Is 2 lake minnows enough to be happy in a 15 gallon tank?

Question

My brother caught 2 minnows and a few baby catfish and put them in our tank with our guppies. I think that 2 minnows arnt enough because they are schooling fish, and arnt happy alone. They think im stupid because im worrieing about a minnow, but i think im right. I plan on letting the minnows go as soon as they turn their backs, but i was just wondering if im right about the situation, or are they right about them

Answer 1

Chances are the catfish are bullheads which will eat the guppies. This a painting of a brown bullhead adult: http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/fishidentification/brownbullhead.jpg If yours is a baby, it will appear almost black and the barbels (whiskers) under the chin will be dark. A yellow bullhead has yellowish whiskers. But the tail is almost straight along the back edge. Channel catfish have a forked tail: http://www.boat-ed.com/fl/fl_specific_images/graphics/freshwater_fish/Channel_Catfish.jpg but these are more often found in rivers. At any rate, native cats are fish-eaters. I'd suggest taking them all back.

Answer 2

If you're truly worried about the minnows, add 2 or 3 extra. That should be enough to keep them happy, plus you might end up with baby minnows to keep them company too!

Answer 3

If your brother really wants minnows, then return the catfish as they might get big. Catch at least 3-4 of them so they can school together,

Answer 4

If they came from the lake, then the lake probably contains bacteria or diseases that you don't want in your tank. Release them back into the lake where you got them from and buy fish from the pet store if you want new fish.

~ZTM