My daughter received a 1 gal tank with filter system for her birthday. She wants to take it college so she will have fish in her dorm room. What kind and how many fish are best for a small one gal freshwater tank?
Please help me choose wisely
- Thread starter twocollegekids
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EMG wrote an article on small tanks: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71486
For the most part, all the info in there is correct, except I wouldn't get a betta for 1g, as I already did, and it hardly moved, well, later on I moved that same betta into a 10g, and it was hyper active for months after moving into the larger tank - a sign that they really enjoy larger (5 gallon +) tanks.
For the most part, all the info in there is correct, except I wouldn't get a betta for 1g, as I already did, and it hardly moved, well, later on I moved that same betta into a 10g, and it was hyper active for months after moving into the larger tank - a sign that they really enjoy larger (5 gallon +) tanks.
I agree that a 2-3 small shrimp (ghost perhaps) and 2-3 small live plants look nice in a 1G, but not much else can go in that is easily found.
This is true only if you can do water changes 3-4 times a week, although daily would be better and if the water can be kept at a constant temp preferably over 78* which is very hard to do without a heater which is why most people say not to put a betta in a 1g tank.fishfreak21 said:
Listen Im not saying its the most humane thing to do but it would survive in a 1 gal no problem. In the dry season they live in tiny little puddles in the wild. This is the reason they can live in a little cup just fine too. You take that betta from his little cup and put it in a 1 gal and that fish is **** lucky cause most people would keep it in a little bowl on there desk.jodimartin2003 said:This is true only if you can do water changes 3-4 times a week, although daily would be better and if the water can be kept at a constant temp preferably over 78* which is very hard to do without a heater which is why most people say not to put a betta in a 1g tank.
fishfreak21 said:
no you listen, the "tiny little puddles" in the wild are not 1G or even 10G in size. They are rice fields that stretch miles with many networked and interconnecting waterways. They may not be very deep, but the area is huge. So dont go around justifying betta in 1G by comparing to their natural habitat.
Yes a betta will survive in a 1g, a bunch goldfish will survive in 10g, a bala shark will survive in 20g. But last i checked we like to keep our fish happy.
do those long stretchs of irrigation waterways looks like "tiny little puddles"?
dorkfish said:
I had the exact opposite experience with my betta, but still due to unhappiness in a too-small tank--he was (neurotically) hyperactive in a 3 gallon, very hyperactive in a 5 gallon and nicely mellow (but not lethargic) in a 10 gallon.
1 gallon IMO is too small for fish, exept perhaps those very teeny "least killifish" that someone on this forum (can't remember who) often mentions for little tanks.
If your daughter must have a fish or several fish (not a shrimp and not a snail) in a small tank, she has a few options.
1) A betta, as mentioned above, likes and does better in more water. A betta in a 1g tank doesn't swim around a whole lot and requires quite a bit of maintenance (water changes & waste cleaning) & temperature control. If her college days are anything like mine were, there won't be time for the maintenance part of keeping a betta. If she can keep up with the maintenance, the betta she gets would be better off than half the ones that people buy, cause they stick them in those tiny "betta buddy" things, or in a vase with a flower on top.
2) Some websites say that you can keep 3 Nothobranchius guentheri (killifish) in a small 1g tank, but I don't know anything about killifish. I'm pretty sure killifish are tough to find though and most pet stores don't carry them.
3) a couple small tetras could also survive in a 1g tank, but they are schooling fish and with only two, their coloring wouldn't be bright and one would bully the other.
There are more options, but 1g tank isn't ideal for any fish.
1) A betta, as mentioned above, likes and does better in more water. A betta in a 1g tank doesn't swim around a whole lot and requires quite a bit of maintenance (water changes & waste cleaning) & temperature control. If her college days are anything like mine were, there won't be time for the maintenance part of keeping a betta. If she can keep up with the maintenance, the betta she gets would be better off than half the ones that people buy, cause they stick them in those tiny "betta buddy" things, or in a vase with a flower on top.
2) Some websites say that you can keep 3 Nothobranchius guentheri (killifish) in a small 1g tank, but I don't know anything about killifish. I'm pretty sure killifish are tough to find though and most pet stores don't carry them.
3) a couple small tetras could also survive in a 1g tank, but they are schooling fish and with only two, their coloring wouldn't be bright and one would bully the other.
There are more options, but 1g tank isn't ideal for any fish.