New 5 gal goldfish tank

[Athaocity]

Hey all!

My brother has started a tank today.
The tank is a 5 gal. w/ a regular screw on light bulb.
It is running with a 5 gal aqua tech filter.

My brother is doing a planted fancy goldfish tank.
The tank now has a plastic driftwood with java fern tied onto it, an Anubis tied onto a price of rock and black grain sized substrates.
As far as lighting goes, I know that java fern does best in low light, so I thought with the light we have now, it wouldn't be a problem.
And for the Anubis, that's one of my concerns. Will it do fine in low light?

Right now the tank is fully set up, running and just started fish less cycling. I had some leftover sponge foam not in use, so I replaced that with the blue filter cartridge that came with the filter.
Along with the sponge I had put into the filter, I added a piece of sponge foam that was in use in my 20 long( been running for 2 and a half months now) with the new sponge foam I added in the filter to help with the bacteria build up.

As far as the testing and all goes, I only have the API ph tester. I do not have ammonia, nitrtite, and nitrate testers. And I know they are highly recommended.

So I plan to throw in some fish food into the tank tomorrow for ammonia. Again, I have no ammonia testers so I won't be able to test ammonia. How will that go?

The fish that's planned for the tank is one fantail goldfish.
Will it grow too big for the 5 gal in the long run?

 

[Athaocity]

The 5 gal



anubis



java fern

 

[Alyxx]

Fancies need 20 gal for the first fish and 10 more for each additional fish. They have a huge bioload and are messy eaters. I wouldn't recommend them for a 5 gallon tank, massive water changes would be needed very often and the fish's growth would be stunted very quickly. Goldies do most of their growing in their first three years, so even if you upgraded a year from now damage would likely be done. With a heater, a betta would really enjoy that tank though.

 

[calfishguy]

I agree with alyxx return the tank unless you want to start a shrimp or Betta tank if you put a goldfish in a 5gallon it will not live long

 

[Mumma.of.two]

You really need to get a test kit. There is absolutely no way to tell how the cycle is progressing without it. I would recommend pure ammonia or a dead shrimp as an ammonia source over the fish food. Fish food IMO doesn't give off nearly enough ammonia to cycle a tank correctly.

Please DO NOT put a goldfish of any kind in this tank. Fancy goldfish can grow 6-12" long and have huge bioloads. Putting a goldfish in a 5 gallon tank is a death sentence.

 

[jlk]

+1
I wholeheartedly agree with the previous posts. An API test kit (amm/nitrites/nitrates/ph) is a MUST. Fancies do not belong in a 5gallon tank even for a brief span of time. 20gal is the minimum size for a single fancy. Please have your brother reconsider & choose a fish more appropriate (and that can survive) in this size tank.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE

Don't put goldfish in that tank. Try a betta, or chilli rasboras. Not a goldfish, unless you have a 20G to move him into after about a week, which doesn't seem practical.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I've got to support the notion that a 5 gallon tank is too small for any sort of goldfish. My personal suggestion for a 5 gallon tank is a betta and some shrimp (cherry or amono). Shrimp can be iffy with bettas, but if you start with a small enough betta and large enough shrimp, you shouldn't have a problem, especially if you give the shrimp plenty of hiding spots.

 

[Athaocity]

Thanks everyone for the heads up about the goldfish.

After reading all of your replies, we decided to just have ghost shrimps.

 

[Athaocity]

One more thing,
Me personally, other than bettas, are there any other suitable fish for a 5?

 

[Alyxx]

One more thing,
Me personally, other than bettas, are there any other suitable fish for a 5?

I have a pair of guppies in mine.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

One more thing,
Me personally, other than bettas, are there any other suitable fish for a 5?

Some nano fish will work. One maybe two platys (debatable).

 

[Alyxx]

You could do a school of small tetras like neons. Just be sure to have at least 5 or 6.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Not neons but embers will work.

 

[Lowryder]

5 gallons isn't really a lot of swimming room for a decent shoal of tetras.

 

[calfishguy]

A dwarf puffer might work but just one and you need really good filtration and a heater.

 

[Athaocity]

Can I have 3 neons in a 5?
My Lfs has a 6 gal fluval with 3 neons in it

 

[jetajockey]

LFS stocking shouldn't even be a consideration of what works out in a home tank long term.

I'd go with nano fish also, CPD's work great and you could put 6-8 of them in there.

 

[Athaocity]

LFS stocking shouldn't even be a consideration of what works out in a home tank long term.

I'd go with nano fish also, CPD's work great and you could put 6-8 of them in there.

What are cpd?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

What are cpd?

Celestial pearl danios.