5 gallons tank - Stock with a pea puffer or 6-7 celestial pearl danios?

[Karen B.]

Greetings 

As per usual, I am finding so many contradictions about stocking a 5 gallons. My preference would be a pea puffer, and I know Cory said it’s fine, but other place say they are a shoaling specy that enjoy each other company and can be depressed if alone.

Otherwise I love celestial pearl danios, how would they far in a 5 gallons?

It would be planted, filtered and heated of course.

So looking for advice or any opinions/experience you have to share!

thank you!

Karen

[Guppysnail]

5 gallons is fine for juvenile CPD. They are massive active swimmers. I had one of my groups in a 20 long. 7 full size breeding adults seemed to have just enough swim room in a 20 long. I have another group of them in a 40breeder. Perfect swim size for how crazy active they are. So size wise they fit in 5. Activity level in my experience they will not be happy to their full potential.  Hope that helps. I know nothing about peas. 

[FLFishChik]

generally, Pea Puffers are territorial and can be aggressive toward each other, that's why it's suggested that if you keep more than one the general rule is 5 gallons fr the first Pea Puffer and add 3 gallons for each additional Pea Puffer.

[Cawafuoshi]

Coming from a 5G, I so much enjoy the stability of my 10G in terms of water quality, room for fish and plants that I would not go back to a 5G ever. I understand if $, space, or weight are of concern, but the 10G basically runs itself with minimal maintenance from my part that I can say to keep the 5G this stable, I had to be on top of it almost every day. If you can, I would consider at the very least a 10G tank and enjoy the more stocking options it brings to the table.

[anitstuk]

I like pea puffers but CPDs would be able to fit in if they are juvenile. When they fully grow up, you might have a problem. 

[YeePuffer]

How much work are you willing to do?

Pea Puffers are my favorite nano fish by far given how much personality they have. But they’re somewhat demanding to keep, as I had to feed mine frozen brine shrimp and live snails (which I had a dedicated 1.5 gallon tank for.) My 5 gallon had a good amount of algae because of all the leftovers. Not even two auto oto cats fish could keep up with it.

 

 

[Karen B.]

On 8/17/2022 at 3:12 PM, Guppysnail said:

5 gallons is fine for juvenile CPD. They are massive active swimmers. I had one of my groups in a 20 long. 7 full size breeding adults seemed to have just enough swim room in a 20 long. I have another group of them in a 40breeder. Perfect swim size for how crazy active they are. So size wise they fit in 5. Activity level in my experience they will not be happy to their full potential.  Hope that helps. I know nothing about peas. 

Oh, I didn’t know that. Thank you very much for such valuable information. As much as I would love CPD, if I can’t give them the space to thrive, I won’t get any.

It’s not easy finding fish to go in a 5 gallons. I already have a 5 gallons with blue shrimps, I can’t bring myself to put a betta in a 5 gallons, I already have Clown killies in a 15, guppy endlers in a 10 and chili rasporas in a 30.  Looking for something a bit different. Don’t hesitate if you have suggestions 

On 8/17/2022 at 9:49 PM, YeePuffer said:

How much work are you willing to do?

Pea Puffers are my favorite nano fish by far given how much personality they have. But they’re somewhat demanding to keep, as I had to feed mine frozen brine shrimp and live snails (which I had a dedicated 1.5 gallon tank for.) My 5 gallon had a good amount of algae because of all the leftovers. Not even two auto oto cats fish could keep up with it.

 

 

I hate algae, it’s the bane of my existence 🤪. But I already have apistogramma cacatuoides that requires frozen food, so not much extra work on that part.

and my 7 others aquariums are really good at producing pests snails!

Is your puffer in a 5 gallons? How does he behave? Does he thrive?

On 8/17/2022 at 3:14 PM, FLFishChik said:

generally, Pea Puffers are territorial and can be aggressive toward each other, that's why it's suggested that if you keep more than one the general rule is 5 gallons fr the first Pea Puffer and add 3 gallons for each additional Pea Puffer.

But are they ok if they are alone in a 5 gallons?

[Karen B.]

On 8/17/2022 at 7:17 PM, Cawafuoshi said:

Coming from a 5G, I so much enjoy the stability of my 10G in terms of water quality, room for fish and plants that I would not go back to a 5G ever. I understand if $, space, or weight are of concern, but the 10G basically runs itself with minimal maintenance from my part that I can say to keep the 5G this stable, I had to be on top of it almost every day. If you can, I would consider at the very least a 10G tank and enjoy the more stocking options it brings to the table.

It’s a question of space. I already have 8 aquariums and under my aqueon metal forge stand, I can fit a 5 gallons, nothing else. 

[PedroPete]

I've not kept pea puffers, but if you want to keep a pea puffer with another small fish - maybe consider the least killifish. They are tiny, not super active, entertaining in their mannerisms, and breed slowly enough that they won't overpopulate from one month to the next. I keep my group in 8 gallons with lots of java moss and red cherry shrimp. Due to hiding spaces in moss, baby shrimp and fish seem to be able to survive just fine to keep both populations going and growing.

[Guppysnail]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:42 AM, Karen B. said:

It’s not easy finding fish to go in a 5 gallons

I recently had the opportunity to obtain least killifish. A trio in a heavily planted tank can work if you have somewhere to rehome the babies. They are livebearers and related to guppies but only birth one fry at a time. I’m not yet certain how often though as they are new to me. My understanding is one fry developes first but there is another in there starting to develop while the first is still inside. They are to small to fully develop 2 fry at a time. 
 

Micro Thai crabs have always fascinated me though I’ve never gotten them. They would do lovely in a 5 gallon. 

[PedroPete]

Baby production is pretty slow, and baby LKs are akin to shrimplets in size, so overpopulating the 5 gallons would take some time, in my opinion. Rehoming babies will be important down the road, but they will also replace the adults that pass on.  

My gripe from my foray into Thai micro crabs (10 years ago now) is that they are so difficult to view and enjoy in aquaria. Very cool invert, but hard to enjoy like other inverts.

Perhaps a single CPO dwarf crayfish would do well in a well covered 5 gallon on the Aqueon stand. They are very entertaining, but true escape artists (I loved mine for the 4-5 days it took for him to figure out how to escape my 8 gallon tank).

[PotatoFish]

On 8/18/2022 at 3:42 PM, Karen B. said:

Is your puffer in a 5 gallons? How does he behave? Does he thrive?

But are they ok if they are alone in a 5 gallons?

In college, I kept my pea puffer in a 5 gallon tank by herself, and she did perfectly fine. She got re-homed to my brother's place when I left for Korea, and his visitors always got a kick out of watching the little fish eat snails. There was a great piece of driftwood that had spires sticking out like fingers and a flat area like a palm. It looked like an aquarist's version of a sacrificial altar.

"Please accept our humble snaily offerings, She Who Thirsts!"

[FLFishChik]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:42 AM, Karen B. said:

Oh, I didn’t know that. Thank you very much for such valuable information. As much as I would love CPD, if I can’t give them the space to thrive, I won’t get any.

It’s not easy finding fish to go in a 5 gallons. I already have a 5 gallons with blue shrimps, I can’t bring myself to put a betta in a 5 gallons, I already have Clown killies in a 15, guppy endlers in a 10 and chili rasporas in a 30.  Looking for something a bit different. Don’t hesitate if you have suggestions 

I hate algae, it’s the bane of my existence 🤪. But I already have apistogramma cacatuoides that requires frozen food, so not much extra work on that part.

and my 7 others aquariums are really good at producing pests snails!

Is your puffer in a 5 gallons? How does he behave? Does he thrive?

But are they ok if they are alone in a 5 gallons?

Yes, you can keep a single Pea Puffer in a 5g. They are social and more comfortable in a group of at least 3, but would need room to establish territory or hide 

Edited August 18, 2022 by FLFishChik

[anitstuk]

On 8/18/2022 at 4:16 AM, Karen B. said:

Greetings 

As per usual, I am finding so many contradictions about stocking a 5 gallons. My preference would be a pea puffer, and I know Cory said it’s fine, but other place say they are a shoaling specy that enjoy each other company and can be depressed if alone.

Otherwise I love celestial pearl danios, how would they far in a 5 gallons?

It would be planted, filtered and heated of course.

So looking for advice or any opinions/experience you have to share!

thank you!

Karen

I also gotta say that feeding Pea Puffers is usually more expensive because they eat lots of bloodworms and brine shrimp. CPDs will eat just about anything. 

[Dipink]

I'd do the pea puffer. I had CPD's in a 5 gallon, and eventually they were not happy, one male got bullied to death, and even 7 gallons wasn't enough for them. I now have them in a 48 gallon. I have a pea puffer as well, he was happier in the 7 gallon, and now that I have fewer tanks, I'm scrambling to find enough pest snails to keep him happy.

All the articles that say you can keep CPD's in a 5 gallon are lying. They need room for territories. 

[macdaddy36]

Some other options...

Scarlet Badis are similar to pea puffer so you could get a few in a 5 gallon. I have never kept them but I am pretty sure they are difficult to feed.

Some people say you can keep sparkling gourami in 5 gallons but they are social like pea puffers, so a small group in a 10 gallon is better.

 

[Jennifer V]

I've had my peas for a year and a half and in that time have learned so much about their behavior and needs. I don't think a single pea would thrive in a 5g although I know many people have kept them this way. As others mentioned, they're very social and active fish so they are better off kept in small shoals rather than singularly.

They are messy little murder beans so it would be difficult to maintain ideal water parameters in a 5g and they have complex needs as far as feeding so it depends on how much you'd like to dive into that. 🐡

[Guppysnail]

Have you considered least killifish?  I recently purchased my group. I’m totally smitten. They stay tiny are completely peaceful and eat anything they can fit in their mouth. Cousin to guppies they are livebearers but have only one baby at a time. They stay at an inch or less their entire lives. They hunt and peck at everything so keep their own tank relatively tidy. Very enjoyable to watch and my group is not shy as the internet reports. They are hungry so in plants all the time seeking tiny yummies. Feeding time they are front and center. By the time I have the lid off the food they are staring at me in a group. They are not high energy swimmers so don’t need excess swim room. I have 26 in a 10 gallon. Would need 2-3 times that for it to feel crowded. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Guppysnail

[Odd Duck]

I had a very asocial pea puffer in his own 6 G cube, and he was OK, but I wouldn’t consider that he was truly happy in there.  He hid a lot despite there not being much foot traffic in that room.  I tried multiple times to integrate him into a shoal, but was not successful since he was incredibly aggressive to ANY other pea puffers.  I also would never have trusted him with other fish.

I used to have 9 pea puffers, carefully selected by sex (only 2 males), raised together from juveniles, in a 29 gallon, heavily planted, lots of sight line breaks, established populations of 3 different snail species (bladder, ramshorn, MTS), scuds with a scud refugium in the tank, supplemented with plenty of bladder snails, live blackworms, whiteworms, Grindal worms, Daphnia, and sometimes frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and Daphnia.  They are now down to only 4 pea puffers.  I’ve only found 1 dead, no cause of death able to be determined.  The others just go missing into the plants.  They don’t call them murder beans for nothing.

You need to be prepared to have a variety of cultures of live foods on hand at all times since supply chains and shipping of new supplies are dubious at best right now.  I have 2 x 5 gallon tanks just growing snails, 2 jars growing scuds, and 4 bins, 2 each of whiteworms and Grindal worms, and I think I need new genes added into my worm cultures.  I haven’t found an effective way to grow blackworms while still being easy to harvest.  I can grow them OR I can harvest easily.  I haven’t found a method that’s easy for both.  I also struggle to keep Daphnia cultures growing well enough to feed out meaningful amounts.  I think I need a bigger tank or a tote.

Pea puffers are a lot of hassle and I will not be getting more when these finally pass.  Their bad attitude doesn’t hold much appeal for me anymore.  But I did learn a lot about culturing live foods.

If you want to read about Bad Pea Daddy, his story is laid out in my sig under 6 G Buce.  29 G Pea Puffers link is self-explanatory.

Edited August 27, 2022 by Odd Duck

[Karen B.]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:57 AM, Guppysnail said:

I recently had the opportunity to obtain least killifish. A trio in a heavily planted tank can work if you have somewhere to rehome the babies. They are livebearers and related to guppies but only birth one fry at a time. I’m not yet certain how often though as they are new to me. My understanding is one fry developes first but there is another in there starting to develop while the first is still inside. They are to small to fully develop 2 fry at a time. 
 

Micro Thai crabs have always fascinated me though I’ve never gotten them. They would do lovely in a 5 gallon. 

I looked for least killies on the internet and they seem fun little fish but missing a little « pop » or something out of the ordinary (no offense!!)

On 8/18/2022 at 7:02 AM, PedroPete said:

Baby production is pretty slow, and baby LKs are akin to shrimplets in size, so overpopulating the 5 gallons would take some time, in my opinion. Rehoming babies will be important down the road, but they will also replace the adults that pass on.  

My gripe from my foray into Thai micro crabs (10 years ago now) is that they are so difficult to view and enjoy in aquaria. Very cool invert, but hard to enjoy like other inverts.

Perhaps a single CPO dwarf crayfish would do well in a well covered 5 gallon on the Aqueon stand. They are very entertaining, but true escape artists (I loved mine for the 4-5 days it took for him to figure out how to escape my 8 gallon tank).

Oh, I used to have CPO, that’s a good idea! Thanks for the suggestion

On 8/19/2022 at 11:12 AM, macdaddy36 said:

Some other options...

Scarlet Badis are similar to pea puffer so you could get a few in a 5 gallon. I have never kept them but I am pretty sure they are difficult to feed.

Some people say you can keep sparkling gourami in 5 gallons but they are social like pea puffers, so a small group in a 10 gallon is better.

 

I actually saw some Scarlet Badis at the pet store and they are so adorable!!! I do consider them an option. What the internet can’t agree over is how many should be kept in a 5 gallons. I would like a 1m to 2f ratio but I am afraid it might overcrowd the 5 gallons?

[Guppysnail]

On 8/22/2022 at 8:07 AM, Karen B. said:

looked for least killies on the internet and they seem fun little fish but missing a little « pop » or something out of the ordinary (no offense!!)

None taken. They are not flashy in any way shape or form. I’m more attracted to personality than look of fish. If you are looking for something visually appealing with pizazz these are not the right fish for you. 🤗

[Karen B.]

On 8/20/2022 at 8:02 PM, Odd Duck said:

I had a very asocial pea puffer in his own 6 G cube, and he was OK, but I wouldn’t consider that he was truly happy in there.  He hid a lot despite there not being much foot traffic in that room.  I tried multiple times to integrate him into a shoal, but was not successful since he was incredibly aggressive to ANY other pea puffers.  I also would never have trusted him with other fish.

I used to have 9 pea puffers, carefully selected by sex (only 2 males), raised together from juveniles, in a 29 gallon, heavily planted, lots of site breaks, established populations of 3 different snail species (bladder, ramshorn, MTS), scuds with a scud refugium in the tank, supplemented with plenty of bladder snails, live blackworms, whiteworms, Grindal worms, Daphnia, and sometimes frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and Daphnia.  They are now down to only 4 pea puffers.  I’ve only found 1 dead, no cause of death able to be determined.  The others just go missing into the plants.  They don’t call them murder beans for nothing.

You need to be prepared to have a variety of cultures of live foods on hand at all times since supply chains and shipping of new supplies are dubious at best right now.  I have 2 x 5 gallon tanks just growing snails, 2 jars growing scuds, and 4 bins, 2 each of whiteworms and Grindal worms, and I think I need new genes added into my worm cultures.  I haven’t found an effective way to grow blackworms while still being easy to harvest.  I can grow them OR I can harvest easily.  I haven’t found a method that’s easy for both.  I also struggle to keep Daphnia cultures growing well enough to feed out meaningful amounts.  I think I need a bigger tank or a tote.

Pea puffers are a lot of hassle and I will not be getting more when these finally pass.  Their bad attitude doesn’t hold much appeal for me anymore.  But I did learn a lot about culturing live foods.

If you want to read about Bad Pea Daddy, his story is laid out in my sig under 6 G Buce.  29 G Pea Puffers link is self-explanatory.

Hi!

ouf, you sure are going out of your way for live food. I could barely find vinegar eels here in Quebec. I was planning on frozen daphnia/brine shimps/blood worms and snails for their diet.

I did read your blog. It’s a lot of food for tought. It’s so hard to take a decision especially when our little pets can’t speak up. 

On 8/22/2022 at 8:15 AM, Guppysnail said:

None taken. They are not flashy in any way shape or form. I’m more attracted to personality than look of fish. If you are looking for something visually appealing with pizazz these are not the right fish for you. 🤗

I have to admit that your description is really interesting and had me read more on them! But yeah, I am superficial with my fish I suppose; I want bling, originally and pizazz! So well said.

[Odd Duck]

On 8/22/2022 at 7:19 AM, Karen B. said:

Hi!

ouf, you sure are going out of your way for live food. I could barely find vinegar eels here in Quebec. I was planning on frozen daphnia/brine shimps/blood worms and snails for their diet.

I did read your blog. It’s a lot of food for tought. It’s so hard to take a decision especially when our little pets can’t speak up. 

I’m pretty sure somewhere along the way, I spoiled the murder beans sufficiently that they decided frozen was not up to par.  If you only feed frozen, you may be better off in the long run.

[Karen B.]

On 8/22/2022 at 8:22 AM, Odd Duck said:

I’m pretty sure somewhere along the way, I spoiled the murder beans sufficiently that they decided frozen was not up to par.  If you only feed frozen, you may be better off in the long run.

Still, your experience has me reconsider a lot. CPO are another choice. Or Scarlet Badis! But how many in a 5 gallons is yet another question nobody seem to agree upon. 

[Odd Duck]

On 8/22/2022 at 7:25 AM, Karen B. said:

Still, your experience has me reconsider a lot. CPO are another choice. Or Scarlet Badis! But how many in a 5 gallons is yet another question nobody seem to agree upon. 

Scarlet badis would be a pretty good choice if you can find females.  But a group of males would not be good.  A trio of a male and 2 females should be fine in a planted 5 G.  The trick is finding females because non-dominant males can look a lot like females, but the fish know and the non-dominants will suffer for it.

I know nothing at all about CPO’s since I’ve never kept them.