Stocking a 5g

small fry

I know, 5g tanks are unstable and I shouldn't keep fish in anything less than a 10g because the chemistry can change to fast. This is actually my sister's 5g and she wants to stock it with guppies. She wants to know how many she can have in the 5g. I really don't know alot about stocking guppies so I wanted to see what y'all think.

BTW my friend (who might become a member of TFK) has a Guppy tank that is 55g. He wants to know how many guppies he can have in there. He has 25 now and multipling fast.

Thanks!

kitten_penang

well if it looks to crowded it is lol if you want a tank that has the serene look to quality then quantity in your tank.meaning less fish but a more nice ones.
as for the 5 g. id'e go with 2 to 3 fishes and some plants.

Byron

And make sure they are all males, or she will have hundreds of fish in no time. There are several suitable small fish for a 5g though less common than guppies.

small fry

My sister is sorta kinda changeing her mind. She wants mollies now. She says she wants more than one species including at least 1 ballon mollie and 1 "domino mollie" (that's what she called them, I don't know the species well, she has had this species before), and any other kind of mollie that will fit in a 5g.

She isn't an expert (by any means) so maybe you can suggest a little bit less than the max. I think she is getting tired of all her past disasters.

I will try to help her more closely, but she keeps getting her nitrates WAY too high and won't do water changes very ofter. Thanks!

Byron

I do not recommend mollies for a 5g. A 10g is minimum for this fish. They grow larger than a Guppy--or should if the tank is healthy. Mollies are also highly sensitive to ammonia, so not a good fish in a new tank until it is cycled well.

small fry

Thanks Byron!

I was thinking that they were to big. She can probably just keep guppies.

But just curious, Byron said,"There are several suitable small fish for a 5g", what kinds? I don't know if my sister really likes guppies that much, she will probably be less likely to pic them with the mollies off the list (if that makes any sense). I like variety, I may setup a 5g myself the fish are nice enough.

Romad

Talk her into a showpiece male betta like a full halfmoon. That's a perfect sized tank for one.

small fry

That would be perfect for me (!), but my sister has a crowntail male and she isn't interested in having more than 1 betta at this time. When her puffer died, I tried to convince her to get a betta for the 5g, but she just isn't interested.

I guess that rules bettas off of the list of fish that would work in a 5g (and my sister at the same time), but thanks for the suggestion, Romad!

Byron

There are a lot of small fish, sometimes referred to as "dwarf" species, among the cyprinids and some among the characins. Ember Tetra, Dario dario, Boraras brigittae, Celestial Pearl Danio, Emerald Rasbora...some of these are in our profiles (names will be shaded if I spelled them correctly) and there are other similar species in several of these genera. Plus the Pygmy Cory or shrimp for the bottom [these fish are all too small to eat shrimp].

small fry

Oh yeah, I forgot about those micro species. Well, if it were me I'd probably go with cestrial Pearl Danio, but our tap here is hard (75) and the pH is around 7.8, so I don't know if she'd be up for the challenge. Besides, it might be diffecult conttrolling the water chemistry without a major fluctuation every once in a while.

I plan to use celestrials when I set up my Amazon Tank.

Actually, the celestrial, Ember Tetra, Pygmy Cory (which are both soft/acidic) are the only ones I know about off hand, so I will further research the other fish you recommended. I guess she can pic out of the ones that will work with our water? Thanks!

edit; Well, while I can still edit I am thinking that the only fish that might work with the water at our house (without useing distilled or other methods that I have never used before) is the Badis. Is the Badis a cichlid? It looks like one but I can't tell. And would the Badis put the tank at stock level? Thanks!