Hello all -
I have been searching through the old forum posts and had many questions answered but would appreciate some more help with some questions I have. I have had cichlids for 2 years but I got them before I knew much about them and they outgrew my tank so I gave them to a friend w/a 100 gallon tank. I also decided I wanted a more peaceful fish and live in a hard / high alkaline water area so instead of fighting my water I decided to try a community livebearer tank with primarily guppies. I have a 20 gallon tank that I reused the rock/silk plants/decor + 10 gallons of water from my previous tank. I let that cycle for just over a week and my water was testing 0 for ammonia and the other levels in the "safe" range on the test strips. I added 3 guppies yesterday and they are doing great, water is still testing fine. (Sorry, brevity is not one of my attributes) My plan is to wait 1 week, do a 20% water change then add 3 more guppies, repeat, then add 3-4 corydoras and possibly add a couple platys the following week. So I would end up with 9 guppies, 3-4 corys, and 3-4 platys. I only want males, I don't want to deal with fry. My questions are...Is that a good plan or are there things I should tweak? Is it likely that I could have a peaceful all male tank w/platys and guppies? I currently don't have a heater, my water is usually right at 72 degrees is that going to be ok or should I get a heater? What do you feed them besides flake food? I got some teeny tiny pellet food but even that's too big. I have read mixed reviews on salt in the aquarium...thoughts? I try to keep it as natural as possible and only used a dechlorinator to date. Also, last question...once established how often do I need to do water changes? I only did every 2-3 weeks with my cichlids and they did fine. Do you vacuum the gravel each time or alternate with just water changes? Thanks for any and all help. I looked through several other forums and this one seemed the friendliest to non experts!
I have been searching through the old forum posts and had many questions answered but would appreciate some more help with some questions I have. I have had cichlids for 2 years but I got them before I knew much about them and they outgrew my tank so I gave them to a friend w/a 100 gallon tank. I also decided I wanted a more peaceful fish and live in a hard / high alkaline water area so instead of fighting my water I decided to try a community livebearer tank with primarily guppies. I have a 20 gallon tank that I reused the rock/silk plants/decor + 10 gallons of water from my previous tank. I let that cycle for just over a week and my water was testing 0 for ammonia and the other levels in the "safe" range on the test strips. I added 3 guppies yesterday and they are doing great, water is still testing fine. (Sorry, brevity is not one of my attributes) My plan is to wait 1 week, do a 20% water change then add 3 more guppies, repeat, then add 3-4 corydoras and possibly add a couple platys the following week. So I would end up with 9 guppies, 3-4 corys, and 3-4 platys. I only want males, I don't want to deal with fry. My questions are...Is that a good plan or are there things I should tweak? Is it likely that I could have a peaceful all male tank w/platys and guppies? I currently don't have a heater, my water is usually right at 72 degrees is that going to be ok or should I get a heater? What do you feed them besides flake food? I got some teeny tiny pellet food but even that's too big. I have read mixed reviews on salt in the aquarium...thoughts? I try to keep it as natural as possible and only used a dechlorinator to date. Also, last question...once established how often do I need to do water changes? I only did every 2-3 weeks with my cichlids and they did fine. Do you vacuum the gravel each time or alternate with just water changes? Thanks for any and all help. I looked through several other forums and this one seemed the friendliest to non experts!
