5 gallon betta tank

[Kat1103]

Thought I would post some pics of my 5 Gallon bow front. It currently houses 1 male betta, a yellow male fancy guppy and a gold mystery snail. I used to have 2 guppies in the tank but I found one dead and stuck to the filter a few weeks ago. Water conditions have been stable, so I'm not exactly sure how he died. Although the other guppy did harass him quite a bit (and the betta didn't). I probably wouldn't had bought the guppies for that small tank if I had done more research prior to buying them. The tank has one fake plant and one real plant. Unsure what the plant is but I bought it a petsmart and it has been alive since I started the tank in Feb 2011. Anyways here are the pics!

 

[Kat1103]

I know it's nothing spectacular........

 

[mommytron]

cute!! love the mystery snail, i've been wanting one myself. i can't WAIT to get my betta tank set up!! i'm actually going to pick up a stand today

is the live plant the one on the left? looks like an anubias nana, to me. if it is, it's rhizome (the roots) need to be above the gravel because they get the nutrients out of the water column. use some fishing line to tie it to a rock or piece of driftwood.

not knocking your pretty gravel, but if you got darker gravel your betta would stand out more does he have a name?

 

[Kat1103]

Thanks for the plant advice. The tank has only been cycled since march so I don't want to mess it up by changing the rock yet. Oh and the betta's name is George. I call him "curious George" and my husband calls him "George of the jungle"

 

[siva]

LOL that's cute You're right about the guppies, 5 gals isn't best. I keep my guppies in groups and have never seen any aggression, so I'm guessing the small tank size and just having the duo caused the harassment. I started out with guppies in a 5 gal as well so common mistake! An apple snail also gets the size of an apricot and may be a little large for a 5 gal, the smallest tank I keep one in is a 14 gal. I don't think a 5 gal can (or should) produce enough algea for an apple snail so I would supplement with algea wafers if you aren't already. It sounds like you have a real nice boy there since he's nice to the guppy and snail

 

[mommytron]

how do you think an apple snail would do in a 10g with a betta as it's only other tank mate? i thought 5g sounded small as well--but is it because of the waste? it doesn't need the extra room for moving around does it? i would think with good filtration and maintenance schedule, the snail should be ok in her 5g, right?

 

[siva]

You know.. I'm just not sure. Yes I do think at full size an apple snail produces a large amount of waste for a small tank. I see the waste mine produce daily and it's not small. It's much more than say, a largish nerite. They do get so large and move so quickly that I would feel a little bad for the thing doing laps around a 5 gal all day..they are the smartest snails I've ever kept. Yet it's not a severe enough situation that I would jump to say hurry and rehome or upgrade the snail. I really haven't heard many other opinions on tank size for these guys so I'm not sure what others around here would think. I have one in a 14 gal with no other snails or algea eaters and that seems good so far. A 10 with just a betta and snail is probably OK. They have larger appetites than a lot of snails do and I've heard more than once of them dying of starvation so supplemental feeding, in the small tanks especially, is important. And of course water quality. If you feel like the snail is OK and your water tests 0 for ammonia/nitrites and ideally not exceeding 20 for nitrates then I guess it's alright. With the betta, guppy, and a mystery I think it would be hard to keep the water parameters ideal in a 5 gal...or atleast would require some extra pwc's. Hopefully kat is using a master test kit?

 

[Kat1103]

I do have an API test kit that I have been using. The tank is cycled. Is an apple snail the same as a mystery snail? That what it was sold as. I feed the snail 2 algae wafers a week. Do u think that's enough? I have a 55 gallon tank that just finished cycling today (yea!) but it probably wouldn't be a good idea to put him in there bc I'm planning on stocking cichlids. I've heard they will eat the snail. This is my first snail so I don't know much about them.

 

[Kat1103]

Dont have anyone to currently give the guppy to bc if I gave him to anyone I knew he would be a feeder and I don't wanna do that to him. So as of now I'm stuck with him.....

 

[siva]

Well you could take him to a lfs if you wanted to but really, if him and the betta seem to be doing OK, then I really wouldn't worry. Yes your snail is the apple snail Pamacea bridgesii, commonly referred to by snail hobbyists as a briggs, and sold as a mystery snail. I give mine about 1/3 algea wafer per day.

 

[Kat1103]

Well he doesn't always finish it but I will have to up his feeding schedule anyways

 

[siva]

Well it sounds like it's getting enough to eat then. Just wasn't sure if you were feeding the wafers whole or peices throughout the week.

 

[Homedog98]

Can we see some pics of George?

 

[Kat1103]

There is a decent one on my profile. I can't get many good pics of him. The bow front tends to glare in most pics. But the pics don't do him justice. He is very beautiful in person