I'm new here

[AthenaKahli]

:fairy: Hi everyone, I am new here.

I have a 5 gallon tank at work, with one beautiful Betta in it. It has been set up for about a week now, and I am wondering what other fishes I can add to the tank to brighten and liven it up.

Any and all advice and suggestions will be GRATEFULLY accepeted.

 

[1_luv_betta]

sum killies or endler. maybe sum ghost shrimp

 

[Rowangel]

sum killies or endler. maybe sum ghost shrimp

I wouldn't suggest the Killies or endlers with a betta, the ghost shrimp may work, or the betta may turn it into a meal. Ghost shrimp are supper cheep, like 30 cents so it wouldn't hurt to try it, but it all depends on the bettas personality. You have no more room to add anymore fish, a 5g just isn't big enough for anything more than your betta.

 

[TheZoo]

Bettas are sometimes touchy with other fish. If you arent prepared to put new fish in another tank if it doesnt work, Id try adding a few (3 or 4) ghost shrimp. They are pretty inexpensive, in case your betta decides they are a snack. If you are absolutely set on a fish, Id go with a couple of bottom dwellers in a tank that small, a small cory of some type. Bettas usually leave them alone. You could try some least killies (small, but usually hard to find) but your betta may eat those, as they are really pretty small! Endlers Id be wary of, dont they have flowy fins similar to fancy guppies?
So, if it were me, Id plant the tank, put some driftwood in and try a few ghost shrimp.....

 

[dorkfish]

If the tank has only been up for a week, it is not yet cycled (so you can't safely add anything live excpet plants at the moment). What are your water paramters, ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte? What are you doing for maintenence on this tank? What do you have for filtration? Do you have a heater?

 

[AthenaKahli]

How silly of me. :duh:

I should have mentioned how it was set up. Sorry.

The 5 gallon tank has a filtration unit with a cartridge and a 25w heater. The air temp in the office was just too cold for Phillipe (the fish) so I got him a little heater. We have two packets of gravel and 1 large and two small artificial plants. We also have a thermometer.

What do you mean about the parameters? I do not know how to test the water for nitrates, tec.

I was thinking of putting in a catfish, but he'd have nothing to eat.

Thanks for all your input, please keep it coming.

 

[Rowangel]

What do you mean about the parameters? I do not know how to test the water for nitrates, tec.

I was thinking of putting in a catfish, but he'd have nothing to eat.

Any catfish would get too big for a 5g, as would most bottom feeders except perhaps an otto. But seriously, you have no more room for another fish in your tank. IMO 5g is just big enough for one betta max. As already said, you could try shrimp but it would be a hit-or-miss thing, but that would be the ONLY thing I would recomend you add to that size tank with a betta already in it.

Endlers and other smaller fish can work in a 5g just fine, but not with a betta. A few people have had luck in larger (10+) tanks keeping bettas with community fish, but in most peoples experience this is rarley successful.

Your water parameters are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and can also include hardness, ph and kh. The first three are the most important and should be tested for regularly before and after your weekly water change. You need to think about picking up a test kit to test for these. Both ammonia and nitrite can kill your fish in any amount. What kind of de-chlorinator do you use? What are the tank temps and how often do you do water changes?

 

[Rbishop]

Also, what kind of filtration umit? Internal? Sponge? HOB? Aqua Clear? Size?

Do not mean to overwhelm you, just info you need for accurate responses. You are pretty much max'ed out.

 

[bettagurl]

i have my betta in a five gallon with 5 ghost shrimp,he gets along fine with them,but he is a little baby when it comes to anything alive.your betta may be ok with them,but it depends on his personality,if he is ok with the ghost shrimp you could try some other pretty like cherry shrimp.also you said you have artificial plants, what kind?silk is what i use, because plastic rips thier fins(i learned the hard way and my betta suffered)so you want silk or live.but live plants need care,trimming & fertlizing,and if a plant rots it could make your water really filthy.hope this helps! :

 

[dorkfish]

Your local fish store or even petsmart should ba able to direct you to a test kit for your basic water parameters - I suggest you get the aquarium pharmiceutical's freshwater master test kit (shouldn't be much more than $30). The test kit should have instructions on how to test the water - I know for sure that the aquarium pharmicueticals test kit(s) have writen and picture-by-picture instructions.

A basic run down on the parameter's you should be conserned about:

Ammonia - this will burn the fishes gills, to varying degrees, sometimes doing permanenet damage. Keep it at ZERO or VERY close to it via doing water changes if and when nessisary of the percentage ammonia needs to be lowered by (although you need to leave enough water in the tank for the fish to stay submerged, of course).

NitrIte - This prevents oxygen uptake into the blood. Keep it at or VERY close to ZERO using the same method I described for ammonia above. The capital I in the title is used so you and I don't confuse this with nitrAte. Short term use of aquarium salt can help here, although I would strongly advise against relying on this to keep your fish safe.

NitrAte - This is non-toxic, although it is a good indicater of Dissolved Organic Compounds, wich are toxic. DOC's are not tested for becuase they are hard for the average home aquarist to test for, becuase you need labratory grade testing equipment to do so. Keep the nitrAte under 20 via doing your weekly water changes - do larger (and possibly more frequent) water chamges if nitrAtes are higher than 20 at the end of the week, do less if you want if the nitrAte is lower than 20 at the end of the week. If you have growing live plants, they will remove nitrAte and give you a lower than actual indication of DOC's so for my planted tanks, I just do (and I suggest you do to) 50% water changes once a week.

Now that, you've probably got a grasp of what the water parameter's are, I suggest you read this article: http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/26-cycling-tank-fw.html so you can understand how all this stuff stays in the right numbers in established tanks, and how to get your tank to that point where ammonia and nirtIte will stay at zero on it's own.