Fish ideas for 4.5-5 gallon tank

[Shiv P]

Hey guys how's it going. I wanted some thoughts and opinions on what fish I should stock in my tank. I've been think alot about what fish I should stock such as neon tetra & betta fish, chilie raspbora & betta, red tetra & betta, or pair of guppies & neon tetra. I heard bettas can be territorial and harm fish if they get upset. I also know that some of these small fish do great in schools of 5-10 but I don't want to run into any problems where the tank gets to crowded. Can you guys reacommend any fish, I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts. 

 

Edited September 2, 2022 by Shiv P
better photo

[DiscusLover]

On 9/1/2022 at 8:28 PM, Shiv P said:

Hey guys how's it going. I wanted some thoughts and opinions on what fish I should stock in my tank. I've been think alot about what fish I should stock such as neon tetra & betta fish, chilie raspbora & betta, red tetra & betta, or pair of guppies & neon tetra. I heard bettas can be territorial and harm fish if they get upset. I also know that some of these small fish do great in schools of 5-10 but I don't want to run into any problems where the tank gets to crowded. Can you guys reacommend any fish, I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts. 

 

In my opinion you should just keep a single centerpiece fish. I would say a betta. I believe that bettas do well in a 5 gallon but you know bigger the better. 

[AndEEss]

That footprint is way too small to have fish at all, IMO. I'd get a couple of neocaridina shrimp, and that's it. Maybe a snail.

[FLFishChik]

I have a 5.5g with single Betta and 1 Nerite snail. That’s about all I can do. Your tank is even smaller so at most a single Betta and nothing else. It’s too small to keep any kind of schooling fish. Even with a single fish in it, you’ll need to be on top of water changes and filter maintenance constantly. You could keep a few Cherry Shrimp in it with no other fish. 

[Matthew Naranjo Aquariums]

You can definitely have fish in this tank. You could do 6 chilli rasboras or 6 ember tetras. There are many micro rasboras. 

A better or a single dwarf gourami would do fine as well. 

Other creatures you could keep would be shrimp or Thai Micro crabs. As long as you have a tight fitting lid. 

I hope this helps☺

[TOtrees]

How much experience do you have? What is your expectation for water changes and other care?

There’s a lot to be said for starting with a small longfin betta. The longfins are much less agile and slower, and need a lot of space.

I would get some stem plants in the back (or fake/silk plants instead) that can get up to the top of the tank. Add something clumpy and dense in the middle or front for low shelter and or cover. It’s generally well accepted that the more places a fish has to hide or retreat to, the more likely it is to spend more time out and about.

[straps on armor]
Once you get a lot more vertical structure in there, a few nano fish might follow, once the set up stable. My suggestions would include any of the micro rasboras, ember tetra, dwarf cories. To be clear I’m not suggesting more than any one of these types, 4-6 individuals at most, and you’ll have to play it by ear whether it would work with the hypothetical betta or not. 

I wrote all of that, and didn’t even think of what might be the best/easiest starting point for you: Endlers. Smaller than guppies, colorful, resilient, compatible with dwarf shrimp and snails. But all that stuff about adding structure still stands. 🙂

 

[Jenja]

With the footprint of your tank making it taller than it is wide I'll second the suggestion of a shrimp tank. Fish, in general, need horizontal swimming space more than vertical. Endlers, like guppies, use a good bit of vertical space, so maybe 5 males and no females - if you're dead set on fish for that tank.

[Kiefer]

I think what I would recommend has mostly been posted already, but I actually have the same all in one that I bought for my desk since the profile fit an empty space I had pretty much perfectly. To summarize

-Betta/Honey Gourami/Dwarf Gourami
-Pea puffer
-Shrimp only tank
-Male Endler frat tank
-Some kind of tiny rasbora
 

The profile isn't super favorable for most freshwater fish, but the glass is nice and thick and I really do like the internal sump setup, provided you throw out the cartridge garbage and just stuff it with a bunch of coarse sponge or other biofiltration. And honestly it's a pretty good tank for a lazy betta, wouldn't put a plakat in there but something with flowier fins will do well when you turn down the pump a little and get some floating plants to diffuse some of the flow. Mine is always building a bubble nest so I can only assume he's happy.

[Odd Duck]

A 4.5-5 gallon is tolerable for a single betta and a snail.  A pair of scarlet badis (if you can find a female).

A group of micro rasboras - Boraras genus: chilis, pygmies, dwarf, phoenix, strawberry, or exclamation point rasboras.  I only have chilis and despite having over 30 in the tank (I think) they have somewhat divided themselves into 2 groups hanging out at either end of the 100 G.  They also hang out among the plants, so they aren’t using a ton of swimming room.  If the other species of micro rasboras behave similarly, I would say you could pick any species from the genus and they would be happy enough with a pretty good group (10ish?) in a 5 G that was well planted.

They have such a tiny body mass it wouldn’t bother me to put in 2 per gallon as long as you have your biofiltration well developed and do regular maintenance.  I have 20 chilis in a 20 G high right now that just finished their quarantine before they get added to my 100 G.  They have loads of swimming room for 20 of them in this 20 G along with 5 otos and 7 clown plecos (I’m assuming all 7 are still in there, I’ll know Tuesday when I get them out).

My Ember tetras use ALL of my 100 G nanofish tank although a small group would likely be fine in a standard 10 gallon.  These were all quarantined (in small groups) in a 10 G.  Same with my Kubotai rasboras.  I wouldn’t put either species in anything less than a 10 G for longer than a quarantine period.  They are both very active and busy species.

I’ve not kept dwarf cories, but they tend to be very busy water puppies.  Not sure if I would do any species of cory in less than a 10 G, especially since they are so much more comfortable in groups.

Shrimp are always a good option.  Lots of dwarf shrimp can be kept in a 4.5-5 G.

[Expectorating_Aubergine]

You can totally do fish in there. You can do Scarlet badis, or sparkling gouramis, or endlers, or any number of micro/nano fish. You can stock heavy if you have lots of plants. That can be a problem where space is concerned. Your tank looks like it's one of those all in one jobs. The kind with the sump in the back. If so, you can put pothos cuttings back there. That stuff will strip all the waste out of the water. Very low maintenance way to clean that little tanks water, while not taking up anymore space from the fish...

Edited September 4, 2022 by Expectorating_Aubergine