Empty 5 gallon tank

[CJs Aquatics]

I have a 5 gallon running with nothing in it, looking for thoughts on what to stock it with because it’s always fun to hear people’s thoughts

Things I’m considering:

bare-bottom betta breeding tank, (never bred them or had much success) 

Rudolph shrimp because I’ve never seen them in person before

live food culture (brine shrimp adults, scuds, daphnia, other)

green water culture

use it for growing and propagating a cool plant (can probably do this alongside putting something in it, feel free to chime in what kind I was thinking Madagascar lace) 

fry grow-out 

pair or trio of cool endlers, guppies, or another cool livebearer such as the metallic black chin 

I’m open to all suggestions It’s just very limiting bc it’s a 5 gallon but I can’t stand seeing it empty

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/25/2023 at 10:24 PM, CJs Aquatics said:

Rudolph shrimp because I’ve never seen them in person before

Just how I am, I'd do bigger than a 5 for shrimp.

On 3/25/2023 at 10:24 PM, CJs Aquatics said:

use it for growing and propagating a cool plant (can probably do this alongside putting something in it, feel free to chime in what kind I was thinking Madagascar lace) 

This is what I would do! It's something I'm working on. Mostly for moss and suss whenever I can actually find some.

The goal being to have something with plants that do fine. Mosses, stems, epiphytes, etc.

[Lennie]

Madagascar lace gets HUGE! 5 gallon is wayy to small for it. Also consider what your tank temperature rises to during summer.  They go dormant above 24-25C or so if I am not wrong.

I really wanted to keep it in my new tank but that dormant issue made me step back, as I always keep my tanks above those temps

[Guppysnail]

I use my 5g tanks bare bottom as egg hatcheries and fry tanks. I keep shrimp in them to keep them going and stable then I can just drop in eggs. This works crazy good for Cory eggs and celestial pearl danio eggs /grow outs. 

[Cinnebuns]

On 3/26/2023 at 12:24 AM, CJs Aquatics said:

bare-bottom betta breeding tank, (never bred them or had much success) 

I don't know a ton about breeding betta but I'm pretty sure point of the growing out process involves dozens of jar. Don't quote me on this but something to look into and prepare for if you go this route. 

On 3/26/2023 at 12:24 AM, CJs Aquatics said:

fry grow-out

Good use!  

On 3/26/2023 at 8:50 AM, Guppysnail said:

I use my 5g tanks bare bottom as egg hatcheries and fry tanks. I keep shrimp in them to keep them going and stable then I can just drop in eggs. This works crazy good for Cory eggs and celestial pearl danio eggs /grow outs. 

This is smart. My setup is going to need adjusting to something similar to this once my shrimp population grows. It's going to get to a point where they are out competing my cory fry.