Stocking a 5 gallon

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PumpkinPie

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Dec 27, 2008
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Ok, I know it is tiny, but I am excited to get some fish in there. It is nearly cycled, so I am starting to figure out what is going to go in. First of all, it is mainly for my son's enjoyment. He is almost 2 and gets super excited by fish, so something with a lot of movement would really be best. Second, I would really love some shrimp and a snail if possible.

Any suggestions?
 
African dwarf frogs, shrimps, snails, sparkling gouramis, ember tetras, otos, bettas, honey gouramis, dwarf gouramis and boraras will work. Perhaps the mystery snails or nerites?
 
man i had a handful of danios in a small tank and a handful of white cloud mountain minnows in a small tank. both were unheated. LOTS of movement. really liked the white clouds! had them in a small tank on my desk at work, people LOVED them. they sort of dance around eachother. small and lovely. just remember that bacteria multiply exponentially! vacuum the tank every 7 days for sure.
 
Lupin said:
African dwarf frogs, shrimps, snails, sparkling gouramis, ember tetras, otos, bettas, honey gouramis, dwarf gouramis and boraras will work. Perhaps the mystery snails or nerites?
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Hmmmm I never thought of a frog. Would there be enough room for a frog and a fish? How big do they get? Which of the above fish are the flashiest and "swimmiest" if that makes sense?

I already know that a 5 gallon is too small for Danios, as much as I would LOVE to get some Glo-fish.

Of the fish you have listed above, and some googling, I really like the look of the Sparkling Gouramis. Those are some cute little fish! If I were to stock my 5 gallon, could I put two or three of these in with a snail and some shrimp or a frog? Do they tend to leave shrimp alone? I love the idea of multiple species in there, but I definitely do not want to overload the tank.

What would you suggest?

Thanks!

ETA: After doing some googling, I am now not so sure about the sparkling gouramis. I have been reading that they can be very aggressive and require various live foods and also need daily water changes rather than weekly. I honestly don't think I am up for that much work. I don't want to raise live food, I have no way to get to a LFS daily, or even weekly and although they are a cute little fish, the definitely do not sound like they would be good for a beginner.

Off to do more research. *sigh*
 
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African dwarf frogs stay about the size of a quarter full grown, so you could definitely put a pair (they like to have company) in there. I doubt they would bother any other animal in your tank (I've never seen mine bother anyone). The only issue is feeding them, which can be a pain if you have other bottom dwellers that get to the frogs' food before the frogs do (in which case you have to be a bit more creative with feeding....12" tweezers anyone? :rolleyes:)
 
I'm planning my 5 gallon and I'm thinking of a betta and some RCS. Driftwood and live plants too :)
 
I have a planted 5.5g with a beta, two snails and snowball shrimp. It my favorite tank by far :)
 
I don't know where the garbage about agressive sparkling gouramis is coming from. If you want active fish, though, you might want to avoid them. They're the shyest fish I know of.

IMHO, 6 ember tetras and some shrimp (probably cherries) would be your best bet. They are both very active and colourful. Try not to have too many plants, they can make a tiny tank look tiny-er.

I haven't had any luck with ADF's, even when they have eaten. They were from Wal-mart, though, so give no thought to this. They aren't very active though, and I had to dangle thawed bloodworms in front of their noses daily to get them to eat. Having cherry shrimp might help, one of the young ones might wander by it's mouth.
 
How about a frog and a craw fish. Throw in a feeder fish (dead?) and watch them do battle.
i have never tried this don't know if the craw fish would hurt the frog or the frog might eat the craw fish.
just an idea
 
Ok, so how about three or four Ember Tetras or Dwarf Rasboras, a handful of Cherry Shrimp and a Bridgesii snail? Are all of those compatible? Is that too much for a 5 gallon? Would it create enough interest in there?

Soooooooooooo excited!!
 
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