Can't decide please help

[KaydinPanda]

Hey,

   So I'm new to this and just got a 5 gallon fish tank (that's not ready yet), but I'm at a lost here every time I try to find small schoolling fish (that are good for the size of tank I have), I only get that only one fish in there. I was wondering if anyone knew what I could get that I can have more than 3. (Also in college dorm so can't size up)

Highest regards,

   A new person to the hobby

Edited November 29, 2023 by KaydinPanda
Forgot info

[Seshia]

Unfortunately you really can't get more than 1 species of fish in a 5 gallon tank. There just isn't room for them to do their own things. You might be able to get away with a shrimp or snail in addition to some fish, but even that might be pushing it.

I know it's not what you want to her, but unfortunately that's just the limit of the tank's size. I'm in a situation where there are fish I'd love to keep that need more room than the maximum size of tank I can have in my apartment so I get the frustration, but it's better to get fish that can live happily where you can have them, and move to bigger fancier tanks later when your situation allows.

Welcome to the hobby and I hope you fall in love with whatever fish you choose!

Edited for clarity

Edited November 29, 2023 by Seshia

[beastie]

Sadly, 5 gallon ( which in reality will be like 13 liters, if you put substrate and decorations) is only suitable for a shrimp colony. But hey, shrimp tanks are easy to take care of, low on maintenance, low on feeding, interesting to watch. Not a bad starting place.

 

And hey, a shrimp tank will easily survive any of the holiday breaks you will take, no special care needed. Just do a good reading, shrimp should not be put immature tanks, they need like a 3-6 month period on the tank to become stable

[nabokovfan87]

There's a few really small nano fish that might do alright for you.  Things like white clouds, emerald green rasbora (sundanio axelrodi), or chili rasbora might be small enough to work in that size of a tank.  You'd be looking for fish with a max size of under 1", preferably something that is 0.5-0.75 in max size. 

The cool thing with minnows, rasboras, and other cypranidae fish is that they like room temperature.  If the dorm is kept in the low 70's year around, you won't even need a heater in the tank. (68-75 is a good temp range)

white cloud mountain minnow



Sundanio Axelrodi (Emerald green rasbora):



chili rasbora:




https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/5-gallon-fish

From the list above, scarlet badis might be a really awesome choice.  They would be the only fish in the tank, just one fish, but it's got a really fun personality.  A pea puffer is really difficult, can be even for experienced fishkeepers, so I wouldn't recommend that one.  I also love the idea of the green neon tetra or the emerald green rasbora. 

Welcome to the forums! Happy to have you here @KaydinPanda.

Please feel free to ask a bunch of questions if you have any.  Everyone here is really happy to help out!

Edited November 29, 2023 by nabokovfan87
added photos and temp note

[Guppysnail]

On 11/29/2023 at 3:33 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

From the list above, scarlet badis might be a really awesome choice.

@nabokovfan87 has some great suggestions.  I do disagree on the scarlet badis. They only thrive on live foods so you would need cultures and they don’t play well together so you need much more space to have more than 1 as well as a thriving planted tank to provide enough microfauna variety to supplement the diet.

Shrimp can be very entertaining. Please don’t feel they are a lesser choice than fish. They are very low maintenance. Room temperature is fine for neocaridina.  The bonus of neocaridina shrimp is almost any small local fish shop will buy the extras once your population booms. 
 

[Lennie]

Hello,

I gotta agree  that I think 5g is very small for many fish in my personal opinion.

If you ask me what I would do if I really wanna keep fish in, I would add botanicals, twig branch, and attach some small anubias/bucephalandras and turn it into a blackwater tank and keep a small school of chili rasboras and a couple neocaridinas. This way, using no rocks and no thick substrate would help you a lot to maximize the swimming space. I would only cover the bottom of the tank with fine sand to not make it seem bare, nothing more. Twigs would let them swim through yet would still provide a good visual. big wood pieces would cut from the swimming space more. Also using a small HOB would prevent taking space from the swimming space like a sponge filter would I suppose?

Something like these on your own style and based on your tank size:

 

In my personal opinion 5g is extremely small for white cloud minnows. They are very active swimmers and not that small in size. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Lennie

[KaydinPanda]

Hey guys I saw some confusion about that I meant like 3 fish in total not 3 types and if I were to get say a tetra and some shrimp how many should I get? Or how many in total for a fish species and a snail for cleaning.

Edited November 29, 2023 by KaydinPanda

[JettsPapa]

I like the idea of a shrimp only tank (or shrimp and snails), but if you really want fish also celestial pearl danios (also sold as galaxy rasboras) would be a possibility.  However, I would only put them in a heavily planted tank.  You could probably have five of them.

Shrimp have a very low bioload, so the number isn't really important.  You could start with ten (assuming you're referring to neocaridinas; red cherry shrimp and the other color varieties), and they could increase to 50 or more without overloading the tank.

[Tanked]

You could put a half dozen Ember Tetras in your 5 gallon. They rarely grow beyond one inch. They spend a lot of their time just hanging out together, so they don't require a huge amount of space.

[jwcarlson]

Another vote for shrimp from me!

[macdaddy36]

I agree with Ember Tetras, Shrimp, Snails, and Chili Rasbora. Emerald Green Rasbora might also be fine but I think they require live foods and are much more tempermental towards pH, as they need softer water.

You could also consider Emerald Dwarf Danio, Danio erythromicron (Also called Emerald Dwarf Rasbora) which are being sold on Aqua Huna right now. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, these guys are very similar to Celestial Pearl Danio but a bit cheaper, with a different pattern. They also have CPDs on Aquahuna right now as well. A group of 8 is probably fine but 6 would be better.

Danio erythromicron (Emerald Danio)

Celestial Pearl Danio.

Welcome to the Forum!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KaydinPanda]

Ok so say if I wanted a beta could I get others like a few tetras or danios or just shrimp and snails or a bit of both 

[JE47]

It depends on the Betta's temperament and if you did that you would need a heater and I would say no to more fish but you could probably do shrimp if your Betta doesn't eat them. I have a Betta with amano shrimp and he doesn't seem to mind them but that is not always the case.

[KaydinPanda]

Ok thank you guys so much this has help a lot with deciding what I could get and want

[Lonkley]

I know you said you couldn't get bigger, but the footprint of a 10 gallon isn't that much different. Another 4 inches wide, and i think 2 deep.  That extra 5 gallons will give you more options and the water will be more stable.

I would absolutely vote shrimp. They are adorable, and they carry a very light bioload.  The fish mentioned above would be great.

Also, before you do anything, read up on the nitrogen cycle and get a basic understanding. 

 

[Kit Craft]

White clouds were mentioned. I like groups of 8+, this is where they start showing their true behavior, ime. A lot of people say 6 but they are always timid for me in such small groups, even with lots of hiding spaces to make them feel safe. I'd put 8 in a well planted 5.5 but I know lots of people wouldn't be comfortable with that. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2023 at 10:32 AM, KaydinPanda said:

Ok so say if I wanted a beta could I get others like a few tetras or danios or just shrimp and snails or a bit of both 

shrimp + rasbora or danio or white clouds go well together because of temps.  Bettas like it a little warmer, they might be ok with some tetras.  In a 5G though I think you're better off with just the betta or just the nano fish.

[Turbofish]

I like cpd's or possibly some medaka? 

[smm333]

Aquarium co-op did a 5 gallon stocking video. Corey recommended chili rasbora, CPD's, kuhli loach,neon tetra, amano shrimp, honey gourami, pygmy cories, endlers, dwarf frogs, or clown killis. I can't post a link because I'm on my phone, but it's called Top 10 Fish For a 5 Gallon Aquarium  (Besides Bettas!) 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/29/2023 at 8:04 PM, smm333 said:

Aquarium co-op did a 5 gallon stocking video. Corey recommended chili rasbora, CPD's, kuhli loach,neon tetra, amano shrimp, honey gourami, pygmy cories, endlers, dwarf frogs, or clown killis. I can't post a link because I'm on my phone, but it's called Top 10 Fish For a 5 Gallon Aquarium  (Besides Bettas!) 

 

Here's another as well.

 

[macdaddy36]

In my opinion, Honey Gourami ideally would go in a minimum of 10 gallons, ideally 20 because they are pretty active and like the larger footprint. Also, kuhli loaches can grow to 5 inches, which is 1/3 the length of a standard 5, so keep that in mind.

[anewbie]

You could do ember but it is not highly recommended; same for green neon - i have ember in my 10 and 29; and while they are not super active they do like to swim a little; green neon are more active than ember but also smaller. The same for most of the rasbora - some are less active - i think the smallest typically found is the chili but not sure how active it is.

-

shrimp would be a very good solution and maybe a single betta after the shrimp are established; sure the betta will eat a few but if the aquarium is well scaped the shrimp will multiple faster than the betta can snack. Just have hiding places. This is my 10; a bit bigger than a 5 but the cichild in there love snacking on shrimp but still the shrimps populate faster than the get snacked on:

[Guppysnail]

I agree with the comments on energy level of small fish. Though they fit physically in a 5 gallon their energy level does not. 
 

Here is a video I made some time ago. It shows the tiny 1 inch Celestial Pearl danio in a 40 gallon breeder. There are roughly 10 -12 I think. They make short work of all 40 gallons. 

 

[Lennie]

On 11/30/2023 at 11:57 PM, Guppysnail said:

I agree with the comments on energy level of small fish. Though they fit physically in a 5 gallon their energy level does not. 
 

Here is a video I made some time ago. It shows the tiny 1 inch Celestial Pearl danio in a 40 gallon breeder. There are roughly 10 -12 I think. They make short work of all 40 gallons. 

 

Exactly. I have my female bettas one in a 33g tank another on 42g tank. People say bettas like small tanks. Just no. Only those long fin males or dumbo ears do better in shallower smaller setups because they seriously have a quality of life issue when it comes to swimming. My females and plakat males are everywhere in big tanks and easily can go bigger than what I keep them at

Edited December 1, 2023 by Lennie

[Lonkley]

On 11/30/2023 at 12:57 PM, Guppysnail said:

Here is a video I made some time ago. It shows the tiny 1 inch Celestial Pearl danio in a 40 gallon breeder. There are roughly 10 -12 I think. They make short work of all 40 gallons. 

I watch that video and the Amano Shrimp steal the show.  I love those guys so much, they are hilarious to watch, especially at feeding.