What fish for a 3-gallon long?

[Lavender]

So, I brought two three-gallon longs a few months ago. These tanks functionally have the same size as a 5 gallon, but are only 7 inches long and 5 wide. They make up for it by being 18 long. In one, my old betta Bluey lives. The other one I brought for bettas also, but now I’ve decided to shift the betta currently living in it (Sprinkles) to a ten or a five gallon. What can I do now in terms of inhabitants?

[Odd Duck]

Shrimp.

There’s not many fish that are really suited to only 3 gallons.  Many Bettas tolerate it with their long fins, but most fish will prosper more in a bigger tank with more territory.  That’s not to say it isn’t possible for fish to live in a such small tank, but you’re less likely to see the full extent of their normal behavior in a small tank.

[Lavender]

Yeah, this may just end up being a betta tank anyways for that reason. I was hoping to have something that didn’t require lots of movement. Aka, small solitary fish like bettas that still don’t move a lot. I might end up with annual killifish or something.

[Lennie]

To be fair betta fish move a lot if given the space. Even my halfmoon males moved a lot. The thing is decoration, wood pieces, crowded plants block them.

So I think when it comes to long fin bettas, the key is to have a more simple tank that works better for the animal, not the eye. The smallest betta male tank I have is custom made shallow 10g and others are custom made 50Liters(13ishg) and they utilise everywhere in the tank. Female sorority used to live in 125 liters, now 160 liters. They are everywhere

[Lavender]

True, but Bluey is also the laziest betta I’ve ever had. He’s very sweet, as far as bettas go, but…I think I may just have a penchant for acquiring bettas with very strange personalities, as Sprinkles demonstrates. He mostly lays somewhere when I’m not feeding him. Working on getting a mirror for him, but…honestly, Reddi is the only normal betta I own. The other two are extremely strange and very cute little fish.

Edited September 3, 2023 by Lavender

[FishRBeautiful]

Maybe tiny fish like galaxy rasboras or scarlet badis. I have one and he is AWESOME! Debated over a female also but that could go good or bad I assume. Not sure if you can have more than 2 badises together to fill a small tank.

[_Eric_]

I second a shrimp tank.  Red cherries are fun.  Put some small plants in there too.

[TheSwissAquarist]

I’ve seen rice- and mosquito fish done in 3 gallons and up. 

[TOtrees]

I'd be going with shrimps. Betta will be hit or miss. It will come down to the personality of the fish. Some will be okay, some won't. Other fish that many folks might consider in that size tank are things like chilis or neon green rasboras. Or CPDs. Their natural behavior is best seen when they are in groups, the size of which would be really limited in that tank. In smaller numbers, they tend to be more outgoing if they have more cover. But here more cover will mean less space. I've learned over the years I prefer larger groups over smaller, so for me it's the group size that drives tank size suitability, not the fish size. 

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

Shrimp would be my first thought as far as easy options. If it’s well planted and you don’t mind some more maintenance then some things I could see trying are a sparkling gourami, crocodile toothpicks (if you culture your own live foods), or maybe a school of something super small like chili rasbora 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I will be pro-shrimp and anti-betta here, because I had a betta in a 5.5 gallon and he was so unhappy that he was biting his tail off.  I changed plenty of things to try to improve his habitat, but the only thing that worked for him to stop tail biting was to move him into a 10 gallon.  I believe he was claustrophobic in the 5.5 gallon and was just going crazy. Betta are intelligent fish and some will even do tricks if you dedicate the time to teach them, so they will definitely know if they are cooped up.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Lavender]

Gah. Of COURSE my gmail doesn’t update me when y’all post. 
 

Well, I’ll be looking over the suggestions. Thanks, everybody!