swordtails in 8g

[lobsternoob]

Would you think a 8g tank thats very densely planted/decorated is large enough for a pair of swordtails and 2-3 otos? I'd like more otos than that but dont wanna push it. I just put the swordtails in and they seem stoked, appear to be attempting to mate after about an hour or so being in there. Need something for algae control, so i think oto's are my best option. Threw 2 ghost shrimp in there also for the heck of it from my shrimp. I'd like to add something else, but it could get kinda crowded, and most other fish would eat the swords babies. I'm not worried about bioload at all, the tank is way overfiltered and pretty planted but not much room, lotsa driftwood and rocks makes it prolly closer to 5 gallons of water.

And in case anyones wondering, yes, the tank is cycled. I just moved some other fish outta there today and a friend gave me the swordtails.

[wolf_eyes]

If I remember correctly the min. for swordtails is 20/30 gallons since they get to 4-4.7 inches, not including the male's tail. They're also pretty active fish, so I don't think an 8g is the greatest home for them. If you really want to keep livebearers in that tank, I would try either some guppies or some platys as they stay smaller. Also with livebearers you generally want to have at least a trio of 2 f/1m so that the male doesn't stress the female out to the point where she gets sick.

As for the otos, with the swordtails in there I would rather put amano shrimp in for algae control. The bioload with the otos plus babies plus the adults is going to get pretty bad. At least with some shrimp in there it won't be as bad...

[lobsternoob]

thanks wolf_eyes, i can give em back to my friend so no biggie, I thought swordtails stayed under 2", all his have that hes had for a while, maybe hes stunted them. Oh, and its not really about keeping livebearers in the tank, the tank just got emptied and i took what i was offered, I was kinda glad not to wait and have an empty tank i had to lose the cycle on having it vacant.

[Kaz]

Seconded, I wouldn't put any sordtails in an 8g.

[lobsternoob]

Thanks for the advice guys, just took em back to my friends place this morning. He has em in a 30g with a bunch of others. Prolly still too crowded with the amount he has in there, but thats up to him then not me.