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If 2 is company, and 3 is a crowd -

1K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  toad 
#1 ·
- how many do you need for a community? :)

I just - as in, one hour ago - rescued two little girls from Walmart. They have been there for over a week, and only yesterday were they put into clean water. To be honest, I'm not sure I can save one of them :cry: But, I'm going to try my hardest to heal her.

If both girls pull through, would it be possible to house them in an undivided 20 gallon long tank? Though I had been planning to put a nice little school of guppies in the tank in question, I now have these girls and no clue where to put 2 more aquariums (including the currently empty 20 gallon, I have 4 right now). I was thinking about getting a school of pretty neons to live with them, and lots of plants (because I adore planted tanks). Of course, if this is a bad idea, and the girls should be alone, I will either get a 3 gallon tank for each girl, or a 10 and a divider (though I've been hearing divider horror stories lately and I'm nervous about it).

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear them! I want to do whatever is best for these little ones.
 
#2 ·
it would probably be fine putting them in a 20 gallon by themselves, in the long run you should try to get a couple more, but theres more than enough room for both in there (and considering the conditions theyve been in i doubt they have any fight in them right now)
 
#3 ·
I have guppies in the tank next to my main pc, and they're BORING. I added 3 barbs & a cory to clean up after them.

Since there's no fry right now, I'm going to put the betta in there to see what they do.

Oh yeah, I have to remove the rosy barbs 1st.

They're ANTI-betta fish.

You could always divide 1/4 of the tank for a betta if you desire.

Why people do a 50/50 divide with a larger tank makes no sense to me.
 
#4 ·
lol. :)

So, should I forego the neons? I was thinking that if I put a school of neons in the tank, there would be enough commotion to prevent one fish from being bullied. Also, these girls are tiny and it's going to look like I just have a huge tank full of plants if they're in it alone :D

Side note question - can different neons live together? Because I've seen a few different ones lately that are very pretty...
 
#6 ·
All tetras in general can get along with other species as long as there's sufficient room, but they prefer their own species.

If you have a less than 6-7, they don't do anything but swim in one place & huddle together for protection.

They will split up during feeding, but that's about it.


That's how schooling fish behave when they're in small numbers.
 
#7 ·
Unless you get another school, no. Fish that school want fish of their species and type, they are much happier with their own type.

Two females shouldn't be housed together in a 20 gallon. You said you don't think you can save one, so if she is weaker she will most likely get bullied. When you rescue a fish please make you sure you have the proper setups and you know diseases and all that, cause then it could be as bad as in the petstore. If they are both ill you don't want them in the same water, one could have a nasty disease while the other could be fine, you put them together, they are both sick... Separate housing when doing rescues is a must.
 
#9 ·
Unless you get another school, no. Fish that school want fish of their species and type, they are much happier with their own type.

Two females shouldn't be housed together in a 20 gallon. You said you don't think you can save one, so if she is weaker she will most likely get bullied. When you rescue a fish please make you sure you have the proper setups and you know diseases and all that, cause then it could be as bad as in the petstore. If they are both ill you don't want them in the same water, one could have a nasty disease while the other could be fine, you put them together, they are both sick... Separate housing when doing rescues is a must.

Thanks for the advice, everyone :)

The girls are currently in quarantine, each in a seperate container, and will be for at least a couple of weeks. I said that I wasn't sure about one of them because I thought she had ammonia burns and wasn't very active, but I might be wrong - she is perking up and eating, so I'm hopeful. If I don't feel that she is strong enough, I won't put her with another fish.

I was considering a school of tetras, because I know they are generally safe tank mates. The tank will be heavily planted, and the little fish will go in first. If the girls don't play nicely, I will give them their own homes (3 gal. minimum) and the schooling fish will keep the 20 gal for themselves :-D
 
#8 ·
I had two females in a 10g with no problems, now they are in a 46g with a 3rd female Betta, I think it depends on the fish. Make sure you have plenty of plants (real or silk) with plenty of hiding spots. The plants help break their line of sight & if their chasing another fish it allows the one being chased to hide quickly. My tanks are mostly real plants with a few silk thrown in simply because they were tall. If it were my tank I would get some kind of bottom of feeder or middle of the tank schooling fish. My 46g currently houses 3 female Bettas, 2 Chinese Algae eaters (NOT recommended for your to get, I got them based on misinformation from LFS) and 2 Mystery Snails. It seems to be sufficient IMO because there is always someone moving around for me to watch. If you don't have snails check into them, I've only had mine a couple of weeks & they have completely fascinated me. If you want schooling fish research what you want online, some smaller schooling fish can be aggressive towards the Bettas & vice versa.
 
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