Too many fish?! A bit stuck

[Harrysudron]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a 12 gallon (54 litre) tropical aquarium and had 4 platies to begin with. However, I have recently had fish bought for me for my birthday of 2 different people and have reluctantly added them into my aquarium. The fish are 5 black neon tetras, a gourami and a Betta. I have added bottled nitrifying bacteria to try and help the tank out. I know that this is not the best thing to do for the health of the fish but I feel like I am a bit stuck. Can anyone suggest any solutions or any tips on how to keep this amount of fish without getting rid of any? Water changes etc?Any help is appreciated.

 

[ZxC]

Water changes, lots of fast growing plants, bigger filters with as much biomedia as you can fit in them, cleaning filters in old tank water regularly, keeping feeding on the minimum side of things.

Watch for aggression, the betta and gourami might not get along.

 

[Harrysudron]

Thanks, il try to do all of that. I need an air stone to increase the oxygen levels because I noticed a few fish coming to the surface for air, what do you think? So far the Betta has been pretty good with the gourami but has chased the platies a few times.

 

[King Fisher]

Honestly you should get a 29g for all of them besides the betta. Keep the betta in the 12g. If you have the means of course.

 

[fishytales]

Coming up for air - check your water chemistry. Ammonia and Nitrites. 50% water changes to improve water quality. Ammonia over 0.25 ppm is quite toxic. If you’re already seeing a nitrite spike, a tsp of aquarium salt can help deal with it. But nothing like regular water changes. Your tank has a pretty heavy bioload.

 

[flitabout]

I agree with King time for a bigger tank

 

[rlederer]

If it is the betta or gourami coming of for air, no problem. They are labyrinth fish and normally come to the surface for air occasionally. But if you want more oxygen in the water, you need surface aeration. Air stones only add oxygen to the extent they move the surface water around.