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Old 06-05-2006, 09:17 AM   #4
ultasol
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: state college
Age: 27
Posts: 90
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I would skip the neons altogether. Here is why: Guppies, swordtails, and platies all appreciate water with some hardness.. neons like soft water. They come from waters with two completely different conditions. Swordtails and platies also have the ability to interbreed (I believe).
I would go for the cories, two trios of swordtails OR two trios of platies (you can chose different colors to add more variety to the tank if you like), the betta if you must, and perhaps some guppies or some cherry barbs.
My concern with the neons is they often seem to be a bit delicate, not an ideal fish for a true neophyte.
If you start with fish that you'll have success with, and even be able to possibly breed, you'll really come to enjoy your hobby and get the most out of your fishkeeping experience. If you get fish that don't fit well, or don't work well with your tank conditions or inhabitants, it's going to become a real drag to take care of a tank full of intermitently sick fish, and you're going to get tired of replacing dead fish very quickly.
Learn with fish that will tolerate errors.
Besides, livebearers are great fish... very interesting to watch, easy to breed, fun to raise.
Enjoy!
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