Stocking a 5.5 gallon, guppies?

[FishingInTheAir42]

Hello everyone, I'm sort of a new member. I don't go on here much, but I've had this account for awhile now. I myself have never had fish before, but my parents(especially my dad) are extremely experienced in fishkeeping. My dad actually worked at a local petstore before, and he and I are revamping our ~90 gallon tank, and plan on having tinfoil barbs, a redtail shark, and a couple other semi-aggressive fish(along with a pleco). My mom, on the other hand, is a pre-k teacher, and has a 5.5 gallon tank that used to house a betta fish that a friend of the director donated. The betta fish passed in early July, and since then, we have cleaned out the tank thoroughly due to the multiple diseases he had over the course of his life. It's the TopFin 5.5 kit, which comes with the same filter that the TopFin 10 gallon kit includes. (We had used a smooth piece of a plastic water bottle to stifle the flow a bit for the betta, since they aren't good swimmers.) We plan on getting more plants, but currently the tank has gravel, a silk plant, a leaf hammock-type thing with a suction cup that holds it to the glass, and two column decor pieces. There is also a small heater(some 'Betta heater' or something) that keeps the tank around 78-80 degrees. I believe the pH is around 7. I've been thinking about what fish to stock it with, and we could always do another betta. But I've been wondering if we could have some guppies and some ghost shrimp(perhaps cherry instead, though). How many could we stock the tank with, if we can at all? Can we keep all males to prevent them breeding to the point of overstocking the tank, or do they fight? What are your opinions on the shrimp?



I apologize for the long post, but I felt that I should tell the whole story, and specify everything so that you do not have to ask many questions.

We are able to get anything extra that we don't have already, I just listed what we already have to be helpful.

 

[SnailPocalypse]

I would say guppies are ok in a 5.5 gallon.But only a trio.I do know that females is what keeps the males from being aggresive towoards eachother so I don't really think all males would work.I myself keep a trio of 2 females and one male.Yet they do breed and just incase I have a 20 gallon tub to hold fry for selling/bait/etc.So I would say unless you have a PH of 7.4 or higher than guppies would be a no.Unless you have a way to heavily plant the tank to make it were it divides the guppies territories.Or unless you have a way to do something with the bappies wether it be give them away,sell them,or whatever guppies are not for you.

 

[hobby5]

Sorry for being negative, but if the best for your fish is in your interest you should follow my advice.

Imho a 5.5 gal tank is a betta tank and nothing else. Why cramp guppies in there? Of course you could do some snails and shrimp but without fish, please.

Btw I have met many people working at pet stores with no clue about fish, so this means nothing.

Also, Common pleco and tinfoil barbs are definitely growing to large for a 90 gal tank.

 

[SnailPocalypse]

I have to disagree Hobby.I have kept guppies in a 5.5 in optimal condition for awhile.But I only suggest three.Though I do keep up with my weekly water changes.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Again, yes you can keep fish in crowded overstocked coditions and theoretically, they would do fine in optimal water conditions, but is that ethical? No. 3 three ghost shrimp a nerite snail and a betta would do perfectly fine. Along with java fern and anubias.

 

[NickAu]

I agree with the Betta and ghost shrimp ( be warned the shrimp could get eaten it depends on the Betta )

I am not a fan of Nerite snails because they lay eggs that never hatch on everything.

As you are in the USA I would suggest 2 assassin snails.

 

[SnailPocalypse]

I will say this.My fish act perfectly fine and fyi not to be rude,but I do not think this tank is overcrowded.I offer my opinion if you do not want it that is fine,I have no problem with that,if you want it ok.Also you know of Aquarium Co op?The man whos favorite fish is guppies and keeps all kinds of them?He says in a video that three guppies in a 5.5 gallon is fine but that is the lowest he would go.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

I agree with the Betta and ghost shrimp ( be warned the shrimp could get eaten it depends on the Betta )

I am not a fan of Nerite snails because they lay eggs that never hatch on everything.

As you are in the USA I would suggest 2 assassin snails.

My nerite never laid a single egg

 

[Questions?]

3 guppies would be fine bioload wise in a 5.5 gallon but they are active fish and imo would look much better with a few more males and in a 10 gallon where they have more room. A 5.5 gallon would look absolutely great with mosses and cherry shrimp or a Betta and tons of live plants (and maybe a couple of shrimp depending on the Betta's temperament.) I'm excited you're starting a tank of your own and can't wait to see pics

 

[Essjay]

I would definitely not keep a trio of 1 male 2 female guppies in a 5.5 gall tank because pretty soon it would be full of hundreds of guppies. Even 3 females would have the same result if the females had ever been in a tank with a male as females can store sperm.

3 or 4 male endlers would be better than guppies, but even then the tank is not ideal for them.


And I wouldn't heave guppies or endlers even in a bigger tank if you have soft water.

 

[NickAu]

And I wouldn't heave guppies or endlers even in a bigger tank if you have soft water.

Good point.

Nerite and Mystery snails will suffer from shell erosion in soft water.

 

[FishingInTheAir42]

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. I guess there's more controversy than I thought. To clear things up, I plan on having male guppies only, if I do decide to go with a trio of guppies at all. I'm also not entirely sure of the pH, so 7 is a rough estimation. I can check, if I go with snails. If I really can't decide, I'll probably go with a betta, and possibly some shrimp. Are there any shrimp that don't breed too much? We could probably arrange something with a local pet store with our excess shrimp, but the less to deal with, the better.


And about the other tank, we have plans for the tinfoil barbs, and we will be going with a smaller kind of pleco. Thanks for your concern, though.

 

[Essjay]

It's the hardness - GH - you need to know. Guppies like hard water and they won't do well in soft water.

Your tap water hardness should be somewhere on your water company's website (unless you are on well water) - if you find it, make a note of the unit as welll as the number as they could any of about half a dozen units.

 

[Tyler_Fishman]

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. I guess there's more controversy than I thought. To clear things up, I plan on having male guppies only, if I do decide to go with a trio of guppies at all. I'm also not entirely sure of the pH, so 7 is a rough estimation. I can check, if I go with snails. If I really can't decide, I'll probably go with a betta, and possibly some shrimp. Are there any shrimp that don't breed too much? We could probably arrange something with a local pet store with our excess shrimp, but the less to deal with, the better.


And about the other tank, we have plans for the tinfoil barbs, and we will be going with a smaller kind of pleco. Thanks for your concern, though.

I would get ghost shrimp, granted they breed but they go tbrough a larval stage with requires special food, likely fish will just eat the larvae

 

[FishingInTheAir42]

It's the hardness - GH - you need to know. Guppies like hard water and they won't do well in soft water.

Your tap water hardness should be somewhere on your water company's website (unless you are on well water) - if you find it, make a note of the unit as welll as the number as they could any of about half a dozen units.

Thanks, I guess I got confused about pH and GH for a minute. It's been awhile since I learned it. I'll check into that, but I've decided that we are probably doing a betta and perhaps some ghost shrimp.