Wolfgang8810

if not guppies what would be shiny and petty that could hold out in a 2.5 gal ?

sgould

If you want quantities of fish...not much of anything, unfortunately. The rule of thumb is 1" of adult fish per gallon of water. By that guideline, 2.5 gallons is only going to be adequate for 1 small fish.

Wolfgang8810

would a beta do ok in it?

capekate

A betta would be great in a 2.5 espcially a female. I had one in mine and it had plenty of room to swim around. I wouldnt want to put a male betta in a 2.5 tho, they are a little larger.

Wolfgang8810

cool so maybe a female beta im cycling now and ive heard that its faster to do it without fish how should i do it? what is better for the fish and about how long might it take?

Cody

well i usualy use the gravel vacum when i do clean it and the water it takes with it is the water change

capekate

Well for the most part, a cycled tank is ideal. Im sure there are a lot of folks here that will debate the issue on this but.. Ive never had any problem cycling a tank with a betta in it. It seems that they are more hardy than other tropical fish in that regard. Since they seem to be able to live for so long in bowls that are not cycled, that putting one in a 2.5 tank that is not cycled shouldnt be a problem. My three bettas have all been put in uncycled tanks and are doing fine now, tho the tanks have all cycled. Just make sure you do water changes regularly your betta should be fine.
If you plan on cycling your tank fishless, you can start by dropping in fish flakes every twelve hours to start the nitrogen cycle. It should take about 3-4 weeks that way. You would have to do water tests to see what your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite readings are to determine your cycle. Its a good thing to take tests anyway either with fish or not. If you do get a betta in right away, and you do a wc of 50% once a week. cleanning up the gravel at the same time, you should do ok.
good luck! ~ kate