New 5 gallon set up

[sprout18]

So this is actually for my 5 yr old son. For his birthday he wanted a fish tank and we decided to start him with a small 5 gallon (Mini Bow 5 gallon tank) so he can get an idea of how to clean and take care of it before we venture into bigger tanks. He gets his love of fish from me - however I have never had a real aquarium and would love to get a big tank once we get the hang of this smaller one. Some questions I have to start:

I just set it up today and we are letting it rest for 24 hours with the filter running per the instruction manual before we get any fish.

1. What water temp should we keep it at (aka do I need a heater?) its been hovering around 76 degrees all day today?

2. We know we are going to get small fish like tetra's but can we put one "sucky fish" (plecostomus) in there with them (my son is begging for one like pop-pop but I want to make sure its ok first)?

3. How often should we change the water and vacuum the gravel (I was thinking once every two weeks but wasn't sure)?

If you want to give me any other advice that would be great. Like I said its our first tank and I want to make sure we do it right so the boys can learn. Thanks so much.

 

[peaceablegarden]

Welcome! This is the place you want to be for advice. The first bit you'll get is to not get any fish until your tank cycles. Your LFS (Local Fish Store) often suggests putting in fish after waiting a day or two, but what happens is that your water is not safe for fish yet. Some people do cycle with fish but this more often than not results in dead fish and lots of frustration.

Check out this article...http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...ks-for-your-fastest-fishless-cycle/Page1.html

It should begin to explain the importance of cycling and water conditions.

Your temp will depend on what fish you want to keep. Most tropicals do well around 76-78.

What kind is important for your size tank. Goldfish are out because they get too big. The same for the Plecostomus. A smaller version is the Otocinculus and is perfect for the smaller tank. Tetra's are good, but again some can grow too big if you get too many for such a small tank. The usual rule is one inch of fish per gallon of water. Also be wary of fish like Platys, Swordtails, Guppys. They breed like crazy and can over-populate your tank. Water changes of about 15-20% should take place weekly along with a vacuum. Some people do larger water changes less frequently.

You started out on the right foot here. I wish I had done the same when I first started. I cycled with fish and ended up with a mess. Things are much better now and I have a greater understanding of what they need.

Best of luck! Hope this helps.
Karen.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

One fish to consider is the betta.

As has already been pointed out, a 5 gallon tank is really pretty small to handle very many fish. Gold fish get too big, and even tetras are a problem because you need a school of them.

Betta fish, on the other hand, are ment to be solitary fish (i.e. he doesn't need any tank mates) and 5 gallons is actually a pretty large fish tank for a betta. They only live about 3 years, so by the time Mr. Betta goes to Betta Heaven, your son will be only 8yo and ready to move on to larger tanks and more complicated setups.

And if you still want a sucker fish, some people claim that otocinculus makes a good tank mate for a betta. The only issue I can see is that I believe I've read that otocinculus like to be in groups (like three or more). But a 5 gallon tank shouldn't have more than one.

The other thing that can be a betta tank mate is shrimp. They do not add much to the bio-load of a tank, and so one or two would be a great addition for a small tank.

Tankmates