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You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Freshwater Aquarium > guppies...
Expert: Michael Freynet - 11/9/2009
Question
Hi Im planning on giving away my goldfish and getting some gubbies instead. I didn't know that you should only have one goldfish per 10 gallons which is what i have. i feel kinda bad so im giving them back to the petshop. but its odd how the pet store owner never told me after i told him i only have a 10 gallon tank.
Anyway ive completely cleaned my aquarium and taken all the water out and set the tank clean and fresh. I haven't bought my guppies yet so i was just wondering when i can put them in the tank. ive been hearing reflecting opinions when to put them in...some say 6 weeks others 3 weeks..you know for the cycles..i have no fish in there now and i dont want my new gubbies to die...can you help answer this questions thanks
Regards,
Anita
Answer
Hi Anita,
I'm very pleased to hear that your giving your Goldfish back. In reality a healthy adult Goldfish of any species should have at LEAST 20 gallons of water per goldfish. A 10 gallon tank is just not a large enough water volume to keep such a large and messy fish in. The good news is that ten gallon tanks although quite small can still house a good variety of tropical fish. The general rule for most tropical fish is for every one inch of fish there should be one gallon of water(Goldfish need about 2 gallons per inch and keep in mind they all grow to around 1'). There are many small fish that would make excellent inhabitants for your aquarium. Smaller Tetras, Rasboras, Platies, Guppies, Rasboras, Corydora Catfish, and Danios are good examples. Keeping the 1 inch of fish per one gallon of water rule you could probably safely have around 10 small fish in there as long as your keep up on your weekly 20-25% water changes to keep the toxicity levels down.
Set up your aquarium and let everything run for 48 hours(your water should be balanced out by than) before adding any fish into it. Start off with 3 fish and do not add any more for at least 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks add no more than 3 fish a week until you have hit your stocking capacity. Do not forget about your weekly water changes of 20-25%! Best of luck!
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