Currently 4 fishes in a 2.9 gallon tank, should i upgrade the tank size and restart?

[Newbieaquarist]

So, i bought 10 fishes mixed(tetras,rasboras,etc) and a small 2.9 gallon tank because the local pet store owner said i could put 10 to 15 fishes inside( who knows you cant trust them), went home and installed it, so i thought it was far too easy and went to do some research and down i go into the rabbit hole. 3 days have past i bought almost everything i needed like test kit and bacteria in a bottle(due to my tank not being cycled) but in the process 6 fishes have died, i tried my best to keep the remaining 4 fishes alive by changing water everyday but the cycle isnt really starting due to changing the water everyday.Do i just start over in a new tank or just wait for the current tank to cycle?

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. The tank is just too small. I started with a 30 gallon tank and that was too small for me as a beginner. I didn't have any real success with keeping fish until I got my 45 gallon tank. I started this tank with a few female Guppies and added bacteria starter. I just changed half the water every week and have been doing this ever since. No more problems with dead fish.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Lanpenn]

With a so small tank, only a Betta splendens or some nano shrimps. Indeed, there're still owners giving wrong advice...

 

[Newbieaquarist]

Hello. The tank is just too small. I started with a 30 gallon tank and that was too small for me as a beginner. I didn't have any real success with keeping fish until I got my 45 gallon tank. I started this tank with a few female Guppies and added bacteria starter. I just changed half the water every week and have been doing this ever since. No more problems with dead fish.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

Hmm i see, but a 30 gallon is abit way too out of my budget, didnt want to spend too much on something new to me,would a 10 gallon be alright?

 

[Rocky998]

Hmm i see, but a 30 gallon is abit way too out of my budget, didnt want to spend too much on something new to me,would a 10 gallon be alright?

Depends on the exact amount of fish you have and what TYPE of fish you have...
What's the current number of fish and species?

 

[Essjay]

10 gallons is still very small. There are fish suitable but they have to chosen carefully. With small fish, GH (hardness) is important so that's the first thing to find out. I don't know if water providers where you live give information such as hardness on-line; you may need to buy a GH tester.

Once you know your hardness look up fish you like on Seriously Fish

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

This site will tell you the size tank a species needs; the hardness, pH and temperature it needs; minimum numbers (a lot of small fish are shoaling fish which need to be in a group); and any incompatibilities between species.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello again. The water is the most important part of a fish tank. That's because there's more water than anything else that makes up the whole operation. I would suggest you save up until you have enough for a large tank or locate one that's used that holds water. Everything else will just result in more failure and frustration.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[sharkweek178]

So, i bought 10 fishes mixed(tetras,rasboras,etc) and a small 2.9 gallon tank because the local pet store owner said i could put 10 to 15 fishes inside( who knows you cant trust them), went home and installed it, so i thought it was far too easy and went to do some research and down i go into the rabbit hole. 3 days have past i bought almost everything i needed like test kit and bacteria in a bottle(due to my tank not being cycled) but in the process 6 fishes have died, i tried my best to keep the remaining 4 fishes alive by changing water everyday but the cycle isnt really starting due to changing the water everyday.Do i just start over in a new tank or just wait for the current tank to cycle?

Hi. Welcome to the forum.
A 2.9 gallon tank is too small for any fish. Even a single betta should be in at least a 5 gallon tank. There's another issue here. Tetras and rasboras are shoaling fish. That means they need to be in groups of their own species. Conventional wisdom says at least a group of 6. But more studies are showing that they should be in a group of 10-12. They can survive in smaller numbers. But their quality of life will be poor.
Do you know another fish keeper who could take custody of these fish until you can cycle an adequate sized tank? Or could you trade them into another fish store for store credit? Personally, I don't think I'd want to deal with the store you got them from if you can avoid it. One of the things you'll learn is that fish store employees often give bad advice. But what they told you might be the worst I ever heard of. I wouldn't want to deal with a store that has such little disregard for the welfare of the animals they sell. Or have employees that are so ignorant that they would tell anyone to keep 10 fish in a 2.9 gallon tank.
If rehoming, even temporarily, isn't an option then if you're going to do a fish in cycle, you might as well do it in a bigger tank. It's counterintuitive, but bigger tanks are easier to maintain than small ones. The parameters are more stable in a larger volume of water so you have more room for error. If budget is an issue, Petco has tank sales throughout the year that are great bargains. I just got a 10 gallon from one for about $12. You can also find great deals on used tanks on your local Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
One more thing. Water changes don't hurt the cycle. The beneficial bacteria live in biofilm on the surfaces on the tank, not in the water itself.

 

[Lanpenn]

Gosh, the tanks there in the US are cheap. Here in Brazil the aquariums are extremely expensive.

A 30 gallons tank seems a good option since you have available room in your home.

 

[sharkweek178]

Depends on the exact amount of fish you have and what TYPE of fish you have...
What's the current number of fish and species?

@Newbieaquarist This is important information for us to know so we can help you.

 

[Newbieaquarist]

@Newbieaquarist This is important information for us to know so we can help you.

Currently i still have 2 Danio zebra and 2 harlequin rasboras, sorry for late reply my gmail didnt send a notification

 

[Newbieaquarist]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.
A 2.9 gallon tank is too small for any fish. Even a single betta should be in at least a 5 gallon tank. There's another issue here. Tetras and rasboras are shoaling fish. That means they need to be in groups of their own species. Conventional wisdom says at least a group of 6. But more studies are showing that they should be in a group of 10-12. They can survive in smaller numbers. But their quality of life will be poor.
Do you know another fish keeper who could take custody of these fish until you can cycle an adequate sized tank? Or could you trade them into another fish store for store credit? Personally, I don't think I'd want to deal with the store you got them from if you can avoid it. One of the things you'll learn is that fish store employees often give bad advice. But what they told you might be the worst I ever heard of. I wouldn't want to deal with a store that has such little disregard for the welfare of the animals they sell. Or have employees that are so ignorant that they would tell anyone to keep 10 fish in a 2.9 gallon tank.
If rehoming, even temporarily, isn't an option then if you're going to do a fish in cycle, you might as well do it in a bigger tank. It's counterintuitive, but bigger tanks are easier to maintain than small ones. The parameters are more stable in a larger volume of water so you have more room for error. If budget is an issue, Petco has tank sales throughout the year that are great bargains. I just got a 10 gallon from one for about $12. You can also find great deals on used tanks on your local Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace.
One more thing. Water changes don't hurt the cycle. The beneficial bacteria live in biofilm on the surfaces on the tank, not in the water itself.

So far non of my local fish stores have systems where you return fish for credits(plus i saw a few dead fish and they are little rude when i asked more question not really gonna go back there), the hobby isnt really porpular here in SEA, plus stuff here are overpriced like the fish tank i got was around 32usd, currently im searching for a cheap fish tank on facebook but couldnt really find one in my country, had some luck on online shops but the biggest is 10 gallons

 

[Newbieaquarist]

10 gallons is still very small. There are fish suitable but they have to chosen carefully. With small fish, GH (hardness) is important so that's the first thing to find out. I don't know if water providers where you live give information such as hardness on-line; you may need to buy a GH tester.

Once you know your hardness look up fish you like on Seriously Fish

Knowledge Base — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

This site will tell you the size tank a species needs; the hardness, pH and temperature it needs; minimum numbers (a lot of small fish are shoaling fish which need to be in a group); and any incompatibilities between species.

Alright got it, thank you water hardness is around 60ppm

 

[sharkweek178]

Currently i still have 2 Danio zebra and 2 harlequin rasboras, sorry for late reply my gmail didnt send a notification

That's ok.
Zebra danios are a pretty high energy fish. They need room to swim. They should be kept in at least a 30 gallon tank. Something at least 3 feet or 90 centimeters long. And like I said before, these are both shoaling fish. They need to be in a group of others of their own species of at least 10-12. A 30 gallon would hold 12 of each with some room to spare.