I would like some information on my fishies...?

Question

My other half recently bought a fish tank for us... We have several species of fish in there. I have a few questions...

our tank is 32" long, 12" wide, 15" tall
We have a female swordtail and a male swordtail.
1 Ruby shark.
about 10 male guppies.
an upside down catfish
a corydorus catfish
about 8 neon tetra
about 12 harlequins
5 danios

Yesterday two male guppies would not leave the female swordtail alone... kept following her... is it possible to breed to types of fish...

another question is how long is a female fish (any species)pregnant for

are babies likely to live within our tank if we do not seperate them... we have many many many plants and a couple rocks...

any other interesting facts about these specific fish would be most kind

Answer 1

1) It is NOT possible to cross breed fish
2) A fish's gestation period is 40 days
3) No, you should get a small extra tank to keep the babies in
4 ) See source for facts -no facts on 'Harlequin' as there are many harlequins eg. Harlequin Rasbora ect.

Hope This Helps

Answer 2

Its normal for males of live barers to follow each female around irrelevant of species, but they cant cross breed.
Females depending on species is 4/6 weeks the swords should be around 4 weeks.
Depends on how much cover you have mine seem to survive however I've less fish in a larger space, and would imagine baby's struggling to survive with the neon's and harlequins let alone the guppy's Maybe 1 or 2 at best.
Ruby shark you can only have one of this type as they're terrotorial, not even chinese algae eater.
Corydorus should ideally be kept in groups of 5+
Your tank with good filtration should be able to take 32/64 inch's of fish so your close to the maximum using the guide of 1inch per 12 sq inch's of fish. the fact that neons and harlequins take less room balance's out the larger fish.

AJ

Answer 3

Welcome to the world of fish!

I'll answer some of the questions that I know the answer to.
Male guppies will keep harassing any live bearer!

The usual ratio for male to females is 3 females to 1 male. That way they don't harass them to death. It does happen. So you may want to think about getting more females guppies.

The female live bearers are pregnant for about 4 weeks BUT (and especially in the case of female guppies) the female can store the sperm and use it the next month maybe more!
So even though there may be no males in the tank, you still may get fry!!

Two schools of thought on the fry arrangements, some will remove the fry or contain them in a breeding net others will put them in a separate tank.

Your neons are a hardy little fish and will do well.

Answer 4

the swordtails and guppies will not interbreed. guppies can be picky little guys and if your fish is stressed they will tend to pick more.

the whole pregnancy cycle for live bearers is about 30 days.

a cory cat actually prefers living in shoals -- or schools. without friends they stress easily -- and stressed fish aren't healthy fish.

lots of plants will help hide fry but don't expect it to be 100%. fry make tasty snacks until they grow too large for the other fish to eat. live fish snacks are good for your fish -- so if cannibalism issues in your aquarium aren't really issues i wouldn't worry too much. swordtails don't mate as quickly and as readily as guppies, platies and mollies so you might not get anything anyway.

Answer 5

If any of the fish did have babies, I would advise you to get a little tank that you can hook over the side of main tanks and then keep babies in there.
They would not survive too long if left in main tank.

Answer 6

far to many male guppies they may nibble the fins of the sword tails
if your tank has lots of places for the young to hide they may live to be adults
what kind of danios are they