# 2 guppies and betta in a 5g?



## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I recently was given some guppies but have more males than females so there is too much harassment for my liking. I have a filtered/heated/planted 5g with a betta (who is the most likely my best candidate for tank mates) that I'm about to rescape and plant heavier. There are some small ramshorns and probably soon to be some bladder snails (from the new plants) as well but I'll be doing more frequent water changes anyways.

To the point of this thread... I was wondering if it would be fine to house two guppies with him - assuming he'll be ok with tank mates. Do not give me the spiel about "bettas seeing male guppies as bettas" thing, I know that is not true. I just would like to give my poor females and tiny male guppy a break, even if its just by moving one or two. I have 3 adult males, 2 females and a young male, just to clarify.

If so, should I do two 50% changes to help keep the bioload in check? Anything else I should do? If not, why? Too small? 

Btw, this tank has been running for months now and is possibly silently cycled, but I don't have a way to test nor does my local store offer to. The guppies have been under my care for about 2 weeks now and everyone one (except the little male who is underweight from bullying) has a clean bill of health.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

This seems over stocked to me. So - I went to AqAdvisor for guidance, it agrees. Stocking level in a 5.5 for 1 male betta and 2 guppies is 128%.

Here are my concerns:

1)While we know that "Betta and Guppies can NEVER coexist because the betta think guppies are other betta!" is a myth, and we know that betta and guppies can exist together in a properly stocked tank....I would think that cramming them into something to small may cause stress - and then aggression - to be more likely as a whole. 

2)AqAdvisor doesn't really recommend guppies for a 5.5gal *period* as guppies can get a bit large for that size a tank.

3) You'll still have ratio problems in the new tank, so aggression issues could still pop up there, with less space to get away from the aggressor.

If this is temporary until you can get the guppies better situated - it *MIGHT* work...but it still seems like a risk to me. An alternate option would be to put the betta in with the guppies (assuming there isn't a betta in that tank now), but you'd still have the ratio problems concerning the guppies in the small tank and the size issues are still in play.

How serious is the aggression? It might be better to leave things be and look to add a few more females in the future.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

Here's another thought - what size tank are the guppies in now? Is there anything else in there with them? What are the dimensions of that tank?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Actually AQ advisor is very lenient in their stocking calculations. 150% is where I'd start considering it's overstocked if it it is planted, if it's not planted then I'd go 100-120% for stocking. At this point, it's just about the compatibility of the fish, sometimes the guppies are more rambunctious as you can see and that can bother the Betta but some of them don't care either way. 

Guppies really don't get that big, they'd be fine in a 5.5 for quite a while. Their activity can be a little high when they're young but as a breeder, I usually keep them in 1-4 gallons and never had an issue, as long as the water quality is kept up with; then it's not an issue. Granted, yes, not everything works great for other people, but that's what I do.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

Currently in a 10g. The young male is in a breeder box till he fattens up, which, by the look of it, might take a while as the poor guy is like paper thin. It's just the 6 guppies there, and bladder snails of course - though most followed the plants to my other tanks lol.

I figure 2 males is better than 4 males harassing the girls. The one usually has the 3 adults chasing her endlessly and I really worry that the stress is getting to her. Plus like I said the little male is separated. I don't have a big enough container for the females (plus that takes up more room in the 10g). I don't know when/if I will get more females, I don't have anywhere to QT them and I don't like the stock available locally. If/When I do get more females I will move them back to the 10g.


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## Aeon (Jul 15, 2014)

Greenapp1es said:


> This seems over stocked to me. So - I went to AqAdvisor for guidance, it agrees. Stocking level in a 5.5 for 1 male betta and 2 guppies is 128%.
> 
> Here are my concerns:
> 
> ...


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Aeon said:


> -- honestly green it depends on the betta i think. I have successfully kept male guppies with with betta and had no issues and well other times yea we had issues. I know what ur saying with the tails and resembling a male betta but like any fish it depends on the fish. (look at the snails some beeta harrass them and others dont)


She isn't talking about the guppies resembling male betta's--of which, they don't. She's talking about putting those specific fish in a 5.5 gallon which is normally a small space for a lot of fish. Smaller spaces, for some fish, can cause stress which can lead to aggression.


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## Aeon (Jul 15, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> She isn't talking about the guppies resembling male betta's--of which, they don't. She's talking about putting those specific fish in a 5.5 gallon which is normally a small space for a lot of fish. Smaller spaces, for some fish, can cause stress which can lead to aggression.


my apologies green I didnt read fully what you said and thank you lilnaugrim for pointing that out.


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I'm getting the feeling that this is one of those "it may work, it may not" and I'll just have to set it up and try things? Obviously I'd watch them like a hawk and be ready to scoop them out if things go wrong.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Pretty much.

As I said, if the tank is planted (and because I know you, I surely assume that it is lol) and growing well, then it can handle the bio-load just fine. There may be some chasing and fusing between the guppies but they shouldn't harass the Betta too much. As always, provide plenty of hides/plants and that shouldn't be an issue at all


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

lilnaugrim said:


> Pretty much.
> 
> As I said, if the tank is planted (and because I know you, I surely assume that it is lol) and growing well, then it can handle the bio-load just fine. There may be some chasing and fusing between the guppies but they shouldn't harass the Betta too much. As always, provide plenty of hides/plants and that shouldn't be an issue at all


Hehe, yes, it's planted. Though I will be rescaping it and adding even more plants as it's on the light side for my liking.


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## Greenapp1es (Dec 4, 2014)

Yeah, the "try it and see" sounds like a good plan. You can always swap things back around again and try other things if it doesn't work out.

And Tress.....remember.....there are *GUPPIES* in that tank now. You very well may end up more females without any effort on your part! (Of course - you may end up with more males as well...)


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

I'm one of those people that _didn't_ have guppies growing up. This is my first time with live bearers of any kind.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

I've kept one guppy with a betta (Poseidon) in a planted 5.5 
It actually worked out quite well with zero aggression. I would even go as far as to consider it again, to be honest. The guppy was a "feeder" or wild-type and she pretty much did her own thing and stayed out of Poseidon's way. Gave birth in there after coming home pregnant from the pet store tank! She sadly passed away after a few months but three of her babies live on!
So yeah, give it a shot, it might work


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## Tress (Jun 6, 2014)

SplashyBetta said:


> I've kept one guppy with a betta (Poseidon) in a planted 5.5
> It actually worked out quite well with zero aggression. I would even go as far as to consider it again, to be honest. The guppy was a "feeder" or wild-type and she pretty much did her own thing and stayed out of Poseidon's way. Gave birth in there after coming home pregnant from the pet store tank! She sadly passed away after a few months but three of her babies live on!
> So yeah, give it a shot, it might work


Thanks! Glad to hear a positive experience  I'm still thinking about it.


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