amr427 Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 I have a small Fluval Spec 2.6gal tank that I have had for years but its been empty collecting dust in the basement. Feeling like it is time to get it back out and finally become a multi-tank household😂 A beta is the first thing that comes to mind but I'd love to hear anyones suggestion on what else I could do in it! Thanks! P.S. I have very hard water here so I have to keep that in mind.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 A betta would be the way I would go, all though 2.6 gallons may be a little small. Another option would be to start a small shrimp colony. All though I beleive you would have to make optimize the filter so that it doesnt suck up the shrimp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 (edited) Snailsls Edited October 1, 2021 by Guppysnail 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilrkitty08 Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 I think Snails and Shrimp are great ideas too but you could also think of raising your own fish food, such as Scuds or Daphina.  1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solstice_Lacer Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 I agree shrimp and/or snails are fun. A beautiful little aquascape with nano plants and some inverts crawling around 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Another vote for snails and/or shrimp. Â 2.6 gallons is super small for a beta long term. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwayne Brown Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 I would do an aquarium dedicated to small aquarium snail species. My personal choice would be assassins' snails but any type would work fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 A small colony of Thai Micro Crabs would be fun, albeit expensive and hard to track down. Freshwater Pom-Pom Crabs are a blast! I kept one in a 2.5 gallon, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I saw one in an LFS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amr427 Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/1/2021 at 6:57 PM, Chris said: A small colony of Thai Micro Crabs would be fun, albeit expensive and hard to track down. Freshwater Pom-Pom Crabs are a blast! I kept one in a 2.5 gallon, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I saw one in an LFS. Never heard of a Pom Pom Crab before so I googled it, they are funny little things! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/1/2021 at 9:42 PM, amr427 said: Never heard of a Pom Pom Crab before so I googled it, they are funny little things! There are saltwater and freshwater crabs under that name - make sure you're looking at the freshwater version! They're filter feeders, and while they can be really shy, I found that mine was pretty outgoing in a planted tank all by itself. Hardest part about them is finding one! When you do see them, they're usually pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalmedByFish Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Hard water and a tiny tank? Yeah, shrimp and/or snails are ideal. But just a few tiny livebearers might work, since they like hard water. The easiest to find would probably be a few male endlers. (Females would be too big.) But least killifish (not really killifish) are also tiny livebearers. They might be worth a bit of research if you like calmer colors. Tiny hardwater fish could go with snails for sure. They probably could go with shrimp if you give tons of hiding spots for the shrimplets - or if you're okay with shrimplets being easy live food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PedroPete Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 I agree with inverts: Neo shrimp (sooo many colors to choose from!), ramshorns, and pond life (ostracods, copepods, etc.) and plants. I have a 2.5 liter jar set up like this, planted, and it's been super fun to watch on my desk. I use a desk lamp for cloudy days, but it gets morning sun most of the year. I started with 3 adult cherry shrimp, and now I have a variety of sizes growing up. Need to figure out a safe way to remove some. Â 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentFishFanUK Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 If you are on the fence about shrimp - I originally wasn't interested in them as thought I didn't really like them but eventually decided to get some cherry shrimp anyway to add to the clean up crew/general biodiversity/eco system or whatever is the correct term - I subsequently discovered I really like watching them and love the colour they add so now I think a shrimp only tank would actually be awesome. If there was a way to make different colour cherry shrimp only breed with their own colour line I'd love a multicoloured shrimp tank! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 There's really no fish that should be in a 2.6g. Bettas should be in at least a 5g.  Shrimp, snail tank is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StockEwe49 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 11:59 AM, Jeff said: There's really no fish that should be in a 2.6g. Bettas should be in at least a 5g.  Shrimp, snail tank is the way to go. Yes I agree with this as well. Shrimp/snail is the way to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmurray407 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/1/2021 at 3:36 PM, Guppysnail said: Â Guppysnail-I love the gravel you have on the bottom, what is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 2:59 PM, dmurray407 said: Guppysnail-I love the gravel you have on the bottom, what is it? That was eco complete I got rid of it. The single most miserable substrate I ever encountered I do not recommend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmurray407 Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 2:01 PM, Guppysnail said: That was eco complete I got rid of it. The single most miserable substrate I ever encountered I do not recommend Good to know-I've been seeing a lot of online folks say that they love it and was thinking about getting some.  I have solid black gravel-maybe I'll just mix in a little brownish gravel and see how that looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amr427 Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 On 10/2/2021 at 2:01 PM, Guppysnail said: That was eco complete I got rid of it. The single most miserable substrate I ever encountered I do not recommend Why did you dislike it so much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 On 10/3/2021 at 12:07 AM, amr427 said: Why did you dislike it so much? It is hard to plant in it’s too light to hold the plants without weights. It has iron I believe (I did not know) it is attracted to the magnetic mag float and leaves horrible scratches in the glass. At first my nitrates were unaffected and I’m not sciencey so don’t know why but it almost seems like it got (full?) and even if I did not feed my nitrates kept skyrocketing.  I read on the web others experienced this. I tried vacuuming…did not work and with the fine particles it removed the eco. It fades a lot and I did not like the look once faded. Most importantly my blue eyed bristlenose avoided the substrate. They would not lay on it or forage in it. I replaced with gravel and they immediately started foraging and resting on the inert gravel. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 I think it has its place I like for some applications , others sand ,and regular gravel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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