Overstocked- how much tank space do I need?

[sarah5775]

Ok.

I have a 29 gallon and 2 5 gallons, soon to add a 10 gallon tank

In my 29 gallon, I have following fish:

3 black longfin tetras, each 2 1/2 inches
3 gold barbs, each 2 inches
5 neons
4 platies, 1 inch each
1 young molly, about an inch
4 zebra danios
1 fully grown female guppy
10 baby guppies in a breeding trap

In my 5 gallon I have 7 sailfin molly babies- i want to keep as many of them as I can, and 2 guppies

In my other 5 gallon, I have 3 tiny comet goldfish, purchased as feeders for a crab that doesnt' want em, so I'm stuck with them

I am buying a 10 gallon

The goldfish will go in there temporarily. I'm trying to arrange giving them to a friend with a pond when they outgrow the tank. The tank will be taken up with the goldfish for some time, though.

How many more tanks/size tank do I need for the fish that I have, and how should I divide them? What are my options? I'm thinking moving the guppies into a second 10 gallon, then eventually getting a larger tank to divide up the rest. What do you think?

I need to get the minimum amount of space for the fish that I have. I'm also prepared to give up some current/future fry.

 

[bs6749]

Even with all of the guppy fry in the 29 gallon tank you should be fine. Guppies are small and their impact on the bioload of the tank is small as well. You could probably add most of the molly fry and still be fine. The only thing that I'd be worried about is that within a few months time you may be overrun with guppy fry and not know what to do with them. The barbs/tetras will probably snack on the smaller ones, which is a good thing because it'll keep the population down. If you have plans to get another 10g tank I'd still purchase it since it would allow you to relocate fry in the near future.

 

[sarah5775]

Will male guppies be ok with the barbs and tetras? They nipped at my betta when I put him in there, and I had to rehome him. I'm not worried about fry in the big tank- I have had platies before and never saw a single fry- they would get pregnant, then get big, then be small, so I know they were giving birth- but the other fish would eat them before I could even save any. I usually have to struggle real hard to save babies.

If the guppies are ok with the tetras, I will just move them in (when they get big enough) That would leave the new ten gallon free in case I want to save any of the fry, and I can control that so I won't be overwhelmed- or I could move my platies into the eventual 10 gallon and get a few cory cats.

What do you think?

 

[bs6749]

I say that if you want any babies you will most likely have to axe the tetras and the barbs. If they are fin nippers there is nothing you can do other than not house them in the same tanks as fish with longer fins. I would bet that they'd go after the male guppy just as they did with the betta.

 

[Johnny Tuttle]

Neons will eat guppy fry? That's almost a fair fight given their sizes

 

[Alaris]

Sell all the tanks (tropical) and their equipment and get a 55g for all those fish. ^_^b

 

[blueram06]

HI,
The Barbs are the only ones you really have to move, they are the most aggressive. Add some floating plants or Java moss to the tank for the fry to hide in, In our guppy breeder tanks we just us Christmas Garland for them. As long as your filtration is adequate you shouldn't have any problems.
Live plants add a great deal of oxygen and help clean the water too.
I have about 40 different fish ( loaches, Cats, danois, plecos, shrimp and a few more I only remember when they come out, in a 55 with a tank full of plants, an undergravel filter and a Marineland Canister C-220 filter with aeraton.
Hope this helps
Jay

 

[tomherndon]

are gold barbs similar to cherry barbs or more like tiger/rosy barbs. If they're the type I've seen labeled as gold, they're a cherry-like variant rather than a tiger type variant and may not be so darn agressive. I'll never get tigers again. Too many attacks on other fish. . .