# what type of fish can reside happily with platies?



## kaylaclark

i have heard many many things, and have read many things. i just want a straight up answer. I actually have more than one question.

Question #1
What types of fish can reside happily with my current platies? I have read & heard that swordtails, mollies, guppies, angelfish, corydoras catfish, plecostomus, black skirts, Red Serpaes, and silver tips fish can live happy with palties? i just want to make sure before i get new fish.

Question #2
How many fish would be appropriate for a 46 gallon tank?

Question #3
I currently only have a small 5 gallon tank. I am planning on buying a 46 gallon tank in the near future. So, How many fish of each type listed above (or the ones that CAN be housed with platies) should i have in my 46 gallon tank?

Question #4
any hints or advice on raising such?

please and thanks


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## kaylaclark

Question #5
could i add any other freshwater creatures to my tank?


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## emc7

#1 your list isn't wrong, but there are concerns with each pairing. For instance, angels will eat platy babies. Swordtails can interbreed with platys. Swordtail males will certainly pester platy females and and larger swordtail-fathered fry could potentially increase the risk of female platy death-in-childbirth. Guppies, mollies, platies, and swordtails all use the same area of the tank, so you wouldn't want too many. I'd rather see a larger group of 6-8 platies, than 1 or 2 each of assorted fish. Plecos and cories use the bottom of the tank and wouldn't interfere with platies, but like tetras, they generally prefer softer water than platies. If you keep S. american fish with livebearers, you have to be careful the water chemistry stays moderate, so no fish is miserable. Serpaes have a reputation as fin nippers. If you get any tetra, get enough of them 6-8, that they pick on each other instead of your platies. 

#3 a 5 is pretty small, wait for the big tank before adding fish. Female platies have a habit of increasing populations on their own. Maybe add an apple snail for bottom clean up.

#5 1 Apple snail (it takes 2 to make more snails)


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## bmlbytes

kaylaclark said:


> Question #2
> How many fish would be appropriate for a 46 gallon tank?


That is like asking, "how big is a fish?" The answer will vary depending on the type, size and temperament of the fish. It will also depend on the fish keeper and how much they are willing to take care of a tank. Only experience can tell you how many fish can go in your tank. With your list of fish, it will vary depending on which fish and what ratio of those fish you are planning to do. It is a little easier to fix a stocking list than to tell someone what to stock, as the person is never happy with someone else's suggestion. Give us a list of fish you want and how many, and we can tell you how far off you are from the mark.


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## kaylaclark

i understand that a 5 gallon tank is wayyyy to small for lots of fish. currently i have 2 platies. WHEN i get my larger tank, i plan to add more. Here is what i have in mind for the larger tank:

(does color or type of species matter?)

6-8 platies
-2 red wag
-2 blue 
-2 mickey mouse
-2 white calico

2 corydoras
-salt and pepper

2 plecos
- clown

6 tetra
-3 X-Ray Pristella Tetra
-3 Red Minor Serpae 

2 snails
- apple



yes or no, more or less? other fish i should/could add?


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## bmlbytes

Your stocking list seems pretty good. A few suggestions I would make are: add a few cories; choose one type of tetra or add a few of each; maybe go with a smaller pleco (do clown plecos get big?).


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## kaylaclark

i think i want a combination of fish that have the colors of the rainbow, any ideas on what types to get that would be oka with my current 2 red wag platies?


6-8 platies (1-1/4" to 1-3/4")
-2 red wag 
-2 dalmation
-2 mickey mouse
-2 white calico

6 cories
- False Julii Cory (3/4" to 1-1/4")

2 pleco 
- Starry Night (1-1/4" to 4" )

6 tetra ( 1-1/4" to 1-3/4")
-red minor serpae 


2 snails
- apple


or instead of the pleco could i go with Angelicus Botia Loach (1" to 2-1/2" )

what type of live plant should i go with? or should i stick to plastic? 

yes or no, more or less? other fish i should/could add?




feeding ideas: high quality flake food, brine shrimp, freeze-dried bloodwoms, daphnia, tubifex and micro pellet food? good or no?


what would be good chemistry levels?

ammonia-0
nitrites-0
nitrates- low but how low?


or should they be different since the amount of different fish?

i would also like to know the best types of chemicals, medications, filters, pumps, ect to use?

my current 5 gallon tank, i have had for about 4 months, with two red wag platies has been doing great, i just want to make sure i have the right stuff for my larger tank before i actually invest in the fish. so please, any advice at all would be great.

any good themes?



( my current red wag's are parents of 4 lil cuties, but as soon as i am ready to let go, or i feel they are big enough? they already have new homes)


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## bmlbytes

Your stocking list looks fine to me, unless anyone else wants to comment.

A few tips though. First, maximum size is what you want to look at, not size that it currently is. For instance you wrote "Starry Night (1-1/4" to 4" )". This fish will grow to about 4" long that means. Anything less means it is not fully grown or it has been stunted. 

Second, fish size is not a good indicator of how many fish to put in a tank. You will hear people say "1 inch per gallon," but do you think a 20 inch fish could live in a 20g tank? That ratio is not accurate in the slightest bit.

Third, the reason I recommended a smaller pleco, is that some plecos can grow in excess of a foot. Most pet stores sell these plecos, and they wont tell you that.

Your food options sound good. It has a lot of variety. You may want to add algae tablets for the plecos. 

Also, since you don't know about the nitrate levels, I would really recommend learning about the nitrogen cycle. People who don't read up on it end up with what they call, New Tank Syndrome (NTS). Basically what happens is a large number of your new fish die from poisoning themselves with their own waste. It is essential that you cycle the tank before you put fish in. But in answer to your question, you are right, you want to keep ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate at a small number, usually less than 20.


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## kaylaclark

i understand that the measurements mean that they get around 4" and i was told many many times 1" per gallon and that is why i was posting the sizes. so disguarding the sizes, do you think i have a good amount of the ones i posted? do you think i should put more of a certain kind or are they fine in the amount i have chosen? and how long should i let my new tank cycle for? the lady at the pet store said about 4 days


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## bmlbytes

kaylaclark said:


> and how long should i let my new tank cycle for? the lady at the pet store said about 4 days


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Petstore lady ->:chair:<-Me

OK seriously now, go look up how to cycle a fish tank. Your pet store lady was off by about a month, and she probably didn't tell you how to cycle the tank.

The easiest way to do it is to drop a couple cocktail shrimp in the tank and let them sit there for about a month. Test the water regularly and wait until you get 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and a positive number of nitrates. Then do water changes to get it down to a safe nitrate level. Instead of shrimp, you can use fish food (feed the tank as if fish were in it), pure ammonia (clear and without surfactants), urine (just pee in the tank), and strong fish (add a couple of fish that can survive a cycle).

Another way that people do it, is to use a cycling product. Although these sometimes work, and sometimes don't. It really depends on your water. The best of these are Bio Spira, and Stability. You put those in with your first fish (which you should be adding slowly anyway) and the tank should cycle completely within 7 days. However it does not always work and your fish could possibly die from poisoning if you add too many fish at a time.


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