16 bow stocking

fulmeralex

I am getting a brand new tank for Christmas. Currently, I have a bunch of guppies in a filtered and heated bin of water. I have 4 female adults, 4 male adults, about 20 juvenile guppies, and about 30 fry. I have the opportunity to give as many guppies as I want to my uncle. (he's using them as feeders for his cichlids) Here's what I was thinking: Keep the male adults and the promising-looking male juvies in my display (16 gal) tank along with a single swordtail and dwarf gourami with ghost shrimp to clean the gravel. First of all, are all of those fish compatible? I don''t want my prized male guppies to get terrorized. Then, I guess I could keep the two biggest female guppies in a quarantine tank used for raising fry. They would basically live in there and I'd throw in a male when I want a new batch of babies. All the fry and whimpy looking juveniles would go to my uncle's cichlid tank. My second option is to let nature take its course by putting all the guppies and their fry into the show tank and there would be a constant supply of food for the gourami and swordtail. However, if DGs and Swords don't eat fry, then I guess I'm SOL. Tell me what you think.

dylan94

The dwarf gourami and swordtail will eat the fry, but my concern is having only one swordtail. Swordtails like being with other swordtails, usually to a ratio of 1Male to 2-3Females. here are a few suggestions:

All of your guppies + ghost shrimp+ 1 male DG

or

All your guppies + ghost shrimp + 1m+2f swordtails

or

Male guppies + ghost shrimp + 1 DG + 3 swordtails

The last suggestion is kind of pushing the bioload limit but you could do it with a good filter and weekly water changes. Keep in mind guppies and shrimp have very low bioload but gourami and swordtails have higher bioloads. Hope this helps.

Angel079

So you're having a 16g and get what size tank for Christmas? I'd utilize both tanks and split the stock up

Fishin Pole

I agree with Dylan, with the exception of the the dwarf gourami and ghost shrimp together........I wouldnt trust a dwarf gourami with a shrimp population....I never mixed them, but i think even a dwarf gourami, couldnt resist the temptation of live food, your shrimp MIGHT start to disappear.......i have used my shrimp tanks as temp holding tanks for guppies and never noticed them bothering the shrimp.......Another thing worth mentioning, i would wait a few months to add the shrimp.....Let your tank establish itself and become stable before introducing the shrimp.......They will do better for you.........Using the QT tank as a holding tank for guppy population control is a good idea, if you want to continue to breed them......The only problem, is if you really need a QT tank, then what?......Ultimately, its your choice on how you want to approach the new tank......Are you considering live plants?......your species selected will all benefit from live plants, and they will help with water quality and overall health of your tank........

I wish you the best of luck with your tank!.........Merry Christmas!