Is my 5 gallon tank overcrowded?

[ruby_9c]

Hi. My husband and I have a 5 gallon tank that we had two rasboras and 2 platties in. The platties kept picking on the rasboras so we gave them to friends with a larger tank. We now have 2 guppies, 2 rasporas and 1 cory. The guppies are about an inch each as are the resporas. We have had the cory about a year and he is about an inch and a half long.

The rasboras and guppys seem happy, always swimming together. They all eat well and the water quality is easy to maintain with bi-weekly cleanings.

I've been reading that you shouldn't have more than 2 or 3 fish in a 5 gallon aquarium regardless if they're small.

Does anyone know if our fish will be happy for the long run in a 5 gallon tank? The pet shop we got them from thought we could even add another guppy. I just want to make sure they are not overcrowded and all have enough room to swim.

They cory stays on the bottom of the tank, so there are only 4 fish swimming in the middle and top level of the tank.

Thanks for your help!

 

[joy13]

In a 5 gallon personally I would only keep 2 guppies most likely males. The cories do better in small groups of 3 or more. The rasbora do better in larger groups as well depending on the ones you have they can get up to 3 inches. It is the bioload you need to be concerned about rather than the swimming space with smaller fish.

When you do your bi-weekly changes are you changing part of your water or all of your water?

 

[ruby_9c]

The two guppys we have are males. We change out 2 gallons of water every two weeks, so not quite a half change. I'll definately do my research online before getting another aquarium or getting other fish. Our pet store people know what size tank we have and said the resbora's wouldn't get bigger than an inch and that most people have a single cory and they do fine. At least we know now! Thanks for your help.

 

[ricardo48]

I would start to change 2.5 gallons of water every week. Make it your routine to do a 50% change weekly. Then add a small live plant if you want to go that route?