upgraded from 1 gallon now 5 gallon good now?

[951socal]

okay so i had a 1 gallon with 2 gubbies and a pleco + more in it and i was advised to get a 5 gallon tank, and change the fish

got rid of all the fish and upsized quite a bit
little more than i wanted to spend getting into fish/aquariums but its looking good

i now have:

TANK: fluval chi

fish: black skirt tetra X 2
red fin tetra X2
african frog

do you guys think the tank is crowded?

i have sand, drift wood, 3 live plants and a fake plant

the 1 gallon has a betta in it and a cheap little $15 filter

 

[okapizebra]

Unfortunately 5 gallons really isn't suitable for many fish. Black skirts get really big, and while i'm not sure of the max size of the other tetras, I do know they require schools of 5+ and 5 gallons just doesn't have enough room for a proper school for either. I think the frogs are ok, but you'll have to get a second opinion on them as I don't know much about them.

Also, did you cycle the new tank and do you have a test kit?

 

[Alex ski]

Unfortunately 5 gallons really isn't suitable for many fish. Black skirts get really big, and while i'm not sure of the max size of the other tetras, I do know they require schools of 5+ and 5 gallons just doesn't have enough room for a proper school for either. I think the frogs are ok, but you'll have to get a second opinion on them as I don't know much about them.

Also, did you cycle the new tank and do you have a test kit?

He is right

 

[Hholly]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/

You should look up nano fish, like scarlet badis, sparkling gourami, endlers livebearers, etc.

 

[okapizebra]

That would be she

 

[Fish_lover]

You need to get your betta a 3-10 gallon tank !! I hope the 1 gallon is temporary

 

[NinjaNomad196]

I'm sorry but tetras are good in schools of 5 or more, or else they'll get stressed, and you'll need 10 gallons for a school of tetra and the frog together. Sorry! I'll admit, fish is a very hard, time-consuming, expensive hobby. For just a lowly 10 gallon, with all the right stuff and some fish, you'll probably need around $75 for that alone. I'd recommend the biggest tank you can afford and manage without giving up.

 

[Fishperson]

I'm sorry but tetras are good in schools of 5 or more, or else they'll get stressed, and you'll need 10 gallons for a school of tetra and the frog together. Sorry! I'll admit, fish is a very hard, time-consuming, expensive hobby. For just a lowly 10 gallon, with all the right stuff and some fish, you'll probably need around $75 for that alone. I'd recommend the biggest tank you can afford and manage without giving up.

Only the smallest tetras can be kept comfortably in a 10 gallon tank. Nano fish can:
Ember tetras
Chili rasboras
Celestial pearl danios (sometimes called galaxy rasboras)
Scarlett badis.
Maybe guppies/endlers

I argue that neon tetras are borderline nano fish. They are small, and don't swim much, and will do ok in a 10 gallon, but would readily prefer a 15+ gallon tank. Also, if you buy the right stuff, a 10 gallon would cost at least $150+. My brother is 9, he wanted a bearded dragon. The upfront cost was $150. My 20 gallon tank's upfront cost was about $200. But for the bearded dragon, he has to by crickets for him to eat, and replace the uv bulbs, so it is an additional $100 per year. Fishkeeping is not an expensive hobby.

 

[951socal]

I'm sorry but tetras are good in schools of 5 or more, or else they'll get stressed, and you'll need 10 gallons for a school of tetra and the frog together. Sorry! I'll admit, fish is a very hard, time-consuming, expensive hobby. For just a lowly 10 gallon, with all the right stuff and some fish, you'll probably need around $75 for that alone. I'd recommend the biggest tank you can afford and manage without giving up.

you do realize that the fluval chi in my picture ran me around triple of what your quote for a low end tank is, right? I wonder why you assume that i can't afford a junky looking $10 tank when i have a $75 tank in the picture (tank alone ran me $75 at a LFS)

the problem with "buy the biggest tank you can afford, you need a bigger tank blah blah blah"
is that

I can easily afford to purchase the $000 150 gallon stand aquarium, however they look cheap and cheesey. The cabinets are made out of pressed fiber board, and the style of the actual stands that are incorporated into the tank just...ruin whatever you have in the tank. might as well park an el camino on your lawn and let it rust at that point.

i have never seen a 10 gallon tank that looked good.

hagen's Fluval division is a decent brand, fairly priced with moderately high end looking tanks, however the 6.5 gallon chi, and the 12 gallon edge look too tall for the base.

all the 10 gallon tanks i see are the ugly, and cheap trashy looking ones with a black plastic trim, and sloppy sealing work.

these little $10 ten gallon tanks you buy at the pet store may work well for a 13-17 year teenage child, however i don't want these low end tanks bringing down the aesthetic value of my home.

it's even worse when people hang "grow lights" purchased from hydroponic marijuana growing stores over them.

the nano-cubes from jbj look passable but are acrylic. and just moderately better than the cheapo big box store tank.

My qualms with this one is the out dated forum fad inspired back. couple years ago when people spray painted the back of their cheap aquariums to enhance the "visual appeal" of their tanks.

reminds me of the cheap stickers they sell at petstores with bamboo patterns, you're supposed to cut and slap on your fish tank so it has a "cool background".

another negative aspect of the frame is that, it's setup for a nano-cube/salt water setup. that and the stand included looks worse than most qal-mart furniture/ walmart blu-ray movie racks .

 

[azmodan]

these little $10 ten gallon tanks you buy at the pet store may work well for a 13-17 year teenage child, however i don't want these low end tanks bringing down the aesthetic value of my home.

These are highly regarded:
http://www.truaqua.com/high-clarity-aquarium-fish-tanks.html

You can also look into ADA aquariums, lighting systems, and stands -- all are top of the line.

I agree too that the tetras you have should be in individual groups of 6+ and need quite a bit more room (ideally like at least a 20 gal). The nano fish that Fishperson suggested would be a much better fit for your current tank (unless you upgrade).

 

[Mebbid]

you do realize that the fluval chi in my picture ran me around triple of what your quote for a low end tank is, right? I wonder why you assume that i can't afford a junky looking $10 tank when i have a $75 tank in the picture (tank alone ran me $75 at a LFS)

the problem with "buy the biggest tank you can afford, you need a bigger tank blah blah blah"
is that

I can easily afford to purchase the $000 150 gallon stand aquarium, however they look cheap and cheesey. The cabinets are made out of pressed fiber board, and the style of the actual stands that are incorporated into the tank just...ruin whatever you have in the tank. might as well park an el camino on your lawn and let it rust at that point.

i have never seen a 10 gallon tank that looked good.

hagen's Fluval division is a decent brand, fairly priced with moderately high end looking tanks, however the 6.5 gallon chi, and the 12 gallon edge look too tall for the base.

all the 10 gallon tanks i see are the ugly, and cheap trashy looking ones with a black plastic trim, and sloppy sealing work.

these little $10 ten gallon tanks you buy at the pet store may work well for a 13-17 year teenage child, however i don't want these low end tanks bringing down the aesthetic value of my home.

it's even worse when people hang "grow lights" purchased from hydroponic marijuana growing stores over them.

the nano-cubes from jbj look passable but are acrylic. and just moderately better than the cheapo big box store tank.

My qualms with this one is the out dated forum fad inspired back. couple years ago when people spray painted the back of their cheap aquariums to enhance the "visual appeal" of their tanks.

reminds me of the cheap stickers they sell at petstores with bamboo patterns, you're supposed to cut and slap on your fish tank so it has a "cool background".

another negative aspect of the frame is that, it's setup for a nano-cube/salt water setup. that and the stand included looks worse than most qal-mart furniture/ walmart blu-ray movie racks .

When you have a well put together attractive tank the crappy sealing job as well as the "cheap black trim" becomes completely unnoticed. There is enough action going on in a properly set up tank that those parts practically become invisible.

Those "grow lights from hydroponic marijuana growing farms" happen to be a fairly high tech specialized reef setup with a very specifically chosen wavelength of light to enhance the colors of coral and increase the amount of light penetration. Those particular lights need to be hung up to 1' or more above the tank.

Furthermore, if you can "easily afford" the 150 gallon stand and aquarium why don't you stop wasting time with tanks that are completely insufficient for anything you want to keep in them? I have provided a link to help you out.
Aquarium Stands & Canopies

 

[951socal]

When you have a well put together attractive tank the crappy sealing job as well as the "cheap black trim" becomes completely unnoticed. There is enough action going on in a properly set up tank that those parts practically become invisible.

Those "grow lights from hydroponic marijuana growing farms" happen to be a fairly high tech specialized reef setup with a very specifically chosen wavelength of light to enhance the colors of coral and increase the amount of light penetration. Those particular lights need to be hung up to 1' or more above the tank.

Furthermore, if you can "easily afford" the 150 gallon stand and aquarium why don't you stop wasting time with tanks that are completely insufficient for anything you want to keep in them? I have provided a link to help you out.
Aquarium Stands & Canopies

if you read my post again you'd see it's because it's not attractive. additionally because its a lot of space which i'd rather have for something else, either my guns, or books. Just becuase you can afford something, why buy it? because its bigger and who cares if its ugly or straight out of the 80's and cheap looking its a BIG FISH TANK SO ITS THEREFORE AWESOME!!!!!

im just looking for something that draws the eye in a minimalistic/mid century modern designed room that has a lot of warm leaning neutral tones.

Plus this is only a starter home, once i finish my masters i will most likely sell this home and move. inconvenience of moving a 150 gallon setup? in what looks like is less than 14 months? yeah no thanks by the time everything is cycled and setup properly i'll need to tear it down and start moving it
not to mention i don't even want it...tell me...why do i want a bigger fish tank?

seriously WHY DO I WANT THIS, sell it to me...

and about the grow lights, alot of people on reef central use them interchangably

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2067196

i like how you try to make it seem like you know what you're talking about by changing the biggest words you know together. but it really makes you look like you have no clue of whats going on and try to impress people with some catalog description crap. marketing major? lol

 

[Meashkah]

So everyone just has a difference of opinion on aesthetics. The nano list that was provided is good. I see the fluvals set up at my LFS and they look really great. A small group of chili rasboras and maybe some cherry shrimp would look very nice in a planted nano tank.

 

[951socal]

So everyone just has a difference of opinion on aesthetics. The nano list that was provided is good. I see the fluvals set up at my LFS and they look really great. A small group of chili rasboras and maybe some cherry shrimp would look very nice in a planted nano tank.

thats why im growing the hairgrass, so i can carpet the bottom of my crushed seashell lined fluval chi, i am going to swap out the plants for something that looks a little more like a scaled down tree, i saw at the local fish store here.

and yeah the fish tank is more of a visual cue for a mundane room. not for the hobby of keeping actual fish. (i cannot live with a PVC sump line setup in my home, or even stand having it smelling of salt water, and chae in a storage bucket stored under a 150 gallon 1980's styled pressed fiberboard cabinet, displaying some really vague looking chippendale inspired cues, with some fake vinyl or oak veneer. sounds disgusting)

 

[Meashkah]

Well good luck on it. I think some of the smaller nano fish would look great in contrast to your scaled down tree and the overall look you are going for. Dwarf rasboras would be perfect and you could get more than two so they would feel secure. I would say you could have 5-6 of them. Maybe a couple of dwarf corys? I'm not sure about that but it's possible. The smaller nano fish would compliment the aquascape you explained better than the skirted tetras and larger tetras. Maybe you post pictures when you decide?

 

[dustinfeint]

thats why im growing the hairgrass, so i can carpet the bottom of my crushed seashell lined fluval chi, i am going to swap out the plants for something that looks a little more like a scaled down tree, i saw at the local fish store here.

and yeah the fish tank is more of a visual cue for a mundane room. not for the hobby of keeping actual fish. (i cannot live with a PVC sump line setup in my home, or even stand having it smelling of salt water, and chae in a storage bucket stored under a 150 gallon 1980's styled pressed fiberboard cabinet, displaying some really vague looking chippendale inspired cues, with some fake vinyl or oak veneer. sounds disgusting)

I was going to offer my opinion but now I am just gonna keep my mouth shut. You can't just come to a fish enthusiast website and start stating that the standard black trimmed tanks look like garbage blah blah blah. You don't even know what you're doing. Putting two black skirts in a tank that small? You are doing this for the aesthetic value and potentially harming the fish. Who does that?

 

[Mebbid]

if you read my post again you'd see it's because it's not attractive. additionally because its a lot of space which i'd rather have for something else, either my guns, or books. Just becuase you can afford something, why buy it? because its bigger and who cares if its ugly or straight out of the 80's and cheap looking its a BIG FISH TANK SO ITS THEREFORE AWESOME!!!!!

im just looking for something that draws the eye in a minimalistic/mid century modern designed room that has a lot of warm leaning neutral tones.

Plus this is only a starter home, once i finish my masters i will most likely sell this home and move. inconvenience of moving a 150 gallon setup? in what looks like is less than 14 months? yeah no thanks by the time everything is cycled and setup properly i'll need to tear it down and start moving it
not to mention i don't even want it...tell me...why do i want a bigger fish tank?

seriously WHY DO I WANT THIS, sell it to me...

and about the grow lights, alot of people on reef central use them interchangably

Hydroponic Grow Lights vs AQUARIUM LIGHTING FIXTURES - Reef Central Online Community

i like how you try to make it seem like you know what you're talking about by changing the biggest words you know together. but it really makes you look like you have no clue of whats going on and try to impress people with some catalog description crap. marketing major? lol

Sorry, I guess I need to keep the number of syllables that I use down for some people.

Since you don't care about keeping fish and are looking for something pretty in your house let me say that fish are pets not decorations. Get a fancy picture of a fish and call it good.
Googling and posting a random link is easy. But if you read the link you found then you will see that there was only 1 person using the grow lights. I've even seen people use clip on shop lights it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

You're the one that has the money to throw away. If you even looked at the link I gave you then you would see theres plenty of small tanks that would be great for you to put fish in to die.

I love that you feel the need to insult everyone and everything around you when you actually have no clue.

 

[951socal]

Im not looking for a new tank though, why is everyone so agaisnt the fluval tanks? they're nice tanks. i actually have a new in box 6 gallon edge too, thats how much i love them. your links were just the same tanks without the plastic trim....

go to the fish store and yank the trim off of the cheap ones and thats what you have there. nothing special, nothing nice

 

[dustinfeint]

Sorry, I guess I need to keep the number of syllables that I use down for some people.

Since you don't care about keeping fish and are looking for something pretty in your house let me say that fish are pets not decorations. Get a fancy picture of a fish and call it good.
Googling and posting a random link is easy. But if you read the link you found then you will see that there was only 1 person using the grow lights. I've even seen people use clip on shop lights it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

You're the one that has the money to throw away. If you even looked at the link I gave you then you would see theres plenty of small tanks that would be great for you to put fish in to die.

I love that you feel the need to insult everyone and everything around you when you actually have no clue.

+1 fully agree.

 

[NinjaNomad196]

Hey, 951social, your a jerk. If you got so much money, buy a bigger freaking tank. And if you think a cheap $10 10 gallon works for a 13-17 year old since it's cheap? Well if it's cheap, doesn't it mean it's hard to manage and should be for more experienced people who know how to keep it up? You just went full retard on me.... never go full retard.

P.S. That's what you get for making fun of me, jerk. Grow up if your the "man" you say you are. I'm 13 and more mature.