help with fry and tank set ups /fish

Question
Hello there, First time using this website, I have been reading around and cant find the info i need. I have a 40 gal tank and a 10 gal tank. Lets start out with my 40 first. I have 2 angels, 3 mollies, a phecostomas, Chinese algae eater,8 guppies (2 males 6 females),and 3 unknows ( my sister got them without informing me.) They are red tailed tipped with silver bodies. They have a black strip running the length of thier body. So as you can see im already pushing it with this many fish. Cause if you go with the 1 in. for every gal of water theory. I am running around 55 gal of fish when they are fully grown. By that time im hoping to have a 125 gal tank and slim down the overpop. Yesterday I saw fry swimming around the bottom of the tank. It seems the guppies had them. I really dont want to stress the tank more than I have to. so is there anything to keep the fry under control, predator wise, that I can put into the tank or, are the fish i currently have ok ? I was thinking of getting a crab but I am afraid that it will attack the guppies that are fully grown. I have heard horror stories about guppie fry and other livebearers. As of yet I am not sure that my local pet store will trade yet. If they do I might have a change of heart about the fry but till then i want to keep them undercontrol.

The 40 gal is more of a family tank that I bought for my dad and mom. So im trying to work with them to keep thier fish healthy and happy. The 10 gal Is my tank. I currently cycling it (week 2). Its cloudy but i heard that its normal for the tank to be that way during the cycle. I am having a hard time figuring out what i can put into the tank. 10 gal of water is not alot. Im not sure if i should get 1 bottom feeder and 9 small fish or 1 bottom feeder and 1 or 2 big fish. What would u suggest. I want my ten gal to be vibrant and full of life and give it a feeling of a much larger amount of water than it really is. What would u suggest? Thank you so much for reading this long post. PS : why do most tanks i read about have ghost shrimp in them? what are the benefits and what is the downside.? Also I am a big molly fan but i really dont think a 10 gal would support enough of them to get the effect i want.

Answer
Hi Matthew,
I know you already are aware of the possible problems with overcrowding a tank. Just be sure to do regular frequent water changes like at least 50% once a week just to be sure that you don't develop water conditions that could make the fish really sick.
Are you sure you don't have any possible male and female mollies? They too are will reproduce as quickly as guppies. As for the guppy fry, it is possible that the angelfish will eat them. I don't know for sure if the mollies will since I have raised both guppies and mollies and you always hear that you have to be careful that the parents don't eat their babies but I have never had that problem. I do know that angelfish will sometimes eat fish the size of neons so it is always possible that they will control your population problem. I wouldn't really think it would be a good idea to try to add any other fish for population control since you are really stocked at this point. Ususally pet stores will take babies as long as they are the size that they want. They will sometimes give you credit or I have even had great luck with getting free fish food and even some medication along with store credit from giving them the fry that I have raised.
As for stocking your ten gallon you could try a few of the really small tetras such as the rummy nose, neons or cardials. If you got a really small school of one of them then you could add a dwarf gourami and it would look really nice. You can also grow live plants really well in a 10 gallon as long as you have a flourescent light.Small fish, with one focal point fish, looks really great in a 10 gallon planted tank. If you wanted to add ghost shrimp you can but I think one reason some people like to have them in their tank is that they are using them as sort of a clean up crew for any excess food that their fish haven't eaten. You could also take some of the guppies, possibly all males, out of the 40 gallon tank and add them to your 10 gallon if you wanted to just have alot of colorful little fish. If you are wanting to add just a  larger fish you could add one male betta, they are really colorful and maybe two corydoras catfish. Try to not have too much current if you get a betta since they don't like too much water movement. Also, don't use plastic plants with bettas since they have long flowing fins and they will tear them on the rough plastic. Don't put guppies with bettas since they might mistake them for another betta and they will attack.
The cory catfish are they ones that remain really small. They like to be in groups but just don't get too carried away and add too many. They are really cute if you have several.
You are right about the mollies being a little too much for your ten gallon. You could put male platies instead since there are some really colorful ones.
Ten gallon tanks can be really beautiful and relaxing.Be sure that you remember to do regular water changes on them at least once a week since there is less water volume to help control water quality.
Just be careful about the amount of fish. I know I have overcrowded ten gallon tanks before and you really have to do alot of water changes to keep things safe for the fish. It can work with several small fish and alot of plants but you still have to really keep up the water changes.
Best of luck with your aquariums!
Hope this has helped,
Karen
Oh, be careful about that crab. He might not be the best choice since he might decide that the other fish are meant to be his food!