Guppy in a 2.5 gallon tank temporarily?

[Daac]

I have a 10 gallon qt tank that I have been using for fish recently. All of the fish I have put in that tank within the last 3 to 4 months have died within days of being introduced. I don't know if something is wrong with the tank or if it is just bad luck but either way, I think I don't really want to take another chance putting a new fish in there again. I want to get a guppy to finish off the stock list of my 15 gallon tank and would like to qt it before putting it in with the other fish and shrimp. Would I be able to keep it in a 2.5 gallon minI bow shrimp tank for 3-4 weeks until I am sure it has no diseases? I don't want to cram it in there but if it is better than the 10 gallon I think I would like to try it. Is this too small for a temporary home or would the guppy be ok in there? There will be no shrimp when I get the fish and it could be heavily planted if necessary or empty if necessary. I don't know which would be better. Any help would be great. Thanks!

 

[Lexi03]

I think two weeks would be long enough. Have the fish that go in the ten had any symptoms?

 

[Daac]

Well both were honey gouramis but I don't know if that had anything to do with it. They wouldn't really eat and just died one day. They didn't last more than like a week, probably closer to 3 to 4 days.

 

[Lexi03]

Maybe they came sick from the store? How did you acclimate them?

 

[Daac]

It is possible, I acclimated them as usual- float bag for 10 mins, add some tank water, float for 5 or so more mins and then scoop him out with the net.

 

[mcurtissdsu]

I've kept a sick guppy in a 2.5 gallon for 2 weeks and he did just fine He died much later on from something else but I think just one guppy in Q in a 2.5 would be ok. Just keep it to maybe 1 plant/decoration so he's not crowded but still has something to hide behind if he wants to.

 

[Alessa]

He should be fine in the 2.5 during the quarantine period.

 

[mcurtissdsu]

I usually acclimate my fish for at least an hour. I add a little bit more tank water every 20 minutes. Maybe try acclimating them a bit longer next time and see if it helps.

 

[trinket]

If you only had gouarmis die, I've read that dwarf gouramis often have have Dwarf GouramI Disease. Apparently it's a virus and antibiotics can't help. Just thought I'd throw that out there-it might be nothing to do with the 10 gallon, just bad luck with the gouramis.

For a guppy in the 2.5 gallon, it should be fine. Just keep the water clean.

 

[mcurtissdsu]

If you only had gouarmis die, I've read that dwarf gouramis often have have Dwarf GouramI Disease. Apparently it's a virus and antibiotics can't help. Just thought I'd throw that out there-it might be nothing to do with the 10 gallon, just bad luck with the gouramis.

For a guppy in the 2.5 gallon, it should be fine. Just keep the water clean.

Yes, I had a dwarf gouramI a few months ago and he got DG disease. It started with a sore on his side that kept getting worse, he stopped eating, got really bloated, his scales pineconed, and then he died a couple of weeks later. It was very sad Is that what happened to your gouramis?

 

[Daac]

I don't think so. I couldn't be sure though because it was a while ago. Thanks for the advice. I think I will get the guppy and put him in the 10 gallon. If he is ok I will just assume something was wrong with the gouramis. If he starts acting weird I guess I could move him to the 2.5 and hope for the best?

 

[mcurtissdsu]

I don't think so. I couldn't be sure though because it was a while ago. Thanks for the advice. I think I will get the guppy and put him in the 10 gallon. If he is ok I will just assume something was wrong with the gouramis. If he starts acting weird I guess I could move him to the 2.5 and hope for the best?

I think that should be fine. I think that's what I would do. I hope it works out!

 

[Daac]

Ok thanks, and you can keep a single guppy without it getting lonely right? I don't hvae much experience with anything other than tetras, shrimp, and cories.

 

[mcurtissdsu]

Ok thanks, and you can keep a single guppy without it getting lonely right? I don't hvae much experience with anything other than tetras, shrimp, and cories.

Yes, you can. They are not schooling fish. I don't think they are necessarily solitary fish but, unlike neons or cary catfish for example, they won't hide and be stressed out all the time if they are alone.

 

[Daac]

Ok cool thanks. Yeah I figured I would get a yellow one so I have a good range of colors in my tank. I think it will look good when I get one. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[trinket]

I think guppies prefer to have others like them around but I think they're okay alone. My two guppies follow eachother around the tank 25/7, they're buddies.

I'd just clean the 10 gallon out, but I can't really think of anything a tank could do to kill fish, you know?

 

[mcurtissdsu]

I think guppies prefer to have others like them around but I think they're okay alone. My two guppies follow eachother around the tank 25/7, they're buddies.

I'd just clean the 10 gallon out, but I can't really think of anything a tank could do to kill fish, you know?

I agree that they prefer to have others around but that's only because they are constantly trying to mate every second of every day with any other guppy that is in the tank (the males anyway), LOL! He'd be happy either way, with a friend or in a home all to himself Definitely get a male...their colors are much more appealing and almost every female comes pregnant from the store and can give birth multiple times from a single mating. You certainly would not want that in a 2.5 gallon, lol.

 

[Daac]

Yeah I don't get the 10 gallon thing either. Yeah for the babies in the 2.5 that would not be good haha.