Fish similar to livebearers

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GallonsOfFun

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Hi, I was planning a mostly livebearer tank, but now I'm afraid I won't be able to deal with the fry. I don't have anywhere to put them and I don't want to kill them. I was planning to have 2 german blue rams to deal with the fry, but I'm not sure this will work. Tell me if it will!

Anyway, if not, I'm looking for fish other than livebearers for a 55g community tank. I liked the livebearers because they were a good size, very colorful, active, and interesting.

Now, I'm a little lost. Can you guys give me suggestions for fish that are similar in those respects to livebearers?
 
Hi, I was planning a mostly livebearer tank, but now I'm afraid I won't be able to deal with the fry. I don't have anywhere to put them and I don't want to kill them. I was planning to have 2 german blue rams to deal with the fry, but I'm not sure this will work. Tell me if it will!

Anyway, if not, I'm looking for fish other than livebearers for a 55g community tank. I liked the livebearers because they were a good size, very colorful, active, and interesting.

Now, I'm a little lost. Can you guys give me suggestions for fish that are similar in those respects to livebearers?

One of the great things about livebearers is that you can tell the genders of the fish before you buy them. I would just get males of the varieties you want. In fact, in some cases (ie swordtails and guppies), the males are much prettier than the females. In the case of the swordtail, the males have a sword and the females don't. So if fry are an issue, having an all male tank will solve that problem.
As for will the Rams solve the fry problem: maybe. It depends on how many you have and how large the fry get before the rams get to them. Truth is, most livebearer fry will stay at the surface and hide in any plants you have in the tank while the rams will be on the bottom. They behave this way because their parents are also known fry eaters. So you could actually wind up with no fry anyway without the Rams but there's no guarantee on that. A male only tank is your only guarantee.
Hope this helps. (y)
 
Hey, thanks for that, it was very informative!

What I was initially planning was: 5x dalmatian molly, 5x golden panda molly, 5x guppy, 6x cardinal tetra, 4x panda cory.

As for the livebearers in this group: 1.) would it be possible to get all males at the LFS (ie. would they have them & be able to tell) and 2.) would all males cause a lot of aggression.

If it would cause aggression, would all male swordtails and platys be less aggressive?
 
Hey, thanks for that, it was very informative!

What I was initially planning was: 5x dalmatian molly, 5x golden panda molly, 5x guppy, 6x cardinal tetra, 4x panda cory.

As for the livebearers in this group: 1.) would it be possible to get all males at the LFS (ie. would they have them & be able to tell) and 2.) would all males cause a lot of aggression.

If it would cause aggression, would all male swordtails and platys be less aggressive?

Livebearers are one of the most common fish kept in aquariums and truthfully, if the person at the LFS can't tell the difference between the matured males and females, I would think twice about getting fish from them. But just so you know, I found this video that might help you.
It all has to do with the Anal fin. It will be rolled up and look like a tube in all male livebearers. All livebearers start with the female's shaped anal fin so you only want to buy the ones where the fin ( a.k.a. Gonopodium) has developed. This assures you that the fish is male.
As for aggression, there will be some as they try to establish a hierarchy but no real damage is usually done to the fish. But as long as there are no female livebearers in the tank, they should all get along with no issues.
Hope this helps (y)
 
Thank you!!! You've been absolutely awesome and helped me finally settle on a tank! Have a good day :)
 
Livebearers in general prefer hard, alkaline water, and cardinal tetras prefer soft neutral-acidic water. Not really a good mix. An angelfish or a pair would definitely help control livebearer fry and would be more adaptable to the water conditions since they're pretty much domesticated fish now.
 
Neons are even more delicate than cardinals. Colombian tetras would be a better bet, larger but almost the same colors as neons or cardinals.
 
Live bearers are hardy fish that can handle a wide range of water differentials, such is the beauty of them. You should easily be able to get away with your stocking if you keep the ph at around 6.6 and under. Although what has been stated is true I don't think you'll have any issues :).


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AqAdvisor told me a ph of 7 would work best, is this wrong?

Also, what should the dH be? AqAdvisor says somewhere around 15. The other fish beside mollies seem very flexible with dH (neon's range is listed at 3-25), but I'm reading conflicting info on mollies (20-30, 15-30, 10-30, etc.). What would you have the dH at? Does it matter too much considering they're hardy fish? If I had to lean to the side of the neons or the livebearers, which side should I lean to?
 
I would suggest not getting all males and get all females... Males will fight if there aren't enough females in the tank.

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I would suggest not getting all males and get all females... Males will fight if there aren't enough females in the tank.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

However, they will fight a lot less if there are NO females in the tank. It changes their disposition that way. There will be "fights" for hierarchy which are much less violent than for breeding rights. The OP's issue was fry and not wanting them. Female livebearers can hold sperm for some time so the only way to ensure there are no fry is to not have females. (y)
 
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