5 Gallon tank

[Alexthefishguy]

Hi I’ve recently had a death of a betta fish. He lived in a 5 gallon tank with 2 mystery snails and 2 otocinclus catfish. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions of fish I could get. Also, how many could I get to fit in the 5 gallon tank?

 

[josh752]

Honestly I would rehome the otos they really need a 10 gallon minimum 5 gallons aren’t meant for much in the realm of fish. You could do an amazing invertebrate tank though. Mystery snails are also adding a ton of bio load to your small system. I would restart fresh with either another single male beta. Or you could potentially pull off a tank with a variety of small shrimp such as cherrys and a few Pygmy cories like 4 pygmies they really do better in a 10 gallon but a 5 gallon will suit them they are about half the size of a oto.

 

[TheAvs21]

Look into rasboras. Especially chili rasboras. Certain rasboras will get too big for a 5 gallon though, so if you find some other than chili's make sure you check that. Very good looking colorful small fish. And could have 6ish of them, they like to be in a group. Definitely would agree on re homing the otos though at least no matter what and possibly the snails as well. But if maintenance is kept up keeping the snails in there too would be fine.

 

[ADsnail]

Agree with all of the above. Chili rasboras, maybe just one mystery snail so the poop load doesn't become overwhelming in such a small tank; and maybe a nerite snail as clean-up crew.

 

[Alexthefishguy]

Thanks for all the responses. How could i re-home my otos. I have checked all pet stores and none will accept them. Would it work if I get 3 guppies?

 

[Fishlegend]

Getting three guppies=1oos in a year.

 

[TheAvs21]

For re homing otos, try local social media. I'm in a smaller town in the midwest of US and even here there is a Facebook group for the area that people are always re homing, selling, buying.

 

[Kame]

I have to disagree with some others in this thread - Mystery snails produce a lot of waste, so I don't think they'd be a great fit for a 5 gallon. They also get pretty huge.
And a Betta needs more than 5 gallons as well - i'd stick to a small school of nano fish + 1 nerite to clean up. Green Kubotai Rasbora is another great nano fish to consider.

 

[josh752]

A beta is fine in a 5 gallon agree to disagree on that the snail yah I would get rid of it but the betta would be just fine in a 5 gallon solo.

 

[Kame]

A beta is fine in a 5 gallon agree to disagree on that the snail yah I would get rid of it but the betta would be just fine in a 5 gallon solo.

Difference between surviving vs thriving for me, I guess.
People seem to have a misconception that because their natural habitat is shallow marshes that they're okay to live in tanks <5 gallons, despite their marshes covering far more area than a tank 16" wide.
But like you said, agree to disagree.

 

[Fishlegend]

Difference between surviving vs thriving for me, I guess.
People seem to have a misconception that because their natural habitat is shallow marshes that they're okay to live in tanks <5 gallons, despite their marshes covering far more area than a tank 16" wide.
But like you said, agree to disagree.

Yeah I think most people would agree 5 gallons is good for a betta but bettas in the wild don't have long fins and bright colors so you cant use that as a reason wild and captive bettas are so different its like comparing a carp to a gold fish.

 

[Kame]

Yeah I think most people would agree 5 gallons is good for a betta but bettas in the wild don't have long fins and bright colors so you cant use that as a reason wild and captive bettas are so different its like comparing a carp to a gold fish.

Bettas splendens in the wild are the same as the ornamental betta splendens in your tank - One has just been selectively bred through generations by humans for colour and longer fins, and also as a consequence have higher genetic problems and health issues. It's the same fish, we've just made it worse.

But that brings up a good point, long fin bettas can barely propel themselves in still water, so there's additional difficulty in trying to have high enough water turnover rate for adequate filtration while at the same time having low enough water flow that they aren't struggling to move anywhere, especially in a tank with such little area.

 

[josh752]

I mean they aren’t exactly the same like a wild betta would be more like a plakat or a king betta which hits around 4 inches in size and isn’t good for a 5 gallon but a regular standard ornamental style betta is fine.

 

[Kame]

I mean they aren’t exactly the same like a wild betta would be more like a plakat or a king betta which hits around 4 inches in size and isn’t good for a 5 gallon but a regular standard ornamental style betta is fine.

A plakat isn't like a wild betta either, they also have been extensively line-bred for 'desirable' traits in Taiwan (mainly aggression). I think you're confusing king betta's with giant bettas (which aren't betta splendens) as kings are basically the same size as average betta's.

What's curious is any other fish you look up that's around 2 inches in length all have a minimum tank recommendation of 10 gallons or more.
Honey gourami is a great example, they're in the same family as betta's, have a labyrinth organ for low oxygen environments, DONT even get as big as betta's do, yet we dont recommend keeping them in less than 10 gallons.
So why do we think its okay for betta's?

"Humans have made the betta fish worse at being a fish and increased the risk of health problems in the fish, therefore its okay to put it in a worse environment than it's wild counterpart."

 

[Aiken Drum]

What's curious is any other fish you look up that's around 2 inches in length all have a minimum tank recommendation of 10 gallons or more.

The reason is that those other fish tend to be social fish and so the recommended minimum tank is to support a sufficient sized group rather than an individual.

 

[Kame]

The reason is that those other fish tend to be social fish and so the recommended minimum tank is to support a sufficient sized group rather than an individual.

Use the osphronemidae family it comes from as an example, even for the pygmy gourami, (nearly an inch smaller in length than a betta fish, and the smallest in the family), it recommends a minimum of 15 gallons for one gourami and additional volume for further fish.
For a single honey gourami (slightly smaller than bettas) the recommendation is 10 gallons & additional volume for further fish.
A single dwarf gourami, 10 gallons & additional volume for further fish.
Gourami's are social, but these recommendations are based on a single fish, not for supporting a group.

 

[Aiken Drum]

I disagree. Gourami are social fish and the 10g recommendation is to give the gourami enough space to have enough territory in a community setting with other fish. Bettas are commonly kept singly, and dont have that territory issue when done so. When kept in community setting the recommendations is to keep them in larger tanks similarly to what is recommended for small gourami.

 

[Kame]

Why are we assuming that when sites list a betta's minimum tank size its as a single fish and when sites list a gourami's minimum tank size they're talking about in a community tank. Both fish can be kept in communities and as a single fish.
edit: Honey gourami's aren't even a territorial species of gourami and yet it's still 10 gallons min.
edit: oh man the real hilarious part is if you look up min. tank size for a single FEMALE betta, it says "A single female Betta needs a tank of at least 10 gallons. Keeping them as part of a community will require a bigger tank."
Weird why we'd give the MORE aggressive version of the fish LESS space.. hmmm maybe both should just be getting 10 gallons...