School Aquarium Stocking?

[AquaAngelfish]

Hello!

I'm a senior in high school and an attendance office teacher's assistant for 2 periods. Within the next few weeks, the office people I work with mentioned about getting a betta fish for the office. To make a long story short, I educated them about fish and they decided that instead of putting a betta in a glass vase, to get a little 5 gallon instead. I'm curious about stocking options for a 5 gallon, since I mainly only know about larger tank stocking.

Notes:
. We are not having live plants in this tank, unfortunately. What are some recommended artificial decorations/gravel that are safe for fish?
. If we got 1 male betta, what would be appropriate tankmates for a 5 gallon, if any?
. If we got female bettas, could we keep more than one in this size of tank? (Like 2 or 3)?
. Are there any other lower maintenance fish options for a 5 gal?

Thank you for any help!!

 

[jake37]

I would reconsider having live plants; crypts, anubia and java fern should grow ok without light. If near a window hornworth would also grow fine...
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I'd get a male betta and call it a day but you could throw in 4 or 5 ember tetra if you want a bit extra.

In a tank that size i would not setup a sorority betta tank; you can google soroity betta aquarium for more details.
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Not sure what you are looking for with regards to lower maint.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Betta and a snail.

 

[ADsnail]

Hi AquaAngelfish,

You have good questions.

Regular gravel, in the color of your choice, is fine. A 5g would be best with one betta, so it may as well be one you love looking at. Often that means a male, with more color. But plenty of females have gorgeous colors too. Go for what you love; bettas inspire that

A betta and a snail, as Aiken Drum mentioned. I've also had as many as three snails in a 5g with a betta: one Mystery snail for entertainment and two Nerite snails for keeping the tank sparkling clean.

Plastic plants can have rather sharp edges that shred a betta's fins, that's why live plants were mentioned as a better choice. But there are also silk plants if you don't want to deal with live ones. Silk comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors and can be found at local stores as well as online. They are soft and won't damage fins. From personal experience, having a silk plant the same color as your betta is a great way to give it a camouflage spot in which to hide. They like hiding spots even though they're in a tank with no predators.

Also consider the Betta Log, a sleeping/hiding place. Think of it as the bedroom; it's the comfort zone. It will fit in a 5 gallon tank.

And then there's the Mirror Ball, recommended because, as Siamese fighting fish, they...like to have a fight. The floating mirror ball (usually found in the same places as gravel and The Log) is intended to be put in for 5 minutes per day (it actually says "Five minutes only" on the mirror). Gives them exercise, but they mean it when they give that time limit. It's easy to get distracted and leave the floating mirror in longer, so if you decide to get one it might be good to designate someone in charge of fight time each day, carefully monitoring the clock. They're fun to watch doing this, so it might be someone's favorite task in the office.

 

[ColdKoi]

Absolutely agree with the above. You can’t really ask for much more than that for an office type tank.

Like mentioned they will love a hiding spot or 2, especially if the room sees a lot of ‘traffic’. The usual log and a patch of plants for them to rest behind is basic necessities. Live plants are nice but not always practical. A couple snails roaming around would personally be the only thing I would add other than the betta. Like mentioned above, one mystery snail as they get to a decent size (and can breed in fresh water). Then a couple smaller snails like nerites, while usually having cool colorings can’t breed in freshwater but will help keep the tank clean!

 

[AquaAngelfish]

Thank you so much!!

The only reason we aren't having live plants is because of the price and maintenance. The 36Gal tank I have at home has live plants in it, and I typically am spending more time cleaning it; not to mention the price of them and buying fertilizer every so often. Although I enjoy it (and highly prefer the look of it), I want the maintenance to be as simple as possible for an office. I will definitely buy the silk plants, though. I get so much conflicting information about bettas online, so thank you guys for your help!

 

[ColdKoi]

Totally understandable about the plants. Sometimes you just want simple and low maintenance!

But there’s 2 sides to every sword. Live plants will help control algae levels (I’d assume this tank will have a light that is on all day long), and a low tech plant really doesn’t require much maintenance or any fertilizers (unless you really want them to grow!). Plants can be pretty low maintenance depending on the type and if you choose to fertilize them.

I fertilize both my tanks and have co2 in the 75g and only trim plants every 3-4 weeks. Yes you gotta pick out any stray leaves once in a while but really is that a big deal to do while you’re at the tank feeding the fish anyways?

 

[AquaAngelfish]

Thank you so much for your help! I think I'm going to maybe put java ferns in the tank since they're easy to care for and mine have been propagating, so I may as well. As for the tank, I got a text today that we are actually getting a 10 gallon because the tanks were on sale; would that be a more appropriate size for a female betta sorority? I'm so sorry I'm bothering you will all these questions, I don't know too much about bettas since I don't own them.

 

[ADsnail]

No bother at all, that's what this site is for. Female bettas thrive in sororities of 4-6 and that number will fit well in a 10 Gallon.

One female, fine.

2-3 females, one will become dominant and cause discord between them all.

4 is better, though one may still try to be in charge.

5-6 is the best number; they get along well.

7 would be too many.

Please feel free to ask any questions. There are lots more people here who have good experience and can answer any of your questions that come up.

 

[ColdKoi]

Awesome to hear, the bigger the tank the better!

Like mentioned above, I’d try to pick out a half dozen or so females that all have complimentary colouring. I’d probably still stick with a few nerite snails for cleanup duty and maybe one larger snail like a mystery/apple if you want a larger snail that’s a little more ‘eye catching’

Just because you’re going to a 10g I wouldn’t go hog wild on stocking the tank if you want to keep it fairly low maintenance. If you’ve got some trimmings to propagate that’s perfect, you won’t have to deal with the initial melting of buying a emersed grown plant from the store.

 

[m.j.gomez]

Awesome to hear, the bigger the tank the better!

Like mentioned above, I’d try to pick out a half dozen or so females that all have complimentary colouring. I’d probably still stick with a few nerite snails for cleanup duty and maybe one larger snail like a mystery/apple if you want a larger snail that’s a little more ‘eye catching’

Just because you’re going to a 10g I wouldn’t go hog wild on stocking the tank if you want to keep it fairly low maintenance. If you’ve got some trimmings to propagate that’s perfect, you won’t have to deal with the initial melting of buying a emersed grown plant from the store.

Hello, since this is basically a display tank you may want to reconsider getting nirite snails & just stick w/mystery snails. I think nirites do a great job at keeping a tank free of algae & debris but they will lay eggs everywhere that are unsightly & hard to clean off deco. As you can see in pic they can make things ugly. Even a lone female will lay eggs. Hopefully this helps you!!!!!

 

[Autumnsky]

Also maybe 6-8 Ember Tetras. Small cute and very pretty.

 

[ADsnail]

I've noticed postings about nerites laying a lot of eggs (btw they don't hatch in fresh water, AquaAngelfish, they just sit there like a bump on a log, literally) so I see that it's a problem in some tanks. I've had/have many nerites and never had this problem at all. I see them get together sometimes but eggs don't result. What causes it in some tanks but not others? The water? Lighting? Anyone know?

 

[ColdKoi]

I think I’d rather have the nerite eggs that aren’t going to hatch over having mystery/apple snails lay eggs that will hatch if you don’t catch them in time!

As for some tanks being bad and others not, it’s probably just one of those mysteries of nature. Some people can breed a certain fish proficiently, and someone else replicates the same exact tank and water parameters and can’t get anything

 

[AquaAngelfish]

Oh my goodness guys, thank you all for your help!!

Yeah I agree with the nerite snail eggs being very annoying, I have only 2 of them in my own 36gal and they laid them EVERYWHERE! (Especially since they are both females, yikes)!

A little update: We just set up the tank yesterday and filled it with water and have begun the cycling process! I'm using Fritz Zyme 7 along with the ghost feeding method.

Our stocking options so far would be:
1 Male betta, 7-8 ember tetras, 1 mystery snail.
5 Female bettas, 1 mystery snail.

I am also curious about African dwarf frogs. Would they be ok with a betta as well? I've seen sources that say they are, but I feel like it's an odd/cool combination!

I personally would enjoy the first option, but we are all going to take a vote on which everyone will prefer. Are there any other suggestions? We have a few weeks to decide however because of cycling the tank.

 

[Autumnsky]

Frogs are very fun. BUT... they usually don't see very well. That makes them an easy target for an aggressive/ cranky Betta.

 

[AquaAngelfish]

I think for now we'll keep it simple and just add the tetras if that is what is decided; I wasn't quite sure on their compatibility. Thanks!