A Friend of mine bought a 1.5 gallon tank...need advice

[tozebeach]

I know a decent amount about saltwater fish, but know almost nothing about freshwater (though i know what a huge resource these forums can be so i figure i could help them out by asking the Aquarium Advice Gurus)

A friend of mine bought a 1.5 gallon tank and stocked it with a Dalmation Molly and a Platy. So far the Dalmation has been bullying the Platy around a lot. The tank has a small power filter on it. Should I advise her to take the Dalmation back? She is worried that the Platy wont have a friend if she brings the Dalmation back, but it is harassing the Platy so much that I dont think it is much of a friend. This tank seems very small to have two fish in it. If anyone has any ideas of stocking suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[JustOneMore20]

IMO both of those fish are too big for that size tank. In a 1.5g I'd go with maybe a betta or some small shrimp. Some cherry shrimp would be great for that size tank. It is really too small to have any fish other than a male betta and IMO even it would be a little crowded.

Mollies and platies should be in a 10g tank minimum.

 

[tozebeach]

IMO both of those fish are too big for that size tank. In a 1.5g I'd go with maybe a betta or some small shrimp. Some cherry shrimp would be great for that size tank. It is really too small to have any fish other than a male betta and IMO even it would be a little crowded.

Mollies and platies should be in a 10g tank minimum.

Thanks for the help. I figured that was the case. My saltwater instincts told me that that tank was way too small for most fish.

 

[JustOneMore20]

In FW, some people use the inch per gallon rule, which isn't the greatest, but I'm gonna use it as a reference in this case. Platies and mollies both get about 2 inches, so even one in the tank would be overstocked. I don't like that rule because it doesn't apply to all fish, but in this case you can have proof that those fish shouldn't be in a 1.5g tank.

The aggression is most likely because they are overcrowded.

Hope she decides to stock it right!

Welcome to AA by the way!

 

[AquaJoe]

Welcome to AA

I have kept a Betta in a 1.5 gallon hex with success in the past.

Other then keeping a Betta maybe your friend should look in to just having some plants or snails until they can get a bigger tank.

As stated above, the Molly and Platy must be kept in a bigger tank.

Also, you may want to caution your friend about the heat fluctuations often caused by using incandescent lighting (typically included with small aquarium 'kits').

Best,

Joe