5 1/2 gallon contest! WIN 50 kudos! No purchase necessary

[Scottw68TN]

I had an extra 5 1/2 gal tank laying around and decided to take it to work and set it up. It has a heater and a large corner filter hooked to an air pump, coarse black sand, 1 fake amazon sword, 1 cool lava rock. Givin the limited space I'm not sure which way I want to go. 50 kudos to the person who comes closest to what I do. The tank is cycling now so plenty of time. I think I will be adding java fern as the only plants. But am open to other small hearty plants.

 

[ferret]

Two african dwarf frogs and 2 small variety gouramis ?

 

[Scottw68TN]

I thought Terry would be the first on this.
I've got 1 small frog at home I raised from alittle tad. the mother died and I sold the male to the store. I don't believe any variety around here is a "dwarf" even though they say that sometimes. He could possible make it here and I could like the labyrinth fish idea never had one.

 

[ferret]

I bought mine from petsmart (dun dun DUUUN)..

They're really small, 2 per gallon without a filter if you clean the water regularily. They're not the same as african claw frogs. These guys stay under an inch in size. I keep six in my 29 gallon, they help clean the gravel up. Fun to try to find wherever they've wedged themselves to hide. every now and then you'll see one shoot to the surface. They're pretty cool.

In petsmart they seem to usually be kept in the Neon tetra tanks. I saw them with neon tetras at a petland store once too.

 

[AtodaJ]

1 Male Betta (most colorful you can find!)
1-2 Otos
2-3 Cherry Shrimp

 

[An t-iasg]

Well...I have a betta in a 5 1/2 gallon tank, and it's just the right size for him. Bettas do well in warmer water, about 80 to 82 degrees, and you have a heater. Java ferns are a hardy plant that will do well in that tank, and bettas like them. You could use the air pump with a sponge filter. Bettas don't like current, so you could use the sponge filter as a biological filter, and you don't really need a large corner filter with a betta.

 

[ferret]

Long live the frog!

http://slinky.no-ip.org/images/fish/frog.jpg

 

[platylover]

I'd say with the black sand that I would get a fish that is very brightly colored sush as a neon orange mickey mouse platy, or even a few colorful swordtails to put in there. I didn't hear anyhting about a background but I would suggest a black background. As far as bottom dwellers, I would go with 1-2 ottos.

 

[TankGirl]

I would personally go with a betta or a dwarf flame gourami and possibly 3 pygmy cory cats for the bottom. Then some shrimp for algae cleanup once that reared its ugly head. I have had similar setups and they were very nice. The lovely fins of the betta or the vivid color of the gourami would be very nice against the black substrate.

I do like a betta with a frog, though, and then there is the intriguing idea of a crab instead of a frog.... (William should pipe up here )

 

[ferret]

No crabs Before William's incident I was seriously comptemplating them. Then I realized I like my frogs and my smaller fish.

 

[Scottw68TN]

Yes I have a black background>
The ottos and a small cory were both on my mind I would like at least 2 bottom dwellers. how big do the pygmy cory cats get?
Live bearers are also a plus. And I have a boatload of molly fry at home hmm
I like the bettas but want more action in the tank
Ferret I agree about the crab he will most likely escape anyway.


So heres the tally so far

Plants: Java fern
Plants: 1 Mondo grass
Snails: 6 MTS snails (good for sand cleaning)
Bottom Dwellers: 2 ottos or 3 corys
Mid to top: 2 dwarf gouramis (pair?) or dalmation, black, +pearl molly fry it was quit a diverse little group she had. or ???????? still open

 

[ferret]

Oh, I like the snail idea. If the ottos/corys clean the bottom very well of extra food, scratch the frogs though. They hunt food on the bottom, and the fish will get it quicker than they can.

*glances at desk, hoping to find enough space for a tank here too..*

 

[mother]

well of course...

Electric blue crawfish would look really nice against the black background of the sand, but you are anti-crab so I image crays fall somewhere in there too.

So...how about a couple Red Tail Zebra Botia..nice bright colors and they stay small, and an interesting little fish.

Mother

 

[Scottw68TN]

Aren't Botia too BIG and need 3 to be happy and the crays are too . I'm not anti-crab, I have a female crab and my house never see her but she is very peacfull. I just think a crab has an easy escape route in this tank and am not buying a proper hood for it since its a peice together job. luckily the tank and hood light are black so it looks great with the black back and black sand. I think the crayfish are great looking but would cause havoc in a small tank.

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Get a betta with some ghost shrimp for some action on the bottom. They will also do a good clean job.

 

[mother]

Botia

I'm no expert on these things, i'm honestly a beginner...a noob amongst newbs if you will. I just thought the bichirs and the botia looked really cool. I figured someone else would provide the neccessary scientific data on my idea.

As one of my business partners is fond of saying...
"I'm an idea man, I see the big picture. Your job is to work out all the minor intricate details to make my big picture work."

Mother

 

[Scottw68TN]

They are very cool fish! Great fish for the big picture but they wont fit in my wallet sized dreams.

 

[ferret]

Pair of dwarf gouramis. The snails. Some shrimp, and 3 cory.

I like that. I wish I could do it myself.

 

[juliemichelle]

Male bettas are my favorite...don't frogs escape! Eek! I was at my LFS and a crab escaped out the tank onto the owner! BIG EEK! Where was I.......Oh Blue male Betta and a glass cat or two (clear)....I've also seen the fish that have a light up head and tail....talk about a conversation starter. Get a nod from the boss for creativity! My daughter wants those poka dotted white/black mollys. Too many fish to choose from--better get a bigger tank!!!! Think they'd mind a 55 gallon?

 

[William]

Betta and Dwarf Frog = OK

Betta and Crab = OK


Betta and Dwarf Frog and Crab = HIDEOUS HIDEOUS MURDEROUS RAGE!


The biggest Fiddler I own is in the 10gal with my Betta and Cories and they all get along just dandy, I recently dropped a baby Sailfin Molly [ around 1.2 inches long ] into the betta tank as well, since I had to get him out of the community tank.

He was to aggressive, so I put him in with the Betta and he got the smackdown of his life. Now hes a content little quiet " Normal " molley.


But crabs will do great in a 5gal tank, Either 2 females or 1 male, just make sure they can get above the surface of the water.


Altho I do agree that 2 or 4 African Dwarf Frogs would also be awesome, Their crazy little characters.

Just don't put hte to together :?