5 gal. aquarium

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pixie

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May 28, 2003
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Please don't blast me on this, but I do need some advice!
My stepmother has a 5 gal tank that she previously overstocked and overfed (well, my dad did the overfeeding)... thus she lost the fish.
I think I finally have my dad convinced that fish do NOT need to be fed several times a day, even if they DO press their little fishy faces up to the glass and beg.
Now, I know that this is a very tiny tank, but she doesn't want anything bigger, and she wants to know what she can put in it.
Here, in her own words, is her request:

"I would like at least 3 and maybe more colorful types who could withstand the rigors of life with Grub."

"Grub", is a common pleco, that I am trying to convince her to give up as he's already too big for that tank. I have an 80g that he'd be quite comfortable in.

So, my question is, what types of fish do you recommend for such a small tank? She doesn't want to give up Grub because she's afraid the tank will be over run with algae, but I think a couple of snails for a tank that size would take care of it.
What do you think?
 
Definately get that Pleco out of there.

Something fun and colourful might be a Betta with a few cories. The cories won't eat the algea but they will eat the food that falls down and might slow down the algea growth that way. And there aren't many fish that do as well as a betta in a smaller tanks like 5 gallons.

A ram's horn snail wouldn't hurt either.

That wouldn't overload the tank too much and if you put some live plants in there like some java fern it could be nice and pretty.
 
So it looks like some of the smaller "air breathers" would be the best choice for the smaller tank. Just don't mix them together as all those long fins tend to get ripped up during squabbles.
 
thanks!

I think the suggestion of a betta with cories will work well for the tank, and I can certainly supply her with snails. :)

The water here is fairly hard and I haven't had a lot of luck with ottos, but I've kept cories before and they've done really well.
I think they're adorable too... lol.

I have an 80g with two very large severums and a colony of transcriptus inhabiting the rockwork at the bottom.
I know I know... they shouldn't be in the same tank, but I didn't put them in there, and I can't catch those quick little critters without taking the tank apart. They seem to find it quite to their liking though and spawn frequently, with the severums providing population control.

I also have a 30g planted with no fish in it so far, and I'm slowly winning the war (I think) with a snail population explosion.

I've kept several kinds of fish in the past, but I've never dealt with anything as small as a 5g, so I wasn't sure what would work well.

Thanks so much for your suggestions! :)

Forgot to mention.... for the suggestion of plants... I think they'd look great, but the lighting is poor at best, and I doubt even java moss would survive.
 
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I have a 5 gallon with a betta and the plants grow fine. It came with an incandescent hood but I bought some mini ballast screw in flourescent lights from the hardware store and they do a great job for smaller tanks to help things grow. Plus they make the fish look nicer as well.
 
Another fish i would recommend is the Paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis . I have one here at work in a 2.5 gallon tank. He is fiesty and is the fav of everyone who comes here.
In my six gallon here at work, i have 6 Zebra Danios and 1 skunk botia Botia morleti . Doing plenty of water changes and plants and everyone is doing fine.
Yes, i have to many fish tanks at work here. :)
And one last fish, this fish is the smallest livebearer to be found right now. Heterandria Formosa (least killiefish) You could probably fit a school of 12 in a tank that size.
I have added a picture of them. the male is about 1/4 of an inch and the female gets to an inch in length.
Yes, i keep on harping on this guy in the forums here but he is under rated and should be looked at more often. :D
jim
het-for.jpg
 
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