triggerfishfan
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2013
- Messages
- 26
So, how hardy really ARE guppies? And when can I put plants in?
Most of my reading etc suggests them as starter fish due to their hardiness and inexpense too incase of losses. I popped along to the local Pets at Home - a UK retailer - last night to get myself a plant in readiness for putting some fish in today. The man at the shop said that firstly, there was "no point putting a plabnt in if there are no fish in the tank yet because it will just die" I questioned him and advised I would be going to buy some fish tomorrow (today) and would it really die so quickly and he said it would and that as my tank currently has no fish in it, i need to wait at least 7 days AFTER putting any fish in before putting any plants in..... !!!
I took his advice on the plant issue and then looked at what stock they had in. He said to me "Don't put guppies in your first tank/stock as they will die easily. I said to him that I had done some reading and that my reading (from different sites and also advice from my aunt who has kept fish for 20 years) suggested guppies were hardy critters and a good first stock. He then said "well its upto you but you are likely to have them die on you."
He then tried to "sell" me a 6 strong school of Malawai Cichlids. I noted that they have a traffic light system in the shop guppies being green because they are "easy" to keep and the Malawis red because they are "difficult" to keep. He said oh theyre only tricky to keep because you can only have those kind of fish in your tank.
So my question is, is he telling me the truth here or just trying to sell me the more expensive, trickier to keep fish so that ill have to go back for more stuff?
The starter fish my aunt suggested are:cory fish, white mountain minnows, head/tail lights, guppies, platys, black widow tetras. I intend to get 2 guppies and maybe a shrimp to start off my tank.
Most of my reading etc suggests them as starter fish due to their hardiness and inexpense too incase of losses. I popped along to the local Pets at Home - a UK retailer - last night to get myself a plant in readiness for putting some fish in today. The man at the shop said that firstly, there was "no point putting a plabnt in if there are no fish in the tank yet because it will just die" I questioned him and advised I would be going to buy some fish tomorrow (today) and would it really die so quickly and he said it would and that as my tank currently has no fish in it, i need to wait at least 7 days AFTER putting any fish in before putting any plants in..... !!!
I took his advice on the plant issue and then looked at what stock they had in. He said to me "Don't put guppies in your first tank/stock as they will die easily. I said to him that I had done some reading and that my reading (from different sites and also advice from my aunt who has kept fish for 20 years) suggested guppies were hardy critters and a good first stock. He then said "well its upto you but you are likely to have them die on you."
He then tried to "sell" me a 6 strong school of Malawai Cichlids. I noted that they have a traffic light system in the shop guppies being green because they are "easy" to keep and the Malawis red because they are "difficult" to keep. He said oh theyre only tricky to keep because you can only have those kind of fish in your tank.
So my question is, is he telling me the truth here or just trying to sell me the more expensive, trickier to keep fish so that ill have to go back for more stuff?
The starter fish my aunt suggested are:cory fish, white mountain minnows, head/tail lights, guppies, platys, black widow tetras. I intend to get 2 guppies and maybe a shrimp to start off my tank.