Empty 5 gallon tanks...killifish or Peacock Gundgeon

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MardieJane

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Apr 19, 2017
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So. This is the first and only forum besides a professional photography one I belonged to for almost a decade... I haven't found answers that helped me yet. One was about killifish egg hatching but that's kinda scary to me. I don't want to get fish just to have them while I learn... I love the look of the fancy killifish, and peacock gundgeon.
I have spent two hours looking for info about them here because I didn't want to ask a redundant question.
But if you did something stupid when in business a photographer you simply lost money and felt stupid. You didn't kill anything.
Of course I'm excited to begin, my mom has one too. They havent even had water in them let alone been cycled. So I'm going to plant it and that's it. Until I can get one of these two types of fish and know what they want. Any help would be appreciated. If there is a thread I missed about them please link it. I have watched YouTube for hours but just as with bettas everyone gives conflicting advice.
So in the meantime, at least if I could know what water temperature and current maybe I could plant a low tech tank in preparation for them?
Again I apologize if this has been addressed already and I'm not searching correctly. I did look through planted tank threads but since I'm starting from scratch where should I begin this project?
Thanks in advance
 

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Do you know what kind of killifish you want? There are bunches, and not all of them will require fiddling with eggs. Many will happily spawn over gravel, eggs will hatch, and fry will grow up with their parents...though not so well in such a small tank. Is this tank well covered? If not, be very careful as killies are excellent jumpers.

In terms of planting, look at what type of plants you want to keep, and how much maintenance you want to do. That will drive substrate and lighting choices.
 

dougall

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Mar 29, 2005
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For small tanks, I'd likely suggest Clown killifish.

But as OG said... be sure the tank is covered. I wouldn't suggest Peacock Gudgeons in a tank this small, it could be done, but is likely more difficult.

If you want plants (and you really do to help provide cover for the fish, and to help with keeping the water clean) things will go hand in hand with lighting and how much work you want to do.

If you want to keep lighting cheap and easy, you can look at cryptocoryne, anubias, bucephalandra, and various ferns too, you can go with mosses too, but they getnnerally get to be a little unruly and much more work in the long term.

for fish info, I'm a fan of seriously fish - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/

and as for wanting to look up info, rather than ask a question.. note that old posts here may have great information... but they may not, and the info may be outdated (More fish are available now, more equipment, better husbandry techniques etc.) So don't worry about posting a new thread... :)
 

MardieJane

AC Members
Apr 19, 2017
89
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Central Florida
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Cannon eos 5d markII
Thankyou. One of the tanks is well covered but it has a waterfall filter that doesn't seem to come with a way to change the flow. It was around $25 on clearance. Originally I thought I'd just put a little betta in there but not unless I change the filter out for something else. It sounds and looks pretty but needs fish who can handle a flow across about 12 inches across...
The other tank is a fluval spec 3 5 gallon.
I like the Gardner I killing. But really I just want the most colorful fish that will be happy in either of these tanks. Even if they are the only residents... ???
 

MardieJane

AC Members
Apr 19, 2017
89
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Central Florida
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Cannon eos 5d markII
One more, Nothobranchius are so beautiful. I know they aren't long living fish, maybe that's why eggs are sometimes sold. But how would you hatch eggs without the parents? I understand the concept of hatcheries or breeder boxes, but their usually shown with a parent inside...
 

dougall

...
Mar 29, 2005
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Eggs will hatch so long as water is good and temperature etc.

Eggs are sold as they are kept moist for a few months before hatching... This simulates the dry season where things may dry up for a bit.

I have been tempted to get more gardneri myself... They are pretty easy to breed and not annuals either.
 

MardieJane

AC Members
Apr 19, 2017
89
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Central Florida
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Thankyou! I think I might try it. I will research what they need and set the tank up just for them. If it doesn't work I will have to find other fish who would enjoy the same environment. I will take your advice also about starting a new thread when Iv got everything but the fish so my questions will be in one place instead of all over.
Should I get a breeder box? The kind that has its own pump for air? Sits inside or outside the tank? Thanks again
 

dougall

...
Mar 29, 2005
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I wouldn't get a breeder box, especially with a smaller tank.. it will take up valuable space inside the tank.

My personal favorite would be to have more plants and places to hide.
 
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OrionGirl

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It really depends on the type of killie fish, but no, no need for a breeder box. Breeder boxes are used to tumble the eggs that have been removed from the parent--most usually cichlids and catfish There are BUNCHES of different methods for raising killie fish, almost as many as there are kinds of killies. Gardneri species are egg scatterers, so will just drop eggs any place. The eggs fall to the substrate, hang out there, and then hatch. The parents provide no care for the fry. For the annuals, like the Nothos, they lay eggs in soft soil. In the wild, the water dries up for part of the year, and the eggs stay locked in the soil until the rainy season comes and signals the eggs to hatch. In the home aquaria, the fish are provided with peat moss or a spawning mop. The peat is collected and gently squeezed dry, or the eggs are manually picked from the spawning mop and stored in peat in a bag. The fish develop, and the eggs are monitored to see when they start to eye up. This indicates they're close to hatching, and should be placed in a shallow tray with some water.

If you have no intention of harvesting eggs and such, don't go with any of the annuals. they're beautiful, but deserve to be kept and maintained for the long haul.

However, please note that bettas will adapt to pretty much any flow. I've seen 150 gallon community tanks with massive filters, high flow, and a male betta happily swimming the entire tank. There are also a wide variety of bettas beyond the domestic betta splendens.
 
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MardieJane

AC Members
Apr 19, 2017
89
2
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Central Florida
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Cannon eos 5d markII
This what I've done, I cleaned the tank with plain water, just to rinse out whatever dust or packaging residue. Rinsed black rocks 1 1b per gallon is what I've read. I tied java ferns, a few amazon swords and an anubia(Not sure if that's spelled correctly) to a little bigger rocks. Used prime and let the tank run. I'm not sure if I should play it safe and just get a betta and maybe a striped Nerite snail? Or see if he would be okay with a few cherry shrimp? I decided against rooted plants that need soil or more light. And Java moss is pretty but I've read nightmare stories of maintaining it? I am hoping if the plants I've chosen grow too fast I can divide them for another tank to try the killies.
If I can be successful at this and get a test kit to learn getting the water correct am I on the right track? Should I get the water straight before trying shrimp or a snail? The tank I have is made for children I'm sure. It's glass, but it's a national geographic waterfall oasis 5 gallon tank. I picked it up because it was around 25$ I also bought a fluval spec 3 for my mom but it's sitting empty while we see what happens with this.
I bought a heater, if I do a betta I'll need that. We keep our house pretty cold with ac. What are the thought on this? He would get to keep the 5 gallon. Maybe I would try a 7-10 to try the killifish in? Soil sounds intimidating so I would want to try the one that will be okay on gravel.
Could I put an extra sponge in the betta tank so that when it fully happy I could use it to start the new tank? The waterfall filter only has the carbon card thing that goes in a slot. Not too happy with that so I put a little bag of ceramics on the side of the slot where the fresh water flows out. And a sponge on the side where the water first gets sucked up. ( there is also a sponge on the intake tube close to the gravel)
Feel like I've read a lot but also alot of conflicting advice. I know I've asked many questions in this post but, if I try the killifish, do I have to stick with one type... you should only have so many fish in a tank yes? What if too many hatch, then what? How would I prepare for that? Then when I have boys and girls wouldn't the whole thing get out of hand? How would you keep the water balanced in all that chaos? Also how would you do your water changes without disturbing the eggs/peat ball or whatever you get them in. And what kind of tray was mentioned?
Lastly how would I find a local source for the eggs? Maybe that person could tell me what made the parents happy? I'm sorry, I sometimes overthink things as if the sky was falling. Maybe my user name should've been chicken little! Lol
 
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