New 5 gallon for Christmas...Santa picked it out...

[quadrupletmom]

I am a mother of 9 year old identical quadruplet girls and Anna recieved a 5 gallon kit from Santa for Christmas. Having previously kept a saltwater tank before I had the girls, I should have known a 5 gallon was small but I've never done freshwater so I'd love some input.
We have narrowed it down to only being able to have 1 male betta or a few male guppies. I still have my old 45 gallon. So tempting...but too big/tall for Anna to be able to help, which I expect her to do.
Anyway, suggestions welcomed. Don't know about how to get fresh water started, cycling fresh water, and most importantly to Anna, what fish to choose.
Thanks,
Allison
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1 Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
1 Dachsund
1 Guinea Pig
1 Rabbit
15 Chickens
1 Duck

 

[mfdrookie516]

Welcome to AA You will find a link in my signature on fishless cycling, that should help clear a few things up. There is also one on cycling with fish (which i DO NOT recommend) but is more of a "i already got fish, what now" kind of thing. It will probably help you understand the process more than the one on fishless cycling. As for the fish, i would recommend a beta. 5g is really small, and imo, no fish other than a beta should be put in such a small tank.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard to AA.

 

[bluerose]

Bettas are fun too; they're rather interactive little buggers, much more so than regular fish.

Cycling is important, and if you go with bettas, do either live or silk plants, not plastic.

 

[Blueiz]

Very good choices for the tank . I have a male betta, a snail, a piece of driftwood and some low light plants in my 5 g tank.

Although I have no experiece personally with salt water, I'm pretty sure the nitrogen cycle is the same, albeit different types of bacteria for fw and sw, it's still the same concept. Instead of using live rock for your biofiltration, the filter media will be your bio and mechanical filtration.

What type of filter came with the kit?

Welcome to AA!