Who would you put in a 5.5 gal tank?

[PlatyLady]

I have an empty 5.5 gal tank up and running - but with no inhabitants!

I am just starting to think of what I might want to put in, but am limited by the size of tank. I'm completely open to new ideas.

I do want: something colourful, preferably more than one inhabitant.

I don't want: more livebearers, or another betta. (I love my platies and guppies and bettas, but I want to try something new) I'd also like to stay away from neons. I think...

Your suggestions are welcome!

 

[Fruitbat]

PlatyLady...

A great fish for a setup like that would be the White Cloud Mountain Fish, Tanichthys albonubes. They are small so you could have a little school of them, they're fairly easy egg-layers to breed, and when they're in good condition they are absolutely beautiful little gems.

You also might consider a single pair of dwarf cichlids, Apistogramma sp.. I know that I'm going to catch some flak for that suggestion but I've had many successes with such cichlids in 5 gallon tanks. Make sure there are hiding places and watch for them to breed. In many cases the female will turn into a raging tyrant when she's guarding eggs...even to the point of killing the male. Be prepared to take him out of the tank if things get rough!

A small shoal of zebra danios, Brachydanio rerio would also do very nicely in a 5 gallon as long as you leave them some swimming room and don't plant TOO heavily!

There are all sorts of possibilities for a well-maintained 5 gallon tank. These are just a few of my favorite small tank residents.

 

[medge00]

threadfin rainbows. I know that the suggested size aquarium for them is 10 gallons, but they're really tiny, and I don't feel they produce excessive waste. do you plan on planting the tank?

 

[PlatyLady]

Thanks for the ideas. No, I don't plan on planting the tank. I haven't tried that yet, but I'm sure someday I will.

Another thing to consider is that the pH is about 7.4-7.6.

I like the idea of putting in dwarf cichlids! As for the white clouds, danios or rainbows - how many could I put in?

 

[Fruitbat]

Dwarf cichlids are great fun to watch...talk about personality! (not ALWAYS good personality but personality nevertheless). You could get away with a nice school of about 6 White Clouds or 6 Zebra Danios in a 5.5 gallon tank as long as you have good aeration/filtration. Yeah...I know...violates the 1gallon/1 inch of fish 'rule' but I've never agreed with that anyway! There are so many variables that affect the number of fish in a tank that it is senseless to make a 'rule'.

The nice thing about the White Clouds is that, besides being beautifully colored and very docile, they also do well in an unheated tank at room temperature and we all know that the cooler the water the higher the level of dissolved oxygen. A school of 6 White Clouds will think of a 5.5gallon tank as Nirvana! You'll want to give them some sort of plants...even plastic plants are acceptable...but the green sure sets their colors off nicely!

Danios and White Clouds are about as indestructible as tropical fish get and both of them will put on a great breeding display for you. You might have to check with your lfs to find out if they'll take all of your excess fry!

If it was my tank....I'd go with either the White Clouds or a pair of dwarf cichlids. Oh...toss a couple of Corydoras cats in there as cleanup crew!

 

[ferret]

A couple of ghost shrimp and neons You can easily do 6 neons in that as well.

 

[Sinuhe]

IMO, 5,5 gallons is not enough room for Danios. Even tho they are small in size, they are fast swimmers, always on the move, and even an 18 gallon tank I have with Danios at the moment seems a bit tight for them. I see recommendations of a tank length of about 30 inches for Danios in books.

I'd pick some slower swimming, less lively species

 

[cowfish7]

I would go with WCMinnows - they do well at room temp. I kept 3 of them in a 2gallon, so I would use more than 6 in your tank.

cowfish7

 

[tkos]

I am a huge fan of white clouds. But they do need some swimming room and are cold water fish. They will do fine at low 70'sF so no need for a heater in that tank. They can even make it down to the low 50'sF for a short period of time. I only keep 5 in a 10 gallon though as they do get bigger than neons. I would only keep maybe 4 in a 5.5 gallon, especially if the heat gets high in that tank. A 5.5 gallon is really a absolute minimum for those guys and they do really like current and plants.

WCM Minnows are not tropical as I stated, are hardy but will not think of a 5 gallon as nirvana as they are river fish in the wild cold mountains of China and love swimming space. Keep the numbers lower and the tank temp low as well.


No way can cichlids do well in a 5.5 gallon for very long. Unless you can say to have kept them alive in asuch a tank for many years.

And don't add corys as well as this is just going to through the bioload crazy. Add soem shrimp or snails as a cleanup crew.

 

[tkos]

Actually if you can find them and can keep super clean water, a couple of chocolate gouramis would do fine in that tank. They are slow swimmers, don't like much current and like a few plants. Very pretty fish. No other gourami will really work well there.

Or you could just go with a bottom feeder tank since the tank is so shallow anyway. Just cory catfish, or just khulie loaches would be fine as well. Think outside the box.

 

[PlatyLady]

Think outside the box.

LOL I'm trying! Anything other than livebearers and bettas are alien to me!

It looks like white clouds are the front runner at the moment. I also like ferret's idea of ghost shrimp and neons. My problem with neons is that I hear the water has to be pretty perfect all the time, and with such a little tank, wouldn't that be more difficult? Hmm, still thinking about it though.

I was surprised to see how colourful white clouds could be. I thought they would just be, well, white. Who knew?

 

[tkos]

They are beautiful fish. I love mine, but they still need great water as well. It isn't much harder to do. With 4 of them I woudl still do a once a week water change (assuming good filtration). Neons aren't much harder as long as you make sure to do the changes.

 

[Fruitbat]

I'll respectfully disagree with tkos on his comment concerning dwarf cichlids in a 5.5 gallon. I've successfully reared and bred numerous Apistogramma species in just that sort of aquarium.

That having been said...I still recommend White Clouds...and I still recommend a school of 6. It is true that Tanichthys albonubes is primarily a riverine fish but they are capable of surviving in temperatures ranging from the middle 50's to the upper 80's Fahrenheit. They do BEST, however, at relatively low temperatures (65-70 degrees F).

From J.J.Hoedeman's Naturalist's Guide to Freshwater Aquarium Fish

This fish is common in the Canton area of China (White Cloud Mountain). It lives in stagnant and running water, mountain streams and similar bodies of water.

Axelrod's Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes says of Tanichthys:

One of the smallest yet most colorful of common aquarium fishes, many consider it to be the beginner's fish. Sometimes it seems that the fish is almost impossible to kill unless you let the tank dry up or boil over. Actually, this little stream fish prefers water at lower temperatures than usually maintained in the aquarium."

In his Exotic Aquarium Fishes, Innes writes:

Seldom has a fish so many good points. In addition to being attractive, peaceful, active and easily bred, it also stands a great range of temperature (40-90). Eats anything, but prefers small food given often. Breeds best at 68-75.

At lower (room) temperatures...a 5.5 gal tank can easily house 6 White Clouds and a scavenger or two. A Kuhli loach would do an admirable job in lieu of Corydoras with the limitation that you'll probably rarely see the little critter because they normally hide during the day and come out at night.

 

[tkos]

Good luck

 

[medge00]

I think 5 threadfins would be ok. they're small enough not to eat ghost shrimp, so that would work as your cleanup crew. don't get me wrong, they can be touchy. but with clean water and a few hiding spots, i find they're a nice fish. they're active, like to flair up their fins at each other, but never fight.

 

[puffergirl]

How about a Badis Badis pair, they are really colorful fish. They are referred to as Chameleon fish. They have great little attititudes.

 

[Fruitbat]

Ah....Badis badis!! Now there is one that would go VERY nicely in a 5.5 gal tank. Unfortunately, Badis, whether B. badis or B. b. burmanicus are pretty hard to find, at least in my neighborhood.

They are best kept in a pair by themselves and should have a well-planted aquarium with a number of hiding places. They're also a bit picky as to food, often accepting only live food.

Good choice though!!! They'll spawn in a manner similar to the dwarf cichlids but the female apparently doesn't mind sharing the child-rearing duties.

 

[PlatyLady]

Badis badis are definitely beautiful, but I don't think I could do the live food thing. Maybe as I get more experienced.... The only live food my fish have ever had is fry!

Just out of curiousity... would any barbs do well in a 5.5?

 

[William]

I'd say a shoal of about 7 Neon Tetras.


..... if you could get them to live, that is.

 

[PlatyLady]

..... if you could get them to live, that is.

??? I don't get it. Is it because they're so picky about their water?