# 5 gallon tank with..?



## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

Hi I have a male betta in a 5 gallon tank and I've been wanting to make my tank more diverse. I've been hearing that my size tank is too small to put cories but can I put snails, shrimp, or small bottom feeders? any suggestions are welcome! thank you! :-D


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

Shrimp and snails would be great! But no fish!


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

Snails crap a lot and will increase your 5 gallon bio load. I would go with ghost shrimp, 1 or 2 at the most with plenty hiding spots.


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## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

okay thank you so much!


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

If you like cories, a school pygmy cories will fit in a 5 gallon aquarium. Are you going to have other fish besides the bottom feeder?


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## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

I love cories but everybody says that a 5 gallon is too small to have other fish with with my betta :/


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

Ok so you have a betta in there. You are right, they are too small to live with some betta (depends on the betta, but it is a risk either way). And a school of PC and a beta would be hard on the bioload.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

animalgirl18 said:


> I love cories but everybody says that a 5 gallon is too small to have other fish with with my betta :/


Indeed. If you have not seen cory's out at the pet store, these things love to swim swim swim, very active!! The footprint of a 5 gallon is too small for these active little guys to thrive.


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

scootshoot said:


> Indeed. If you have not seen cory's out at the pet store, these things love to swim swim swim, very active!! The footprint of a 5 gallon is too small for these active little guys to thrive.


(unless it is a pygmy corydoras school)


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## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

yea I think I'm gonna go with the ghost shrimp. My tank has a lot of hiding spots. Thanks for all the help!


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I don't believe a 5 gallon is big enough for cories, pygmy or otherwise. Also, cories are schooling fish and do best in groups of 5 or more.


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I was also wondering (for the future) what kind of tank mates I can get. Right now for "hiding spots" I've got a cave and the back of the tank that's covered by a plant and heater. 

I was wondering how many ghost/cherry shrimp I can put in.

I was also wondering if there is any special care tips of taking care of a marimo moss ball? They look really cool and I was thinking of getting one, but I don't know how to err take care of it...


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

bahamut285,

I tried ghost shrimp in my 5 gallon with my female vt... they all disappeared... But at first I think the female shrimps 'took out' the two male shrimp, then 'went' for each other. The one female then disappeared.

My experiance could be a ... fluke... however.


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## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy said:


> bahamut285,
> 
> I tried ghost shrimp in my 5 gallon with my female vt... they all disappeared... But at first I think the female shrimps 'took out' the two male shrimp, then 'went' for each other. The one female then disappeared.
> 
> My experiance could be a ... fluke... however.


I almost bought some shrimpies, then I realized I'd probably just have one fat betta! XD


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

kfish,

I forgot to mention that when I feed my bottom feeders SHRIMP pellets, my betta is right there with them, stealing their dinner! Hmmm... she has developed a taste for SHRIMP for some reason.... 

Ghost Shrimp are interesting creatures in their own right, and in a small heated mini aquarium or with much smaller fish, they'd be great to keep. I do think, however, that they hunt each other, and are too tasty for their own good.


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## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

Rofl! If they taste anything like the shrimp we eat, I can understand why!


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

My ghost shrimp never attack each other. Though they do fight over algea wafers and betta pellets. None of my fish have ever eaten one, they are to fast, and the fish get bored. One is 8 months old and it is HUGE! Almost as long as a betta!


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

Shinybetta,

"One is 8 months old and it is HUGE! Almost as long as a betta!"

I am jealous!

My shrimps were 1" at the most and the males were smaller than that. As you mentioned, the shrimps easily got away from my betta, and had all sorts of hiding spots.

That's why I was so surprised when they started showing up dead.

I caught one of the female shrimps feeding on the carcass of a male shrimp. A few days later, I saw a female stalking a male and attack it (at the time, he got away).

:|


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## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

The ghost shrimp idea didn't work. They attacked my betta! I thought it would be the other way around but they would not stop trying to eat his fins! I took them out and now my betta is alone


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## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

Oh my gosh! Those nasty shrimpies! You should cook them for dinner. ;P


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

@Animalgirl: So sorry to hear that! ...not sure if shrimpies are a good idea now T_T...maybe I'll just have a harmless marimo first


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## animalgirl18 (Jan 16, 2011)

yeaa maybe it was just bad luck because I hear of ghost shrimp being compatible with bettas and thats the whole reason why I got them. I personally will never get ghost shrimp again for a betta tank. ever. My little betta fish is so lethargic now. I dont know what to do!


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

animalgirl18,

Wow, that's even weirder than what happened with my shrimp! 0_0

I guess it just goes to prove that every aquarium setup is as unique as the animals that inhabit it - there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to the tankmates!


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

I'm going to Petsmart today after my classes...I'm going to get a marimo for sure but I'll have to see about the shrimp, maybe they have a sleepy shrimp that won't bother my Betta XD


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## wallywestisthebest333 (Nov 30, 2009)

You might try Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS) or something else in the necrodinia (SP? I think I got that wrong) family as they tend to be smaller and less aggressive than ghost shrimp/ They are much more visible to the bettas and therefore easier target/snacks but you most likely wont have to worry about them attacking your betta. =]


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## demonr6 (Dec 27, 2010)

I hate ghost shrimp. I had three in my 5 gallon tank and woke up one morning and one was murdered. The female and one of the males had paired up and the unfortunate lone male was disposed of. They would beat him up and take all the food. A week later the female had spawned then I woke to a murder/suicide and I was left with the spawn to deal with.. well, the filter dealt with them. They are no more. I am sticking to the moss ball unless it sprouts legs and we have yet another incident in that tank.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

demonr6,

It was the evil *moss ball* that made them do it! :O

ROTFL! I feel your pain...


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## kfish (Oct 5, 2010)

demonr6 said:


> I hate ghost shrimp. I had three in my 5 gallon tank and woke up one morning and one was murdered. The female and one of the males had paired up and the unfortunate lone male was disposed of. They would beat him up and take all the food. A week later the female had spawned then I woke to a murder/suicide and I was left with the spawn to deal with.. well, the filter dealt with them. They are no more. I am sticking to the moss ball unless it sprouts legs and we have yet another incident in that tank.


You needed Jerry Springer in your fish tank!


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## demonr6 (Dec 27, 2010)

Well, now I have a mystery snail and read that they are filthy little pigs. If it is not one thing, it is another. blah.


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## bahamut285 (Dec 10, 2010)

Hey guys I got my marimo today, it looks really adorable! My Petsmart sells real ones and it is well worth the $8...

Sadly I was also thinking of getting some cherry shrimp instead of ghost, but my Petsmart only has ghost (actually they look kind of freaky). Maybe if I find a close-by store that has RCS...


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

demonr6 said:


> I hate ghost shrimp. I had three in my 5 gallon tank and woke up one morning and one was murdered. The female and one of the males had paired up and the unfortunate lone male was disposed of. They would beat him up and take all the food. A week later the female had spawned then I woke to a murder/suicide and I was left with the spawn to deal with.. well, the filter dealt with them. They are no more. I am sticking to the moss ball unless it sprouts legs and we have yet another incident in that tank.


Sorry to hear that. 3 ghost shrimp in a 5 gallon is just too small. As you may have noticed, Ghost shrimp love to roam and the footprint on a 5 is way too small to give each of them sufficient elbow room such that they aren't constantly running into one another.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

scootshoot,

"Sorry to hear that. 3 ghost shrimp in a 5 gallon is just too small. As you may have noticed, Ghost shrimp love to roam and the footprint on a 5 is way too small to give each of them sufficient elbow room such that they aren't constantly running into one another." 

Thank you! That is good to know about shrimp, and explains a lot.


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## shinybetta (Jul 3, 2010)

You could try some RCS, blueberry, CRS...... There are lots of smaller, less active shrimp that don't mind being in groups.


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## Newtonbetta (Nov 5, 2010)

I don't understand the trepidation here of putting more than just a betta in 5 gal.. I know someone who has had a semi-aggressive betta and six (6) tetras in a five-gal marineland hex tank for six months now, no problems. She changes the water 1x a week, but by no means has it been a burdensome project.


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## Here Fishy Fishy Fishy (Oct 29, 2010)

Newtonbetta,

The general rule of thumb on the number of fish a tank can support is:

1" fish = 1 gallon of water.

I recently had 13" inches of fish in a five gallon w/ a powerhead filter (they were all much smaller when I put them in - the little buggers outgrew the tank fast). Even w/ excellent filtration and regular water changes, it lead to water quality issues and illness.

The fish in question were moved into a much big tank and the problem was solved, but not before my betta got popeye and paid with part of her eyesight.

We try not to overstock tanks, to avoid such issues.


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