Advice for a teeny tiny aquarium (5gal)?

[madisonskyjaepi]

I know, buy a bigger aquarium. :idea::grinyes:

Anyway. My Mom got my soon-to-be-two-year-old son a 5 gallon starter kit for his birthday from the Aquarium Guys. Specifically, this one: http://www.aquariumguys.com/mini-bow-kit-teal.html

I live in a fairly small suburb of a metropolitan area - locally we have a Petsmart and a Petco. In the metro area, we have lots of indie shops, so let me know if I need to find a better fish source.

We've done bettas in the past without much longevity (6-9 months). That was, oh, 10 years ago. My son has a bit of a fish obsession when we pass by the tanks in the store and I want to be sure we do right by them. The picture of the aquarium on that site looks WAY over-crowded to me, but I could be wrong.

So, where do I start? How many? What breeds? Something with pop and pizazz would be preferred, of course.

 

[jpappy789]

Yes those fish are not sized right compared to the actual size of the aquarium...stupid marketing tactics...

anyways, for a 5 gal. I would only recommend a betta but most people say 10 gal. minimum, and I usually agree. Its also a nice size to try some low light plants (java moss, java fern, anacharis, crypts, etc.) and some shrimp/snails...Invert tanks are fun.

 

[noodles62]

You could try one dwarf gourami with some shrimp; or a half dozen neon tetras w/ shrimp..........

 

[madisonskyjaepi]

Can I do a betta with any other community fish?

Recommendations for shrimp? He might like that!

 

[madisonskyjaepi]

You could try one dwarf gourami with some shrimp; or a half dozen neon tetras w/ shrimp..........

Oh the dwarf gourami is very pretty!! Though, he might like having multiple neon tetras. Decisions, decisions!

How do people get their tetras to glow like that? Blacklight? Can I change out the light in my type of kit to make them more snazzy?

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

Did you read up on cycling? You can order a couple pairs of everglades pygmy sunfish online and keep them with shrimp-alot of people on the board sell cherry shrimp for a $1, though I believe msj says that malayan wes shrimp are more interesting(I don't remember? She sells them, though). You can try sparkling gouramis and licorice gouramis, also. Peacock gudgeons, endler's livebearers, ember tetras, Scarlet badis (Dario Dario) are some of the fish that can fit in there. You can check out my lists. Don't bother with the rarer fish, though, like blue-eyed rainbows(even though they're beautiful) they can get pricey

 

[madisonskyjaepi]

Did you read up on cycling?

I did - and then my brain exploded! Care to dumb it down for a chronically sleep-deprived mom of five? Talk to me like I'm four!

You can order a couple pairs of everglades pygmy sunfish online and keep them with shrimp-alot of people on the board sell cherry shrimp for a $1, though I believe msj says that malayan wes shrimp are more interesting(I don't remember? She sells them, though)

Fish are sold *here*? This board? I have to look around a bit, I suppose. I just remembered we have a large shop with a big "FISH" sign. Apparently, it's not a restaurant

You can try sparkling gouramis and licorice gouramis, also.

But, I should limit to one in a 5 gallon? Or two?

Peacock gudgeons, endler's livebearers, ember tetras, Scarlet badis (Dario Dario) are some of the fish that can fit in there. You can check out my lists. Don't bother with the rarer fish, though, like blue-eyed rainbows(even though they're beautiful) they can get pricey

Thanks! I'll go look those up as well. Why not bother with the blue-eyed rainbows? Not terribly hardy, as fish go, or just for the price aspect?

Thanks!

 

[noodles62]

Oh the dwarf gourami is very pretty!! Though, he might like having multiple neon tetras. Decisions, decisions!

How do people get their tetras to glow like that? Blacklight? Can I change out the light in my type of kit to make them more snazzy?

The neons glow very nicely when they are healthy and happy.
I agree that peacock gudgeons would be very interesting.......and sparkling gouarmis are pretty.......good luck deciding! LOL

 

[madisonskyjaepi]

do I understand correctly that angels can be kept in freshwater aquariums? Are there any smaller breeds that would be more comfortable in a small tank?

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

Here's my simple cycling post :

Fish pee and poo and don't eat all of their food. Naturally, all of this stuff decays in the aquarium. One of the things that this stuff decays into is the toxic compound ammonia. Ammonia burns a fish's gills and body. There are bacteria which eat ammonia, but they need some time to build up before they can eat all the ammonia in the aquarium. The bacteria turn the ammonia into a compound called nitrite, which interfers with a fish's ability to breathe, among other things. However, there are bacteria which eat nitrite and turn it into nitrate, which also need time to build up. Nitrate is much less toxic and can be removed with water changes. Ammonia turning into nitrite turning into nitrate is called the nitrogen cycle-hence the term "cycling"(in the process of bacteria building up) or "cycled". When at any point you can test your aquarium and the ammonia and nitrite read 0, the tank is cycled. Nitrate should be kept under 20 ppm. You know that a tank is cycled/is cycling by testing it with a test kit such as the API master test kit. Warning-you need to have ammonia in the tank before a tank starts cycling by definition! A newly set up tank will most likely test perfect because nothing has started the cycle yet!




Actually, a bunch of rainbows are hardy. They just are expensive