Small 3G tank question

[swanandmokashi]

I have a 3G eclipse aquarium. I know its very small , it was one of my beginner's mistake and I am going for a bigger tank soon.
Right now I am doing fishless cycling and get some good nitrite spikes now
After the tank is cycled , I am thinking of putting in 2 white cloud mountain minnows and 1 ghost shrimp.
You guys have any suggestions?

 

[Wes910]

tetras maybe?

 

[krap101]

i think u may be able to fit like 1 dwarf puffer in dere.. they usually only eat like brine shrimp or bloodworms but there maybe more..

 

[Cichlidguy]

White clouds are minnows and need lots of swimming room that they would not find in a 3g, possibilities are bettas, dwarf frogs, shrimp, dwarf puffers, and dwarf gouramis.

 

[William]

The only fish I would put anything 5gal or smaller is either Ghost Shrimp, Dwarf Frog, Neon Tetra's or Betta.

 

[iheartmyfish]

i think u may be able to fit like 1 dwarf puffer in dere..

i have to disagree there. dwarf puffers may be small, but puffers deserve and need a good sized environment. they need a lot of interesting stuff, rocks, plants, decorations to swin through, to keep them occupied. and i personally feel that puffers need a hollow decoration they can fit in, because i know my puffer looooves his hollow log to sleep in!
3 gal isnt much, but there are choices out there, i just advice against any species of puffer.

 

[Christmasfish]

i think u may be able to fit like 1 dwarf puffer in dere..

i have to disagree there. dwarf puffers may be small, but puffers deserve and need a good sized environment.

Um..ALL fish deserve a good sized enviroment.


Nix dwarf gourami. You would have to have a true dwarf like liqourice gourami...but they are NOT a beginner fish.
A betta can deal with 3 gallons fine if you keep on top of the water maintainence and dont add too much in way of company.
Betta and frog (many betta eat the shrimp companions.... you can give it a go though and add 2). On a personal note, my bettas are in divided 10 gallons. I wuv my fishies.

For just thinking on the ol rule of thumb..1in/gal (which really is meant tyo aply to small 1-2 inch fish like tetras)... an adult betta is a 3 inch fish usually. Since he can COMPENSATE for less stellar water by using air fromn the surface it makes him a candidate. Bad water will still kill him..he still uses his gills to process the air he gulps. If they get burned..he is still a goner.
That kinda help you think it out in a more concrete way?? Over stocking equals double the water changes.
And if your little tank came with a plate for under the gravel....always suction up thru the tube on 50% tank change day each week. this prevents the filter from getting mucky.

 

[swanandmokashi]

so is putting white clouds a bad idea? When I researched on them , i found them to be hardy versatile and adjusting to the water temperature a lot. The reason being the tank DOES NOT have a heater. Any body done it with small aquariums.
In fact does anybody here have a small/similar aquarium?
Any other hardy, small beginners' fish for my case. I am definitely a beginner

 

[aridiar]

I'd suggest a Betta, My RA had one that was very active and colorful in a little 1 gallon tank with just a light, a UGF and a fake plant. It was probably the heathiest betta I ever saw

 

[swanandmokashi]

is betta a good fish to maintain. Again remember I am a newbie.
Also my aqaurium has a bio wheel filter

 

[Cichlidguy]

yeah, a betta would be fine, you could even throw in a few ghost shrimp or some dwarf frogs in with him too.

 

[swanandmokashi]

BETTA are ok without a filter too ?

 

[swanandmokashi]

BETTA are ok without a filter too ?

sorry that was supposed to say WITHOUT HEATER not without filter.
I have a bio wheel filter.
so do Betta require heater ?

 

[aridiar]

Depends on how warm the water can stay without one. In alot of small aquariums you can keep the temp up with just the light. I keep my 10 gal warm just by room temp and having the light on alot

 

[An t-iasg]

I had a betta in an Eclipse 3 gallon tank, and he hated the current. The bio-wheel filter did make lots of current. There was no way to turn it down, except for breaking some of the impeller fins off, which I didn't do. I did get a 25-watt heater for the Eclipse tank.

Keep a thermometer in the tank to see what the temperature is. The filter seemed to run hot in this tank too (unless I just got a bad tank). The temp was always around 84 degrees, which is a little too hot for a betta. A good temp for a betta is 80 or 82 degrees. If your light can warm up the water to these temps, then you may not need a heater. Be sure to monitor the temp at night when the lights are off. If the temp drops more than a few degrees, the betta will get stressed.

If you want to try a betta in there, try to play around with the filter a bit to reduce the current if the betta seems stressed.

 

[Menagerie]

To reduce the flow of that filter, try adding a sponge to the intake tube of the filter. I have sponges on my tanks with sand. Sponges keep the sand out of the filter and reduce current.
HTH

 

[Kerrinne]

3 gallons are good for bettas, neon tetras, glowlight tetras, ghost shrimp, snails, frogs, etc as people have mentioned. I have raised bettas before in a bowl with no filter and no heater, but now I have a betta in a 5 gal with both. I must say, they flourish much better with heated water from what I can tell. A little 25 watt heater like I have in my 5 gal doesn't cost much, and does wonders for the fish. Pick one up.

 

[flipz]

I did get a 25-watt heater for the Eclipse tank.

The filter seemed to run hot in this tank too (unless I just got a bad tank). The temp was always around 84 degrees, which is a little too hot for a betta.

Not that it matters now since it seems like you already got rid of that tank, but your temps were so high because of your heater. on a 3 gallon tank you would only need 15 watts, the 25 watt was over heating it. just for future reference. 5 watts per gallon

-brent

 

[smilla4]

I have an eclipse system 12 and it also heats up - I think it may be the light, as the temp goes up during the day and drops at night (when the light is off). The temperature fluctuation was 4-6F I think. During the summer I had to leave the access door (hinged door in lid) open to keep it below 82F.

I think 25W is the lowest wattage you could find for a heater. I don't think the heater was the problem, as I've had the same problem with a hot eclipse and I didn't have a heater in the tank.

The current is pretty strong in the eclipse. My betta was blown around the tank for a few days till he was strong enough to swim in the current. You may want to follow up on the measures suggested by menagerie and An t-iasg. You also might want to make sure there are calm areas of the tank for him to rest.

 

[An t-iasg]

Not that it matters now since it seems like you already got rid of that tank, but your temps were so high because of your heater. on a 3 gallon tank you would only need 15 watts, the 25 watt was over heating it. just for future reference. 5 watts per gallon

Yes, I did return this tank. It ran too hot, plus my betta absolutely hated it. I did try to look for 15 watt heaters, but I didn't find any. Anyway, the heat seemed to come from the part of the filter that touched the water (the very top of the impeller, maybe?) It was almost too hot for me to touch. Like smilla4 said, I also left the door open to let some heat out.

I really don't think I ever saw the heater light come on. So, the fact that the tank seemed defective plus the fact that my betta hated it, made me decide to return it. My bettas now live in 5.5 gallon tanks, with the 25watt heaters, sponge filters, silk plants and some java moss.