is really settled in, they like a well seasoned tank. I agree on the light thing, pick a number between 8 and 12 and go from there. Guppies are good algae eaters and the amount of plants you’ll be putting in right off the bat will help too. When you set the tank up put the plants in to help with cycle, once you see plant growth you know it’s producing nitrates and you’re ready for fish. That’s my favorite way to cycle a new tank. Guppies are really hardy so they should do well early on. that’s awesome that he’s interested at breeding and stuff at such a young age! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 About what @Steph’s Fish and Plants said I completely agree with the pygmy cory thing. In my experience, pygmy cories (Corydoras pygmaeus) do stay near the bottom, but will occasionally school midwater (depends on how many you get the more there are, the more they will swim midwater. For example I only have 5 so they mostly hide away or stay on the bottom, while swimming along the glass midwater only to play occasionally). Either way, I wouldn't be concerned with vertical space when it comes to these. So they are (along with C. hastatus and C. habrosus) a great choice for your tank. They will also add a lot of activity and playfullness to the aquarium that a small child would love to watch, as long as you get enough of them. Also, about larger cories and guppies. 2 hours ago, Paul_Obermiller said: Also corydoras that are bigger would chump down on the fry. So if he is breeding for some type of income it wouldn't be best to have say bronze size corys in there. The pygmies might leave them alone though. I never tried pygmies with guppies so I don't know what the outcome would be. I have my peppered cories and their offspring (Corydoras paleatus), albino cories (Corydoras aeneus), venezuelan cory (Corydoras spec.), and pygmy cories (Corydoras pygmaeus) in my 29 gallon with breeding guppies and Endler's livebearers and they don't eat any of the babies. Female peppered cory vs. pygmy cory size: Female peppered cory (farther) vs. male peppered cory (closer) size: These pcitures are just here to give an idea of how big the cories are while they still don't eat any of the guppy fry. As you can see, the large and small cories alike are in the tank with guppies and Endler's livebearers (and hybrids) of all sizes + fry and don't eat anyone. For these cories, I would be more concerned with space, as they probably need at least 30 inches along the bottom of the aquarium. Anyway, onto the stocking plan. I am assuming you are going for the effect of a lot of smaller community fish while also for breeding purposes, so here is my suggestion: 2 Trios of guppies you picked out 8 or more small corydoras species (C. pygmaeus, C. hastatus, C. habrosus, maybe even C. panda). These might also breed, but the eggs/babies require more maintenance than livebearers like guppies. Snails as clean up. Small snails like nerites are great for algae, while pond/bladder snails, malaysian trumpet snails, and ramshorn snails will all breed like crazy, but you won't get much value from them. If you don't like snails, try Amano shrimp, which don't breed, or cherry shrimp, that breed a lot and are worth quite a bit I've heard. But that is just my suggestions and experiences. They might be different for other people, so feel free to check with other members and heed to their advice, as I have only been in the hobby for a year and a half or so. Hope this helps. Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 5, 2021 Author Share Posted February 5, 2021 Thanks you so much everyone tons of great pearls for me to take into setting up and stocking his tank. I’m excited wife gave me the go ahead to get a piece of furniture to put the tank on which was the last step. I’ll post pics and keep a little journal on the tank set up and stocking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Obermiller Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 20 hours ago, CorydorasEthan said: About what @Steph’s Fish and Plants said I completely agree with the pygmy cory thing. In my experience, pygmy cories (Corydoras pygmaeus) do stay near the bottom, but will occasionally school midwater (depends on how many you get the more there are, the more they will swim midwater. For example I only have 5 so they mostly hide away or stay on the bottom, while swimming along the glass midwater only to play occasionally). Either way, I wouldn't be concerned with vertical space when it comes to these. So they are (along with C. hastatus and C. habrosus) a great choice for your tank. They will also add a lot of activity and playfullness to the aquarium that a small child would love to watch, as long as you get enough of them. Also, about larger cories and guppies. I have my peppered cories and their offspring (Corydoras paleatus), albino cories (Corydoras aeneus), venezuelan cory (Corydoras spec.), and pygmy cories (Corydoras pygmaeus) in my 29 gallon with breeding guppies and Endler's livebearers and they don't eat any of the babies. Female peppered cory vs. pygmy cory size: Female peppered cory (farther) vs. male peppered cory (closer) size: These pcitures are just here to give an idea of how big the cories are while they still don't eat any of the guppy fry. As you can see, the large and small cories alike are in the tank with guppies and Endler's livebearers (and hybrids) of all sizes + fry and don't eat anyone. For these cories, I would be more concerned with space, as they probably need at least 30 inches along the bottom of the aquarium. Anyway, onto the stocking plan. I am assuming you are going for the effect of a lot of smaller community fish while also for breeding purposes, so here is my suggestion: 2 Trios of guppies you picked out 8 or more small corydoras species (C. pygmaeus, C. hastatus, C. habrosus, maybe even C. panda). These might also breed, but the eggs/babies require more maintenance than livebearers like guppies. Snails as clean up. Small snails like nerites are great for algae, while pond/bladder snails, malaysian trumpet snails, and ramshorn snails will all breed like crazy, but you won't get much value from them. If you don't like snails, try Amano shrimp, which don't breed, or cherry shrimp, that breed a lot and are worth quite a bit I've heard. But that is just my suggestions and experiences. They might be different for other people, so feel free to check with other members and heed to their advice, as I have only been in the hobby for a year and a half or so. Hope this helps. Good luck! I guess my corys are just rogue then, I saw a guppy fry get slurped up like a noodle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorydorasEthan Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 31 minutes ago, Paul_Obermiller said: I guess my corys are just rogue then, I saw a guppy fry get slurped up like a noodle. Oh wow! I'll have to keep a closer eye on my cories then, just in case! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucky Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Your tank is very similar to mine and the one thing I'd say is if you're breeding guppies it can become challenging to get food to your bottom dwellers like shrimp and corys because the guppies don't let much get by them and even when they do, they will scavenge from the substrate. Some ideas I've used to get food where it need to go is using repashy covered rocks (did this for the first time today), feeding bottom dwellers at night, and using a pvc pipe to help me guide food down directly to where it needs to go. Takes a little creativity but I've been able to get my fish and shrimp breeding so I think it has been working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 I’ve got a lot of experience with bottom dwellers whether corys or plecos and synodontis cats many moons ago in a mbuna tank. So I understand the issues related to getting them fed. This will be my first experience with dwarf corys. I’ve got Repashy on hand and blocks in my freezer so I’ll definitely include that and I’ll try the rock idea as well. Thanks for that idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 My son was looking at my display tank tonight and noted my ember tetras and asked me if they were able to “come visit my tank,” which upon further questioning meant I want your ember tetras. There are 10 in the display. Could I get away with those embers + 2 trios of guppies, dwarf corys +- a snail species? In googling the subject it seems the smaller tetras should be fine. My only concern I think is the harder water with the crushed coral and aragonite. I know they are adaptable but any input is appreciated- I think I can navigate a no if needed with my son. In the case he he understands when I say it could hurt them and he’ll be ok with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 Started a build journal really appreciate all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnwch Posted April 21, 2021 Share Posted April 21, 2021 Similar situation with 8 year old and I'm a novice, so it was great to see this thread! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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