5 gal tank - 3 fish 1 snail - pH and Ammonia levels

[MH-Maryland]

I have a simple tank: 1 snail ; 1 Dwarf Gourami and 2 platies. I have dark gravel and 1 fake plant. Aqueon 10 filter as well. The tank is quite clean but my recent tests had pH 6.0 (possibly lower as scale card only goes to 6.0) and Ammonia is in the 0.5 range. I did a 30% approx water change with the fish and snail removed for ease - but those are the post water change levels. I am most concerned about the pH level. Any suggestions? The tank was set up in mid October and these are the first sustained spikes we have had.

Thanks!

 

[SaraB]

I have to mention first that the dwarf gourami needs at least 15 gallons to be happy.
Have you tested your tap water for the ph? That might be where the drop is starting.

 

[MH-Maryland]

Thanks

I thought the same thing, so did test the tap water before I conditioned it and it was pH neutral and 0.0 Ammonia; also I am new to the aquarium thing (by proxy for the kids) and I believe I have the Dwarf gourami - it was bought on advice from aquarium shop for the tank size and that the 3 fish + snail was a good balance for tank size.....hope that's not the issue as until this period all has been really good with the tank metrics.[/ATTACH]

 

[earhtmother]

DON'T believe that everything a fish store employee tells you is fact. Generally they only say what they *believe* to be fact or what the store *policy* is unless they actually have or have had fish themselves. 5g is definately too small for a Dwarf Gourami except as a temporary holding tank and with the addition of the Platies definitely not suitable as a *forever* home. Use it as a temporary home until you can afford/cycle a15 or 20(I'd go 20g) You will find it is MUCH easier to deal with a larger tank as far a water quality etc. With a small tank,.10-15% water changes should be done every day or every other day esp with that many fish. A single Betta is about the only fish suitable for that small a tank

 

[libertybelle]

Seconded! In the long run this will not likely be an enjoyable experience for you or the kids. Sick fish and constant water changes don’t make for a very fun hobby.

Trust me! My mom, well intentioned as she was, set up a massively overstocked 5 gallon for us as kids. It was a pain to keep clean, fish were always getting sick. Turned me off fish keeping for years because I thought it just so hard and messy. You’re already one step ahead of where we were when I was a kid; didn’t even know to test for ammonia!

Wasn’t until I re-learned how to keep fish as an adult that I actually learned to enjoy the experience of creating a balanced easy to maintain aquatic environment.

Save yourself so much trouble and either get a better suited size tank for these guys or return them for a betta which has a lot of personality but won’t overtax the system!