Mini fishes for a 7 gallon community tank?

[dobby]

i have a new 7 gallon tank - can anyone suggest any small fish that could form a mini community in my 7gal? The more colourful the better - I wanted to keep dwarf cichlids or killis, but I don't think i could keep more than a pair in a 7gal?

Or is this a tall order?

 

[Keeper]

in a 7gal you could probably do a small school of tetras or danios

 

[QTOFFER]

7 gallon tank would be a bit cramped even for most dwarf cichlids.
I second the idea of tetras (neon, glolight, cardinal) and zebra danios and would also suggest a pair of corys or a few shrimp.

 

[dobby]

yeah i guess thats an idea - i was looking more for unusual fish though, maybe a brackish tank with bumblebee gobies..and..? they're so cute!! 8)

i guess the unusual fishes are usually not amenable to community set-ups - unless anyone can suggest otherwise?

 

[trenac]

dobby... Male Endlers are very small, colorful & active fish. Check them out here... http://endlerslivebearer.com/

 

[krap101]

oh i know where i saw those. my lfs sells them as feeder guppies.

 

[Menagerie]

brackish tank with bumblebee gobies

The only problem with the small tank is it's harder to keep the water parameters in check. Personally, I love bb gobies.
In this profile, they suggest a minimum of 30 gals:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=978

IMHO, 30 gals seems a bit much. I have a 20 gal waiting for bb gobies--if I can find healthy ones in my area.

You could keep a pair of Badis badis:
http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Other/Badis/Badis_badis_badis.htm
I have 4 in a 10 gal hex. They have great behaviors and are "distant cousins" to the betta.

 

[CanvasOfWords]

How about African dwarf frogs? They can be fun to watch.

My two are a riot.

 

[krap101]

yeah but the live aquaria says everything has to be in 30 gallons dont they?

 

[Menagerie]

yeah but the live aquaria says everything has to be in 30 gallons dont they?

Does it? I hadn't noticed. I just know for a brackish tank, I would go bigger than 7 gals to keep it stablized.

 

[krap101]

thats true but it said 30 for everything or almost everything haha. but i guess thats cautionary. personally id keep the 7 freshwater. yeah menagerie's right. itll be harder to stabilise.

i just checked a couple of them and most of them are 10+. but most of the fish like are 30 gallons. i havent seen any under 10. i think the most common numbers are 10, 30, and 50

 

[WilliamBanik]

K101,

If your looking for something different you may want to consider Clown Killies (Epiplatys annulatus). A very small peaceful fish well suited for a smaller tank. I like Menagerie's idea in regards to Badis badis. I have several of these too and they are well suited for 7-gallon tank.

Best regards,

William

 

[krap101]

err im not the one that had the 7 gallon. it was the dobby guy

 

[grimlock3000]

oh i know where i saw those. my lfs sells them as feeder guppies.

Feeder guppies often look JUST like Endler's until they grow up a bit. I was all excited once because I thought I bought some Endlers from the Feeder tank, then they got all ugly

 

[WilliamBanik]

K101,

Sorry about that, nothing like botching one's first post!

Best regards,

William

err im not the one that had the 7 gallon. it was the dobby guy

 

[krap101]

np

 

[cginflorida]

Welcome to AA, dobby,CanvasOfWords and WilliamBanik.

 

[dobby]

thanks cginflorida! and its 'that dobby GAL'!
williambanik - i LUrvE the clown killies - thats just the kind of thing i was thinking about - tetras, endlers, etc, i have them in my 40gal, but i was looking for something unusual to keep on my desk that would look mucho cool - i think i've found it!

So WBanik have you kept these before?

badis badis look pretty cool too, but again i have female bettas that look similar

as for frogs... i'm scared of frogs... 8O

 

[Menagerie]

I had the most gorgeous female betta once, but it was so much bigger than my little Badis.
Killies look like fun--post pics when you get the tank set up!

Hey all you newbies--post in the Welcome Wagon in the Community forum, so we can give you the proper AA welcome!

 

[WilliamBanik]

Dobby,

No need to get formal, just address me as William, and yes I currently have a 5 gallon mini-bow on my desk with 1 male and 2 female Clown Killies. I've kept them for almost two years now. I have found the fish easy to care for in my mini tank, as the bioload is kept to a minimum. The Clown Killie is a very interesting and docile fish, perfect for a small tank like you have.

I have a small piece of driftwood with Java Fern in my tank to provide shelter and initially I had to adjust the intake of the built in filter as the flow was too fast in the max position.

I hope this helps!

Best regards,

William, glancing at my 5-gallon mini-bow as I type!