# Friends for my guppies?



## Pasqua (Jun 1, 2012)

So, after much research and consideration, I have decided that this is a problem that I am not able to figure out myself and I would really appreciate some advise from some more experienced fish keepers!!

I have a give gallon tank with three guppies in it (one male two female). They are pretty stock standard guppies, not fancy ones (as far as I know?), they don't have fancy tails, just short rounded off ones. 

I wanted to add something else to the tank and eventually decided I would try a betta fish, put a male one in there hoping he would have a good temperament. They were all great for the first several days until he got comfortable and took a chomp out of the male guppies tail! So I have moved him out. (Found out later a five gallon is too small for a betta and other fish anyway - so theres another lesson I've learned).

Anyway my question is, am I able to put anything else in with my three guppies other than a couple more guppies? Everything I have researched is either too big a fish at full size, or is a schooling fish and requires at least six which I don't think I can fit in there. =( I was looking at tetras, neon tetras, white clouds, and some other options but none seem to be quite right. =S


----------



## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

I might be wrong, but 3 guppies could be close to fully stocked in a 5 gallon. Maybe some inverts would be ok?


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Isn't the Minimum Tank Size for Guppies 10 Gallons? They need to be in Schools.
They are also Pretty Active so they need Alot of Swimming Space.


----------



## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Isn't the Minimum Tank Size for Guppies 10 Gallons? They need to be in Schools.
> They are also Pretty Active so they need Alot of Swimming Space.


That's what I thought but I thought it might have been 15 gal at least. Opinion based maybe.


----------



## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Minimum tank size for guppies seems to vary quite a bit, and since I'm no livebearer expert, I'll leave that question for someone else to answer. 

About adding anymore fish: while there are some species that can fit in a 5 gal, they are not compatible with guppies. Some like the dwarf puffer are too aggressive, and some like the mosquito rasbora need really soft water and impeccable maintenance. You could probably add some shrimp. Snails are a little iffy because the large ones like apple snails have a heavy bio-load. And almost all snails will reproduce. Shrimp seem like the better option.


----------



## Pasqua (Jun 1, 2012)

oh no =( I must have gotten some misleading information I thought they would be ok in a little tank.

Well I will probably play it safe and not add anything else in there. 

I am in Australia and although I hear everyone on here talking about shrimp, I never see them in the fish stores here!! I am not sure where to get them from, or even if I can around here? I don't live in a big city so my options are generally fairly limited.


----------



## Sheldon31 (Mar 21, 2012)

At least you've come to the right place  I'm sure the 3 will be fine for now but they will need something bigger. I had a look on AQadvisor and it says your 212% stocked.. AQ isn't the definative but it gives a good idea of where you are. :/ Also, guppies breed like crazy! So what will start out as 3 could end up will a heck of a lot more! If you can, see if you can get your hands on a 10gallon. I'm not sure if you have second hand places like gumtree/freecycle/craigslist in Aus but you might be able to find something really cheap there


----------



## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

I'd reccomend upgrading to a 10 gallon if that's possible. They should be fine in the 5 gallon - but guppies poop A LOT and like some swimming room. 

Do you know with they are male or female? If not, I could help identify them.  As Sheldon said, the breed like crazy, so it's best to stick with either all males or all females. 

I have my 4 male guppies in a 10 gallon with 5 lamb-chop rasboras. I had 5, but one passed away a while ago. Everyone seems happy - but as the guppies die off (they are older than the rasboras) I'm going to add some more rasboras, as they need a bigger school than just 5. :/ I bought them thinking they were harlequin rasboras, but they are actually lamb-chops which are much smaller and very skittish.

Good Luck!


----------

