Thoughts on a 5 gallon tank as a starter tank?

[Kiskadden]

I am interested in getting a Fluval spec 5 as a starter tank... I have read that keeping larger tanks is easier, but are small tanks really that hard for beginners?

I have read up on fishless cycling and would have to start completely from scratch as nobody I know has fish nor are there ANY LFS's around here save petco and petsmart...

I was thinking of making it a planted tank and having a betta, and either some rili shrimp and/or apple snails (could use help figuring out how many rili shrimp and/or apple snails I could have without exerting too much bioload for my setup).

Well really, any advise would be helpful at this stage since I am just planing for now till I really have an idea set in stone? Maybe none of this will work and have to start from scratch again, but good to know now while its just text on paper.

 

[azmodan]

I would go with the largest tank you can afford/fit, as larger tanks allow for a lot more leeway in terms of water parameters. But your plan sounds great too, with that said. It sounds like you've read up on cycling and water testing and those are the key things beginners have a hard time with. Bettas are excellent starter fish and one would be very happy in that particular tank, although I'd be careful with the shrimp as they might become expensive snacks.

 

[Kiskadden]

Thank you for replying!

I read that if you put your shrimp and/or snails in first and add the betta last (over the coarse of a few weeks) that the betta may see them as part of "it's" territory instead of seeing them as a threat/food... has anyone here experienced this? Or does it really just come down to the temperament of the betta?

Do you know if shrimp have a large or small bioload? Seem to get conflicting information everywhere on them... also on snails. Wish there was some set number so I won't mess up and hurt anything.

Also, if anyone knows anything about good heaters, I would love to know what brands work really well... Natural temps during the summer time here only really peak at 65 in the house. We try to keep the house around 65 in the winter... but if a worst case scenario happens and I get ich or something I would need a heater that could heat the 20+ degree difference. xD I don't know if I am taking precautions at this point or being paranoid and jinxing myself....

 

[azmodan]

Thank you for replying!

I read that if you put your shrimp and/or snails in first and add the betta last (over the coarse of a few weeks) that the betta may see them as part of "it's" territory instead of seeing them as a threat/food... has anyone here experienced this? Or does it really just come down to the temperament of the betta?

Do you know if shrimp have a large or small bioload? Seem to get conflicting information everywhere on them... also on snails. Wish there was some set number so I won't mess up and hurt anything.

Also, if anyone knows anything about good heaters, I would love to know what brands work really well... Natural temps during the summer time here only really peak at 65 in the house. We try to keep the house around 65 in the winter... but if a worst case scenario happens and I get ich or something I would need a heater that could heat the 20+ degree difference. xD I don't know if I am taking precautions at this point or being paranoid and jinxing myself....

Shrimp have an extremely small bioload so you don't have to worry a ton about them in that regard (with normal filtration most people say 10 per gal is fine for dwarf shrimp). In terms of the betta it just comes down to the individual temperament, as you mentioned. I currently have a betta with a small colony of RCS in a 5.5 gal and he leaves them alone for the most part, but I've also had bettas that immediately killed off anything that entered their tanks. Overall I would say that in most cases the shrimp will likely be eaten, but again this is not a certainty and having plenty of hiding places (plants, decor, driftwood) will definitely help their chances.

Snails have relatively small bioloads too, although in a five gal I'd probably only do like 1-2 max for apple snails.

Hopefully someone else will chime in on heater advice -- they're not really needed where I live.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Personally, I wouldn't put any apple snails in a 5 gal. They get to the size of an apple (hence the name) and an extremely large bio load.

Have you looked at Ramshorns? I like the Pink, Blue, and Purple ones. I have some pink ones myself, they're pretty!

 

[Kiskadden]

Personally, I wouldn't put any apple snails in a 5 gal. They get to the size of an apple (hence the name) and an extremely large bio load.

Have you looked at Ramshorns? I like the Pink, Blue, and Purple ones. I have some pink ones myself, they're pretty!

I actually did look into Ramshorns... but alot of people consider them a nuisance. And seeing as I would have a hard time killing them if they got out of hand and I have nobody I could home them to, I was really just considering one big snail vs a handful (or tankful ) of snails.

Ideally I was hoping to have this 5 gallon set up for like a year or so and see how I liked freshwater aquariums as a hobby... If it sticks, I would probably get a 20 long or 30 gallon fish tank and then have plenty of room for everything in the small tank plus some new stuff.

 

[Kiskadden]

Bumping in hopes that someone with heater knowledge responds or someone can point the way to which thread I should be posting my heater question in.

 

[TXaggie]

Sorry I can't help you with heaters, I live in a warm climate too. But you may think about a nerite snail or snails. Much smaller than mystery snails and they don't reproduce in freshwater. Good algae eaters. I think 1 - 2 max would still be a safe number.

 

[henningc]

Just an FYI, it has been my experience Apple Snails eat live plants. If you're talking Mystery Snails one would work max.