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i have a 10 gal tank with 4 male guppies 5 female mollies 1 plecostomus and 2 fry

6K views 43 replies 11 participants last post by  Chesh 
#1 ·
i have a 10 gal tank with 4 male guppies 5 female mollies 1 plecostomus and 2 fry. also do you think i have enough plants for the fry
 

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#5 ·
The Pleco will be okay for a few weeks.. But then as they grow I think he might become stunted. It needs space to grow, if its confined, it will grow slower and "Stunting" will occur; which leads to many problems, like deformity, disease, slow & painful death. It might not seem like a big deal now but look at this picture:
Mega Pleco Photo by noddy176 | Photobucket
 
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#6 ·
Its already been a few weeks more like, months lol. My grandma had Mollies Alot more then 5 in a 10 gallon tank she also had a plecostomus too. Her fish did really good. Pretty sure what I have them in is much better then what they were in when I bought them. again if I have a problem I can always give some fish away
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#7 ·
It's hard to have too many plants but those babies have to be about 10 days old? Pretty sure they'll make it.We all do things a little different but I never add salt for mollies but water quality is critical so is warmth.What concerns me is you seem to be willing to wait to see if you will have issues with pleco .You will have more success be being proactive .Good Luck
 
#10 ·
I know that the OP said they had a pleco, but they did not say what species. It may very well be a common or sailfin that has no business being in a 10 gallon. It could also be a dwarf species that would be fine. There are many species of plecos. Since most species won't work longterm in a 10 gallon, the odds are in your favor. I prefer playing certainties rather than odds though, so I'm more inclined to find out what it is before offering advice about it.
 
#15 · (Edited)
The more plants the better for fry. If you can, get some thick java moss or willow moss, or both, and perhaps some crystalwort(I recently discovered crystalwort is AWESOME when you want fry, it's a top floating plant unless you can get it to stick to something, and if you pen it it can get thick up top and babies can get in and on top where adults have a lot of trouble getting them. Grows fast, quite fast, provides hiding and food. And by pen I mean a tube up top to keep it from getting blown around or sucked into the filter, but not cut off from the tank itself if you know what I mean). Good stuff, hard to have too many plants when you have babies in the mix.

Also...Yeah, mollies don't go well in a ten gallon tank. Because of their size, bioload, and tempers, as well as their love for a group, it's just a bad idea to have them in anything smaller than 20 gallons as a bare minimum. Nothing fine about that and unfortunately once you have a problem it will be too late and it's highly likely you will lose the entire tank to whatever illness pops up due to the stress and bioload which will be extremely difficult to maintain safely.

And it's not just their size and water needs, but their bioload is quite large. So is a plecos...from what I can tell, you have nice young common pleco. He will not do fine in there and there is no possible way for him to do so. People you knew who had plecos in smaller tanks likely had smaller type plecos, or ones that died well before their time and those people did not know it wasn't normal...or they sent you fibs. He will get longer than that tank, and since he can't, he will stunt and his organs will eventually be crushed, slowly and very painfully, by his stunted body. People say that fish wont out-grow their tank and it's fine, but they neglect to mention that organs do not stop growing because the body does. They can live many years(twenty to thirty if well cared for, maybe more), and that wont happen in a small tank, he will have a very long, excruciating death if you keep him in there. If it's been a few months stunting will likely set in soon if it hasn't, and it doesn't look like it has just yet so you still have time to move him or find a new home for him.

Having babies in the mix will hurt the bioload even more. You beneficial bacteria and cleaning will have a very hard, if not impossible time keeping up. I'm sure it can be done for a time, but not permanently. There will be filth, more likely to have parasites and nasties, and likely aggression later. Mollies are prone to aggression when cramped, and they can do some major, sometimes fatal damage to other fish.

Just because petshops keep them in trashy conditions doesn't mean they can survive it long and that others should do it too. Even in petshops where they usually sell most of their stock within a week, some still die due to the poor conditions and lack of space. I'd give you maybe a year, year and a half(could very well be less, stress really messes up the immune system and it doesn't take much for a nasty to strike and get stronger then), with -very- good care before trouble hits and the tank is destroyed by a parasite or disease.

It's not worth it, trust me. =( I did that with my first platy tank not knowing better, six platies in a ten gallon tank, year and a half later even with a lot of extra care: boom, the stress was too much and allowed a nasty to take effect on one fish, which then passed to the rest and killed them within a day. NASTY parasite called ich, which is in most home aquaria as is...Because of their trashed immune systems from stress and lack of space, it took hold very fast, bred, spread and killed quickly. Small normal amounts of ich are often harmless to strong healthy fish, but not to ones with stress and messed up immune systems. Stress hurts the slime coat which protects them from such infections and infestations. Without it they become a breeding ground allowing the nasties to multiply to a point even your healthy fish will be at risk.

If you want that set up, minus the pleco, I'd get yourself a nice thirty gallon tank. If you want the pleco, their minimum tank size is 55 gallons, but they prefer 75 gallons because they can get a foot and a half long, some closer to two feet long(and obviously a three foot long tank isn't going to be comfy).

You can do five guppies in there ok though. Better with endlers for space, but guppies will do alright.

On another note...dwarf plecos, like the zebra, they get about two inches long, but they love space. It's not recommended to keep them in anything smaller than 30 gallons. This I only know from research because I wanted one...but they're expensive and hard to find...so I have no personal experience to share, sorry. =( Smaller plecos like the rubber-lips will do ok in a 20-30 gallon tank though, but not a ten gallon.
 
#16 ·
I don't know about you but I can't just go out and buy a bunch of tanks. both my mom and my grandma had them and they did really good. My moms plecostomus got huge. My grandma had a bunch of Mollies and only had a 10 gallon she had way more then I do. She was the one anyone went to if they wanted some Mollies. I have all kinds of medicine for my fish if there's a problem. I've been treating one of my Mollies with melafix. They are all doing really good. Also I can only see the fry when they come out to eat
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#18 ·
I understand that others keeping aquariums with more fish than you, with them seeming okay might be what you think; but no offense please, your fish tank is already stocked. If your grandma had more, chances are they were overstocked. Also, if you decide to wait until your pleco gets too big, you wont really know until its too late. Fish take a while to show signs of stress and overall they cant really show much emotion. So, if you fish was being stunted, you wouldnt really realize until it was severely damaged.

-TFnoob
 
#19 ·
Well, I don't know about you but, if I don't have space for the fish I normally don't get them. I mean I want oscars, a dinosaur bichir and goldfish, but my tanks are tropical and too small or full of fish an oscar or bichir would love to eat. I do however, have occasional...people who shall never be spoken to again...send me "Surprises" for my tanks, and if I absolutely do not have space for them, they either go to a friend with the space, or a petshop. lol

Advice given. It's up to you to listen or not. Your pleco has the potential to live a few decades, your livebearers all have the chance to live for five or so years if well cared for. But they wont last long here. Many think those fish only live a year or two as normal, nope. They can live quite a few years.

Got your plant info. A lot of users gave some good ideas that I, too, may steal if I can find all the plants. Always looking for new plants in my tanks. More plants, more hiding, food, oxygen, tad extra filtration and security, happy days. :3
 
#20 ·
i didnt get fish i dont have space for. the minimum tank size for my plecostomus was 10 gallons. i was going to get female guppies but walmart only had male guppies and i wanted fry so either had to go with female platy or mollies and i know mollies and guppies can breed and i already had 4 male guppies and i got 5 female mollies cause i was told to have more female then male.
 
#23 ·
no im just saying i looked at walmart when i bought my fish and it told me a minimum of 10 gallon tank for the fish i bought so its not like i went and bought a bunch of fish that was to big for my tank if i was giving miss information its not my fault it said minimum of 10 gallon tank. I have spent alot of money on them though to just give them all away now. The one molly i bought had a missing gill cover that ive been treating with melafix shes doing really good and recovering. I have spent alot of money on these fish.
 
#24 ·
Can you try to get a couple angles of the pleco for pics? It might be a dwarf species.. 10g isnt ideal for the dwarfs nor is it recommended yet it wouldnt kill them if that indeed is something like a clown pleco or whatever.

I am sorry if I skipped an answer somewhere.. But do you plan to sell the fry? Or get a new tank?
 
#26 ·
Trusting Walmart for your information is not the best. I think Walmart is the pits. I haven't even been in one in over 2 years. Now for the good part...however misguided (by Walmart's misinformation) you are doing those fish a favor if they live to full life expectancy in your care. What everyone is trying to tell you is that pleco is not going to be able to do that in a 10 gallon tank. I love plecos myself but only when they're bigger. They can get to be 3 feet long. I realize that you spent money on these fish but everyone is telling you what is likely to happen if you don't rethink your stocking decisions. They're only trying to help you help your fish. At this juncture you can't be selfish about it. You really should think about rehoming your pleco sooner rather than later.
 
#27 ·
this is why it is best to always research species before buying them.walmart is less credible than pet stores for information about fish. and unfortunately a lot of pet stores are full of misinformation.

i know it can be upsetting to hear that there are potential problems with your set up. it is my intention (and others too) to educate new fish keepers to potential problems.
most of us have been through the same thing.

try not to take it personally. i for one do not want to see you or your fish struggle. that is the main reason that i am on this forum.i do not want to see people make the same mistakes that i have in the past. nor do i want you to spend your time being frustrated about sick fish and water issues.i want you to enjoy your fish.

i ,nor anyone else can make you listen.perhaps it is time to take a different path.

try doing general google searches about mollies,plecos etc.their care and housing requirements. try many different sites and draw your own conclusions from that. there will be some discrepancies,depending on the site. i am confident that you will find that walmart was incorrect.

we will still be here waiting to help you in your endeavor.
 
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