5gal Stocking
- Thread starter mostlycichlids
- Start date
you'll probably see a "mini-cycle" then, not nearly as large or scary as an initial cycle. it sounds like you know what you're doing, enough to know you need to monitor for ammonia and nitrites and be prepared to do water changes. mini-cycles are probably also going to occur as you add more fish, even after the initial cycle is complete, so stock slowly. But you probably knew all that. Sorry to sound condescending.akapaul26 said:
No worries you are a scientist after all I'm sure you know what you are talking about and I value your input personally.
akapaul26 said:
hi well for ADF you need a tank thats not really tall they breath are from the top, and be very careful with a young child cause if he opens the lid alot, they could jump out and freak him out. fish wise, there something called a bubmle bee goby, looks like a bees basically but i'm not sure about these i just know you can keep one or two in small aquarium, but do some research, i also currently have a dwarf puffer, but they require a little more maintenence. other than that bettas are very very hardy fish. and very nice to look at for a young kid. hope that helped.
awww, shucks, thanksakapaul26 said:
Thank you for keeping an open mind and taking the time to find out what would work best for both your daughter and the fish/frogs/critters.
2 or 3 African dwarf frogs would definitely work, but they can be difficult to feed, I have one in a 10 gal. community tank, and I have to feed him with a pair of tweezers, or the fishies would eat his food, plus they have poor eyesight. I know of people who use a little clamshell to put their frogs food in, that way, it doesn't get lost in the gravel. Here is a good link, where you can find out anything about these frogs. Good luck.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DwarfAfricanFrogs/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DwarfAfricanFrogs/
If it were me (but its not) I would go with a school of whiteclouds. Active, colorful, hardy and cheap.
Bumblebee goby:
They prefer brackish, I add only about 1 teasp of marine salt per gallon to the 5 that I keep mine in. They aren't particularly fussy about the salinity being especially stable, since where they live it fluctuates all the time, so I don't worry about getting it "exactly" to a specific gravity.
They are fussy about eating though and much prefer live food....I feed mine live blackworms, a pretty easy meal if you can find a place that keeps them on hand. I keep them in a "CLOSED" container in the fridge and change the water a couple of times a week. Toss a few blackworms in there and they gobble em up. A VERY cute little fish that I'm sure your daughter would enjoy, but a bit more work to care for than endlers or neons would be....because of the BW and feeding issues.
A couple of lousy pics of some male endlers that I have, these guys never sit still !
Endlers would be very easy to care for. You could have a nice group of these guys in a 5, with a few females as well. No special requirements and will eat most anything you offer them. You'd have to have someplace to put all the babies these guys will produce...lol...or put another fish in there with them that will eat them up....maybe one dwarf gourami or a betta. They are prolific breeders.
I'm guessing your daughter would like something with a bit of personality in there that she can interact with......something that will come right up front of the tank when it sees her..and beg for goodies. Bettas are really good for that and you could have a small school of endlers in there with it, depending on the personalilty of the betta. I had an older betta in with some endlers and he generally left them alone, but he did do a good job of cleaning out any fry they produced !
I think the older a betta gets, the more mellow they become. A young cocky full of himself betta might possibly clean out your endlers, but you could give it a try.
They prefer brackish, I add only about 1 teasp of marine salt per gallon to the 5 that I keep mine in. They aren't particularly fussy about the salinity being especially stable, since where they live it fluctuates all the time, so I don't worry about getting it "exactly" to a specific gravity.
They are fussy about eating though and much prefer live food....I feed mine live blackworms, a pretty easy meal if you can find a place that keeps them on hand. I keep them in a "CLOSED" container in the fridge and change the water a couple of times a week. Toss a few blackworms in there and they gobble em up. A VERY cute little fish that I'm sure your daughter would enjoy, but a bit more work to care for than endlers or neons would be....because of the BW and feeding issues.
A couple of lousy pics of some male endlers that I have, these guys never sit still !
Endlers would be very easy to care for. You could have a nice group of these guys in a 5, with a few females as well. No special requirements and will eat most anything you offer them. You'd have to have someplace to put all the babies these guys will produce...lol...or put another fish in there with them that will eat them up....maybe one dwarf gourami or a betta. They are prolific breeders.
I'm guessing your daughter would like something with a bit of personality in there that she can interact with......something that will come right up front of the tank when it sees her..and beg for goodies. Bettas are really good for that and you could have a small school of endlers in there with it, depending on the personalilty of the betta. I had an older betta in with some endlers and he generally left them alone, but he did do a good job of cleaning out any fry they produced !
I think the older a betta gets, the more mellow they become. A young cocky full of himself betta might possibly clean out your endlers, but you could give it a try.
Last edited:
wow I was really not expecting this big of a response thanks for all of the great ideas it really helps I did not know there was so many possibilities especially sense I keep large predators and african cichlids I guess I really never looked at smaller fish to buy.
I liked the idea of a dwarf puffer. They are really, really cute. For a 5 gallon tank, you'd probably only be able to go with one, and they need it planted. But they are really, REALLY cute! (I love mine!)
You can check out more info about DP's at: http://dwarfpuffers.com/
(I know everyone else had ruled them out, but they are active, and CUTE, and very fun to watch!)
They are really, really cute. For a 5 gallon tank, you'd probably only be able to go with one, and they need it planted. But they are really, REALLY cute! (I love mine!)You can check out more info about DP's at: http://dwarfpuffers.com/
(I know everyone else had ruled them out, but they are active, and CUTE, and very fun to watch!)
