60 Gallon capacity

[dharris]

Hi All!

I have an extra 60 gallon sitting around the garage. My wife would like to make this aquarium a livebearer tank. Setup,
60 G acrylic tank
Fluval 404
250 w heater
2 x 40w bulbs
natural gravel
Misc silk plants.

What do yo think the capacity of this tank will be? Told my wife, even if we start with only 20 guppies or platies, we will end up with twice as much sooner or later (since the breed like rabbits).

Thank you all for you help.

 

[Guest]

why do you want to go with livebearers? there are so many more options out there.. Angelfish, chichlids, gouramis, tetra's, rainbowfish, LOACHES, ???
As you said the livebearers will constantly breed untill there is no tomorrow.

 

[Acer]

hello, welcome to AA !!!!

after your tank is done cycling i would only start out with a couple of each, guppys will replicate like there is no tomorrow.. what are you planning opn doing with all the fry? you might end up with more than your tank can handle..

what kind of bulbs do you use? flourecent?

 

[Acer]

As you said the livebearers will constantly breed untill there is no tomorrow

you beat me to post!! thats funny

guppys will replicate like there is no tomorrow..

 

[Guest]

LOL @ acer

 

[dharris]

I have access to pre cycled material to put inside my Fluval 404, so that will not be a real issue. I do have two 40watt florescent tubes. This will be my wife's tank, so will be what she wants in it. I have a reef tank myself that is in the begining stages.

I have had reef and African Cichlids roughly twenty five years. My wife and I recently re-located to Reno from So Cal. My well matured African Cichlid tank had to go.

Thank you!

 

[poppab02]

I'm assuming that your going to be keeping the small colorful guppies, right? My best guess is that with the guppies your tank capacity is going to be around 60-70 as long as you don't overfeed and keep it relatively clean. They just don't produce a whole lot of waste so you should be able to keep quite a few in that tank as long as it's well cared for. Platies are a bit bigger and produce a bit more wast so I'd put they're capacity around the 40 mark. Either way that's going to be a ton of fish in that tank.

 

[DepotFish]

I'd start with five-ten fish, two-three males and several females. Or five-ten guppies and five-ten mollies or platies. The capacity is going to be a lot of fishies. Is your wife sure she wants just a bunch of tiny fish in a huge tank? My experience with guppies, despite their reputation of endless multiplication, is that they keep pretty controlled on their own since they are good at catching their young and having a snack. You might also later decide on a centerpiece fish that has a taste for guppy fry once the tank is full. That will cull out the slowpokes and leave room for the others. I'd also add a few otos for algae duty.

 

[Acer]

just be sure you buy your stock from different stores, mom&pop types and commercial chains, just to keep a diverse genetic pool.. youm ight have enough light to throw some plants in there, check in the planted section for suggestions?

 

[dharris]

Thanks All!
She may want a couple angel fish as well... You never know with her...

 

[rich311k]

If you get angels the guppies might not workout. When the angels get large the guppies may disappear.

 

[Tiffi]

I've heard that before that guppies/endlers populations seem to stagnate when the tank is "full". If you don't have too many hiding places in there for the fry they might not get too many neither.

 

[dharris]

I new it, she cannot make up her mind. Now she likes African Cichlids again.
Now I'm taking over... Question, I live in Sparks Nevada near Reno. We tons of Lava type rock all over the place, can that be used for building a rock structure?

 

[dharris]

Went to a local rock supply yard. Ended up buying rock called "pami cobble". The rock I picked out appears to be red in color and is very flat and round to very round. This rock was only .19 a pound. I'm soaking the rock in hot water with bleach at the moment. I then will give a good scrub and rinse. Will post pix of the tank when the rock is layed out.