I am looking into using a 2.5 gallon as a platy and guppy fry tank. i was wondering if that would be to small to raise lets just say 30 fry to uneatable size? Also what kind of filtration would be best?
Kinda ya... too small really. I have a fully set up 10 gallon nursery/quarantine tank. Heater, filter, fully cycled ready to go. It will do for a month or two depending on the number of fry and how fast they grow. But I have a 75gal they can go into to grow out before sale. If you don't have something larger then I would suggest a 20 gal... as long as you have planned out where these fry are going. My 1 Swordtail for eg, dropped 5, then 9, and then no word of a lie at least 65. OMG! The next drop, she stayed in the 75 and the drop must have been dinner for someone. Be careful what you wish for!! lol. I now have 65 3/4 inch fry still not ready for sale.
My LFS will take whatever I bring them when they are ready tho.
I agree - 2.5 is just to small for 30 fry. With extra care you might get by with a 5g, but I agree that a 10g is better...as long as they'rer moved out to grow up when they get just big enough not to be lunch.
I'm thinking 1/4 inch would put the fry beyond lunch size. Using the old inch of fish per gallon rule, 10 would be your limit for the 2.5 gallon. As others have said, a 10 gallon would work out great for 30 fry. Best of luck.
Thanks everyone for the replies. The reason i wanted use the 2.5 is i already have one and it fits underneath my 20 gallon. I might invest in a ten gallon but idk if it'll fit. Also if I do go with the 10 gallon should i go with a bare bottom and hydro sponge filter or use substrate of some kind?
Well that depends on your budget. I personally would set it up as a nursery and quarantine tank, substrate and planted. But If you want to just raise fry and scoop em out when they are ready then the less work the better.
I do know that they are much happier little creatures when they have some room to swim. i.e. the 10 gal.
For what it's worth, I have about 10 sunset mickey mouse platys in a 5g acrylic with no substrate. For the filter I'm using a 5/15 Aquatech with a Fluval prefilter sponge on the inlet tube. These fry will only be here until they're big enough to no longer be lunch or just a bit bigger. (I have a small male Platy in the big tank that thinks he's tank boss and gets a little testy with little guys.)
You could have a substrate, I just find that for fry, no substrate makes water change siphoning (bottom cleanup) easier and food remains available instead of getting lost in gravel. Also, a sponge filter would work well, but since I had the filter and the pre-filter sponge, it works fine.... but lots of options.
I keep African Cichlids and with fry I always have them in a bare bottom tank, with feeding the fry 3-4 times a day it can sometimes get messy in the tank quick..the tank I have is a 40g breeder, I could get away with using a smaller tank but the extra space is beneficial.
Should the need arise I can always split the tank with a divider and still have a lot of room for fry.
Now the smaller fish a 10g would be perfect, it gives plenty of room and with a bare bottom is easy to maintain..as mentioned a sponge filter is all you really need, plus heater, when not in use, keep the sponge filter in the back corner of the main display tank, that way it is cycled and ready to be used if necessary.
It also gives you a QT / Hospital tank that can be setup, if the sponge is still cycled, very quickly again should the need arise.
Like the advice concerning the sponge filter. Very helpful and practical.
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