what fish are OK in a 5 gallon tank?

[allaboutfish]

ok

 

[severum mama]

Chili rasbora/mosquito rasbora (Boraras brigittae) would be great for a 5 gallon. They're VERY small. They are small enough to be no threat to shrimp. They aren't terribly active (which is another reason why they're a great choice for a 5), but they aren't shy either and you'll see a lot of them.

It's quite possible for an adult betta to eat RCS, and many will. If said betta isn't large enough to eat adult RCS at the time of purchase, it's only a matter of time- he'll grow. Any betta you buy is a threat to baby shrimp so if you would like for them to reproduce (they'll breed quickly if given the chance), I would skip the betta for sure.

If you can find them, there are several other variants of Neocaridina heteropoda- snowball, blue pearl, yellow come to mind. Do not mix different color variants.

In a 5 gallon, you could keep 8-10 Boraras brigittae or Boraras merah, and you could start with a small colony of RCS or other variant, say 10-15. You'll have more in no time. LOL.

If you want to do something really unique, check out some of the smaller wild Bettas. You'll rarely ever find any at your lfs so you'll almost certainly need to order them online. Smaller species like Betta rutilans can be housed in pairs in a 5 gallon for life.

 

[allaboutfish]

awesome thanks ill be doing the rasboras and red cherry shrimp.

 

[allaboutfish]

what about endler guppies?

 

[allaboutfish]

would endler guppys or mosquito rasboras work with bettas

 

[Mr. Limpet]

would endler guppys or mosquito rasboras work with bettas

Any fish you pick should not have long flowing fins or the betta will take it as a threat is what I based my selection on for my betta. That and that the shoaling fish aren't fin nippers.

 

[allaboutfish]

so either would work?

 

[jetajockey]

If you go with endlers, just do males only. Females get about twice the size of males, plus you'll have a population problem.

 

[allaboutfish]

i like males better anyway. so how many would be OK with my betta in a 5 gallon?

 

[jetajockey]

If your betta will tolerate tankmates, i'd put 2 or 3 in there with him and nothing else.

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so now i will get 3 endlers he was fine with corys and is fine with a chinese algae eater

 

[Mr. Limpet]

ok so now i will get 3 endlers he was fine with corys and is fine with a chinese algae eater

You have CAE in your 5g? Those get pretty big from what I've seen and I know they suck on other fishes slime, cause my Moor has a scar from the one I gave back to my LFS.

 

[allaboutfish]

it's being sent to someone on here with a much larger tank in a week

 

[severum mama]

it's being sent to someone on here with a much larger tank in a week

Good call. If you need shipping tips click in my sig.

 

[allaboutfish]

i've read it. thanks!

 

[HalfMoon B]

The only thing would add, is to add the betta last.
If he is in there first they will claim the whole tank if it's small enough
(found this out the hard way and had to do some quick rehoming and re-arranging to make it look all new...)

 

[allaboutfish]

ive already got the betta in there but ill put him in a quarentine for a week or two after i add the endlers

 

[HalfMoon B]

ive already got the betta in there but ill put him in a quarentine for a week or two after i add the endlers

Good plan. It definitely helped reduce the aggression and "entitlement" my little guy felt!