New 11g Aquarium

[shantanu]

Hello everyone,

I have 18x12x12 (Almost 11 gallon, 42Ltrs) aquarium with Under gravel filter and gravel.

Kindly suggest me if i can keep guppy fish school (5-6) and one betta (fighter) fish together and will 11Gallon be enough for this setup ?
I am planning to have an aquatic plant (for guppies)

Also please tell me if i can replace the Under gravel filter and gravel with a Sponge filter ?

Thanks

 

[Essjay]

Bettas and guppies can have issues. Lots of people do keep them together, but others have problems. Bettas often mistake fish with bright colours and long tails for other male bettas and attack them. It's all down to the personality of the betta, how aggressive he is.
Do you have either the guppies or the betta already? If you don't, you could try endlers instead of guppies, people report more success with them and a betta.


Yes you can replace the undergravel with a sponge filter, but you can't just put a sponge filter in and turn off the UG. All you bacteria will be in the gravel as that's the filter medium for a UG. You will have to build up the bacteria in the sponge filter before turning the UG off. You will need to run both filters for a minimum of 6 weeks before turning the UG off, and then keep a close eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels for a couple of weeks (doing water changes if you see a reading other than zero for either) until you know the sponge filter is coping alone.

 

[Ruskull]

Great advice from essjay

Did you consider Rasboras instead of the Guppies?