stitchandbrambl
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi everyone!
I've been toying around with an idea for a while and doing lots of research, but I'd love some direct feedback on my plan! My husband is an engineer who's been wanting to design & build an above-ground fish pond for small-scale aquaponics on our patio. I work with animals professionally (an animal trainer at my "day job," and currently completing an aquarist internship at a small aquarium/zoo) and have been wanting to set up a planted community tank indoors where I can enjoy my fish up close & personal!
I'd like to have a 20-50gal with primarily guppies and perhaps one or two other species as tankmates. The guppies would be allowed to colony breed; the gups with traits I like will stay in the tank, and the "culls" would move outside to the pond. I figure that every once in a while, we could swish a net through the pond and see if there's anything neat to reintroduce into the tank for genetic diversity.
Soooo... my questions are:
I've been toying around with an idea for a while and doing lots of research, but I'd love some direct feedback on my plan! My husband is an engineer who's been wanting to design & build an above-ground fish pond for small-scale aquaponics on our patio. I work with animals professionally (an animal trainer at my "day job," and currently completing an aquarist internship at a small aquarium/zoo) and have been wanting to set up a planted community tank indoors where I can enjoy my fish up close & personal!
I'd like to have a 20-50gal with primarily guppies and perhaps one or two other species as tankmates. The guppies would be allowed to colony breed; the gups with traits I like will stay in the tank, and the "culls" would move outside to the pond. I figure that every once in a while, we could swish a net through the pond and see if there's anything neat to reintroduce into the tank for genetic diversity.
Soooo... my questions are:
- Has anyone tried anything like this before? Does it seem like a reasonable plan?
- Can guppies handle being moved between indoor & outdoor enclosures? Any tips for housing guppies outdoors in Southern California?
- Favorite tankmate suggestions always welcome. I'm partial to small cats (cories, upside-down, etc), loaches, celestial pearl danios, crustaceans (I care for a lot of shrimp, crayfish, crabs, and lobster at my internship & love their personalities), and bettas (I know some people have successfully kept them with guppies in large, heavily planted tanks) and would love feedback on who might be compatible, including both water conditions and personality!