Can these fish be safe in the same tank?

[mannymouse]

Hey everyone!
I have a 45 gal fluval bowfront that I'm looking to stock with Mollies, tetras, guppies and a Pleco. A person at our LFS said that having a betta in the tank to start will help get the tank started in cycling. Will the other fish start to nip at the bettas fins once it's established? Would a female betta be better than a male for this? If a betta won't work what type of fish would be best to start? Thank you! Any advice is welcome

 

[cgthebeast]

Well Betta's an guppies really don't get along that well because of there flowing fins look similar. Though you could always buy a small 1 1/2 gallon for it after ward. Mollies also get quite large 4-5 inches. Female can be more relaxed them males

 

[mannymouse]

Hmm that's what I thought.. Any ideas of what kind of fish would be hardy enough to handle a new tank to get a cycle going? Oh and that would be compatible with the other fish? Thanks for the help

 

[cgthebeast]

I actually used a beta to cycle my tank, I removed it because he was pretty aggressive. Though I know that danios are pretty hardy and are commonly used as cycling fish

 

[mannymouse]

Ok thanks!

 

[Pandicorn]

Woah there... Hope you haven't bought yet. Fishless cycling is much faster and easy, less dangerous for the fish, and much less maintenance. I would cycle with the guppies you are going to get. The Pleco will get too big.


Cycling 45 Gallon. ???

 

[mannymouse]

We got 6 mollies last night and they seem to be doing great

 

[Pandicorn]

My 10 gal: 8 Neon tetras, 1 danio. I have 10 guppy fry as well. I use it to raise fry and keep the said fish.


Cycling 45 Gallon. ???

 

[cgthebeast]

Just keep testing the water often, when nitrates build up, it's time to do a water change. Test at Least twice a day

 

[mannymouse]

Nice! We are going to get guppies and tetras once the tank is more established and are hoping to set up a nursery tank for when we have fry. (Which is pretty much inevitable)

 

[mannymouse]

I have nothing to test it with :/ we are looking for a kit but for some reason they are hard to find

 

[cgthebeast]

Alright then, no problem. I know amazon has API freshwater test kits for a good price. Liquid are better the strips but strips are better then nothing . In the mean time just keep a close eye on the tank, and watch for cloudy water.
Fish-in cycling is simper in chemistry then fishless cycling but has more water changes.

 

[mannymouse]

Ok thanks I'll definitely go and look for the test strips asap. Is cloudy water a sign of something bad? Our is somewhat cloudy but I figured it was because my tank is new and we may not have rinsed the sand well enough. I've had the filter going for a few days and bought some water clarifier thinking it would help. Thanks for the help! I'm new at this so please bear with me

 

[cgthebeast]

Trust me we where all new at some point, cloudy water is a sign of a baterica bloom and time for a water change.

 

[mannymouse]

Oh that makes sense. But we just put fresh water in it a few day ago and hadn't had any fish yet so I don't imagine that could be it :/ thanks tho

 

[cgthebeast]

When did you add fish?

 

[mannymouse]

Just last night

 

[cgthebeast]

Over 12 hrs, that waste had built up so it a bloom

 

[mannymouse]

Oh ok well I definitely will do a water change when I get back to the tank

 

[cgthebeast]

Sounds like a plan them