To those with 2.5 gallon tanks...

yonsu said:
tanks4eht8.jpg


This is my 2.5 minibow. :) Currently houses a female betta and coral dwarf platy.

If you stick with the pellets, I recommend Hikari. They can be found almost anywhere (even Wal-Mart) and are much more quality than say, TopFin. The best flake brand you can get locally probably would be Omega One, but my male will not touch them.
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there arent anything such as dwarf platies. the people at the pet stores say they are dwarf because they are so small when you buy them. thay are really just platies that they sell smaller then the tank next to them.
they are still going to grow to be a good 2"
 
OK, I am an advocate for only one fish that will thrive in a tank this small and do very well for people
The fish I recommend is the Heterandria formosa, aka the least killie or dwarf live bearer. These guys are hard to come by, these are usually a special order from your pet shop but they are great fish.
The males reach about 1/4 of an inch long at full adult hood and the females are larger at an inch. They are very peaceful fish and thrive in tiny tanks. I own a small colony right now in my 5 gallon. I plan on getting more soon for an outdoor container. But they do well having plants like hornwort floating on the top of the tank and they eat crushed fish flakes. Many breeders keep them in 1 gallon pickle jars and they thrive in them. Since they are native to the southern US, they do not require a heater for their tank. I would say 5 would be perfect for this size tank.
drobniczka.jpg

Heterandria%20formosa.jpg

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jm1212 said:
there arent anything such as dwarf platies. the people at the pet stores say they are dwarf because they are so small when you buy them. thay are really just platies that they sell smaller then the tank next to them.
they are still going to grow to be a good 2"
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I have two that I have had for over a year in a spacious 10 gallon alone, and they are both about an inch long each. Whether this variety was bred ethically is beyond me, but I can assure you that I feed a nutritionally complete diet to all of my fish, and my platies have had plenty of room to grow. I have attempted research on these fish, but unfortunately, there is not much information out there.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37283
This link also includes a few pictures comparing one to a red wag platy fry.
http://aquamaniacs.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10181
 
Pellets for Betta

I've used Betta Min (from Tetra) and various pellets. They just seem to be happy and eat them (my son's Betta in his own little 10gallon, and my wife's in a 38gallon).

Turn off all filtration and aeration when you drop in a pellet. You can hear the Betta crunching it up soon after he grabs the pellet. I think they have pharyngeal plates to grind up the food. You can see them move their throat vigorously, and hear a muted "crunch, crunch, crunch". Very cool.

v/r, N-A
 
Native American!!! Have you been gone or I've just been usual space cadet??

I fed my Betta's the Hikari Gold Pellets for years, and they loved them!!! Never finiky, off their feed, whatever.
 
So sad, I had to remove the "betta bulbs" I had put into the tank. They never sprouted and when I took them out, they stunk something fierce. :sick: Blue looks kinda lonely, and I realize they're "loners" of sorts, but do you think I could get away with a few ghost shrimp?
 
rosita said:
Native American!!! Have you been gone or I've just been usual space cadet??

I fed my Betta's the Hikari Gold Pellets for years, and they loved them!!! Never finiky, off their feed, whatever.
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Ms. Rosita, ma'am, I've been on and off the forum due to busy family, busy work, and a short vacation.

You're not a space cadet...you're just very observant!

Hey, if Hikari is good enough for NASA experiments, it's gotta be good for your fish.

WrittenLyric, sorry to hear that the bulbs didn't come out of dormancy. Ghost Shrimp might work, but they'll probably need a hiding place. I had 4 in my son's Betta tank when his Betta was solo, and this good-natured fish ate all of them. Believe me, he was quite well-fed. I think it depends on individual fish temperament. Many people on this AC Forum have housed Bettas and shrimp together with no problems.
v/r, N-A
 
I don't think I'd put the neons in, it's only a 2.5gal and I'd feel awful seeing them in there not being able to really swim around. I'm going to go in search of some ghost shrimp. Strangely, in my area, these lil fellas don't seem to exist.
 
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