Guppies & Swordtails

G

Getnby

AC Members
Mar 18, 2008
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Hi everyone,

I am quite new to the world of wet pets but loving them all the same. I have a 3foot tank that houses swordtails {both male and female} and guppies {both male and female} and have been fortunate enough to be blessed with babies from both.

Today at the pet shop while purchasing some new fish I sighted the "upside down catfish" and I fell in love :drool:. They are sooooo cute and I would love to add two to my tank. Being a novice I turned to my fellow learned friends to advise me if this would be wise.

To digress I would like to thank the founders of this site, and all those that contribute. I find your stories informative and inspiring and your photos breathtaking. I'm sure I will have a lot more questions as time goes by.

Oh!:headbang2:another question {just to show how dumb I am} .... I have numerous guppy fry in my breeder swimming happily but they all are brown. Is this normal and do they change colour as they age?:confused::grinyes:

After you stop chuckling I would love an answer.

:grinyes:Getnby
 
OK, others will pipe in on this too, soon enough, first off, there are a couple of catfish that go by the name "upside down catfish" one of which, synodontis eupteras gets 8" and can be aggressive, the other common upside down catfish is synodontis nigriventris... These get to be 4" and are peaceful. Make sure before you buy, that you are getting the nigriventris (do a google image search to verify which is which).

On your second question, all fry start off rather plain. The guppy fry will come in with some fancy tails in the future, and start to have more color along the body, as they begin to grow, just keep em fed, and the ones that make it will pretty up.

The only dumb question, is the one not asked :)
 
upside downs can be great additions to a tank, but as Brian Bivens said, some will grow far to large for your tank.

also, before you add anything, how many swordtails and guppies do you have in your tank?

guppies should start to get their colors after a few weeks if they are growing quickly.
 
also, before you add anything, how many swordtails and guppies do you have in your tank?
Click to expand...

Good point Jon.
 
Thanks to those that replied. My tank is a 160 litre and contains 4 5cm swordtail {1 male, three females} and 3.5cm 18 guppies. {4 females and remainder males.} I guess I have to re-think including the catfish if they grow that big. The breeder tank holds about 15 guppy babies and 3 - 4 swordtail babies.

Would you consider my tank over crowded?
Thanks everyone.
 
160 litre=about a 40 gallon tank, I think?
Those swordtails will grow to 4 inches each. I think further stocking depends on nitrate levels/filtration. The synos I am thinking you saw grow to 4'' and need a school, but there is no way of actually knowing that.
 
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