What fish can I keep in a 12l Guppy fry tank?

Hi Guys

I have a 12l tank which I use to grow my guppy fry in until I can move them to my other tanks. I am looking for small fish that I can keep with the fry so that when the fry are removed the tank is not empty. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of a nice small Featherfin Catfish :bigsmile:

 

Definitely not the featherfin dude. They will outgrow that tank in a month or two. And they will eat the fry.

 

@SloMo.00. - Dude, that was some serious sarcasm . I know they are monsters. I thought I would suggest the ridiculous :bird:and see where it went from there.

 

Ha ha ha. I should have read that one hey. But on a serious note. Some Cardinals and a Otto maybe? What else do you have in the tank? Plants etc?

 

Angel fry???

 

@Zoom - I think Angels are out of my league. Beautiful fish. I would also need another tank for the parents. :bigsmile:
@SloMo.00. - Do you reckon 6 cardinals or similar type fish (I have cardinals and neons already) or would that be too many? I like the oto idea but don't see them around very often. Maybe a few cory's? Currently there is only Silica gravel, a sponge filter and a 8w flourescant (Yellow!)

 

I'd say about 8 Cardinals, Maybe some White clouds? Cory's are great little fish. I would say no more than 4 in that size tank. I know they must be kept in bigger groups. But in your case you need to consider the tank size. If you get the panda's maybe 6 as they stay smaller. Maybe even Daneo's would work in that tank. Altho Daneo's are very active swimmers. So I'd say either go for the Cardinals or White clouds and the Cory's. If you can get them, Ember tetras or Exclamation point rasbora's. They are seriously small fish. No sarcasm. Seriously small..

Just remember that this is essentially your Guppy fry tank. So There will be other fish in there aswell from time to time, so keep that in consideration for the Bio Load.

HTH

 

@SloMo.00. - I haven't seen the Exclamation Point Rasbora or Ember Tetra (both very nice) at any of my LFS but will keep an eye out. I could be wrong but as far as I know White Clouds like cold water? To be honest, I am a little worried about the Bio Load but I'm not sure what I can do as I don't want the fry to get sucked up.

 

Sponge Filters dude. Works a charm in fry tanks.

 

@ SloMo.00. - I have the one sponge filter at the moment but I think it may be too big. I don't really understand the mechanics of these filters. Mine has a plastic tube coming off the top and the airline goes inside that. I had to cut the "tube" in half to get it below the surface level. When I gravel vacced the other night there was a lot of leftover food in the gravel? I know I'm overfeeding so I will cut back on that but any ideas on the filter. Should I remove the plastic tube completely?

 

Hey dude that doesn't look like a filter to me. That looks more like an air stone type sponge that puts millions of bubbles in the tank. Let me get a pic of one.

 

Okay I now understand how that works. You conect it to a intake pipe?

 

I've never had that problem... I had 2 females and they gave me 15-20 fry every 2 weeks. Now I've got more females... I think I need more tanks.

I would definitely go for exclamation point rasboras if you could find them, otherwise 6 or so Tetras.

I wouldn't remove the tube completely - I can't remember why, but it is apparently necessary. Essentially, it only does biological filtration, so any uneaten food would just sit on the bottom until it breaks down. I use a sponge filter in my tank, but I do a gravel vac every night (or every other night at worst). Then I do a top up which means it is basically a 10% or so water change every day.

 

That should be great for fry. Don't think they will be sucked into the sponge. It works the same as most spunge filter. The air line pumps air into the sponge. Then the thick tube lets the air out upward. This created a vacuum that sucks water into the sponge. And there you have a filter. They aren't very efficient for large aquariums. But they work in fry tanks. So if you are planning to house other fish in there I would suggest maybe get a small HOB coupled to this. Just put a sponge on the HOB's intake aswell.

 

@KillerBunny - Thanks. I like your ideas. I will give it a go
@SloMo.00. - I have no experience with HOB's but will take a look at LFS on the weekend. Thanks again...

 

Do we get Flame Tetra in SA? I see they get to 2.5cm.

 

Standard length reaches 2.5 to 4cm

 

DewaldC - Ok, thats maybe a little big. Do we get them here? P.S - I didn't want to post off topic on your post but this is my post so, is that an Emperor Tetra in your photo of the Head and Tail Light?

 

Yellow-Tailed Congo Tetra (Alestopetersius caudalis)

 

@DewaldC - Wow! I've never seen them before. Dude, you have some awesome fish...