guppies

[JulieB]

I have a 3 gallon tank that has been cycling and I think... *think* I'm ready for fish. I've never done a fishless cycle before, so I'm sure I did some things wrong. I added some flake food to create ammonia, and filled the tank with water from my 55 gal. Was this enough to get the cycle going? I didn't check the parameters until a few days ago (the tank has been running for several weeks now. Ammonia was at 0. I don't remember what the nitrate and nitrite were at... one was at 0. I'll check my notes and post the exact numbers tonight. The pH was at 7. Is this high?

I want to get some guppies. First off, how many guppies will be fine in a 3 gallon tank? It only has an UG filter, but frequent PWC's are not a problem. I've got a heater, it's set at 78 F.

I'd love your input. Thanks in advance!

[7Enigma]

Julie,

I'm sorry to say but you probably don't have any living bacteria anymore. Like us, they need a relatively constant supply of food and they probably starved when the flake food was gone. The best thing for you to do is get some of the filter media from your 55 (canister filter?) and cram that into the filter of the 3 gallon. It will give you a large boost to your biological filter.

Then I would add some more flake food (small amount, about what you would feed to a single fish) and wait a day or 2. Keep the tank lights off. After a day or so take your measurements again and look for ammonia. As long as you have ammonia your bacteria will be fine. When it gets close to zero, add in some more flake food to get the ammonia level back up.

Your tank is very small. Guppy's are live-bearers. They don't lay eggs like most fish and can multiply like rabbits. I would recommend if you are set on guppies to make sure that you get ALL the same sex, and no more than 2-3 of them.

A betta and a snail would be a much better match for that tank IMO.

[SeanMurphy]

Guppies are more fun to watch than a single bettta, I find. Just get males, they're more colorful in any event. Guppies aren't hard to sex like labs or other fish.

[JulieB]

Thanks so much for the input! I'll clean the tank and start again; it's looking kinda weird due to lack of mainteince, it's easier to care for a tank when you have a fish in it! Now that I know what kind of fish I want, I'll be more motivated

Thanks for the advice on how many fish. I have two bettas a work, so I don't really want a third one. But three guppies (all boys) would be nice

[7Enigma]

Originally Posted by JulieB

Thanks so much for the input! I'll clean the tank and start again; it's looking kinda weird due to lack of mainteince, it's easier to care for a tank when you have a fish in it! Now that I know what kind of fish I want, I'll be more motivated

Thanks for the advice on how many fish. I have two bettas a work, so I don't really want a third one. But three guppies (all boys) would be nice

?? Do you have algae on the glass or something? I don't see a need to clean the take otherwise. I'd just get a new piece of filter media from your estabished tank and start feeding the empty tank. It is much easier to track the FC with a pure ammonia source, but fish food or a shrimp will work as well.

[JulieB]

It has a weird white coating on the air tube. I don't really know what it is?? It doesn't look like hard-water deposits.

I have ammonia at home that I use to clean my jewelry. How much should I add to 3 gallons of water?

Thanks again!

[donk1667]

make sure its ammonia only "no sudsy"

[JulieB]

Yes, donk, I'll be sure to check! I read the thread about a person who accidently added "soapy" ammonia and what a nightmare that was.