Nano planted 2.5 gallon cube need ideas

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Hey guys. I've got a 2.5 gallon cube that's gonna be planted. The plants I am going to use are

Anubias Nana petite

Java fern

Java moss (maybe)

And maybe, just maybe montè Carlo

Fish wise,
I was thinking of doing a pair or trio of scarlet basis, boraras micros or briggitae and also a kind of catfish (not sure what yer, maybe rosy loach?) Tell me if you know about any stocking problems or ideas for fish you have with this tank!

Thanks

 

[Nils]

Are you going to be running Co2?
What lights?
If I were you I'd put a dwarf puffer in there
Or just a bunch of shrimp

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Are you going to be running Co2?
What lights?
If I were you I'd put a dwarf puffer in there
Or just a bunch of shrimp

No CO2 but I do have a 8-10 watt light I think. I really had my heart set on scarlet badis so I think I'll stick with that. Personally pea puffers look cute, but needy, I will think about shrimp though, maybe amanos or glass.

 

[Reykur]

Amano shrimp might be cramped in there, I would go with wild type neocaridina.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Amano shrimp might be cramped in there, I would go with wild type neocaridina.

Will my badis wreck them up in a corner? Will my rosys take a bite. I know that boraras will be g

 

[Reykur]

Tbh, I do not know.
But, I would recommend putting the shrimp in first, and I would doubly recommend looking into their comatibility first. I haven't kept shrimp, but I was considering it and did a lot of research about them. I wasn't going to keep them with fish though, so I didn't really look into that.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Tbh, I do not know.
But, I would recommend putting the shrimp in first, and I would doubly recommend looking into their comatibility first. I haven't kept shrimp, but I was considering it and did a lot of research about them. I wasn't going to keep them with fish though, so I didn't really look into that.

Thanks, I'll do a bit of research about it.

Do you know whether I should keep a trio of scarlet badis or a pair?

Thanks

 

[flchamp89]

IMO too small for a pair badis a pair can be trouble especially in small tank. Other thing is you may have to do live food. It will complicate wc in such a small tank. You can keep them by themselves imo. Ive keep individual in 5g.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

IMO too small for a pair badis a pair can be trouble especially in small tank. Other thing is you may have to do live food. It will complicate wc in such a small tank. You can keep them by themselves imo. Ive keep individual in 5g.

If I can't have badis then do you know about any centerpiece fish that I could put in there

 

[flchamp89]

Its an ethical decision....there a few species. Some will say ya some will say nah.

Aside from a betta (still little small) ( have one in that size). Options are short. There are some small killifish, endlers are ok imo by themselves. Of course company would be nice lol there are alot of micro fish but often not easiest to find. Ive had 5g peacock grundeon tank once. Can be single speciem.

Rcs, plants and snails would be good. Could use as an rcs breeder tank for another aquarium.

 

[Reykur]

Yeah, I have to be honest with you here, 2.5 gallons is pretty much only big enough for RCS imo. I have a betta by himself in my 5 gallon and I wouldn't feel right adding shrimp, because he's hunted all of the crustaceous life in my tank to extinction, he also ate all my baby snails I had in the tank and is working through detritus worms, but he has a hard time finding them. I have enough hiding places, and space in my tank for shrimp, but I don't want to buy them (i would have to order them online) so my betta can get bloated...

Shrimp make a great showcase for the tank when they're comfortable in their environment. So long as they don't have any fish in the tank, they will actively explore, with ample food and proper water conditions, they will actively breed. The biggest concern for a tank that small is the water stability. Water stability is probably the single biggest concern for shrimp keepers (shrimp are sensitive to change, I.e. temp, hardness, ph, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate) and small tanks make it difficult to maintain, although not at all impossible.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Yeah, I have to be honest with you here, 2.5 gallons is pretty much only big enough for RCS imo. I have a betta by himself in my 5 gallon and I wouldn't feel right adding shrimp, because he's hunted all of the crustaceous life in my tank to extinction, he also ate all my baby snails I had in the tank and is working through detritus worms, but he has a hard time finding them. I have enough hiding places, and space in my tank for shrimp, but I don't want to buy them (i would have to order them online) so my betta can get bloated...

Shrimp make a great showcase for the tank when they're comfortable in their environment. So long as they don't have any fish in the tank, they will actively explore, with ample food and proper water conditions, they will actively breed. The biggest concern for a tank that small is the water stability. Water stability is probably the single biggest concern for shrimp keepers (shrimp are sensitive to change, I.e. temp, hardness, ph, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate) and small tanks make it difficult to maintain, although not at all impossible.

Okay maybe I might try shrimp!? As I've never kept them before it would be cool to learn from them!

 

[flchamp89]

Blue dreams. You could afford to stock it and breed and sell me some lol.

 

[Bert2oo1]

+1 on a few shrimp only. It's cruel to keep any kind of fish in under a 5g of you ask me. Even a 5g is touchy. Normally I'd suggest 10g or larger for any form of fish.

This whole thing about bettas being fine in small tanks is completely wrong. Sure they survive in the wild in a small body of water but that's only untill the river/wetland they live in gets flooded again.

2-4 shrimp and some plants would be the go. Or just snails. Make sure you have a lid tho or you'll find them on the ground next to the tank

 

[Reykur]

Agreed on the betta myth, I had an empty 5 gallon and a rehomed betta to care for though

The reason I suggested wild type neocaridina was that they seemed like the hardiest beginner friendly species I could find. They're the same species as RCS, but the RCS is a red mutation.

 

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Blue dreams. You could afford to stock it and breed and sell me some lol.

Ha lol pretty funny $3 AUS

 

[flchamp89]

We cant even get them for that in US lol

 

[gumball]

I would inject some co2 into that bad boy, you could do some awesome plants in there since the light will be a bit bright for java fern and moss .. always wanted a tiny planted kingdom for some blue shimps..