Ideas for small aquarium

[MSmith]

Hi,

I've ended up with a five gallon tank that I was not expecting. I'm having a little trouble coming up with stocking ideas for a tank this small. I don't want a betta for this tank and I really don't like shrimp or dwarf frogs. The different possibilities I've come up with so far are:

1. Small school of white clouds (5 or so)
2. Small school of neons (again 5 or so). Would they have enough room to swim?
3. A few male guppies? I don't want a bunch of fry I have no space for. Could I keep 3-4 male guppies in a space this small with no problems?
4. Single dwarf gourami and ???. Maybe pygmy cories if I can find them. I haven't really seen any around here. Any other ideas what would work with a dwarf gourami?
5. Could I keep a small ram in there? I'd love to have one, but I'm assuming they need more space. If I could, what could I keep with it? Anything?


The tank will not have live plants. In my community tank, my pH is 7.6. However, I think I could mix distilled water with the regular bottled water I use to bring it down for this tank if that was needed for any of my choices. (I'm currently using bottled water for all my water changes, because of high nitrites in my tap water.) I do weekly water changes.

I'd appreciate any comments on any of the plans. Are some better than others? Would some of them not work at all?

Thanks

[snakeskinner]

any of your ideas look good to me but I've never had rams so I am not positive there. I've been told a pair of rams in my 10 gallon would be ok so I'd think a single would be alright in a 5 gallon but probably a bit lonely. you could also get a few dwarf pufferfish but no other fish will go with them. You could put a small school of about any small tetras, a pair of mollies or platy's and a cory or two. A good filter will definitely increase your possibilities and maybe fudge your limit a small amount. Go to your local LFS and look around. See what kind of fish you like and then try to rule them out on this message board. Kyle

[LMOUTHBASS]

also you coul def do 2-3 livebearers of some sort prob platies
and like 3 cories
small tetras may be your best bet here

[Leopardess]

I think i'd avoid the ram...but that's me.

Endler's livebearers are another option. Some of the very small killifish would work. Something like a scarlet badis, too.

As for dwarf gouramis, if you wanted to go this route, i'd lean towards a Honey Gourami as they tend to stay the smallest.

The guppies would be fine. Pgymy cories are also a good option.

A scarlet badis or two and some pygmy cories would give you a very interesting tank!

[Aquarius0015]

I think an oscar would really be a dramatic focal point for the aquarium, and then a common pleco as a clean up crew. J/k.... :D

I know you said you didn't like shrimp (so I'm assuming crayfish are out of the picture), but what about snails?

Also, I'm not 100% sure it would work, but how about a paradise fish (my current obsession)? They are beautiful and supposedly have a lot of personality. They are labyrinth fish, so they should have the same undemanding requirements as gouramis and bettas (that is, how bettas should be kept, not how they *are* kept).

I've got a 5.5 gallon that current houses a betta, but I've been thinking of putting him in my community tank and getting a paradise for the smaller one.

Edit: having doubts about the p-fish.

[belmont0182]

I have a school of white cloud minnows that i bought as fry for incredibly cheap, they are cool and pretty tough little guys!!

[Must4ng s4lly]

Have a five gal and I had five scarlet badis and three pygmi cories and two O cats for algae. Everyone who came into the room asked are there fish in there?? Where are they??? I got rid of the little badis and put in two dwarf Gouramis. All is fine and ya can see the fish!

[Captain Hook]

I think killiefish would be your best option if you could find them. They stay small and tolerate many conditions. They also prefer cooler water you can get away with not using a heater.

Endler's are also a good choice. Male guppies are not a bad idea, they will have plenty of colour and show up well in that tank. I personally don't think that tank is big enough for a dwarf gourami or paradise fish.

[Aquarius0015]

I've been doing a lot of online research lately on paradise fish. The males get up to 4" which might be a little big, but the females max out at 3", not terribly much bigger than an adult male betta. Also, there is the brown spiketail paradise fish (aka brown spiketail gourami). They are smaller than the paradise fish but have similar demands. I'm thinking of getting one for my family's 20 g tank.

I tried looking for killie fish, too, but couldn't find any.

If you go with all labyrinth fish and cories, you will have all air-breathers. That, in addition to a good filter, will let you have more 'fish mass' than you normally would be able to in a 5 gallon.

[often dignified]

I'm sorry.... but Paradise Fish :sick:

[MSmith]

Thanks for all the advice. Some of the fish listed like scarlet badis, and Endler's, I'd never even heard of before, so you have definetely given me some new ideas. I still haven't made up my mind about what I'm going to do. I'm going to go to my favorite fish store today & have a look around. It's over an hour away, but it's huge and well maintained.

[Aquarius0015]

I'm sorry.... but Paradise Fish :sick:

What's that supposed to mean?

[PumaWard]

Thought that I might add the brown spiketails need warmer water than regular paradise fish, I think the min is 72*F, 75-78 is much better.

The paradise fish, male or female, should be okay in a 5g, the males don't get much larger than the females, their tails just get longer. I had a female (~3.5'') in a 3.75 homemade and she was perfectly happy.

[often dignified]

I just don't find paradise fish appealing. We all have our favorites though, right?

[Aquarius0015]

Yeah, I guess so. There are a lot of fish I don't like too much either. But if you're going by pictures of paradise fish you see online, please don't. They look better in real life, honest.