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moregirll8000

moving fish

21 years ago

Currently I have 2 small angels(2" ea) two tetras(1 1/2" ea) and 3 neon tetras(1" ea) in my ten gallon. I was considering puting my 2 swordtails in that tank. Is my tank overcrouded all ready? Could I move the swords in? Or would that be overcrouding? HELP!?!

Comments (11)

  • 21 years ago

    the general rule is one inch of fish per gallon of water.

  • 21 years ago

    I know but would the swords be two much ao border lining? Thank You!

  • 21 years ago

    IMO, your angels are going to soon outgrow this tank. They really do grow rather rapidly!

    If anything, you will need to move the angels out, and then you can keep the swords in with the other fish. My largest angel is about a span (including fins) of over 6 inches! They really need plenty of room - and once they start growing, will grow in leaps and bounds. At least with your other fish, they'll reach their maximum size which is considerably less than the angels.

    But what type of other tetras do you have?? The neons are fine. The swords will be fine, but what kind of tetras are your others? (there are so many types of tetras and some can get pretty big!)

  • 21 years ago

    the two tetras I have are a gold skirt and a black skirt tetra. I don't think they'll get to big.

  • 21 years ago

    Also keep in mind that some swordtails - the males - can be aggressive torwards other fish, particularly slower movers with long finnage - like Angels.

    If you do move them in with your Angels, just be prepared to move them back out if trouble starts.

  • 21 years ago

    You might want to get another home for your angels. As breezyb said, they grow fast. They may soon start to regard your neons as part of the daily menu.

    Keep in mind that the inch of fish per gallon rule is a general guideline. You need to also consider that a two inch angelfish is more fish than a two inch swordtail, for example. Not all inches of fish are created equal!

  • 21 years ago

    OK so there is enough room but the swords and the angels might not get along and the angels might get too bight for the tank. So it's a go but I must keep an eye on them.

  • 21 years ago

    Moregirl - the angels WILL get too big for the tank - that isn't a maybe!!

    I'm not sure how your set up is at the moment, but I've found that when my angels were small, they preferred to hang out and hide in tall plants. When they got bigger they move more freely about in the community tank. But as littles, they seemed to appreciate a place to hide.

    As your angels grow bigger, the small space will make it easy for them to start feasting on the neons because the small tank will make it easier for them to catch. I keep neons and cardinals with my angels, but they're in a 70 gallon tank. Neons pale out and sleep on their bellies at night. I think it makes them easy pickings for a hungry large angel. Black neons make better tank mates for angels. Less chance of them getting eaten.

  • 21 years ago

    what if I moved the swords in but switched them out with the swords- they would take each others place(the angels would live in a 6 gallon) Is this OK?

  • 21 years ago

    No - I wouldn't put angels in anything smaller than 25 gallons. Adult sized angels are VERY large. And even if you were to use the inch per fish rule, 6 gallons for two angels is way too small. You can't take the length of an angel and use this sort of computation anyway. the inch per gallon is generally used for slim bodied fish - like neons. Angels are a totally different shape and a 4 inch length angel cannot be compared to say a 4 inch long algae eater. Besides which, your angels will want room to swim in! As they grow older, they will become more aggressive. They are in the cichlid family after all! ;)

    Believe me - those cute small baby angels will not stay that size. Your two swords, two tetras and 3 neons will fit fine in the 10 gallon. IMO, you need to get yourself a 20-25 gallon tank for your angels. Your original question was about overcrowding. But the way I see it is you have the wrong sized tank for your angels.

    Another alternative is to get a larger tank(20-25) and combine the fish you have into it.

  • 21 years ago

    Thanks for the info Skygee, I really dont have the budget to buy the 20 gallon tank, but there is a fish store in my area(ultimate fish) and I can exchange fish too big for my set up for smaller ones. When my angels get too big I will visit them ASAP.
    Morgan