Newbie needing advice - 5 gallon tank

[luvj]

I setup a 5 gallon tank for my son on Friday evening. Sunday evening we bought two guppies and two neon tetras. At first one of the tetras seemed to be in trouble, I noticed him hanging around the bottom of the tank in a horizontol position. Now he is not doing that but he seems to hide a lot.

I've also noticed that neither of the neon tetras are eating. The guppies come right to the top and seem to nip at the food - the flake are big not sure they can eat them whole. The tetras just hang out at the bottom, seemingly not intersted. Will they start eating soon? Are the flakes not ideal for them?

My other question - the tank is 5 gallons in size. When the one tetra was acting weird I decided to google and saw they are most happy in groups of five. If I put 3 more tetra in the tank would that be too much? That would be 5 tetra and 2 guppies in a 5 gallon tank. I wish the man at the pet store would have advised me about the schooling nature of these fish when we bought them! Ugh!

Advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[AQMS]

It's quite normal, they need more time to familiarize, and before you know it, they will be there waiting for the food.
Usually smaller fish become timid when there are bigger fish around.
You can crushed some of the flake food so that they will sink for the tetras to eat.
Personally,i think you should put a total of 10 tetras.

[josephogk]

I setup a 5 gallon tank for my son on Friday evening. Sunday evening we bought two guppies and two neon tetras.

Did you ensure the tank is cycled before adding fuana?

My other question - the tank is 5 gallons in size. When the one tetra was acting weird I decided to google and saw they are most happy in groups of five. If I put 3 more tetra in the tank would that be too much? That would be 5 tetra and 2 guppies in a 5 gallon tank. I wish the man at the pet store would have advised me about the schooling nature of these fish when we bought them! Ugh!

I think its really the pet owner's responsibility to do enough research before buying them.

[diazman]

Most probably the fishes are suffering from the new tank syndrome. I believe you didnt cycle the tank long enough since you set up on friday and introduce fishes on sunday. On average, cycling a tank needs a minimal 2 weeks atleast or more before fish can be introduced.

It will be good if you could provide picture of the tank setup and the filtration you are currently using on the 5 gal.

As for the flakes, just crush them lightly before feeding to the fishes. Usually starving them for 2-3 days will force them to eat the flakes. I trained my fishes that way. Don't worry, they wont die from not eating for 2-3 days

The tetras wise, the the man at the store is correct. Tetras work best in odd groups (more than 5). If you are planning to add more tetra, you may want to put the guppies for adoption or setup a separate tank for them. 5 gallon is a bit too small for 7 fishes in it.


NOTE: Most fish are skittish when first introduced to a tank. Any sudden movement within the tank area (such as passing by the tank, doors closing or loud music) will result in the fish to hide. Eventually, the fishes will adjust themselves swimming around the tank.

Have fun!