# 8 guppies + 1 panda cory in 11Litter (3G) water= overcrowded?



## rien (Dec 14, 2009)

hi,

beginner here. i brought 3G fish tank and 9 fishes stated on the subject. i found out that two small guppies like to chase other fishes in the tank and they seems bitting others' fin. is it due to the aquarium size? or it's just merely their behavior? 

i'm also planning to get some live plants next week.

thanks.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

How do the fins look? Do they look chewed? If so, did you see another fish do it or are all the tail fins starting to look ragged? That can be a sign of ammonia poisoning or the beginning of fin & tail rot (a disease). 

There a couple issues with a the small tanks, one is aggression between fish. Another is stability. The smaller the container, the harder it is too keep water chemistry and temperature stable. Any single overfeeding risks an ammonia spike high enough to hurt your filter bacteria. 

Plants will help. Both with water quality and with aggression (harder to chase with plants in the way).

I won't say you can't do it successfully. I've seen some nice nano-tanks. But you have to be very diligent and don't neglect water changes, never let the filter get plugged, stuff like that. Its just so much easier for a 3 gallon to crash than a 5 and a 5 crashes far more easily than a 10 and so on. 

In your place, I would keep 3 female guppies and one male, rehome the rest. Then in a month when you get 100 fry, buy a bigger tank. 


Guppies will nip, especially in close quarters. I would rather see these fish in a 10g. Especially bad are the cute little hex and cylinder tanks with no surface are and no room to swim.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Horribly overcrowded, yes. Also, guppy tails are very prone to rotting from too much bacteria in the tank, including the good bacteria, so it is no wonder that this is happening, since the overcrowded conditions are going to inevitably lead to this.


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## rien (Dec 14, 2009)

great thanks guys.

Basically, I can't buy any bigger aquarium. I have limited place to put them, but still I love fishes (especially guppies). I think I would get water test kit and chemical to control water's quality in the meanwhile until i get some plants for their habitats. 

any suggestion for the plants i should get to make a better home for them?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Best thing you can do for them is to change water as often as you can. Even everyday.


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## rien (Dec 14, 2009)

in the meanwhile yeah. my gf is nagging me for doing that.

anyway, im trying to build sustainable habitat for them. i wouldn't able to change the water everyday due to my working environment. sometimes, i didn't go home for days.

i need some input to help me out for the system. thanks for sharing.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Lose some fish is your best option really, take it down to like 4 guppies and no corey
or add plants but they need a decent light so you need to tell us what type of light your tank gets
and do water changes every day
if you love fish like you say you do the you will do things right. if you cant give them daily water changes if they need it then you dont love them as much as you say you do.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Rien:

Yes the tank is overcrowded. Have you considered a 20G minimum size.

Once you induce plants a few babies will survive and your condition will worsen.



emc7 said:


> Best thing you can do for them is to change water as often as you can. *Even everyday*.


*Ditto!*

TR


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Play nice, Tallone.. LOL

Those 8 guppies are going to become 150 in a few months, you know. You're going to have to do something about making some more room for them one way or another.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Sorry lol it wasn't meant to be mean rather than to get him thinking lol


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## rien (Dec 14, 2009)

Guys, thanks for your concern and sharing. I'm pretty sad today as one of them die and I force to take three out of the tank temporarily as I don't want them to hurt others.

All the fishes were surprise gift from my gf and I didn't know she was buying so many. I thought should be okay as I saw nano tank with more than 9 guppies fish, yet they stay healthy. 

After awhile, I'm curious why would guppy chasing and nipping other guppy? Then only I know one rule - "an inch of fish per gallon". Right now, I have two choice.

1. Buy another aquarium and put them in my office (which I don't think my boss will approve it)

2. Throw/give them away (which again, it's a gift and I'm throwing away)

@Tallone: You can say I'm heartless or whatever you want. But I have my reason. I'm here to find solutions. If you encourage people to pet fish, please do share your good passion.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

eh... 3gal. tank nano set up with lots of fish... most all that had a decent number of fish in them were heavily planted i.e 50% plants. All of it was low light stuff, had one of them clip on lights with the compact flourcent plant bulbs, and I think it was an aquaclear filter on the back.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I'd rather see you give them away than see you watch them die. I don't understand your gf. She buys lots of fish, but doesn't let you change water? Are you making a mess doing wcs? 

I don't think people should give animals, it never goes well. Better to give a gift-card to a LFS and let the tank-owner pick out their own.

You can see if the local store will let you trade a few for plants. I suggest hornwort, jave moss, java fern.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Again i wasn't trying to be mean as i already said, i was just trying to get you thinking that if you really love the fish, youll do whatever is necessary to keep them happy, even if that means give them away.
And i dont encourage people to pet fish lol


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

If it is a matter of money, a slightly larger tank (10 gallons or so) is only like $12 new.

If it is a matter of space, they make tanks of all shapes and sizes. Maybe a 10 gallon octagon would better fit the space you have.

I understand your position, but you do have to make a decision. It is not fair to the fish for you to let them die. If you really cant find any place for them you have to give them away. That shouldnt be too difficult (physically) to do. If you can't find anyone near you, most pet shops will take them.

You could technically keep them in the tank they are in, but as mentioned before, you will need to replace the water almost every day.


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