An apple snail and a betta would be cool in a tank that size...it would give you two fun things to look at, plus the snail will keep things clean....pretty easy to take care of as well....just throw some live or fake plants in there for the betta to swim through.
ideas for a small tank...
- Thread starter katydidit
- Start date
Apple snail and a betta or possibly try a Ramshorn snail (Biomphalaria glabrata). I think the ramshorn look really cool.
For a 5 gallon you may want to consider something else, as the snail and betta would be fine in a 2 gallon (though they probably would apreciate the 5 gallon). I have an apple snail in with my Betta, and they seem to get along fine, with the betta occasionaly pestering the snail, and more often flaring at it. Most of the time he just ignors it, and I never have to worry about cleaning the algea on the glass.
As for the rams, most things I read on the rams (I ended up deciding on 2 bolivians for my 20) suggested nothing smaller then a 10 gallon for a pair. I guess you could try a single ram, but without a companion you would miss out on much of there interesting behaviour. Also the blue and gold rams are a bit more delicate, and with a small tank it will be harder to keep all parameter in line with what they would need.
For a 5 gallon you may want to consider something else, as the snail and betta would be fine in a 2 gallon (though they probably would apreciate the 5 gallon). I have an apple snail in with my Betta, and they seem to get along fine, with the betta occasionaly pestering the snail, and more often flaring at it. Most of the time he just ignors it, and I never have to worry about cleaning the algea on the glass.
As for the rams, most things I read on the rams (I ended up deciding on 2 bolivians for my 20) suggested nothing smaller then a 10 gallon for a pair. I guess you could try a single ram, but without a companion you would miss out on much of there interesting behaviour. Also the blue and gold rams are a bit more delicate, and with a small tank it will be harder to keep all parameter in line with what they would need.
Some applesnails can get large. The one I have will get to be about 2 1/2" in diameter (he is about an inch now). The largest species can get up to about 5" in diameter. Some of the smaller variety up to an 1 1/2".
See applesnail.net for more info.
My applesnail will probably be permentantly moved to my 20 gallon. I may get a ramshorn for my betta, but I havn't decided yet.
See applesnail.net for more info.
My applesnail will probably be permentantly moved to my 20 gallon. I may get a ramshorn for my betta, but I havn't decided yet.
I have a couple small ramshorn snails in a 5 gallon with my betta. The snails do a great job cleaning and the betta does a great job looking good. A betta in a tank that really allows it to swim a lot looks great, even by itself.
I have a 5 in my office with 3 sunset gourami (2 females, 1 male) and 5 kuhli loaches. Substrate is about 1 inch of sand with aquatic potting gravel mixed in (used to be the bottom layer--the kuhli's took care of mixing it). There's one fist sized granite rock, and a chunk of driftwood. The driftwood has 2 anubias nana's, and there is a large crypt in one corner. A moss ball rolls around--the kuhli loaches push it, I think. I change about 2 gallons out per week, feed lightly with flake and blood worms M-F, skipping weekends and holidays. Light is on a timer, about 10 hours a day, temp stays about 78.
The fish are all active, and have about doubled in size since they were introduced. The male gouramie builds a bubble nest occassionally, but hasn't been able to convince a female to spawn yet, but he remains optimistic.
The fish are all active, and have about doubled in size since they were introduced. The male gouramie builds a bubble nest occassionally, but hasn't been able to convince a female to spawn yet, but he remains optimistic.
Not to sound like I am being judgmental, but the amount of fish you have in the 5 seems really high to me.
The gourami are 2.5" fully grown, and the kuhli loaches are 3" at full growth. So you have a tottal of 22.5" of fish in a 5 gallon tank. Is it because of the plants and the 40% water changes weekly that you can manage this without overloading the tank? Thats awsome that you can do that. Makes me want to set up a third tank in my office (a co-worker has a 5 and 2 gallon tank he doens't want anymore).
The gourami are 2.5" fully grown, and the kuhli loaches are 3" at full growth. So you have a tottal of 22.5" of fish in a 5 gallon tank. Is it because of the plants and the 40% water changes weekly that you can manage this without overloading the tank? Thats awsome that you can do that. Makes me want to set up a third tank in my office (a co-worker has a 5 and 2 gallon tank he doens't want anymore).
Not sure that I'd question her on it...this is yet another one of those cases where the inch to the gallon rule does not apply, and this time it is to her advantage. Kuhlis do not add much waste to the mix, and the plants and filtration and water changes do their part, too.
Yeah, it's packed. Of course, this is why everyone asks if there are even fish in there...
Part of the success is the light feeding. The plants help, but honestly the tank has never shown any nitrogen problems--no spikes at all. I've had it up for about a year now, and all the plants have doubled in size. I have gone for 2 weeks without a water change with no problems--truthfully, I do the water changes that frequently in order to get the water for our office plants. I also have an AC 150 on there, with just a sponge. The sponge gets rinsed at each water change.
The kuhli's are very social, and have a nice nest under the wood. They are about 3 inches in length, and big around as a pencil.
The gouramies range from 1.5 inches to a shade over 2 inches, with great color and behavior.
I certainly don't recommend this setup to everyone. It works very well for me, and is very easy to care for. This tank is much stabler than my 2.5 (one juvie kuhli, who hitch hiked in on the drftwood, male betta and a ramshorn snail, one large anubias). That tank must have a water change every third day or the cyano slime takes over.
Part of the success is the light feeding. The plants help, but honestly the tank has never shown any nitrogen problems--no spikes at all. I've had it up for about a year now, and all the plants have doubled in size. I have gone for 2 weeks without a water change with no problems--truthfully, I do the water changes that frequently in order to get the water for our office plants. I also have an AC 150 on there, with just a sponge. The sponge gets rinsed at each water change.
The kuhli's are very social, and have a nice nest under the wood. They are about 3 inches in length, and big around as a pencil.
The gouramies range from 1.5 inches to a shade over 2 inches, with great color and behavior.
I certainly don't recommend this setup to everyone. It works very well for me, and is very easy to care for. This tank is much stabler than my 2.5 (one juvie kuhli, who hitch hiked in on the drftwood, male betta and a ramshorn snail, one large anubias). That tank must have a water change every third day or the cyano slime takes over.
I don't know if you have your heart set on only fish, if not, you might try african dwarf frogs, they are super easy to take care of, and since they breath surface air (IMO) require less tank space per animal than a fish would.
I have two frogs and one oto in a 2.5 hex in my bedroom that are just delightful.
I have two frogs and one oto in a 2.5 hex in my bedroom that are just delightful.
