Help me stock a 5.5g freshwater tank

[fishb0ne]

Anything BUT a betta. I've had 2 that died on me in the last 2 months, I want other fish for now.

Freshwater.
I have a 5.5 gallon tank[16 long, 8 wide, 10 tall], with cover, gravel substrate and will be getting plenty of plants soon and I'll add a rock or two with holes and such to create some natural hiding places. It is heated at a constant 78*F and it's filtered with a hang-on the back Tetra 10 filter w/activated carbon. The nice thing about the pump is I can adjust the waterflow, so I can alter it from a strong flowing current to barely moving water.

My plan was to get some neon tetras and some sort of bottom dweller such as shrimp. Will 4 tetras thrive in a 5.5 gallon? I know they're schooling fish so ideally I'm supposed to get 6 or so but I think that's too high of a number in my tank. How many shrimp can I get? Any other stocking ideas are more than welcome, I really want a combo of fish + shrimp or some other sort of bottom dweller. Has to be freshwater and I'd like it to be lively. If no algae, the shrimp should be fine with pellet food, right? Will my tetras enjoy really small betta pellet food? I also have sinking wafers for bottom dwellers which I think will be great for the shrimpies.

I want to completely have the tank set-up with the rocks and plants before I add any fish. If I have a decent amount of plants, cycling it shouldn't be an issue, right? I've heard of silent cycling with plants, which will prevent spikes in ammonia or nitrItes. I will set the tank up and let it run for a week then I'll get some water readings and if everything checks out, I'll do a PWC and add my fishies.

Sound good?

 

[Regen311]

I've never had neon tetras, but I've had Black Skirt and Von Rio, and they have been quite nippy with each other when kept in smaller schools. Neons may be different, but I think in a smaller tank that it might actually be worse. If you're going to have plants, you may want to look into White Cloud Mountain Minnows. I have 6 of them in my 55 gallon. I always had avoided them, thinking they were plain boring fish, but I love them now that I have some! They hang out together, and their colors are actually quite beautiful once they get comfortable. Cory catfish are also pretty cool. Although they're "bottom" dwellers, mine swim all over the tank. They're fun to watch A few male guppies might also be interesting in that tank. With a 5 gallon, it's a bit deceptive I think with fishes. You might think something smaller like a zebra danio would be fine, but these fish really need more room to swim around. A lot of fish need a minimum tank size of 10 gallons. It's unfortunate that your bettas have been dying. You should probalby post something about that to try to figure out what happened to them before you restock. I have a betta in my 55 gallon, and he's one of my favorite fishes If I think of anymore fish, I'll let you know. But really look into white clouds and cories

On a side note, my sister had a 5 gallon as her first tank, and she had a platy and a male guppy living in it. They didn't do too bad, but the platy seemed huge for that tank. I don't think this would be recommended, as platys I think like larger tanks, but if you provide live plants and keep up with water changes, it might work.... like I said, she did it, but I don't know how good it was for the fish.

The cycle is a little more compliated then just letting water sit in it. You have to have time for the bacteria to build up, and with no ammonia source, just sitting water, that won't happen. A 5 gallon is going to be difficult, but not impossible to cycle. The larger tanks are easier becaues the water is more stable. I belive that's what led to the downfall of my sisteres fish, the water just fluctuated too much. Read some information about cycling. Google "fishless cycling" and I'm sure you'll come up with some answers.

As far as the shrimp go, I've kept and seen them kept in all sizes of tanks. They're fun, just make sure you have a lid for your tank because they jump! I'd also recommend a mystery snail as well. I've really liked them every time I've gotten them. In a tropical aquarium, where the water temperature is higher, their metabolism speeds up and they are actually quite active, not what you'd really expect from a snail!

 

[theotheragentm]

Shrimp will eat pellet food, yes.

 

[fishb0ne]

So how many shrimp should I start out with. Two I think should be OK, is 3 pushing it? Mystery snails is a nice touch but I'm concerned with them multiplying and getting out of control, also what would they eat if no algae?

 

[Regen311]

My shrimp always ate whatever they could get their hands on... so that's not a problem. I don't think 3 would be pushing it. Mystery snails won't reproduce in general. Mine laid eggs, and they lived because I tried to have them live. THey lay the eggs above the water line, so you have to keep the water level low for a while so the eggs don't rot. And also, most of mine ended up dying because there just wans't enough food for all the babies. If you just have one mystery snail, you won't end up with babies. Mystery snails are not asexual like the pest snails.

 

[mugginns]

I want to completely have the tank set-up with the rocks and plants before I add any fish. If I have a decent amount of plants, cycling it shouldn't be an issue, right? I've heard of silent cycling with plants, which will prevent spikes in ammonia or nitrItes. I will set the tank up and let it run for a week then I'll get some water readings and if everything checks out, I'll do a PWC and add my fishies.
Sound good?

You shouldn't add plants until the water has been cycled. Especially with a tank as small as that, the water will foul very quickly.

 

[fishb0ne]

I thought I could cycle with plants? Or rather, the presence of plants would keep the parameters in check.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

You can cycle with plants and do a silent cycle. They need to be fast growing and well established and you need to start very slowly. I cycled my not-quite 5 gallon that way. But to do it, I supplemented with Excell, had the plants well established for several weeks before adding fish and even then added very little biomass. (I also used a dirty filter from my other tank). You definitely need to have the plants well established so they take up any ammonia or nitrites before they'll reach toxic levels. It's easier with larger tanks because you have more water to dissolve the toxins so more room for error. If you've not had a planted tank before it may be a difficult way to start.

 

[fishb0ne]

You're right, this would be my first planted tank.
What is your recommendation then? Do an old fasioned cycle? WITH or without the plants in the tank during the cycle?

 

[fish 'n' fries]

I've never done a fishless cycle--but my only "tiny" tank (the not quite 5 gallon) is my newest so I had the benefit of some experience and a dirty filter for "seed". So others may be better at helping. If you plan to do a fishless cycle I'd wait on the plants. Ammonia plus light is a bad recipe for algae. You could still do a silent cycle. You just want to get your plants going first and keep a very close eye on the ammonia and nitrite so that you can do a PWC if they get above 0.5.

 

[jsoong]

I wouldn't do a fishless cycle with plants .... if the plants are fast growing, they will take up all the NH3 so it would be a PITA to keep a stable level. If the plants are NOT healthy, then you have NH3 + light & algae issues.

If you are going to have plants anyway, you may as well set up a planted tank before the fish and skip the traditional cycling. Just give yourself a few weeks to get the plants well established. My goldies keep digging up new plants, so it takes forever to get plants established with them in the tank. Plus, when you have no fish in the tank, you can give the plants a real push by upping the CO2 or ferts & not have to worry about safe levels for the fish.

 

[Purrbox]

I'd like to recommend either Micro Rasboras (there's several that fall into this category and all are around an 1" or less full grown) or Dwarf Cories. These are great little fish for a smaller tank.

The number of shrimp to start with depends on what species you're dealing with. You can start with more if you're going with one of the smaller species like Cherry Red Shrimp, or just a few of on of the larger species like Amano or Bamboo Shrimp.

 

[fishb0ne]

Here it is for now. Click for full size.



Well, you're probably not going to like me for it but my wife really liked the neon tetras. I was skeptical as I knew they really like a 10G. Went to my LFS and talked to the owner whom I trust and is pretty knowledgeable and he told me to start perhaps with 3 and see how they do. Done, they liked it but were a bit shy so I got 3 more for a total of 6. They seem to be enjoying themselves, they're a lot calmer than I thought they would be. How would I be able to tell if they're not digging the size of the tank?

I also have, as you can see, 3 banana plants and some misc ones, about 8 malaysian trumpet snails and also 4 ghost shrimp.

 

[plecoperson]

I don't think neons were a good choice for that size tank, especially if it's not cycled (obviously). Dwarf cories seem like they would be, but they were very unhappy in my 5 g and completely different fish now that they're in a 20 long. Some even very tiny fish like to school actively, and that size tank doesn't give them enough space to do so.

Heterandria formosa are wonderful in a small tank. Rasbora maculata are quite tiny and do OK, but gain are very active, schooling fish and seem more content in the 20 as well. I hope your neons survive, but if they don't, give some thought to the shrimp, H formosa, or tiny versions of rasboras instead.

I consider a fish to be "unhappy" if they are constantly hiding (and are not the kind of species that do that as a rule), panicking in the tank, fighting with each other, or seem to have their normal activity inhibited, by lack of cover, size of the tank, or tankmates.

This is all just my personal experience, of course! My 5 gallon is quite overstocked, but I do a 50% water change weekly, and everyone seems...."happy" in there.

 

[fishb0ne]

I did notice today that the neons are nippy with each other. That might be because of the tank light, I turned it off and they calmed down.
The tank is fully cycled and I also do pwcs once a week.
I will watch their behavior closely, if they don't settle down I'm gonna say "sorry" to the wife and take them back.

 

[fishb0ne]

Well, you'll be happy to know I took the neons back, as they didn't seem to like the tank too much. So let's try this again.
How about all of these:
1 dalmatian molly
1 wagtail platty
1 rainbow guppy
5 or 7 ghost shrimp

Will this work? Am I at capacity or do I have room for maybe 1 more fishie?

 

[Regen311]

Um... a molly in a 5 gallon? AND a platy? Mollys can get big... well not huge but big enough, and they like to swim around a lot. My sister had a platy and a guppy in a 5 gallon for a while, neither lived too long. You have a platy, a guppy, a molly and 5-7 ghost shrimp? You should probably figure this out before you buy the fish... In my opinion, you have way too many fish in there.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

I were doing another 5 gallon--I'd do either:

1 dwarf puffer with maybe an oto (but these require reading--tend to only
eat frozen/live food etc)
OR
Maybe some dwarf corys/shrimp or mystery snail and some micro rasboras
OR
betta with dwarf corys or shrimp (I don't know if they'd eat or shrimp or not--have to ask the betta people) or mystery snail
OR
Endlers are another option (similar to guppies--livebearer--very colorful-- only get about an inch)

Good luck!

 

[fishb0ne]

How about one single dwarf gourami? Will he chase my shrimp? He won't be lonely, will he?

Later edit: turns out the gourami would snack on the shrimp. Gosh darnit! I'm having no luck with this. Dwarf puffer, same story.

Female betta?
I crossed out almost all my options.
The molly is going back. The platy seems to not like my tank, he constantly swims agains the glass. The guppy is so far the nicest, he hangs around all over the place, but won't he get lonely by himself? If I get 2 males, will they fight? I don't like females, they're too plain.

I'd get a betta at this point but I want something that's at least 90% safe with my shrimp, I don't want to constantly be on the edge and count my shrimp. It is a planted tank, but still don't want to risk it.
Not much left, is there?

*sigh*

 

[STARFYRE]

I'm not sure how much swimming room rasboras need, but I know they stay small. My advice is...get a bigger tank You can get a 29 gal kit pretty cheap. All you would need to buy is substrate. When I first started keeping aquariums, I lived in a 1 bedroom apt. My first tank was a 10 gal. I liked it so much and wanted more fish, so I bought a 2 gal....then a 5 gal. In the end, I realized my options were not that great for tanks of that size. I ended up getting rid of the small tanks and buying bigger ones to replace them. It sounds like you're interested in keeping a variety of fish that aren't suitable for a tank that size. So I say, go get the bigger tank. This will eliminate numerous trips to the LFS with return inhabitants. Platies, Mollys and gouramis would fare well in a 29 gal tank. Plus you would have the room to stock more than one of each type of fish. With the 5 gal tank, there are many options; but having lots of fish is not one of them.