stocking my little tank

KrazyKat

KrazyKat

AC Members
Jan 20, 2006
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hello!

i'm new to the hobby but i don't want to get it wrong! i got a 5 gallon tank which i fishlessly cycled. its heatered and filtered with a little hang on the side put floss in type filter. now all i gotta do is stock! i know its a little tank but i just want a solitary fish or a pair of fish that will sit in the middle of the tank (not right at the top cos i don't think i'll see them (its on my kitchen bench). i was wondering if people had suggestions

i was thinking a siamese fighting fish or maybe a couple of albinot tiger barbs. i would really like to stock this weekend so any suggestions at all are very welcome!!!!
 
GO with the siamese fighting fish, betta. They are amazing fish. if i am not mistaken i think the tigger barbs will get way to big for your tank.
 
A betta and some shrimp would be a good stocking and fun to watch. Tiger barbs get way too large for a 5 gallon.
 
A pair of lamprologus brevis shell dwellers...here's a pic of the ones I used to have...click on the pic for a larger view...




One pair of these in a 5 will do well...try to get a male and female...the females are smaller than the males....that's about the only difference. Toss a few whale eye shells or escargot shells in the tank for them and you have two happy brevis. Use sand substrate and I also have crushed coral mixed with the sand.

They have very small territories...about 6 inches or so...they don't need alot of room to swim around....even if they had it they wouldn't use it.

Everybody gets betta for smaller tanks....lol....sometimes it's nice to do something different.. :D



(Happy Moo ?? ;) )
 
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i went down to the lfs. they only had fighters and they hadn't heard of the shrimp or those shell dweller thingos.

they said if i was going to have a fighter that i could have other stuff with it and talked me into a neon swordtail and a raised fin platy. but when i got back and looked on here it says that the swordtail needs a ten gallon and they both get bigger than he said!!! they are exploring the tank right now. will it be alright in my tank? its not very big at the moment

**** it. i stuffed up already :mad2:
 
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A platy would probably be fine in a 5 gallon but swordtails get twice their size and if one is male and one is female then they will either breed or the female will get harrassed to death. Not great choices for a 5 gallon.

A few Khulie Loaches would be okay with the betta as they stay very slim (even though they get a bit long). They have an eel like appearance and stay on the bottom. I would add more than 3, but I would add none if the platy and sword tail are there.
 
Just to let you know the same thing happened to my dad. I sent him to get 3 platies for his tank and the store guy sold him on the swordtails saying they were the same.

When you get fish it is really important for you to know what you want before going to the store to buy and not letting sales people talk you into things. WHat I generally like to do is first walk around a store and see what selection they have. Then I check them out on the internet when I get home and see what is best suited for my setup. Then I go back to buy with a list in my hand.
 
Could you take the other fish back?? You said they didn't have any shrimp... maybe 3 or 4 dwarf cory cats? And I mean dwarf (c. habrosus, c. hastatus, or c. pygmaeus) NOT pandas. They get along fine with bettas and stay very small.

Don't worry, you learned not to buy impulsively now and that is a big lesson! I am sure most people have done it at least once :)
 
i've taken back the platy and swordtail because they started harrassing my poor fighter (he's more of a lover than a fighter... lover of food that is :P)

however i've got a few new problems!!!

i cycled my tank fishlessly but i think i did it wrong cos i tested my water today and ammonia was 0, nitrites were 0.5, and nitrates were 0.5 as well. what level does nitrite become harmful? should i water change or leave it so more bacteria breed? have i been over feeding? i gave him a little corner of a block of frozen bloodworms the first night and since then 3 little betta floating pellets(like the pack says) in the morning and night (its only been a day!!! why did they go so high???)

my second problem is that i'm in sydney and we've been having some hot weather. my house gets very hot and even with the air con on the tank temp has been rising from 26 degrees celcius to 31 degrees during the day. tomorrow i go back to work and the house won't be air conditioned. what can i do to keep the temp down?
 
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