Need Some Advice

[Sarahm92]

Hi, 
I just joined this forum and need a little advice! 
 
I am relatively new to fish owning but have had my fish for a while now.. (several months)
I have a 28 litre tank. I've been doing a lot of reading and trying to find out how many fish is okay for my tank but can't seem to find much useful information.. 
 
So i will tell you a little about the fish I have! 
 
I have 5 balloon mollies, I believe there are 3 girls and 2 boys.. I also have 1 normal mollie and 2 catfish a peppered and an albino catfish..
 
 
I have a filter and heater of course.. The fish tank doesn't get dirty quickly at all and the fish seem really happy swimming around and I have had no issues at all with them.. 
 
I noticed a few days ago that there was a TINY brown snail in my tank, it was night time when I spotted him and had no idea where he came from because I haven't got new fish in a long time.. I'm assuming he came off the last live potted plant I had which has recently been thrown out as it was looking not so fresh..
 
since spotting him that one time I have not seen him again but have read snails can be really bad in tanks? is this true? 
 
 
 
 
another quick question- I also have a male fighting fish who I've only had for a few days his in a pretty small bowl right now but I have an old tank which I think is about 15-17 litres which I would like to set up would he be happier in that? and I've read a few people have snails in with their fighters is this a good idea?
 
 
thank you in advance for reading this long post and any advice any one can offer
 
 
 

 

[bigcheed]

28l is quite small. but ideal for your betta. a larger tank of say 40l (10gallons) would better for your fish. I certainly wouldent add any more to what you've got. but to answer your question yes your betta would be better in the bigger tank. they should never be kept in bowls. they prefer warm water as well. above 25 c. I keep mine at 27 c. the general rule for stocking fish is one inch per gallon of water. 28l is roughly 5.5gallon. your mollys grow to about 2 inches. if you have 5 that's 10 inches of fish and only 5.5 gallons of water. so in theory your over stocked.

 

[the_lock_man]

the general rule for stocking fish is one inch per gallon of water.

 
 
This part is a little dubious, it would imply that you can keep a 10" fish in a 10gallong tank, which is clearly bonkers. Use this as a vague guide, not a general rule.
 
The rest of what was said by bigcheed is spot on, though.

 

[bigcheed]

very true lock man. just dident want to get technical. was just using the rule as a generalisation of the current stocking level.

 

[Sarahm92]

I have no room for a bigger tank.. I will definitely not be adding any more fish, but they seem very happy right now so I don't know what else to do...
 
I'm setting up my 17 litre fish tank tomorrow for my fighter

 

[the_lock_man]

"Seem" is the operative word there. Instinctively, fish cover up their stresses. The fish which looks most vulnerable is the one that is targetted by predators.

 

[Reeferbro]

I would try and find a new home for the mollies- on many sites it is recommended that they should be kept in at least 80 litres and please don't buy balloon mollies because they are deformed and have a very short lifespan