lafetner

Newbee here. Very small aquarium (2.5 gal) for child. Purchased 4 small fancy tail guppies. Noticed later on this and other sites, that these "should" be in 10+ gal aquariums. I know they don't get must larger than 1.5-2"...so is this really a problem? Is 10+ just a recommendation? Other than these have LOTS of fry, is there any other reason for concern for the small tank?

Thanks for the advice....

Howeyg

you'll eventually have to get a bigger tank

chipster55

Welcome....If you have too many fish you will have problems with your water quality..There probably will be an ammonia problem which comes from fish waste..With such a small tank it will be hard to control your ammonia and nitrates...Here is one of many links about cycling a fish tank....http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php ...Good Luck

chipster55

Here is a better link for cycling your tank....http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/index.php?topic=620.0

COBettaCouple

welcome to fishlore. gups are MAJOR poopers, like other live bearers and even just on room, they'll get pretty crowded in the 2.5g and you'd be looking at possible aggression issues because they'll feel cramped without enough swimming room --- on top of really high toxins levels from so much waste in a relatively small amount of water. you could keep them in that tank, but with 6-8" of fish in the space for 2.5", you're looking at water changes daily to keep the toxins from becoming too high. It would be nice to fill a tank more with fish, but they put out so much waste in a closed system that the 1" of fish per gallon is honestly a minimum and some fish need more like 3 or 5 gallons per inch.

0morrokh

Yup, I agree. Four or five guppies is the max I would put in a 10gal. Your 2.5 is definately overstocked.

Shrimpy

you will need to check if they are all males or females becuz they breed and many babies can come in one birthing

lyndatu

Since you're a beginner, the best size is 20 gallons. Yes, it sounds expensive, but I started with an 8 gallon aquarium and a few days later my aquarium is colored thick brown!

The smaller your tank, the faster changes will occur. If you really can't get 20 gallons, 15 gallons is fine.

Welcome and Good luck with the aquarium world!