New to the Aquarium Game

[Cameron2]

I am currently in college and reside in a dorm, so I bought me and my roommates, a tall 3 gallon tank to put on top of our fridge. It came with a gravel filtration system, air tank, and a light. I stocked it with gravel, larger rocks, and some artificial plants. I also have a mini-heater in there to keep the water at 78 degrees for the tropical fish I plan on getting later today. I have a few questions however.. I know the tank is small and many people will suggest bettas but that's not what I want and this is the only tank size that can fit peacefully.

1) What is the maximum number of fish that can survive in this type of tank? (Yes, the fish size can be very small) (I am hoping to get 4 or 5 small fish in there)

2) Is the heater even a necessity or is room temperature water good enough?


3) Do I need any testers with a tank this small and only a few fish?

4) Anything else I am missing or any other suggestions besides get a bigger tank?


Thanks,

Cameron

 

[Jess1ca]

Hi! I'm not too sure that there are any fish that can reside in a 3G, there may be nano fish that I am unaware of... You def need a good test kit like API master kit for freshwater, a good dechlorinator, I recommend Prime, a heater, and you will need to cycle your tank. Have you heard of cycling? I can dig up a link if you haven't

 

[Cameron2]

At my local pet store I see fish that say minimum 3 gallon tanks so I may look into those. Mostly tetras and some glofish. And no I am not that familiar with cycling though I have heard of it.

 

[Jess1ca]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-jus...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html this is the link for a fish in cycle, still looking for fishless! Gimme a sec

 

[Jess1ca]

And here is fishless http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html for the goldfish, one needs at least 20g :/ sadly lfs's don't tell you these things... I'd wait for someone else to jump in here with stocking ideas before getting any fish. I'm a African Cichlid kinda girl so I don't know much about communities, but there are many here that do!

 

[jlk]

I am honestly not sure if there are any fish beyond a single betta or shrimp that will do well in a 3g. I think shrimp would be a great option if your not interested in a betta. Chain store 'recommendations' for suggested tank sizes are GROSSLY flawed and inaccurate- please do not trust or believe what is posted. Heres the guide to setting up a fw tank:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[Samzter]

At my local pet store I see fish that say minimum 3 gallon tanks so I may look into those. Mostly tetras and some glofish. And no I am not that familiar with cycling though I have heard of it.

Hey, you could do shrimp , or maybe a type of killi. I'm not certain on that though. You couldn't have them together though. I honestly think them and the betta are the only things for a 3G. Tetras and glofish need 20g minimum.

 

[Cameron2]

I just purchased 2 glofish and 1 tetra so I will keep you all up to date on the progress. Looks as if there is well enough room to keep them all. The water is treated with 2 different substances to help them thrive as well as the food I use. I will post pictures soon as well.

 

[Cameron2]

Pictures of my first tank in my dorm

 

[librarygirl]

The thing with tetras and danios (what Glofish are) is that even though they are small they are active and need a lot of horizontal swim space to stretch their legs, so to speak. Will the fish survive in there? Maybe. Will they thrive? No. You also might want to read the link above on fish-in cycling if you want your fish to survive) and here's another guide for you as well: https://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/

Forgot to add: tetras and danios are schooling fish which means they should have at least 6 of their own kind to be comfortable, which you can't fit in a 3 gal. So unfortunately those fish aren't going to be very happy. Sorry that the fish store misled you.

 

[Samzter]

I think you should be doing 30% water changes per day. Ideally they need a school , but your tank can't hold 2 schools of 5. If I were young would rehome them and get some shrimp , and maybe a betta. If you can't upgrade your tank to fit these fishes needs you really need to rehome them. They not gonna be happy fish.

 

[Cameron2]

This home is practice tank and really only temporary. I plan on upgrading to a 50-70 gallon tank this summer