5 gallon betta tank advice?

[KhloeM]

hi everyone! so it's official, i'm upgrading both of my betta fish to five gallon tanks!! i'm so excited, and they're going to be soo happy! i had a few questions with the setup:

•some people recommended ghost shrimp as a tank mate for my bettas. if i were to get ghost shrimp, are live plants required to keep them? and how many should i get?
•i don't want any fish in my tank besides my betta, and i also think the tank is a bit small for tetras. any other tank mates for my bettas? (ex. snails, shrimp, etc?)
•how hard are live plants to keep? i'm very nervous to keep live plants. do you have to have a special kind of lighting for them? the tank i am getting just has regular LED lights.
•how long should i let each tank cycle for? is it 6 weeks?

thank you!

 

[Pseudomugil]

With each betta you could keep 1 tiger blood nerite snail and a few ghost shrimp.

With LED lights you could get some easy low light plants like java fern, hornwort, or anubius nana.

 

[KhloeM]

With each betta you could keep 1 tiger blood nerite snail and a few ghost shrimp.

With LED lights you could get some easy low light plants like java fern, hornwort, or anubius nana.

thanks! i actually have a tiger blood nerite in my ten gallon how many ghost shrimp do you think? i read they can be territorial towards each other? don't know if that's true or not

awesome! i'll look up those plants to see what they require, thanks so much!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Definitely look into those plants that were recommended. You can basically grow them with only a decent light and the ammonia from fish poo. If you're up for something different I keep ADF with my Betta. Never heard of a case where they clash. because of their poor eyesight though many are hand fed or using a turkey baster to spot feed to make sure they see it.



Because ghost shrimp are mainly just used as feeder fish it can be hard to find a healthy one that will love for a while. Pretty sure their life span is only 6 months anyway. But my PetSmart sells them for $0.39 each and for that price why not get some? they are fun to watch.


Caleb

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[KhloeM]

Definitely look into those plants that were recommended. You can basically grow them with only a decent light and the ammonia from fish poo. If you're up for something different I keep ADF with my Betta. Never heard of a case where they clash. because of their poor eyesight though many are hand fed or using a turkey baster to spot feed to make sure they see it.

View attachment 266538

Because ghost shrimp are mainly just used as feeder fish it can be hard to find a healthy one that will love for a while. Pretty sure their life span is only 6 months anyway. But my PetSmart sells them for $0.39 each and for that price why not get some? they are fun to watch.


Caleb

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thanks! ADF are pretty cool! and yea i'm looking at those plants right now, i feel like they would make my tank so pretty! i just hope i can keep them alive!

yea, i'll look at the ghost shrimp because they look cool! do they need special food? and do you know if live plants are required to keep them?

 

[kimkat]

I've had ghost shrimps in tanks with only plastic plants once and they were fine! They eat leftover food and (some) algae. They're super easy to take care of and cheap, too!
Make sure you get African Dwarf Frogs and not African Clawed Frogs because ACFs will eat your Betta. ADFS are a lot smaller than ACFs and have webbed feet.

Easiest plants to keep in my experience: Anubias Nana, Java Fern, Java moss, Tawain Moss, Hornwort moss
It's almost impossible to kill them because they're so hardy. If I haven't killed them yet (I'm horrible with plants), they'll do just fine with you, haha.

 

[KhloeM]

I've had ghost shrimps in tanks with only plastic plants once and they were fine! They eat leftover food and (some) algae. They're super easy to take care of and cheap, too!
Make sure you get African Dwarf Frogs and not African Clawed Frogs because ACFs will eat your Betta. ADFS are a lot smaller than ACFs and have webbed feet.

Easiest plants to keep in my experience: Anubias Nana, Java Fern, Java moss, Tawain Moss, Hornwort moss
It's almost impossible to kill them because they're so hardy. If I haven't killed them yet (I'm horrible with plants), they'll do just fine with you, haha.

thanks so much! ghost shrimp are really neat!

so are ADF definitely not going to bother my betta? i know i've heard they can be mean to other fish, but are they fine with bettas? and would you say get one or the other?

those plants are neat. i hope i have luck with them because that would be a cool planted tank!!

 

[kimkat]

African Dwarf Frogs are very peaceful so they shouldn't bother any fish --even if the fish do have long, flowing fins. If anything, the frogs probably mistook it for food and latched on by accident. They're really clumsy and have really bad eyesight!! Also,
I doubt they'd be able to do any major harm to a Betta since they'll have trouble catching Ghost Shrimp.
ADFs can probably catch a few shrimps but they are not fantastic hunters, so if lots of shrimp go missing...blame your Betta!
I've noticed that a lot of the threads online that talk about ADFs attacking Bettas were either by accident or caused by people who bought ACFs instead.


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[SpaceFish42]

I loved my ADF. I even trained her to do some tricks! Unfortunately, she was nearing the end of her lifespan. ?

 

[KhloeM]

I loved my ADF. I even trained her to do some tricks! Unfortunately, she was nearing the end of her lifespan. ?

aw i'm sorry she sounds like she was an adorable little girl
would you recommend an ADF in a 5 gallon with my betta? i just can't decide. i don't know about shrimp for my one betta because he might eat them, but my other betta should be fine with them. i've also been thinking about a nerite snail, but i already have two in my community tank so i'd rather not get the same ones as i have.
have you had any experience with any bettas attacking ADFs? if not, i still appreciate your help very much!!!

 

[KhloeM]

African Dwarf Frogs are very peaceful so they shouldn't bother any fish --even if the fish do have long, flowing fins. If anything, the frogs probably mistook it for food and latched on by accident. They're really clumsy and have really bad eyesight!! Also,
I doubt they'd be able to do any major harm to a Betta since they'll have trouble catching Ghost Shrimp.
ADFs can probably catch a few shrimps but they are not fantastic hunters, so if lots of shrimp go missing...blame your Betta!
I've noticed that a lot of the threads online that talk about ADFs attacking Bettas were either by accident or caused by people who bought ACFs instead.


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thanks!! i'm going back and forth on the ADFs. i read that they should be kept in pairs, is that true? also, have you ever had any experiences with bettas attacking ADFs? if i got one (or two, depending on if i can get two in a 5g and if they need to be kept in pairs) i wouldn't want anything to happen to either one of them. do you need a lot of hiding places for them? my tank is pretty open with just a few decorations and silk plants... if the ADFs won't work, i can always try shrimp or just leave my betta by himself.

 

[serena00]

ADF bothered my betta daily. Always latching onto my bettas fins. He is not in a different tank.

 

[ImACoolguy]

ADF bothered my betta daily. Always latching onto my bettas fins. He is not in a different tank.

Sure they are not ACF?


Caleb

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[kimkat]

They like lots of hiding spots (they're timid) and feel more comfortable in pairs.

They're also really tough to feed with the betta around (because the Betta is so aggressive about food) so you'll need to fish either the Betta or Frog out of the tank for feedings or feed directly using a pipette or something. Otherwise the frogs will starve. My Betta is really territorial so I'm just going to add ADFs into another tank I'm setting up now so I can feed them easier.
2 ADFs and a Betta is fine for a 5 Gallon! Plus, shrimps add almost nothing to the bioload so I wouldn't worry about it.

Compatibility with frogs and shrimp depends on your Betta's personality. I've heard most don't mind the frogs and shrimp...but in my experience the shrimp is a tasty snack.

 

[serena00]

I'm 100% sure I had ADF. I've kept them for years and know the difference between them. He was just super active compared to the others ive had.

 

[ImACoolguy]

I'm 100% sure I had ADF. I've kept them for years and know the difference between them. He was just super active compared to the others ive had.

I can't picture an ADF, who's feet are webbed, latching onto a Betta. Probably one of those things I'll have to see to believe


Caleb

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[serena00]

Not with its toes... With its mouth

 

[kimkat]

I think you read that wrong, he just means that ADFs have webbed front feet. Not that they grab on with their hands. (Though I'm sure that'd be quite a sight!)

Could you possibly record your frogs biting your Betta? How often do you feed them? Maybe they're just really hungry.
I've never had that happen before.


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[kimkat]

Actually never mind, maybe I read that wrong instead, haha.


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[serena00]

I actually no longer have my betta and frogs together. For that reason. He is much happier now.