5 gallon overcrowded?

Question

I have a 5 gallon fish tank that has 2 convicts a male and female the had 55 babies 3 months ago what size tank do i need for my fish

Answer 1

A breeding pair of convicts should be kept in no smaller than a 20 gallon tank. If you plan on keeping the fry and raising them then your best plan would be to have a 20 - 30 gal tank for the parents and a 55 gal or larger tank as a grow out tank for the fry.

Answer 2

Go get yourself a 20 gallon tank for the parents, and get rid of the fry as fast as you can each time (give them away, cull them, or use them as food). It just isn't feasible to keep every batch of fry that the prolific Convicts pop out. You would need an infinite tank. If you're gonna keep the 5 gallon tank, you DEFINITELY need to get rid of the Convicts (all of them) and get something smaller like a Betta OR a pair of shell dwelling Cichlids.

For the Shellies, use 1-2 inches of crushed coral sand with 3-4 shells (with openings 1-2 inches wide). Keep the pH around 8 and the temperature around 80. They will breed, and you could sell these fry for a nice sum to local fish stores or other hobbyists. A pair of Mulies would be best for such a small tank. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 3

you made a very bad mistake many inexperienced people make. the only fish that could live in a five gallon safely would be betta and no other fish. first of all, from now on i recommend u research. convicts are known as rabbit fish because they have fry almost all the time. they need at least 30 gallons but the problem is that u have a five gallon with 50 fry. first i recommend donating or selling them to a fish shop and also giving up the convicts. convicts fight for territory and are very aggresive. they will not eat theri fry unless they have a birth defect or show unhealthiness.

either way u will have to give up the convicts because they will keep spawning and if u get a 30 gallon it still wouldnt work unless u get at least 150 gallons for the fry

Answer 4

The minimum tank size for a pair of Convicts is 30 gallons, although they will be more comfortable in a tank of 40 to 55 gallon. That's not even including the fry, which you should have a separate grow out tank for them. So YES, you are very overcrowded.

Answer 5

I use a five gallon tank as my hospital tank for sick fish. Five gallon fish tanks are good for a betta and a frog or two. A couple male guppies, or a couple cory cats. It is too small for anything bigger than 1.5 to 2 inches of fish and then only 1 to 3 in the tank.

Answer 6

You are overcrowded. For just the pair of convicts. I feel that a 40 gallon tank would be the minimum. emeber that convicts are very prolific breeders and you can expect a lot more fry in the future.

Answer 7

You should decide how many fishes to keep. The ratio is 1 inch of a fish should live in 1 gallon of water. You could either have 5 fishes in the size of 1 inch each fish in your tank or 1 fish in the size of 5 inches.

Answer 8

For every inch of fish you need a gallon of water-think about how big a convict will get at maturity and get a tank to fit (8-13 cm or more). Convicts are also very aggressive and territorial fish as most cichlids are (and actually fall into the more agressive of the species), and in the wild they feed on smaller fish, crustaceans etc...you might find your babies getting eaten! If you keep them over crowded they can be more prone to diseased such as ick and other fungal infections.
Unless you have the kind of money to feed and house all those little cichlids, i would suggest trying to find a home for some of them.

Answer 9

Sell the babies to a pet shop and get a 55 for the 2 convicts.

Answer 10

I hope you are joking, that is just simply RIDICULOUS. You need at least 100 gallons for the fish you have now, and more if they have more babies.