# 5gal fish options?



## WDW Donna (Jun 28, 2009)

We have a 5gal tank and not sure what and how many to fit. Considering guppies, cherry shrimp, tetras. Not necessarily all together (unless they can) these are just some breeds my daughters and I have looked at. Any other suggestions appreciated. 
Just a note that I don't want to get into breeding. We are familiar with keeping fish,we have had bettas the last few years and this is our first venture into the tropical fish world.
Thank you for your help.


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Sadly, there are few things besides a betta that can comfortably live in a 5 gal. Upgrading to a 20 gal will give you many many many more options. Tetra are all shoaling fish and need to be in groups of more than 6 to feel comfortable, so this completely rules them out for anything smaller than a 20 gal. The only other thing that might work is a trio of male guppies or endlers (second is better as they are smaller); no females as they will breed. A shrimp tank is another option, tho. Red cherry shrimp are very attractive and look stunning against a black substrate.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Shockingly there really are many different things that can go into a 5g, the only issue is tryin to find them. A dwarf puffer would be really cool, I have one and she is one of the most intelligent fish that I've ever owned. There are ton of different shrimp species, RCS being the easiest but there are other shrimp of the same species that would be just as easy. There are the endlers like stated before that are really awesome. CPDs, chili rasboras, Phoenix rasboras, emerald eye rasboras along with many other more-than-one fish that you could have. Dwarf crayfish are really cool too, especially the orange ones! ADFs are fun to have and watch as well. There are also some native fish that would fit great in the 5g. See there are a lot of different possiblities for a 5g tank!


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## WDW Donna (Jun 28, 2009)

The puffer fish sounds cool. Are they easy to care for? I guess a 5gal is the smallest it could have. I showed my youngest a picture of one but her tank is only a 2.5gal.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Most of the smaller fishes would do better in larger tank.(10 to 20 gal or larger)
Five gallon tank's are much more unstable with regard's to temp,and water parameter's.
Water will alway's be more stable in larger tank's than smaller ones, and water stability weigh's heavy on health of the fishes.
Larger tank's are way easier to maintain than smaller ones, due to larger volume of water not so easily or quickly affected by temp changes, and or organic input ( number's of fishes ,fish poop,fish food's,).


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

WDW Donna said:


> The puffer fish sounds cool. Are they easy to care for? I guess a 5gal is the smallest it could have. I showed my youngest a picture of one but her tank is only a 2.5gal.


They're pretty easy to care for. They like the temperature around 77-82F, for food they're a little pickier though. The like frozen bloodworms-some won't one of mine only ate live blood worms-snails, brine shrimp (frozen or live), and if your lucky some will accept pellets or flakes. They need excellent water conditions because they are a scaleless fish, so also be aware that certain fertilizers for tanks shouldn't be used. A good 50% PWC is needed each week, as well as a filter that runs 10x the amount of gallons of water (i.e 5g tank=50gph filter). The tank needs to be pretty decorated as well. They are smart fish that like entertainment, think of putting a child in a room with only a chair compared to a room with toys. Here are few pictures of my puffer and tank:
Joey:
















The tank about a month ago:









I'll give you a picture of what the tank looks like now when I get home. It is much more decorated and grown out. I hope this information helps! Just ask if you have any more questons!


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

1077 said:


> Most of the smaller fishes would do better in larger tank.(10 to 20 gal or larger)
> Five gallon tank's are much more unstable with regard's to temp,and water parameter's.
> Water will alway's be more stable in larger tank's than smaller ones, and water stability weigh's heavy on health of the fishes.
> Larger tank's are way easier to maintain than smaller ones, due to larger volume of water not so easily or quickly affected by temp changes, and or organic input ( number's of fishes ,fish poop,fish food's,).


That's true, but that is where the fun is in having a smaller tank, IMO. The constant upkeep and responsiblity is much more demanding, which is where the fun is. Watching the fish and the parameters are so much more important and give you more experience with larger tank up keeps because you _have_ to in a small tank. There are still so many options, but thy just require a little more work. Plus I end up loving those tanks just a bit more because I'm always working on them. But that's just me, and I do agree that small tanks usually aren't the safest for fish, especially with certain unresponsible people or certain fish types.


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## MyRainbowBettaFish (May 9, 2012)

WDW Donna said:


> The puffer fish sounds cool. Are they easy to care for? I guess a 5gal is the smallest it could have. I showed my youngest a picture of one but her tank is only a 2.5gal.


haha, puffer fish are not easy to care for, IMO. When fully grown, they are highly aggressive(green spot dwarf puffer) and need to be fed live black worms.


Tetras, need ATLEAST a 20 gallon, because they are so active, and they tend to be fin-nippers. Only a betta would really be suitable, unless you wanted to do a shrimp Tank OR if you could find some rosy red mountain minnows(cold water) you could probably fit three.:-D


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

MyRainbowBettaFish said:


> haha, puffer fish are not easy to care for, IMO. When fully grown, they are highly aggressive(green spot dwarf puffer) and need to be fed live black worms.


The food is the only issue with puffers, besides that they're easy. All puffer fish are aggressive, just don't put them with anything and it'll be all good. The live thing is wrong though, they can be fed frozen. Sometimes it takes a bit of persuading but they will eat frozen. Live worms are great too, but it's a lot easier to have frozen. Just throwing that out there! Yes, I love puffer fish and I think that they're great little buggers that get a bad rep when they really are good fish:-D


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

Ok, here's the picture of the tank as of right now. I'm currently fighting a battle with some algae, but one that's done I'm going to add a few more plants just to make it extra full:


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## WDW Donna (Jun 28, 2009)

What about shrimp and a cool looking snail?
Sorry for all the questions but I would rather ask everything now and have happy fish than just take a chance and have them die.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

One dwarf puffer per 5 gallons and no tetras.


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## AquaKai (Jan 2, 2012)

WDW Donna said:


> What about shrimp and a cool looking snail?
> Sorry for all the questions but I would rather ask everything now and have happy fish than just take a chance and have them die.


Yeah some shrimp would be good. I'd just stay away from the higher grade shrimp like the CRS and OEBTs and such, those are much harder. I'd suggest something like RCS and ones of the same species. It's always good to ask


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

You could divide it for 2 bettas.


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## WDW Donna (Jun 28, 2009)

AquaKai said:


> Yeah some shrimp would be good. I'd just stay away from the higher grade shrimp like the CRS and OEBTs and such, those are much harder. I'd suggest something like RCS and ones of the same species. It's always good to ask


Sorry, what is RCS?


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## Freyja (Jun 22, 2012)

Red Cherry Shrimp


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## WDW Donna (Jun 28, 2009)

Omg how silly of me. Of course!


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## Freyja (Jun 22, 2012)

ChoclateBetta said:


> You could divide it for 2 bettas.


I figure since the OP posted under "Other Fish" she might want something other than betta.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

The OP said one but two would work http://www.google.com/search?q=5+gallon+stocking+ideas&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I love the Pufferfish.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

You could do something like this: 

-x8 RCS
-X1 Nerite Snail <--- You can get these in really cool patterns, mine has a tiretrack pattern. :3


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

I would not reccomend RCS some Bettas love to snack on them and if you plan on using IAL dont use nerites Bettas greatly Benefit from IAL.


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

ChoclateBetta said:


> I would not reccomend RCS some Bettas love to snack on them and if you plan on using IAL dont use nerites Bettas greatly Benefit from IAL.


 I don't think that the OP wants any bettas in the tank. Why don't IAL work with nerites? I'm curious.


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## ChoclateBetta (Jul 22, 2012)

Sorry wrong thread but nerites prefer harder water with calcimum and IAL does not help them is the hard water department. Amano Shrimp, Ghost shrimp, Assassin snails, and an ADF but not all at the same time but an ADF might work with an Amano. Sorry sometimes I get threads mixed up.


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