5 gallon inhabatents

johnnyxxl · Apr 17, 2004

I am going to reset my 5 gallon tank wondering what to put in it apparently I had bad luck with guppies GRRRRR.

I have some great books on species but the books are very old school. The one is published originally in the 40's and revised every ten years or so. But the last revised date was the 60's or 70's
but its good refrence on species but not equipment or size needed for species unfortunately.

aquariumfishguy · Apr 17, 2004

Well I would definately get a really good book on fish species and info on cycling, filtration, and so on. Try to get a book published in the last 2-3 years if possible. When you become more advanced in the hobby you will know fact from fiction and you can sort through older books and so on skimming through what you are interested in.

I dont recommend many fish for a 5 gallon. You will hear many people recommending bettas, some snails, or maybe a few white clouds (not all together though). Other than that, you are out of luck.

I know for a beginner, a 5 gallon tank or any small tank seems like the best way to go but actually the smaller tanks are harder to manage than bigger ones. Personally, I recommend 20-30 gallon tanks for beginners. Get one of these for a few months or maybe a year and then if you still like fish and aquaria you can begin upgrading and getting much larger tanks, provided your financial situation allows for it of course.

bostonjon · Apr 17, 2004

fishguy is right...my 90 gallon is a lot easier to keep up than my 5 gallon(when something goes wrong in a 5 gallon it is very quick to turn disastrous where as in a 90 gallon you have a liitle more time to correct the problem).... I used to have 2 cories,2 neon tetras and 2 serpa tetras in my 5 gallon with some plants..it lasted about a year with no problems then I transferred it all to my 29 gallon........

TKOS · Apr 17, 2004

I have a great 5 gallon setup. It is a planted tank with a single male betta and 4 ammano shrimp (plus some snails). The betta is great to watch in something bigger than the traditional cup as he explores the whole tank all the time.

Or how about just some cory catfish. Full of life and if you did some creative landscaping in the tank you could have it so the cories come near to the top on one end. Might be interesting.

But I would defintatly stick with a species only tank.

aquariumfishguy · Apr 17, 2004

Just to reiterate, a 5 gallon setup can definately be successful. It's just not recommended for beginners IMO.

I'm not sure how good it would be to keep corydoras in a 5 gallon as they tend to be more active than one would think provided they have the room.

johnnyxxl · Apr 17, 2004

in all practical purposes I am not a beginer I kept fish for about 10 years while I was in college I stopped and then I moved around a bit I am fairly setteled no moves planned anytime so I started setting my tanks it had cycled I took gravel from my 20 and put it in this tank for a month with it set up and heated etc and put in four guppies my mistake, should not have listened to guy at lfs about them still being tough little things. I have a 20 with tiger barbs, a ten that had a cory that decided to escape prob because cat was harrasing him from outside the tank cat loves to watch the tanks. "no she can not get into any of them surprised the fish got out will add screen to the holes though talking inchs. I have like I said very good books on the fish species but not recomended tank sizes. It uses the old one fish per gallon rule. I have a Howell guide on live bearers, and a few years of tropical fish monthly. I know that the guides that the shops like super pets have about tanks are a joke as far as the fish. I like the idea of maybe a planted tank but what species should I use also I am using a submersable air powered filter I know its not the best but it does have a charcoal media and foal for checmical and biological. The tank is very old from the 40's or 50's I tried to find a new top for it the tops won't fit because the tank has no lip along the top for inset. I do not want to mess with cutting up the stainless one that I got with it in the deal. Thats what one lfs guy tried to talk me into. I almost laughed. The other one tried to trade with me for a new tank and hood. roflol.

I was just hoping for some input on species that are not going to be unhappy in a smaller tank and will add some life to my bedroom as I do not have a tv in here and want a distraction when I am at the computer. The betta sounds interesting in a planted tank and maybe add a few cory cats with the betta?

aquariumfishguy · Apr 17, 2004

"I dont recommend many fish for a 5 gallon. You will hear many people recommending bettas, some snails, or maybe a few white clouds (not all together though). Other than that, you are out of luck."

TKOS · Apr 17, 2004

If you can find them pygmy cories might be a better choice. But I probably wouldn't add cories and a betta. I know that Orion Girl says she has kept a couple of khulie loaches in a 5 gallon with a betta. They get to be close to 4 inches but are very thin fish. They need lots of hiding spots though.

You will find that the fewer things in the tank the better it will be and the easier to keep.

cdawson · Apr 18, 2004

A 5g is way too small for cories, they need to be in groups of 3-4 and a 5g is not able to support that.

You can live in a closet, but will you be happy?

5g tanks are completely useless unless you're using it for breeding snails. Even a Betta won't be happy in anything smaller than a 10g.

JeffP · Apr 18, 2004

A planted 5G tank with a 6-8 neons and some amano and red cherry shrimp will look great.


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5 gallon inhabatents

johnnyxxl

fishy friend of many

aquariumfishguy

Social Regular

bostonjon

AC Members

TKOS

Registered User of Fish

aquariumfishguy

Social Regular

johnnyxxl

fishy friend of many

aquariumfishguy

Social Regular

TKOS

Registered User of Fish

cdawson

AC Members

JeffP

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