5 Gallon Stocking

[spazzinout]

ok well right now i got 2 amazing looking guppies in the tank, 1 male, 1 female, and shes pregnant!
well i want to add a few more fish but i dont know
1) what type of fish and how many
2) do i need to wait untill she has babys? or can i just get them now

 

[bobross]

ok well right now i got 2 amazing looking guppies in the tank, 1 male, 1 female, and shes pregnant!
well i want to add a few more fish but i dont know
1) what type of fish and how many
2) do i need to wait untill she has babys? or can i just get them now

I would hold off on getting any more fish. for now anyways. once your female guppy starts having kids, your tank will start to get crowded pretty quick over time, that is, if you plan on keeping all of the fry. A five gallon tank with 20-40 guppy fry & a breeding pair is a little overstocked IMO.

if you want to have a tank full of guppies, maybe you want to consider upgrading the tank size down the road.

Good Luck & welcome to Fish Forums


BobRoss

 

[spazzinout]

naa im not keeping all the fry, i asked about giving them to a local petco and they said sure they would take them, thanks though, ill probly only keep 1 of the fry that stand out,

thanks

 

[candyraver]

5 gallons is really easy to overstock...I stopped trying to fill a 5 gallon aquarium& just turned it into a terrarium for a tarantula. (Chilean rose hair).
You are really maxed out if you have 2 of anything in a lot of cases.So if you keep 1 more guppy,I wouldn't get anything else.
Keep in mind,gravel,decorations...all that,takes up precious space
So you have to add that in when you determine how many fish you can have.
How about an apple snail,do you like snails?
I want a snail for my 20 gallon =]

 

[fishboy619]

in my opinion, the only common fish that should be placed into 5gallon tanks are either a betta or a dwarf puffer. a shrimp tank would look good, or if you are inot something different, snails and frogs, but thats getting away from fish keeping...

 

[lilfishie]

no more fish and you'll either have to upgrade and get another female guppy or swap the male, the general rule for livebearers is 2/3 females to 1 male, as males cause the female alot of stress by continuously trying to mate, if the female is pregnant then IMO the best choice would be to remove the male and leave her in peace then when she has the fry leave them in there too then remove them and sell/give away when a month or two old. but thats just my opinion

 

[candyraver]

in my opinion, the only common fish that should be placed into 5gallon tanks are either a betta or a dwarf puffer. a shrimp tank would look good, or if you are inot something different, snails and frogs, but thats getting away from fish keeping...

I agree.
BTW (by the way) I love your signature fishboy619

no more fish and you'll either have to upgrade and get another female guppy or swap the male, the general rule for livebearers is 2/3 females to 1 male, as males cause the female alot of stress by continuously trying to mate, if the female is pregnant then IMO the best choice would be to remove the male and leave her in peace then when she has the fry leave them in there too then remove them and sell/give away when a month or two old. but thats just my opinion

I agree.I would upgrade..then maybe get a betta& snail for the 5 gallon.

 

[HODDY]

if i was you i would get rid of the guppies and go for a betta and 3 shrimps.Or maybe a betta and a aquatic dwarf frog.They come under loads of names.

 

[spazzinout]

so you want me to just throw the fish away?
the couple of them was 7 bucks, no thankyou

 

[fishboy619]

thanks candyraver, you are free to copy any images i have and use them yourself, that goes for anyone.

i think the general idea for the tank spazzinout that everyone is happy with would probally to change the guppies after the fry have grown up and sold and to get a betta and something else, shrimps, snails or african dwarf frogs (ADF's) maybe. but im sure other ideas will be presented.

 

[lilfishie]

no don't throw them out sell them back to your LFS and get something more suitable for your tank size

 

[vmsyvert]

i baught a five gallon for my dorm, and so far it has been nothing but a disaster... I u[graded to a 10 gal, but still it's small... I would say go at least like 20 gallons, and keep the guppys (schools of them are awesome)... also, i would keep the 5 gal as a quarintine/ hospital tank... I wish i would have done that with mine... i can't leave a fish shop without fish ...

 

[dwarfgourami]

A 5 gallon tank doesn't have to be a disaster, it's just a different type of environment. I think we need to introduce the concept of a nano tank to freshwater keeping. In saltwater aquatics, it is well recognised that a nano tank needs special attention and a very special type of stocking. You don't expect to be able to keep the ordinary tangs and damsels in a nano tank, instead the attraction of this type of tank lies in the special challenges and the enjoyment of building up a micro-world.

In freshwater terms, I would say a nano tank is anything under 10 gallons, arguably anything under 24 inches should count as nano. IMO this type of tank, a 5-10 gallon, is unsuitable for most active fish of 2 inch or above. Bettas are fine because of their low activity levels, but otherwise you are looking at a number of really tiny fish that can be difficult to get hold of but are very rewarding to keep: endlers, microrasboras, sparkling gouramis, heterandria formosa, dwarf puffer (on its own), or other types of critters like shrimps or African dwarf frogs or snails. Male guppies can also be ok in a fairly small tank, but females IME need more room as being more active swimmers.

For Spazzinout, no of course we're not saying kill your fish. On the other hand, be aware that this female will carry on having more and more fry almost as long as she lives, so this is an ongoing situation. In such a small tank, the fry are likely to get eaten by their parents, but it's not guaranteed, some guppies are not fry eaters. If you keep one of the male fry and he survives, he will breed with his mother (and/or fight with his father); if you keep a female she will breed with her father. I would not buy any more fish for the time being, you will need that space (and more) to rear the fry to a size where they can go to the shop.