Inhabitant Suggestions Needed

G

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Oct 9, 2005
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Essex, UK
www.operationmafia.co.uk
Okay I need some suggestions for a small setup I already have. If I give your guys the tank stats, you can tell what you would suggest.

Tank Size: 3.5 US Gallons (with secure lid)
Filtration: None
Heater: None
Temperature: A steady 20C
Substrate: Sand
Ornaments: A large pottery vase & fake plants

I was thinking maybe African dwarf frogs (which I really love).
But they are being kept in heated tropical tanks in the pet store. What do you think?

Thanks
 
ADFs don't need a heater...they'll be fine without one...but you really should try to filter the tank with something. ADFs can be messy. RedSea puts out a little nano filter that works very well for tanks that size and it's easy to maintain.

As far as other stock for that tank.....with the frogs all I would put in are a few ghost shrimp....(ghosts because they're pretty inexpensive and you're not out much if the frogs eat them) Also, I would try putting some java fern in the tank as well. It's pretty easy to grow, likes lowlight situations and will help to reduce nitrates and the like. Another plant to try would be water sprite. Fake plants are fine, but if you can find a low hassle plant that will do well in there it would be worth a try.

There's a thread here on small tanks you might want to give it a read...here's a link...... :D

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71486
 
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Thanks Emg! I found your topic extremely helpful!

So as long as i introduce the ADFs into their cooler tank slowly - they should be okay?
And if i were to do very frequent water changes and gravel vacuumes, would that make up for not having a filter?

Thanks
 
I've found ADF to be at least as demanding of high water quality as the average tropical fish, maybe even more so. Can you keep one alive without a filter...sure, if you do 50% DAILY Wcs, otherwise I wouldn't count on it. the shrimp suggestion is the best. If you can purchase a screw-in type CF light then you could do live plants that would function as the filter if only shrimp (you can add several different species if you want) were stocked. Weekly Wcs would still need to be done of course.

Another option (since the tank is bigger than the average betta vase) is a black, spiketailed, or red/green paradise fish. They do just as well as bettas if Wcs are kept up, and are not as cliche.
 
yeah no filter=lots of water changes

I have a betta in an (unfortunately) unfiltered QT right now and I need to do fairly large (50%+/-) daily changes to keep his water from getting funky. I can't wait to get him out of there and into my display tank ;)

that could be a cute little tank and would look nice with the plants already suggested and maybe a small piece of driftwood for some brown (to offset the green of the plants). ghost shrimp would be a fine choice and from what I hear produce very little waste. aside from the cliche betta in there I'm short on ideas for fish besides what people have already mentioned ;)
 
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