5 gallon stocking

biomajorstudent

I have a 5 gallon Marineland hex that I have had stocked with snails for a project. Now that the project is over, and I have found homes for all my snails but one sweet little brig, I am looking to get some fish and shrimp (sound like a menu order...). My water is slightly hard, usually around 7.5. I have live plants.

Could I have...
1 Dwarf Gourami
2 otocinclus catfish
3 male guppies
5 cherry shrimp
1 brig Apple Snail

Is this too much? Would the shrimp and otos fight over space on the bottom? Should I get a piece of driftwood?
I want to have a 20 gallon long someday... but not until I have a place of my own. *sigh* And an extra 400 dollars... *double sigh*

Cody

No Dwarf Gourami. Everything else should work with each other... But, the shrimp like soft, acidic water. As do ottos. The guppies and snail like/need that hard water, though.

A pH of 7.5 isn't too bad, but it isn't what I personally call neutral. If you can lower it to at least 7.0, the shrimp and ottos should work. You can do this by adding peat to a filter (just one way to lower pH).

biomajorstudent

Why no Dwarf Gourami? Too much stuff in there? Would a betta work instead?
I don't know much about shrimp, but according to petshrimp.com, "Can live under conditions that are soft and slightly acidic (ph 6.6-7.0) to very hard and alkaline (ph 7.0-8.4 and above). Very adaptable shrimp.". I'm no expert, of course, but that's what I've read. I'll try to lower my pH to around 7. I've been wanting to get some driftwood anyway, and I've heard it helps.

onefish2fish

if trying to lower pH i suggest doing it naturally. infact i wouldnt even touch it at all esp. in a tank only 5 gallons. a stable pH is better then one all over the place.
a betta would be fine alone and possibly with the ottos and snail but theres always a risk of issue.

i personally am a fan of black gravel, black spray painted background and cherry red shrimp in a planted tank.

$400 for a 20 long? you can do a tank in way less then that. www.craigslist.com is a great place to find used tanks for cheap.
if you have yet to read about cycling a tank, i suggest you start here:
http://www.fishforum.com/member-subm...-methods-3067/

biomajorstudent

Oh, not 400 for just the tank. That was my estimate for the tank, filter, gravel, decorations, cleaning supplies, heater, thermometer, hood, fish, plants, etc.

I plan on doing the black gravel thing, that sound pretty! I will put in black gravel, some plants and a tall piece of driftwood. It will make the cherry shrimp really stand out, and will also bring out the color in the guppies.

biomajorstudent

How does this sound...

2 otocinclus catfish
5 male guppies
5 cherry shrimp
1 brig Apple Snail

Not too overstocked, is it? I want everyone to be comfortable. Will otos be happy with only 2 of them? Opinions? Suggestions? Words of wisdom?

Cody

I would do 3 Ottos with 4 guppies. 3 ottos is the minimum IMO.

Your shrimp will also breed - a lot. Be sure you have a way to rid the shrimp to a reasonable number when you have a lot.

But the stocking sounds good. Lupin should know if the snail works out or not.

Lupin

Ditch the Dwarf Gourami. The others will be fine.

Cody, her shrimps are cherries. You're talking about crystal reds. Cherries are fine. pH is not an issue.

Bettas in general will not work with snails and shrimps. You'll have to count on luck if you want to risk the inverts.

That's for crystal red shrimps. The alkaline side is for cherries.

That's better. I still think 3 guppies is better than 5.

1077

I would wait until I allowed sufficent algae growth for Otocinclus before I introduced them to a tank. These little fish are often slowly starved to death due to lack of algae which is almost exclusively what they eat. Some folks have some success with algae wafers and vegetables but they much prefer algae and lots of it.

onefish2fish

very good point