Small tanks

I just had to chime in. This is a great thread (I wish it was a sticky or an article as has been said before). I think this thread does the community a great service by giving people information on how to responsibly stock a small tank. Right now I have a 38g tank (only 16g of water in it) and a 10g. I have to say that the 10g seems to be doing quite well and is a pleasure to watch. Another factor that will likely see me running smaller tanks is simply that the only place I can keep my large tank is in the basement due to space considerations. While this works in a practical sense, and I'm down there every day to look after the fish, I always wish that I could have the fish somewhere that I spend more time such as the living room or home office. In my house this requires a small tank. This was a lot typing to basically say "great thread". I hope that it keeps getting read because I feel it has a lot to offer.
 
My 5 gallon tank is cycling now with java fern and java moss now growing in the tank.

Tricksterpup,

I love your stocking combo it sounds very ideal for my tank. This tank has gotten me so excited that i may just have to go buy another as they are relatively cheap.



Has anyone ever tried the white cloud mountain minnow in a gallon aquarium? Another fish that i am curious about is the gambusia minnow or "mosquitofish".
Both of these fish are interesting and have a certain appeal to try them in a 5 gallon tank. Any input or experience with these fish in small aquariums would be appreciated.


Thanks - Jighead
 
Jighead said:
My 5 gallon tank is cycling now with java fern and java moss now growing in the tank.

Tricksterpup,

I love your stocking combo it sounds very ideal for my tank. This tank has gotten me so excited that i may just have to go buy another as they are relatively cheap.



Has anyone ever tried the white cloud mountain minnow in a gallon aquarium? Another fish that i am curious about is the gambusia minnow or "mosquitofish".
Both of these fish are interesting and have a certain appeal to try them in a 5 gallon tank. Any input or experience with these fish in small aquariums would be appreciated.


Thanks - Jighead
Click to expand...
Jighead,
Hey that is what I am here for, free advice. :D
Now I know people have placed white clouds in small tanks like a 5 gallon but I find it to small for them. These guys love to move around and swim. They are kinda like Danios, need to move and plenty of open water. I wouldnt place them in anything less than a 10.

Now Gambusia, I got some a few years ago, really nice and aggressive fish. They ate all their fry when I kept them in a 10 gallon, I personally wouldnt keep them in anything less than a 20. They actually get pretty big, double the size of large guppies. So if you want to try these guys, try a larger tank. Fish to keep them with, Sailfin Mollies, and Flag Fish. These are all native to Florida and shouldn't cause any problems together. But you will need a larger tank for them. If you keep just Gambusia, 20 gallon, Flagfish and Gambusia 30 gallons and then go larger if you want Mollies with them.
 
Tricksterpup,
Thanks once again for all of the excellent info you have given me. I have gone over almost all the kinds of tanks that seem interesting and i keep coming back to the combo of 8 heterandia formosa and 7 pygmy corys. However, I do have one last question. I was thinking of a small "show" kind of fish and the sparkling gourami came to my attention. The sparkling gourami is only supposed to get to 1.5 inches, and would be ideal for a small tank.
If i were to get 1 of these would i have to cut the numbers of the hets and corys?

These small 5 gallon tanks are a lot more fun than i thought. When i go back to my lf i think i may just pick up another. :)


Thanks - Jighead
 
EMG, thank you so much for starting this thread!!! I think the small aquaria
are absolutely beautiful when done right, and if the keeper is intelligent
enough to research and put correct size fish, without overcrowding and
changing water often enough, what's the problem? We gots yer big fishies, we gots yer giant fishies, we gots your average fishies, and we gots yer minie fishies!!! Fishies is fishies. :D
 
I have a sweet 2.5 gallon glass tank and I love it. I have a deep sand bottom built up to one side with some river rocks in there. The only filter I run on it is a little palmer one and I use a filter pad and bio cyclinder in it. I have three amazon swords in it and they are growing like crazy. I also have some java fern in there on some drift wood that sticks out like a branch from the built up sand. You ask why anyone would keep a small tank and the answer is simple. I do it because I want the challange of it. I do a 50% water change once a month and add minerals to the RO water and blackwater extract along with plant fertilizer. I have kept one cardinal tetra in there with no prob, and also a pymy cat. Looks great sittle on a night stand of even a desk. call me crazy but I want to try turnering another 2.5 gallon into a small saltwater tank. Sure I have a 75 gallon and a 29 and some other tanks, but after a while fish keepers just need a challange, especially when others say it can not be down.
 
Jighead said:
Tricksterpup,
Thanks once again for all of the excellent info you have given me. I have gone over almost all the kinds of tanks that seem interesting and i keep coming back to the combo of 8 heterandia formosa and 7 pygmy corys. However, I do have one last question. I was thinking of a small "show" kind of fish and the sparkling gourami came to my attention. The sparkling gourami is only supposed to get to 1.5 inches, and would be ideal for a small tank.
If i were to get 1 of these would i have to cut the numbers of the hets and corys?

These small 5 gallon tanks are a lot more fun than i thought. When i go back to my lf i think i may just pick up another. :)


Thanks - Jighead
Click to expand...
Yeah, if you cut back on the schoolers you should be able to keep one sparkling Gourami and they are incredible fish. I used to keep them myself. Just keep up the water changes and you should be good
 
So EMG, it looks like there are a lot of people who support small tanks after all! :)
 
Lol...I guess some of us have been intimidated by the "only big tanks will do" crowd.....we've been crawling out from under our rocks since this thread was posted....lol.

Though, I have to say that I have absolutely NOTHING against bigger tanks and those who keep them........I'd have a few if I had the room !! :D
 
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