Thoughts on 3-5 small guppies in 6 gallon

[jossswonk]

I have a densely planted 6 gallon and I'm desperately trying to figure out what to put in it. There are cherry shrimp right now but I would like some guppies. I saw some beautiful males at the store that were pretty small so I was wondering if they would be ok in that setup? I would put 3-5 males.

 

[MaloK]

I don't see why not !

If your water is good to keep guppies ? I think water is pretty hard in Indiana... Should be a good light bioload. 3-6 is still manageable, but they will still establish their little pecking order... Full of plants, all chances are on your side.

Make sure you get males only tho...

 

[Back in the fold]

Should be fine . Only one way to find out .

 

[jossswonk]

Do you think they'd mess with shrimp?

 

[Magnum Man]

I keep small live bearers in my shrimp breeding tanks, Endlers, Guppies, even some fancy Platy's, and the Platy's haven't slowed down my cherry shrimp in breeding... as long as your water is good, for the shrimp, should be fine for the Guppies, as long as you have enough filter for the added bio load...

 

[MaloK]

They will probably try to eat shrimps, but their escape mechanism make them challenging preys... Even when small...

My betta wasn't able to catch a shrimp landing on his nose...

 

[AJ356]

I'm in the minority I think. I believe we need to do better for fish than keep them in this small a tank, unless it's for fry or an emergency hospital tank. I think 8 gallon for a single betta would be my limit/comfort zone.

 

[MaloK]

One guppy per gallons is really good imo.

 

[GaryE]

Remember - small guppies become as large as any other guppy, if you take good care of them. And I imagine you will, so consider the biggest guppies you've ever seen in a few short months.

In a 6 gallon, I'd consider wild type short finned guppies, or a few Bororas. Endlers might be good too.

I'll disagree with @MaloK - not in say a tank of 20 gallons, where it would work, but in a small tank, you have way less leeway. Plus the fish are limited in how they can move. It's a tiny environment.

I use tanks that size only for the first few weeks of fry, and not for adults longterm.

 

[jossswonk]

I am going to plan to get them tonight. If I feel like they're getting too large or aren't doing well my backup plan is to put them with my platies. I will send pictures once I have them.

 

[emeraldking]

There are also short finned fancy guppies that will thrive and do well in such a tank.

I'm in the minority I think. I believe we need to do better for fish than keep them in this small a tank, unless it's for fry or an emergency hospital tank. I think 8 gallon for a single betta would be my limit/comfort zone.

Basically, the bigger the space, the better for sure... But with this size of tank, there are lots of small livebearers that will thrive and fit in well.
The size of a fish doesn't always tell the urge for a bigger tank. Especially, for those fish that hardly swim. I don't stick to the rule of one inch per gallon or one cm per liter. It really comes down to what type of fish I'm dealing with.

Having a betta combined with guppies goes well when the betta is a real loner. For such bettas stick most of the time to one spot in the tank. It will change if the betta's got a dominant behavior.

 

[jossswonk]

Here are the guppies. I ended up getting 4. They are currently settling in. While I was at the store I thought they were some of the most beautiful guppies I've seen in a long while so I just had to get them.

 

[Magnum Man]

I've never seen anything like these... they look awesome... but they look large for guppies, but may be just your picture...

 

[jossswonk]

I think it may just be the picture. They are only about an inch long.

 

[MaloK]

They looks great !!!

Love the Blue patterns and the Orange Flares.