I'm new here

[AthenaKahli]

:fairy: Hi everyone, I am new here.

I have a 5 gallon tank at work, with one beautiful Betta in it. It has been set up for about a week now, and I am wondering what other fishes I can add to the tank to brighten and liven it up.

Any and all advice and suggestions will be GRATEFULLY accepeted. :)

[1_luv_betta]

sum killies or endler. maybe sum ghost shrimp

[Rowangel]

sum killies or endler. maybe sum ghost shrimp
I wouldn't suggest the Killies or endlers with a betta, the ghost shrimp may work, or the betta may turn it into a meal. Ghost shrimp are supper cheep, like 30 cents so it wouldn't hurt to try it, but it all depends on the bettas personality. You have no more room to add anymore fish, a 5g just isn't big enough for anything more than your betta.

[TheZoo]

Bettas are sometimes touchy with other fish. If you arent prepared to put new fish in another tank if it doesnt work, Id try adding a few (3 or 4) ghost shrimp. They are pretty inexpensive, in case your betta decides they are a snack. If you are absolutely set on a fish, Id go with a couple of bottom dwellers in a tank that small, a small cory of some type. Bettas usually leave them alone. You could try some least killies (small, but usually hard to find) but your betta may eat those, as they are really pretty small! Endlers Id be wary of, dont they have flowy fins similar to fancy guppies?
So, if it were me, Id plant the tank, put some driftwood in and try a few ghost shrimp.....

[dorkfish]

If the tank has only been up for a week, it is not yet cycled (so you can't safely add anything live excpet plants at the moment). What are your water paramters, ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte? What are you doing for maintenence on this tank? What do you have for filtration? Do you have a heater?

[AthenaKahli]

How silly of me. :duh:

I should have mentioned how it was set up. Sorry.

The 5 gallon tank has a filtration unit with a cartridge and a 25w heater. The air temp in the office was just too cold for Phillipe (the fish) so I got him a little heater. We have two packets of gravel and 1 large and two small artificial plants. We also have a thermometer.

What do you mean about the parameters? I do not know how to test the water for nitrates, tec.

I was thinking of putting in a catfish, but he'd have nothing to eat.

Thanks for all your input, please keep it coming.

[Rowangel]

What do you mean about the parameters? I do not know how to test the water for nitrates, tec.

I was thinking of putting in a catfish, but he'd have nothing to eat.
Any catfish would get too big for a 5g, as would most bottom feeders except perhaps an otto. But seriously, you have no more room for another fish in your tank. IMO 5g is just big enough for one betta max. As already said, you could try shrimp but it would be a hit-or-miss thing, but that would be the ONLY thing I would recomend you add to that size tank with a betta already in it.

Endlers and other smaller fish can work in a 5g just fine, but not with a betta. A few people have had luck in larger (10+) tanks keeping bettas with community fish, but in most peoples experience this is rarley successful.

Your water parameters are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and can also include hardness, ph and kh. The first three are the most important and should be tested for regularly before and after your weekly water change. You need to think about picking up a test kit to test for these. Both ammonia and nitrite can kill your fish in any amount. What kind of de-chlorinator do you use? What are the tank temps and how often do you do water changes?

[Rbishop]

Also, what kind of filtration umit? Internal? Sponge? HOB? Aqua Clear? Size?

Do not mean to overwhelm you, just info you need for accurate responses. You are pretty much max'ed out.

[bettagurl]

i have my betta in a five gallon with 5 ghost shrimp,he gets along fine with them,but he is a little baby when it comes to anything alive.your betta may be ok with them,but it depends on his personality,if he is ok with the ghost shrimp you could try some other pretty like cherry shrimp.also you said you have artificial plants, what kind?silk is what i use, because plastic rips thier fins(i learned the hard way and my betta suffered)so you want silk or live.but live plants need care,trimming & fertlizing,and if a plant rots it could make your water really filthy.hope this helps! :p: ;)

[dorkfish]

Your local fish store or even petsmart should ba able to direct you to a test kit for your basic water parameters - I suggest you get the aquarium pharmiceutical's freshwater master test kit (shouldn't be much more than $30). The test kit should have instructions on how to test the water - I know for sure that the aquarium pharmicueticals test kit(s) have writen and picture-by-picture instructions.

A basic run down on the parameter's you should be conserned about:

Ammonia - this will burn the fishes gills, to varying degrees, sometimes doing permanenet damage. Keep it at ZERO or VERY close to it via doing water changes if and when nessisary of the percentage ammonia needs to be lowered by (although you need to leave enough water in the tank for the fish to stay submerged, of course).

NitrIte - This prevents oxygen uptake into the blood. Keep it at or VERY close to ZERO using the same method I described for ammonia above. The capital I in the title is used so you and I don't confuse this with nitrAte. Short term use of aquarium salt can help here, although I would strongly advise against relying on this to keep your fish safe.

NitrAte - This is non-toxic, although it is a good indicater of Dissolved Organic Compounds, wich are toxic. DOC's are not tested for becuase they are hard for the average home aquarist to test for, becuase you need labratory grade testing equipment to do so. Keep the nitrAte under 20 via doing your weekly water changes - do larger (and possibly more frequent) water chamges if nitrAtes are higher than 20 at the end of the week, do less if you want if the nitrAte is lower than 20 at the end of the week. If you have growing live plants, they will remove nitrAte and give you a lower than actual indication of DOC's so for my planted tanks, I just do (and I suggest you do to) 50% water changes once a week.

Now that, you've probably got a grasp of what the water parameter's are, I suggest you read this article: http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/26-cycling-tank-fw.html so you can understand how all this stuff stays in the right numbers in established tanks, and how to get your tank to that point where ammonia and nirtIte will stay at zero on it's own.

[FireDancer7905]

I'm no expert, so someone please check me if I'm wrong, but could she add a snail? They're pretty nifty pets. Again, one of the experts on here should confirm this as a viable option before you get Phillipe a friend. Enjoy your new tank!

See ya 'round the forum!

~Brandy

[dorkfish]

I'm no expert, so someone please check me if I'm wrong, but could she add a snail? They're pretty nifty pets. Again, one of the experts on here should confirm this as a viable option before you get Phillipe a friend. Enjoy your new tank!

See ya 'round the forum!

~Brandy

She could add anywhere from over 20 to 0 snails in there, depending completely on what kind of snail were talking about here.

[AthenaKahli]

OK, my filtration is internal, the temp is about 81 at this minute, yes I have plastic plants but they are soft.

If I don't appear too stupid, why do I need to check for amonia, nitrites, nitrates? I thought the filtration unti handled that along with oxygenation. Am I wrong? I used the Betta water conditioner from PetsMart.

Are you sure that I can not add two or three neon tetras for color?

[Rowangel]

If I don't appear too stupid, why do I need to check for amonia, nitrites, nitrates? I thought the filtration unti handled that along with oxygenation. Am I wrong?Well, as dorkfish explained for you, these chemicals can be deadly to your fish. So, you need to know if you have any in your tank. The way to know this is to test for them, then you can take steps to fix the problems. The filtration unit can handle these chemicals ONLY once your tank has cycled, which it sounds like you never did. That is the link that dorkfish gave you, please read it and more will make sense.

Are you sure that I can not add two or three neon tetras for color?Yes, I am sure you can’t add 2-3 neons. Your tank is fully-loaded and uncycled right now. A 5g is just not big enough for more than what you already have. In addition, neons are schooling fish and you need a minimum of 6 for them to be comfortable and act naturally. If you want to have more fish I would look into getting a 10g, or better yet, save up and buy a 20g.

Also, Betta water conditioner is fine for now, but you will want to look into getting either Prime or Amquil+ for a water conditioner. These work best because they convert the ammonia so it wont hurt your fish, but the good bacteria in your tank can still use it.

[AthenaKahli]

Thank you all very much for your help. I just want my beautiful Betta to be happy and safe.

Thanks again.

[AthenaKahli]

OK back again. Can I add some fish after the cycle is over?

[onepawnup]

A ten gallon tank is very cheap :)

[Rowangel]

OK back again. Can I add some fish after the cycle is over?
aaah...as said several times now you can't, at any point, add more fish to your 5g. Seriously, you asked our advice and we have given it, you have NO more room in that tank as long as you have a betta in it. Anything you add now will die from ammonia or nitrite poisoning, but even after the cycling most fish wouldn't survive with a betta…even if you had the room for more. Fish will die from stress, poor water quality and being pestered by other fish. Any fish you put into that tiny tank with your betta will more than likely become picked on and die from stress, if the improper water care and lack of space doesn't get it first. Are you doing weekly water changes, do you gavel vac? Do you plan on getting a test kit? What are your water parameters? Can you please post these tonight?

Like I recommended, if you want to have more fish, look into getting a 10g. They are cheep and you can probably set one up for under 50 buck. Then we can help you out with good stocking ideas.