3 male platies in a 10g tank - not enough room?

[PurpleFish]

The classroom tank I have, which turned out to have 3 male platies (we were hoping to breed), is a standard 10 gallon, has several plants, driftwood, and a sunk ship decoration that they love to swim thru and hang out in. However, as of Oct 26th, these three males have been fighting. Nothing causing injuries but one does tend to high a lot since then and one moves around but always has his dorsal fin collapsed against his back when the dominant male can see him. We are starting to wonder if the tank is not big enough for these three...??? The fighting and jostling isn't decreasing and gets pretty strong at feeding times. We are wondering if they need a larger tank...

We have a terrarium that looks plenty sturdy to become an aquarium. It's 12 in deep, 24 in wide, and 21 in high. We did the calculation twice and it seems that will give the platies 2.5 more gallons but it's mostly height. The platies definitely use all parts of their current tank so we are thinking, especially if we add tall plants and driftwood, that they will use the upper portion of this new tank. What do y'all think about us moving them over to this tank? And, if it's a go, what size or type of filter do we use to make sure the lower portion gets the affect?

 

[Lucy]

Hi
Wait for others to chime in but it's my understanding that terrarium glass is not as thick as a tank made for aquatics.
The seals and glass may not hold up long term under the pressure of 160+ pounds of water.
(that's approx what 20 gallons of water weigh and the measurements of your terrarium.

 

[PurpleFish]

Hmmm… Is there any way to tell the difference between aquarium and terrarium tanks? I did notice that it’s seals are black, not clear. I’ll try to trace where it came from to get more info.

So, those dimensions are 20g! It does seem quite a bit bigger and I was surprised by the 12.5g result. How do you calculate the gallon size? We were given a hexagon shaped tank that we calculated at 25g but that’s likely wrong too.

 

[kansas]

maybe this will help

Volume Calculator

 

[Lucy]

I could be wrong on the calculations. Should measure in height length and width.

Really, doesn't matter. If it's made for a terrarium the glass would not be thick enough, possibly issues with the bottom and silicone.
If you look at terrariums in any pet store there are usually warnings on them.

You can google what the difference in glass width is.

Quite often, chain pet store have $1.00 per gallon sales.
Someone will surely post about it on the forum.

 

[emeraldking]

We are wondering if they need a larger tank...

Males can become dominant in any tank. It's more of a hiearchy that develops between them. And quite frankly, that's a normal thing. But most of the time once they know their place within the groups, they'll leave eachother alone.

Hi
Wait for others to chime in but it's my understanding that terrarium glass is not as thick as a tank made for aquatics.
The seals and glass may not hold up long term under the pressure of 160+ pounds of water.
(that's approx what 20 gallons of water weigh and the measurements of your terrarium.

Yes, in general the glass used in terrariums aren't as thick as the glass of an fishtank. For there won't be that much water pressure (if there is a water in the terrarium, of course) on the glass in a terrarium. But that goes for the terrariums that you can commercially buy. For you could also get a custom made terrarium with thicker glass.

I did notice that it’s seals are black, not clear.

There are black and translucent seals in both fishtanks and terrariums.

 

[PurpleFish]

Males can become dominant in any tank. It's more of a hiearchy that develops between them. And quite frankly, that's a normal thing. But most of the time once they know their place within the groups, they'll leave eachother alone.

Yes, in general the glass used in terrariums aren't as thick as the glass of an fishtank. For there won't be that much water pressure (if there is a water in the terrarium, of course) on the glass in a terrarium. But that goes for the terrariums that you can commercially buy. For you could also get a custom made terrarium with thicker glass.

There are black and translucent seals in both fishtanks and terrariums.

Great info, thanks! I was able to track down where this terrarium came from and it was originally an aquarium for raising salmon fry. So we are good to go. But you make a good point about the hierarchy and it does seem that the bullying is slowly decreasing. So I’ll talk to the students about just improving what’s in the tank - increase hiding spots, decrease the line of sight, and such. Then we can use the larger tank for our planned breeding project.