# Flying fox in 10 gallon?



## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

Hi,

I have a cycled 10 gallon tank that has been running for about 5 months now. I have 3 platies, 1 nerite snail, 1 ghost shrimp, and 1 bamboo shrimp. My boyfriend went to the fish store and picked up a flying fox and brought it home. He said that's the last fish we were going to add in the tank. Anyway, I didn't know anything about this fish, and I looked online and it said they need a 30-40 gallon tank & they eat green algae until they reach adulthood and they can get 6 inches long. Well, I don't have any green algae in my tank, but so far we've had it for 3 days and he looks like he's doing fine. I see him eating and moving around the tank a lot. I also read that you should only keep 1 in a tank. Is it ok if I leave it in the tank?


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## kitten_penang (Mar 26, 2008)

the tank of that size usualy has an otto in it not a flying fox and yes they are for larger tanks as they like to dart around a lot.they can't stand another of their species as well. might i recomend rcs instead of ghosts.they like to pinch fishes as they sleep.i'm just afraid the platties might eat them.. keep a drift wood so the bamboo and existing ghost have a place to hide from the platies after they molt


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Unless you have immediate plants for a larger tank, return the Fox. This is not a small-tank fish.

Potentially large fish must have adequate growing space along the way, or they develop internal deformities and stunting. This weakens the immune system so they will be more susceptible to various health problems and almost certainly have an unhappy life and premature death.

My rule of thumb is, never buy a fish unless you now have the size of tank that the fish will require when adult. This can save a lot of grief for the aquarist, and hardship to the fish.

Fish buying on impulse from appearance is dangerous; I'm sure all of us did it when we started out, but many dead fish later we learned the error of that habit, so it is one to get out of now.;-)

Byron.


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