# Just got a bunch of GUPPY's!



## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

I was wondering if i need to ad aquarium salt?
Are platty's and molly in the same family?

Can i put neon's in with the guppy's or frogs/shrimp/crabs at the bottom of tank

65gal tank


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

Guppies, platy's, mollies and swordtails are all in the same family - Poeciliidae - and are commonly called livebeares, because they give birth to live young instead of laying eggs. 

You don't really need to add salt. They should be fine without it.

Shrimp yes, frogs and crabs, not a great idea. Reason being that frogs and crabs are often predatory, and small fish make great prey. It might work, but it often doesn't especially if you are new to the aquarium world. 

Neons are fine tankmates with guppies, but are not a great fish if the tank is newly setup. Wait 6 weeks or so for neons.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

how about if i want to add tetra wait 6 weeks also i assume the will be good with guppies?

i have 2 algae eater do i need more? im unsure how many cory cats to get. (The tank is in the basement away from window, unsure how long to leave light on)

Even dwarf frogs might prey on them?

Is there a certain type of shrimp that are better than others?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The Neons should be fine with the Guppies.

What kind of "algae eater" do you have? It is very vague. If thy are common Plecos, they will grow very large.

Cory Cats are not primarily algae eaters, also.

As for shrimp, it depends what you want. Amano shrimp are larger, and are more efficient at cleaning up algae and other decaying plant matter. Red Cherry Shrimp are smaller, more attractive, but may be picked apart by the fish that you have. Their babies would stand no chance. There are also more expensive shrimp, but these are harder to keep, and are much more expensive.


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

ilikefish said:


> Even dwarf frogs might prey on them?


Dwarf frogs probably wouldnt eat guppies or tetras, though they might eat the guppy fry. The bigger problem here is getting enough food down to the frogs. Frogs will only eat meatier foods; generally they won't accept flakes, and most people feed them frozen foods like brine shrimp/blood worms/mysis/daphnia etc. You have to get that food past your fish (who will also want to eat it), get enough to the frogs, but also not overfeed. You will need a small pipette or eye dropper so that you can target feed your frogs every day or other day.


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## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*dwarf frogs*

will dwarf frogs eat shrimps ,


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## acropora1981 (Aug 21, 2010)

tom g said:


> will dwarf frogs eat shrimps ,


they may possibly.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

i have 2 chinesse algae eater do i need more? im unsure how many cory cats to get to clean the bottum of the tank or to go with shrimp...Will the shrimp eat any food left at the bottom? 
(The tank is in the basement away from window, unsure how long to leave light on)


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

I would not get more than a single CAE. They grow quite large, and will become aggressive towards each other (not to mention towards other fish).

Shrimp will eat uneaten food, but you should also feed them vegetable matter from time to time.

As for your lights, 8 hours is usually a good number to start off with. A timer will help immensely in keeping the lighting consistent.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

ok so if u get cory cats and or shrimp how many should i go with?


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

In a 65 gal. tank I would get 4-6 cory cats, I would stay away from the shrimp as they are more sensetive to water conditions and also get rid of one of the chinese algea eaters as they will fight with each other when they are larger. Lights on between 8-10 hrs a day. Salt is not needed unless in a hospital tank. Google each fish you would like to keep and read up before purchasing may save some money. Good luck and enjoy.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

If i do decide to get shrink how many should i get and can they be mixed with the corys/?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

It is hard to say how many shrimp you can keep in a 65 gallon aquarium. "Many" is the easiest answer.

I have about 30-40 in an ADA Mini-S, and that is about 3 gallons, so...

In terms of whether they will get along with Corys, it depends. The adults should be OK, but the babies may be occasionally eaten.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

I just did the test kit on my tank:
ammonia, nitrate and nitrite are 0
lower ph around ~7.2- 7.6
upper ph around ~8.4
Are the numbers ok?
also. roughly how often and what % water should i change for these and should the canister filter be cleaned each time with the water change?... thanks! 65gal


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

The numbers look OK, though I would expect there to be some nitrates in a properly cycled aquarium. 

However, the test results may be erroneous; nitrate test kits are often not very useful unless they are calibrated with reference solutions.

If your pH is in the workable range of the bromothymol blue, there is no need to use the high range pH test kit.

For the water changes, I like to do 20-25% water changes on a weekly basis; some people do it on a biweekly basis. It really depends on what kind of aquarium you have. For example, if you are dosing EI, then you would have to do weekly 50% water changes, etc.

For the canister filter, I clean it every so often (maybe every few months). You do not need to clean it everytime you change the water.


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

Why no need for upper pH? what should the pH be at?
what is EI?
I had a couple guppies die on me i bought like 20..
The temp is at 75 is that ok?


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

anyone want to help me ?


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## ilikefish (Mar 10, 2008)

i just had another guppy die... Whats going on...


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

ilikefish said:


> i just had another guppy die... Whats going on...


It sounds like your tank was not cycled properly. So it might be Ammonia or Nitrite poisoning.

Also, there is no reason to use both pH readings because it's either in the lower range or the higher range. So your pH cannot be 7.4 AND 8.4, it's one or the other.

If it was 8.4, that's really alkaline water.

But it seems like your tank was not cycled as you had 0-0-0 ammonia-nitrite-nitrate. a cycled tank should have 5-40 ppm nitrates. Usually the nitrate spikes after the ammonia and nitrite have been broken down.

Also, a BUNCH of guppies? You might have increased the bioload too much and all the ammonia the fish waste is producing couldn't be eaten by the good bacteria in your filter, and your fish died from ammonia or nitrite poisoning.

do an immediate 30% WC with conditioned water to reduce the levels of ammonia and nitrite. It might extend the time it takes for the cycle to complete but you might be able to save your fish.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

And I will add, that I too have readings on both my Low pH and my High pH. However, Toronto tap water is ~7.4 so I don't think I have anything that would raise the pH to 8.0.

They must produce a new Master Test Kit - we all seem to have problems with correct readings.


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