3 gallon tank options (guppies OR betta, snails or shrimp?)

I purchased a small 3 gallon tank with the intention of some pretty plants and a male Betta for a small table. A was wondering if there were other options for such small tanks. I was thinking light, like a male and two female guppies with frequent water changes, could that comfortably work? Or should I just stick with the Betta and maybe a couple snails? Ghost shrimp, maybe?

Thanks

 

Guppies need at least 10 gallon and it'll end in a lot of fry with male and female. I learned this the hard way and am now taking care of 32 guppy fry. 3 gallon is bare minimum for a betta and it's iffy if it'll leave the snails and shrimp alone. I would do a betta or snails and shrimp. Never underestimate the power of a planted shrimp tank (Google it!)

If you do shrimp, I wouldn't do ghost shrimp. I would do cherry shrimp instead.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

Unfortunately, guppies won't work in that tank size. It's just barely enough for the betta alone. Besides, it's likely they will not get along. Maybe you could add one or two horned nerite snails. Not sure if the betta will want to snack on the ghost shrimp.

 

HI there,
Your tank is pretty small, and you want your fish to have as much room to swim as possible in all circumstances. Your Betta will do better at keeping himself healthy if he has space to swim. For that reason I would not add anything other than your Betta.

 

I'm sorry I wasn't clear, I didn't mean guppies and betta, I meant Betta or guppies (oops!). But since it's too small, I'll just do a betta! I have had quite a few betta fish, I've actually kept them alive for a very long time in smaller tanks but with a lot of maintenance. I'm actually not a total newbie, but it's been a while since I've had them! I already have the tank set up (just no fish yet), with lots of hiding spots in case I wanted to add some kind of shrimp or snails. Would that help?

(In reply to el337)

 

I'm sorry I wasn't clear, I didn't mean guppies and betta, I meant Betta or guppies (oops!). But since it's too small, I'll just do a betta! I have had quite a few betta fish, I've actually kept them alive for a very long time in smaller tanks but with a lot of maintenance. I'm actually not a total newbie, but it's been a while since I've had them! I already have the tank set up (just no fish yet), with lots of hiding spots in case I wanted to add some kind of shrimp or snails. Would that help?

You could definitely try the shrimp and snails but I'd stick to nerite snails as they are smaller. And maybe test it out with a couple of ghost shrimp. They're cheap and if the betta decides he doesn't like them or eats them, it won't be a huge loss.

 

You could definitely try the shrimp and snails but I'd stick to nerite snails as they are smaller. And maybe test it out with a couple of ghost shrimp. They're cheap and if the betta decides he doesn't like them or eats them, it won't be a huge loss.

Okay, Thank you for your help!