Can I Do Partial Water Change Every 2 Weeks?

[HYJ]

Hi, I used to have 2 male guppies and 3 neon tetras in 5 gallon aquarium that has been cycled.

At this point, I did 15~20% partial water change every 2 weeks, and there seemed to be no problem.

But then 2 days ago I finally got a blue tail male guppy that I really wanted to add in my aquarium, so now I have

3 male guppies (red, yellow and blue ) with three neon tetras in the tank.

I was thinking of adding two more neon tetras, but I am afraid that this may cause problems..and I don't want to lose the blue tail guppy-I looked for the blue tail one for like 2 months.

So if I stay with the 6 fishes I have now... can I still do water change every 2 weeks?

Or should I do water changes every week or every 10 days just to make sure everything goes fine

I feed them flakes once a day.

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi HYJ

When in doubt, it's better to do more water changes than you think you need. It's always better to be safe than sorry.

 

[kbekll]

keep an eye on water parameters and see how you go on

depending what filter you have tbh if it is over sized of the tank wount cause too much fuss as you can slightly (some wont agree) over stock but i do mean slightly

 

[Anna Robinson]

I agree, it's always better to do too many water changes than too little, but water testing is the only thing that will tell you if you are doing enough.

Incidentally, small fish like that benefit from two meals a day - in the wild they would graze on small amounts of food constantly. You don't have to feed them any more overall than you are doing now, but if you split it into two meals a day they will be able to digest it and use it much more efficiently. It also means that if a fish misses out at one meal, it doesn't have to wait 24 hours before it gets another chance to eat.

 

[Rooster]

Water changes are MORE important to a new tank (less than 6 months maybe...) than to an established aquarium.
Also, the stock adds complication, live plants do a lot of the work, and also show when somethings "wrong" (although by this stage, you ARE deemed as lazy ! LOL)

I would stick to a weekly 25-30% for a while.

 

[vinylman]

TBH, even for six fish, that's still a small tank. Neon Tetras are very active and really need a lengthy tank to feel comfortable. Also, they're better suited to a tank that's been cycled AND matured. Male Guppies can get very boisterous among themselves and that could stress the Neons. With a 5G tank, there's nowhere for a frightened fish to hide. You also have to remember that Neons (which prefer to be in a group of at least 5/6) will nip the fins of long-finned fish; they'll probably find the Male Guppies tails irresistible. Is there any chance you could get a bigger tank? Even a 10G would be much better. In a 5G, I'd be doing water changes at least once a week - things can go wrong in a tank that small very quickly.

 

[HYJ]

TBH, even for six fish, that's still a small tank. Neon Tetras are very active and really need a lengthy tank to feel comfortable. Also, they're better suited to a tank that's been cycled AND matured. Male Guppies can get very boisterous among themselves and that could stress the Neons. With a 5G tank, there's nowhere for a frightened fish to hide. You also have to remember that Neons (which prefer to be in a group of at least 5/6) will nip the fins of long-finned fish; they'll probably find the Male Guppies tails irresistible. Is there any chance you could get a bigger tank? Even a 10G would be much better. In a 5G, I'd be doing water changes at least once a week - things can go wrong in a tank that small very quickly.

I understands that bigger tanks are better, but I live in very small room since I am a student.

Actually the 10G kit was cheaper than the 5G eclipse aquarium I have now, but I had no support base that could hold the 10G glass tank weight.

Anyway, I had 6 neons back in Feb, but three of them died sometime in march or so.. the current three neons are the survivors and they seem to do OK. When it's feeding time, they go crazy and they show no sign of shyness among guppies.

So do you think it's better to do weekly water change rather than every two weeks?

The tank was first set up about 5 months ago.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi HYJ

A 10 gallon is the basic starter set and is often a good bargain. You can keep a very nice 5 gallon tank if you give it the attention needed. If you want to upgrade sometime, on a student's budget, milk crates make sturdy stands for 10 gallon tanks. This will give you an idea, but you could make it look nicer if you wanted to.