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Old September 22nd, 2005, 12:37 PM
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New fish?

I have a 5g tank that I would like to get some fish for. I originally wanted to get some type of goldfish, but I'm not sure if they can live in such a small tank, and I thought that maybe that wasn't such a good idea. I lost my platty a couple of weeks ago. I had him in this tank with a placostomis (sorry about the spelling. I know that one is wrong). The placostomis died about 2 or 3 months ago. I had both of these critters for a few years. I believe the placostomis for about 3 or 4 and the platty 2 or 3. I don't like having multiple fish in the tank because my tank is only a 5g. Any suggestions? I'm thinking of getting another algae eater or some sort and one or maybe two fish. I have lots of plants and things for them to play in and around. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 12:43 PM
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If you like bottom feeders, the panda corys are really neat. They only get to be about 1-1.5, inches. They look like tiny black and white catfish. I just think they are really neat fish to watch. They are so cute.
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 02:19 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Not many fish can live in a tank that size. A 5g tank would be fine for one betta, 3 - 5 neon tetras or 5 - 7 White Cloud Mountain fish or a few Harlequin Rasboras.

Agree that Corydoras are adorable, too! You could add a couple of those to the fish mentioned above or keep them on their own. There are many varieties and different colour patterns.

No plecos or algae eaters and certainly no goldfish.
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 03:09 PM
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nOT TO HIJACK,BUT WHAT OTHER FISH GET ALONG WITH BETTAS??WOULD LIKE TO GET A FRIEND IN THE TANK FOR MY BETTA??
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 04:39 PM
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Hi there,
You were right, Goldfish cant live in 5g tanks. They actually
can reach sizes upward of 8 inches for fancy goldfish, and as much
as 3 feet long for comets and commons. Plecos are not
a very good idea either, as the common plecostomus should grow to be 24 inches or larger, and the smallest plecos need 10-15g minimum

Hmm so lets see the criteria is:
5G tank - Is it heated and filtered?
Dont want multiple fish
Like Bottom feeders
---------
Some suggestions:
IF the tank is heated and filtered (temp 76F or over)
5 Corydoras Hasbrosus (Dainty Cory, Salt n Pepper Cory)
these grow to only 1 inch and are all water swimming fish not just the bottom, and are far more active than the usual cory cats.
OR
A Group of Dwarf Pencilfish or Beckfords Pencilfish, you could have
4 of these little dudes in there and they would probably spawn for you
regularly! They look like little submarines and never stop moving! During spawning they turn a beautiful red color as well.
OR
A Group of C. Hasbrosus (5), and a pair of Cherry Barbs
Or
A Nice Betta
Or
A Pair of Bumblebee Gobies (would need some salt in the water)
or
Some Shrimps they are kind of neat

If the tank is Unheated:
A Paradise Fish
or
Heterandia Formosa (the least killifish),
you could keep a group of 6-8 they are so small.
OR
Killifish of many types - could keep a pair in a 5g tank.

Also, keep in mind that for 39.96 you can purchase a 10g tank with everything at Petcetera and increase your options a lot.
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 04:40 PM
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Heidi- friends for your betta-
what size is the tank? heater and filtered yes or no?
Male or Female Betta?
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  #7  
Old September 22nd, 2005, 05:09 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
A Group of C. Hasbrosus (5), and a pair of Cherry Barbs
Just a word about the Cherry barbs. Very nice fish, but very shy and need a lot of plants. Also, I wouldn't keep a pair as the males can be hard on females, especially in such a tiny tank with no place to escape. I've always kept at least 2 or 3 females to one male and that is in a 15 gal tank.
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Old September 22nd, 2005, 07:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sneakypete79
Hi there,
5 Corydoras Hasbrosus
A Group of Dwarf Pencilfish or Beckfords Pencilfish
A Group of C. Hasbrosus (5)
A Pair of Bumblebee Gobies (would need some salt in the water)

If the tank is Unheated:
A Paradise Fish
Heterandia Formosa (the least killifish),
you could keep a group of 6-8 they are so small.
Killifish of many types - could keep a pair in a 5g tank.

Also, keep in mind that for 39.96 you can purchase a 10g tank with everything at Petcetera and increase your options a lot.
I don't really have room for a 10 gallon tank. I have a perfect little spot for my 5g tank. Is there a website that I can look up what these fish and see what they look like? Cold or heated water, either is fine for me. I don't have a Petcetera in my city and I won't shop at PetsMart, although there is a local fish shop that carry many fish.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 01:10 AM
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Here is a great website for information of individual fish (click profiles)
and a great forum for information.
http://www.fishprofiles.com
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 09:44 AM
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One gallon.filter but no heater
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  #11  
Old September 23rd, 2005, 10:08 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Heidi, your betta doesn't need a friend, and one gallon is large enough only for him.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 10:17 AM
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Yep, 1 gallon is quite small even for a Betta.
If you wanted to get your betta friends you would need to get at least
a 10g tank.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 10:30 AM
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Well, Sneaky Pete. I think you've convinced me to get a bigger tank. I have always wanted to keep cichlids but never have had big enough tank. Is there certain cichlids that are better to keep then others? I think I can go 30g max. I would rather have less fish that are bigger then more smaller fish.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 10:31 AM
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Or, maybe I can get a goldfish??? Hmmmm. I've gotta get that pond finished. Goldfish would love it.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 02:48 PM
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"Well, Sneaky Pete. I think you've convinced me to get a bigger tank. I have always wanted to keep cichlids but never have had big enough tank. Is there certain cichlids that are better to keep then others? I think I can go 30g max. I would rather have less fish that are bigger then more smaller fish."

Look up some of these ideas:

Well, if you are talking about African Cichlids, you are quite limited in a 30g tank, here would be a few good ones:
Shelldwellers - teeny tiny cichlids that live in seashells you spread through your tank
Kribensis - colorful smaller african cichlids, keep in a pair and provide with caves, you could combine these with something like a trio of upside down catfish and an african butterfly fish.
Yellow Labs- you could keep a small colony of 5 or so of these with lots of rockwork .
You could keep one Auratus Cichlid, they are very mean little suckers and could provide you with some entertainment, and you could keep say a nice size catfish like a synodontis eupterus (featherfin) in there with it.
Colony of Princess Brichardi, lots of rock work.

If you go for South American or Central American Cichlids you have some more choices:

A pair of Firemouths (6 inches each, gorgeous colors, go for one male and one female), provide a planted tank with small pebble or sand substrate, and could be mixed with a small group of tetras(6) or the like (buenos aires tetra, black widow tetra, rummynose tetra, etc.

Any of the dwarf apistogramma species in a group

Keyhole cichlids (4 inches) could be kept in a group of 3-4
with a cool catfish(es) of some kind or loaches

Checkerboard Cichlid (species only tank)

You could keep a single Red Hump Eartheater - they are very cool, just provide some rocks, maybe some plants fake or real, and some small gravel so they can dig. They get about 8 inches.

A Pair or trio of Festivum, peaceful, love planted tanks, beautiful fish about 6 inches.

Bolivian Rams and Blue German Rams- mix n match, keep in groups. You could do a ram tank, and get say 3 bolivian rams, 3 blue rams, and then a nice school of tetra like rummynose or cardinals. (one of my 3 favorite cichlids, bolivian rams are, I have 5)

Or, depending on which tank you actually buy, there is a 30G tall tank, commonly stocked in stores, a 33g long tank, and a 30G long tank.
If you got a tank that was 16-18 inches tall, your options would also include:
2-3 Angelfish
or
2-3 Discus
Keep with some cory cats, and some small tetras like rummynose, glowlight, pristellas, etc, in a well planted tank.

Hope this gives you some options!
I started with a 25G tank, loved it so much i got a 10g 3 months later, followed a year later by a 90g, which leaked 1 year after that and was replaced with a 75g tank!

Heres a pic of my 75g to inspire you






and what the hey, heres a pic of my 10g too


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Old September 23rd, 2005, 03:23 PM
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Wow your big tank looks awsome Are all the plants live?
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 03:34 PM
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Thank you soooo much for the information. I'm going to go "looking" this weekend. Maybe I'll buy a tank and get everything set up. I'm so excited. I used to have a 20g but it got a crack in it. So, I think I would like something better. I have a friend that started out with a 10g and now has a 75g salt water tank with some beautiful fish in it, but I don't think I can afford that. Some of his fish are $100 a piece and I believe the plants and coral were a pretty penny too.
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 04:01 PM
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Yes, all the plants in my tanks are live ;-)
real driftwood too
Yes, fish can get pretty expensive, both my blue discus
were 100 dollars each ;-)
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 04:36 PM
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What about Johanni, Chipokae, or Auratus? How would they do in a 30g?
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Old September 23rd, 2005, 05:33 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Sneakypete, your tanks are just stunning!!!

Re: the cichlids - do LOTS of research before getting any. Many of them grow very large and can be extremely aggressive. I've kept quite a few different varieties, including Keyholes (Aquidens Moronii). They are not colourful but were among my favorites. They are peaceful, cute and like most cichlids, one of the more intelligent fish. Mine knew me and would eat from my fingers.

They are also shy and nervous and startle easily, to the point of jumping out of the tank. They must have a lot of cover in the tank and a dark substrate must be used.

Small apistogrammas can be very difficult to keep alive, and I wouldn't suggest them for a beginner.

A good "starter" cichlid is the Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher) Fairly small, they form pairs and are good parents. The male is brilliantly coloured. However, you'll have a ton of babies to deal with.

Most angelfish I see these days are rather stunted, so you could keep a pair with 5 fast tetras, like Head-and-Taillights. Angels must choose their own mates, so what is best is to get 5 babies, and wait for a pair to form. You can then take the others back to the fish store.

You need the tetras to be "target fish", so the angels won't attack each other in their drive to defend their eggs. Watching the pair spawn is lovely, and you won't have to worry about what to do with the babies, since the parents usually eat the eggs.
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Old September 25th, 2005, 03:21 PM
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I actually havent seen these "stunted angels" you talk about.
You should never buy a fish that shows obvious signs of stunting.
An Angelfish, the ones you buy in the pet stores are quite young usually, and are not stunted, just small.
Angels take several years to grow to maturity (3-5 years), and will be approx 8 inches from snout to base of tail, and about 12-14 inches tall from fin tip to fin tip.
Angels will NOT attack each other if they are a breeding pair.
I breed Angels in a 25g Tall tank, and if kept alone, angels will happily spawn, take care of their eggs and raise their own fry. It is indeed a beautiful site, and can provide you with hundreds of dollars in revenue from the fry every few months.
Angels do not need to be kept with dither fish, but can be kept quite happily in a pair in a suitable size tank with no other tankmates. (eggs wont get eaten this way). If you do want to keep dithers with angels, try to get ones larger than the small tetras, like neons, which will be actively hunted down.

Kribs are a good starter cichlid yes, just keep in mind there isnt much you can keep with them, as they are incredibly aggressive, and will kill all other fish in the tank when breeding. They are African Cichlids after all.
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