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Mad-Dee

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
5
Hello,
I am currently deciding to buy a five gallon tank (that's as big as I can afford ATM) within the next two weeks. I am wondering if that is big enough for ONE electric blue johanni. I would hate to put a fish into a tank that is to small for them; thats cruel. If a five gallon tank is to small for that type of fish, I will not buy one and will look for another fresh water fish that is suitable to live in a tank that size.

If anyone could tell me if it's okay to put a electric blue johanni into a five gallon fish tank, I would greatly appreciate it!
** *
Also I have only had a gold fish before, who live for five years and in a fish bowl. Any tips for fish tank care would also be appreciated.
 
Welcome to AA!

A 5g is suitable for shrimp or a betta or maybe 2-3 micro rasboras. That cichlid will get much too large for the tank.

You're lucky if you were able to keep a goldfish alive in a fish bowl for five years. Read up on fishless cycling and the nitrogen cycle here on AA before you get any fish for your tank. A filter and a heater are necessary for most fish.
 
Thanks for answering!

The tank I'm looking at buying comes with a filter and I'm looking for a good heater.

A single male Betta was my next choice :)
But shrimp sound neat, but I wouldn't know anything about caring for them. Maybe in while :)

Thanks again !
You Just saved a fish from a bad life :)
 
This tank wouldn't happen to be a Marineland Eclipse tank? If so, it's a decent tank. I bought my wife the 5g hex model when we were dating so she could have a betta. Now it lives on our kitchen counter as a shrimp tank.
 
No it isn't
The two I am looking at are a tetra and a hawkeye. Is Wal Mart an okay place to buy a fish tank from? Or should I look somewhere else?
 
Fish TANKs can be bought anywhere. I wouldn't buy fish livestock from Wal-mart though. I would try to find a store that just sells fish.

Stores like Wal-mart, Petco, Petsmart make more money off accessories and are therefore less likely to value their fish stock.
 
The Wal Marts near me have stop selling livestock over five years ago, thank god. Although the only fish I've ever owned was a Wal mart save. He just looked so sad and was being bullied by the other fish in the tank, that I just had to take him home. Poor thing was sick, it took months to get him better.
 
One near me still sells. They always look healthy, but terribly overcrowded and I think because of the time I usually go there I probably miss everything bad. I'd still never buy fish from there though. Any store that sells Green Spotted Puffers and doesn't advise you how aggressive they are doesn't deserve to sell fish.
 
Yes if you can tell by my name, I like Bettas. I've had several. I currently have one named Allie. He's in a ten gallon tank with a filter and heater. He was rescued from Walmart. Have you ever had a Betta before?
 
Yeah, mine was in a 10 gallon with some cory cats. Fully filtered and heated, obviously. He was gorgeous and extremely greedy. :) Unfortunately I had made my own 3D backing for the tank and he got stuck (as he was fat). I had to pull him out by his fins (pulled some bits off but he would have died if I didn't). He survived and after I stripped out the backing he's doing well. :)
 
I have not owned one myself---yet!
I've looked after my brothers when he has gone away for a few days though.
I am currently looking at getting a 5g with a fliter and heater so can put a male betta inside once it's all set up and cycled :)
 
A Betta does not require a heater. Room temp is fine. A heater won't make him any happier. I keep a 5 gal tank with 5 Guppies and they love it. Guppies are cool for small tanks because they reproduce and you can keep the prettiest ones and give the others away.
 
A Betta does not require a heater.

This is definitely not true. For your betta to live up to its true potential, it needs warm water at a constant temperature. 78-82 degrees Fahrenheit is the ideal range. Bettas may be able to survive at "room temperature" in a warm room, but they'll be sluggish and stressed from the temperature changes.
 
Have kept Bettas for 25 years. Never heated the water. Never sluggish, in fact have spawned. Opposite is true. Too warm = sluggish and diseases.
 
A Betta does not require a heater yes. But sometimes it can make them happier. I know that our junk heater in our house is always changing. A heater can help keep the water temperature constant. But a Betta can be just fine without one. For those of us who use one, it is our personal decision. It is no use arguing about something so petty as a heater for a Betta. :D
 
waynotcars: By that logic, none of my fish need heaters. My home is pretty warm, It's not like they'd shut down or die in the night, they'll be fine, right? Yet I wouldn't dream of it and neither would you, but somehow it's always just fine for Betta fish. Who cares about potential when there's good enough, right?

It's funny how some people see no difference between surviving and living.
 
I prefer to use a heater just in case. I just don't see the use of arguing when they probably won't change their ways. Just like the people who have their fish in a gallon bowl. They probably won't go buy a thirty gallon for the goldfish unless they really care about the fish. Most people with bowls probably use them as decoration. I'm saying most, not all. Like those ridiculous betta vases. Those people just want decoration, or were ill informed. I'm NOT trying to offend anyone. But I just don't want this thread to become an argument. We all share a common love of fish, and we can decide the type of care they get. If the room temp is around seventy five to eighty then hypothetically Mr. Betta would not need a heater. But most people don't have their homes set at that all the time. I sincerely hope I haven't offended anyone. That was not my intention in this post.
 
Sometimes even the heater doesn't keep the temp stable. I had to turn it down earlier. I have it set to seventy six but today for some reason it went to eighty six. I had to run the fan and turn the heater way down to get it back to the normal temp. I don't know what the problem was.
 
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