Which Fish Should I Get?

[TripleB67]

After going to all the places locally that have freshwater fish, here are the only ones I like the looks of and are available. They will be going in a 5 gallon tank.
Harlequin Rasboras
Bleeding Heart Tetras
Neon Tetras
Tiger Barbs
Julii Cory Cats
Glo Light Tetras
Dwarf Gourami
Ghost Shrimp
African Dwarf Frogs
Cherry Barbs
Male Guppies (left this one out in original post)

Yep, that's all we got in my area

If at all possible, I would like to get fish to swim around the aquarium and something to hang around the bottom.

In your opinion, what fish should I go with and how many of each should I get?
Thanks for all your help and patience over the past several weeks...it is VERY MUCH appreciated!!!

TripleB67

 

[RussellC]

I am far from the expert on tropical fish -- I keep goldfish myself. You may get much more well-informed answers from others (and probably will), but...

A 5 gallon tank is very limiting. Tetras are schooling fish and do best in groups of 6+ (small groups leads to stressed fish), and that many tetras won't comfortably fit in a 5 gallon.

When I think of tropical fish well-suited to a 5 gallon, the only thing that comes to mind is a single betta.

On the list above, the shrimp might work -- and maybe the dwarf frogs? (know very little about them).

If you move up to 10, or better yet 20 gallons, the choices will grow significantly.

Best!

 

[librarygirl]

Unfortunately nothing you listed except for thrimp and maybe the frogs can go in a 5 gal. You can set up a nice nano planted shrimp tank though. They are fun to watch, very active and you can get a large number of them for a 5 gal. You could also try the dwarf frogs; they do better in groups and a 5 gal is a bit limiting but you can probably get 2-3. I don't know if you're in the US but if you are you might want to consider buying online; all of the fish and shrimp in my tank have come from breeders (here and elsewhere) and I've never had a problem. You could try to get some nano fish (celestial pearl danio, ember tetra, or chili rasbora; a group of 6 would do ok in a 5 gal and you could add some shrimp).

 

[Josh1158]

A 5 is kinda small. I would just pick one species and go with maybe 3-4 of them.

 

[TripleB67]

It seems as though I'll either be going with the Neon Tetras or the Male Guppies.

I have several questions:

a) How many could I comfortably put of each (neon tetras or male guppies) in a 5 gallon aquarium?
b) My wife wanted to know if you could have both the male guppies and the neon tetras both in the 5 gallon tank? I told her the tank was probably too small for that but I thought I would ask.
c) Is there any way a couple of the Julii Cory Cats could work with either the Neon Tetras or the Guppies in my 5 gallon tank?
d) Would Cherry Shrimp work with either the Neon Tetras or the Male Guppies?
e) I would have to order them online. Is 6-10 a good number of cherry shrimp to have in a 5 gallon tank?

Thanks for all your help!!!

TripleB67

 

[zach_1_6]

I dont think guppies or neon tetras with be comfortable in a 5 gallon. As for shrimps, I have 20+ in my 5 gal because they breed like crazy, so if you get 10 you will have many more once they start breeding.

 

[TripleB67]

At one point a Betta was a possibility...would the cherry shrimp or Julii Cory Cats get along with the Betta?

Also, would adding a snail to the tank (with Cherry Shrimp) serve any purpose?

Thanks for all your help.

TripleB67

 

[kjacks]

The betta may eat the smaller shrimp but i have been told the bigger ones usually go unharmed..i know a african dwarf frog was mentioned above by someone..u can have those with ur betta not sure about the shrimp though as i have no experience with them..

 

[librarygirl]

Sorry, no neons in a 5 gal.They are small yes but very active fish and need swimming room, a 20 gal long is minimum for them and they would feel very cramped in a 5 gal.

You could do 2-3 guppies provided they are all of one gender.

Juli Corys are too large and active for a 5 gal.

Shrimp should be ok with the guppies although I don't know for sure.

You could do a betta instead of the guppies. Some bettas are hit and miss with shrimp, it woudl depend on the personality of the betta.

You could add a snail, I'd go for the smaller ones that can't breed in freshwater like a nerite. They'll graze on the glass and decor and eat algae and other things you can't see. The shrimp might take care of most of that though although they don't tend to graze on the glass like snails do.

 

[Samzter]

If you get a betta don't get shrimp. If you went online you could get leest killifish. I would do a shrimp tank!

 

[TripleB67]

I unfortunately must not have cycled the tank properly before adding the fish this morning. I added 6 Neon Tetras about 9 hours ago...only 1 remains. I'm going to have my water tested by a 'pro' tomorrow.

If it's not my water, is a betta or guppies a more hardy fish than the Neon Tetras?

Thanks again for all your help!!!

TripleB67

 

[librarygirl]

How did you acclimate them? If you just floated the bag and then added them that could be the reason. I doubt they died in 9 hours from your water, it wouldn't have been enough time for ammonia to build up. I'd try to return the neon if you can; as I mentioned a 5 gal tank is really too small for them. I'd suggest getting your own test kit too (a liquid kit like the API Master, strips are cheaper but are innacurate) that way you can test your own water whenever problems arise.

Here are some links on cycling if you haven't seen them already. You can cycle with a couple of guppies or a betta but you'll need to test your water daily (hence the reason the test kit is very important) and do water changes as needed until the tank cycles.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html