mollies/platies?

[vampirefish]

hey all! i've currently got a 5 gallon tank and was wondering how many mollies/platies i'd be able to fit in it (happily, not how many i can physically get in there) i have 2 female guppies in it at the moment, so if mollies/platies are bad tankmates for them please tell me *GOLDFISH*

 

[beckyd]

I say 3 more. That's pushing it following the inch per gallon rule, but as long as you watch the water quality, you'll be fine. Especially with platies. They're smaller. Mollies, platies, and guppies are good tank mates, so any combination is fine. Just make sure you add the same sex mollies or platies. I mean each species, not all female to match your guppies. You can get male platies or mollies. Just get only male. 5g just isn't enough space to add fry to And if you do add male mollies, they can successfully mate with your guppies. I don't think it commonly succeeds and most fry are not viable. Viable fry are sterile, if you do get a few. Platies and guppies cannot mate.
I would add 1 black balloon belly male molly, and a red platy, and one more of whichever looks better at the petstore to add some color since your guppies are females. Maybe a gold or a gold dalmation balloon belly- males. I like the male balloon belly mollies best. They are very cute and stay smaller than females. Enjoy

PS Love the color of the betta on your avatar. Gorgeous!

 

[vampirefish]

thanks becky!

 

[littletankbigworld]

Well, I don't know if three more mollies would be the best, exactly. They do have a huge bioload. You could only pull that off by cleaning 1 gallon of water or more out of the tank nearly every day. I do that with my little 5 gallon and it only takes 5 minutes in the morning before I go to school.