is this okay?

[Mizuro Ami]

i have a 2.5g mini tank for my room and i have 1 female guppy, 1 male guppy, 2 white cloud minnows, and 1 small golden algae eater that currently live in it.
i have a 10g filter running and 2 live plants for oxygen. plus a 25wt heater

is my tank overstocked? or is it okay? i was thinking about getting a couple of ghost shrimp in there too just to pick up some leftover food/poop and maybe some more plants in the background.

 

[fufanu360]

well i certainly wouldnt add anymore fish, alhtough you probaby couold add some plantage, jsut remember the fish have to have room to swim too

 

[Discomafia]

golden algae eater?

Whats the scientific name?

 

[Opcn]

golden algea eaters are alot like CAE's

 

[Mizuro Ami]

i didnt know the scientific name, but i looked it up and here's a little page on them. it has a good picture of it too.

http/www.giveusahome.co.uk/allpets/fish/...nalgaeeater.htm

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

if i were you i would get another tank and move some (or all) of the fish in the 2.5g into that. i feel that 2.5 gallons is too small for that amount of fish
just my opinion though

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

A golden agae eater is a CAE, just a color morph. you chould buy a much larger tank (at least 15-20 gallons ) if you hope to keep him to adulthood.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Way overstocked IMO, the only fish that could live in that tank (and only just) is a betta.

Your female guppy must be getting harassed to death in such a tiny space and I am surprised you don't have loads of fry. WCMM need to be in groups and they like a fair whack of room to swim around.

And you algae eater will get big and territorial.

 

[lovebuzz]

I guess you could try adding some snails and shrimp, but not too many.

 

[lovebuzz]

Oh yeah, give those guppies a new home, and some more guppies.

That algae eater will get tooooooo big for that tank, get rid of him while you can, and you can replace him with some ottos.

 

[Mizuro Ami]

the female guppy gave birth a lil while back, but i don't plan to keep most (if any) of them. my roommate has turtles, so i was planning on using them as feeders =x

the whole tank started out, actually, because i had 2 bettas in it. one died of velvet i think so i bought a female and put her in after water changes and washing the tank. then the old betta got velvet (probably from the last one that died) and the new one got ich. i isolated them and treated them with aqua-sol and as of right now the new one is recovering and the old one doesn't look too good. i'm hoping they will both pull through, but i dont know.
well, i figured it was something in the tank that was making the betta sick, even with frequent water changes. i actually took two of my roommates white cloud minnows that she was using as feeders and thought i'd use them as canaries and test my water. they did well in the tank, but there was algae all over the tank that showed up only a few days after i scrubbed them and washed the tank, so i went to the lfs to get a small algae eater to clean it. somehow i ended up with the two guppys along with the gae when i left and the tank has been clean ever since.

i'm a little wary of putting the bettas back in there because the filter causes too much of a current even when i block the intake with a sponge. and if i leave the filter out, i'm afraid even with water changes the bacteria will start to escalate and they'll get sick again.

i'll try to find oto's at my lfs and trade my gae in if they let me. if not, then when it gets a little bit bigger, he'll get transferred to my brother's tank.

 

[sylvia]

First of all - read through the link in my signature.

You can't keep 2 female bettas in such a small tank. They will fight, get stressed and get sick as a result.

The most you can keep in 2.5 gallons is one betta OR 2 MALE guppies (NEVER females as they will store sperm and end up pregnant - resulting in fry which over-stock the tank and NEVER a male and female as they will breed with similar results. Plus guppies should be kept in a ratio of 2 females to every male or the female will be chased, harassed and stressed to death.).

Golden algae eaters and chinese algae eaters are not suitabe for average community tanks. They become fish eaters as adults, get very aggressive and will suck both the slime coat and eyes off your fish. Furthermore, they grow to 10 inches! Most fish that grow to a similar size are never kept in anything less than 55 gallons (or at least shouldn't be) and considering their aggressive nature, CAEs shouldn't either.

Start off by getting rid of the 'algae eater' and don't replace it. Otos are quite fragile and an over-stocked tank is not suitable for them.

Then get rid of the white clouds. They require swimming space and a shoal.

Then get rid of the female guppy and fry.

You should now only have a male guppy. You can choose between taking him back too and putting ONE betta in there or keeping him alone and adding 2 otos or keeping him and getting one more guppy. NOTHING else. You could, however, then add a snail or a couple of shrimp.

Remember to read the link in my sig.

Good luck!