BEGINNER - 5 Gallon Planted Betta Tank Mates

[JGarratt4]

Hi guys! So excited to join the aquarium community again. I had tanks all the time growing up as a kid, but they never seemed to pan out. I’ve researched about betta care and aquascaping for about 2 years now. And I finally took the plunge. I went to my LFS and they were great. I picked out everything basic I needed to get my tank up and running. I ordered a few plants from Aquarium CoOp and should be here this week. I plan to fully plant this aquarium. And when I do, I’d love to get some tank mates. I know a 5gal makes it hard, but I know it can be done. If my betta allows me to of course. I have watched the video Cory did, talking about his best 5 tank mates for a betta in AT LEAST a 5 gallon. I really would love some Kuhli Loaches, to help clean up the tank a little bit. Is this a bad idea? I would think Cory knows what he’s talking about lol I hope to post pictures when my scape is done!! Thank you! 

[ADMWNDSR83]

I'm liking your ideas!  The tank looks good to start, and I would agree that your best option would likely be bottom dwellers like loaches or cories, and let the betta have free reign above.

[Pete]

Welcome to the forum! That tank is going to look great. Please post pics when your plants come in.

On a five gallon, go for some snails and shrimp. A mystery snail and some Amano shrimp will help with cleaning and shouldn't bother your betta. And depending on the betta's disposition, a small group of nano fish like ember tetras, chili rasboras, or endlers might work.

I'm a fan of kuhli loaches too, but they like community so fitting 3 or more in a 5 gallon probably is too crowded an environment for them to really thrive. 

[JGarratt4]

Awesome! Glad to hear I am off to a good start. Think I might try to get 3 Kuhli Loaches and some shrimp to help control algae, and the loaches can help pick up any left over food, etc. I will definitely make a follow up post once everything is all set up!

Edited September 29, 2020 by JGarratt4

[JGarratt4]

@Pete How many and what kind of shrimp should I go with? I have a lidless tank so will they climb out? I’ve heard it’s easier to get shrimp after the tank is planted and established for while. 

[Ben_RF]

Welcome!  An interesting tank mate that often works is the African Dwarf Frog.  

[Pete]

12 hours ago, JGarratt4 said:

@Pete How many and what kind of shrimp should I go with? I have a lidless tank so will they climb out? I’ve heard it’s easier to get shrimp after the tank is planted and established for while. 

@JGarratt4 The shrimp won't climb out. I'd get 3-5 Amano shrimp. They're pretty hardy, and unlike some other shrimp their babies won't hatch out because they require brackish water. They will do a good job of cleaning up some algae off the plants and wood.

My amano shrimp like to have hiding places. I'd think waiting until you get your plants in there would make them happier, and the mature tank will probably mean there's more food for them.

[Brandy]

I think in a landscape (not portrait) 5g tank, 3 kuhli loaches would be ok...I have a 29g with 3 and they are honestly lost in there--they are fat, fat little noodles too.

My teen has a 10 gallon with 4 or 5, (with a betta, and a few danios), and they are doing very well. They tend to pile up in a little puppy heap and love lots of cover, so if you really crowd the bottom with plants and hardscape and be sure to get food past the betta to them I think 3 would do well. They inhabit such a different part of the tank and are so comfortable crowded together--they seem to prefer it, even when there is tons of space--that I don't think you will run into trouble as long as you stay up on water changes. They are a very fun fish to keep.

[JGarratt4]

@Pete I think I might go for some Amano shrimp then. I like that they can't breed in freshwater, don't wanna deal with babies lol Might save the money I was going to use on the Kuhli's to just get more plants. Don't think I'll be able to have 3-5 Amano's then 3 Kuhli's. Might get one Nerite snail too, but they might climb out? What other beginner plants do you suggest? I was thinking some Dwarf Sagittaria, Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus, Cryptocoryne Parva or Lucens, Bacopa, etc.

[JGarratt4]

@Brandy Yeah my aquarium is almost a cube, but slightly portrait. I really love Kuhli's, thats why I want some, but don't know how they'd do with Amano Shrimp too. Also, don't want to cram the tank, and stress the betta out too much. But I hope to get a bunch of plants to help. 

[Brandy]

Well, In the 29g I have amanos with khulis. they ignore each other, but there is a LOT of space, and a ton of plants. I think it could be done, but starting with one or the other is probably a better plan. Adult amanos are pretty big to be bothered by khuli loaches...Honestly, I would think the betta would be the bigger shrimp menace depending on personality. My betta (in a 5g with red cherry shrimp) really just focuses on stealing their food. Good luck!

[Pete]

@JGarratt4 I can't recommend Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus enough. It's easily becoming my favorite plant. I started off with one plant from the Co-Op and it filled in the back corner of my 10 gallon. My betta loves to get in among the long leafs, and the khuli loaches hide around the base of the stems. It grows incredibly well under a variety of lights. I've got it running under some awful aqueon LEDs, a Finnex Stingray, and the Fluval Plant 3.0. It's happy with all of them as long as I give it some Easy Green.

[JGarratt4]

@PeteAwesome! Thank you so much for the input! Do you use the Easy Green once a week after a water change? I know to wait till i have the plants added for awhile before the first dose. Since I have the 5gal I'll probably do one water change a week, like 25% of the water. 

[Pete]

For your tank, one pump a week after a water change is a good place to start, but what's more important is water testing and making sure your Nitrates are appropriate. Test a couple times a week as you're getting it going. My hunch is you'll find you may end up having to do smaller changes less often (which is great), and dose a pump of Easy Green once or twice a week. You won't have a huge bio load, the sponge filter and plants keep your water parameters good once its cycled, and you'll end up needing to add Nitrates to keep your plants fed.

[JGarratt4]

@Pete Sorry for all the questions, but as for the Easy Green, should I really do a full pump every water change every week since I only have a 5 gallon tank? I know its usually one pump per 10 gallons. 

UPDATE: I plan on getting more plants and amano shrimp and a nerite snail from my LFS this weekend. When I change my water. 

[Pete]

@JGarratt4 No problem about the questions. That's why we're all here. 

How much Easy Green you'll need to add depends on how your nitrates measure. You want them to hover between 10-20 PPM to keep the plants happy.  The one pump per 10 gallons guideline is a good start, but each tank's needs vary based on what it's stocked with and what the plants consume. 

Doing it right will take some testing over time. With clean water, add a half pump and see where the nitrates fall. A full pump will roughly double it. Then, as you go to change water, test your nitrates before hand so you know if you need a half or full pump of fertilizer. You'll know roughly how many PPM a half or full pump will increase the nitrates by.

As you go forward with this tank, testing water will be a good habit to get into. You might find that you only need to change the water every 2 weeks or 3 weeks, but that you also need to add a half-pump of fertilizer every 5 days to keep things optimum.

Excited to see how it looks after you get the plants and tankmates added this weekend. Keep us posted!

 

[JGarratt4]

@Pete
My plants came in today from Aquarium Co-Op! Wow! What a difference it makes! Their plants are incredible, I was expecting them to be smaller lol Even got a two for one with the Java Fern! Should I add some Easy Green? Or wait till they settle in? Still need to get a water test kit, on my list to pick up this weekend...along with some shrimp and a snail. When should I add my first round of Easy Green? After I get the test kit this weekend? 

[ADMWNDSR83]

The plants look great!

[genuine_red]

I've lost four nerite snails out of gaps in lids, so be mindful that once they start up a wall, they sometimes just keep going.

Even though they're beautiful, I find in my small tanks that the nerites' constant white dot egg laying is distracting to my aquascape. And those unsightly eggs are stuck on pretty permanently. I've had trouble scraping them off with a razor blade! They deposite them on rocks, wood, and even the aquarium glass. I've decided to not keep them anymore after this batch is gone. That's my rant.

As far as tank mates for a betta, I remember Cory saying to avoid fish close to the color of your betta.

Cautionary tale: I moved my friendly, calm little blue betta from his solo tank to a tank with very active fish. These were just white cloud mountain minnows, so not fin nippers or anything, just active and playful. The constant motion seemed to distress him so much that he took to hiding in the plants and hardscape. By the time I took a good look at him a week later, he had shredded his flowing tale fins on the hardscape's sharp edges. I moved him back to his old tank, but his fins never healed. Due to some other stupid mistakes I also made, he was gone within a couple of months.

Note that he did well when I added chili rasboras to HIS tank earlier. Chilis just have jerky little motions. (Unfortunately, the chilis were not healthy and didn't live long.) His reaction to the active fish could just have been a quirk of his.

I do want to warn you to be very careful of any sharp edges in your hardscape if you have a betta with long fins.

Good luck!

[BlackLabelCarling]

@JGarratt4 The tank looks great! I have an identical betta to yours, Clayton Bigsby 😀🐠

[Pete]

@JGarratt4 That looks awesome! You can't beat the Co-Op for plants. I've always been happy with my orders from them. I'd give a half-pump of Easy Green now so the plants have some food as they're getting settled in the tank. 

[JGarratt4]

Thank you!! So should I reconsider the Nerite Snail since I have a rimless and lidless tank? Should I just get some Amano Shrimp? Don’t know if there’s any other snails that I don’t have to worry about them climbing out.