5 gal. tank ideas?

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Fishy Steve

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Vernal Utah
Hey everyone, I'm thinking about starting up a 5 gal. tank for my office and was wondering if anybody had some fun ideas for set-up, stocking, schemes, etc. I was thinking about doing a traditional betta, but I'm open to suggestions.
Also, I work five days a week and would rather not go in on weekends, so how do you make that work? Anything I need to be aware of? Thanks!
 
Hi! My mom has a 5 gal at her office, and she keeps 2-3 guppies in there. I know they're recommended for larger tanks, but it seems to work. Otherwise, maybe a betta? Your options are kinda limited at 5 gal. You could do a shrimp tank? A low tech planted shrimp tank might be good in an office with a 5 gal (I have no experience with shrimp, btw, so I could be wrong, but I think 5 gal should be fine). Currently I have a 5 gal that is way overstocked (a betta and 5 Cories) because I had to rescue the Cories from my other tank which had way too much co2. But those are going back in the planted tank tomorrow so then it'll just be the betta.

Hope I could help!
 
Is your 5g tank a hexagaonal 5g, or rectangular? If it is a hex, I would go with a betta. In a rectangle some options to consider in addition to those said by nerdelish are ember tetras, pea puffer, sparkling gourami, small shrimp like the red cherry shrimp, or African dwarf frogs.
As was said, your options are a bit limited and just so you know, you will likely need to special order most of the fish we have mentioned. If you are limited to chain stores with limited stock, I suggest just sticking with a betta. If you are able to order online, there will be a few more possibilities.
 
Thanks everyone! My options are wide open because I haven't bought any equipment yet - so I love getting ideas! SpaceFish42, what is an RCS tank?

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Thanks everyone! My options are wide open because I haven't bought any equipment yet - so I love getting ideas! SpaceFish42, what is an RCS tank?

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RCS stand for Red Cherry Shrimp :) They are freshwater shrimp and do require a little bit more attention than guppies and other common fish. I recommend doing some guppies or a betta, because anything else needs constant attention or gets too big.
 
Betta, ADF, shrimp, snail.

Pretty much the only safe choices IMO.


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Red cherry shrimp (and the other neocaridina shrimp varieties) are very easy to care for once established. Three of my shrimp tanks are actually no tech.

Another option for a 5g is a group of male Endlers.
 
ADF is another good one. I forgot to mention that in my first post, but I've seen some others mention them since then. I love those guys, I plan to put them in my 30 gal pretty soon.
 
A dwarf gourami could work? Honey gourami? One of the smaller varieties...


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A dwarf gourami could work? Honey gourami? One of the smaller varieties...


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For a 5?? I have my dwarf gourami in a 23, I wouldn't recommend for under a 20 gal IMO. And definitely not a not-dwarf gourami. Some of those get upwards of 5-6 inches, maybe larger idk.
 
Neons and Betta's have been my favorite for tiny tanks. I always wanted a cherry shrimp but I never see them for sale around my area.
 
For a 5?? I have my dwarf gourami in a 23, I wouldn't recommend for under a 20 gal IMO. And definitely not a not-dwarf gourami. Some of those get upwards of 5-6 inches, maybe larger idk.


Ya i know one of them gets larger but one stays really small? Chocolate maybe?

Ive heard of Honeys being kept in 5 gallon alone with a good filter.

And i think its the opaline, gold, and blue gouramis that get 5-6 inches. The rest stay at like 2-3 i think.


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Ya i know one of them gets larger but one stays really small? Chocolate maybe?

Ive heard of Honeys being kept in 5 gallon alone with a good filter.

And i think its the opaline, gold, and blue gouramis that get 5-6 inches. The rest stay at like 2-3 i think.


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Oh alright. I didn't know that. That might work then.
 
I wouldn't do neons or cardinals in a 5g. They like to be in larger groups and really need more swimming room. There are other schooling nano fish that would work in a 5g.
 
I wouldn't do neons or cardinals in a 5g. They like to be in larger groups and really need more swimming room. There are other schooling nano fish that would work in a 5g.


As in micro Rasboras?


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