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5 Gallon Stocking Question

4K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  emeraldsky 
#1 ·
So soon I shall have an empty 5 gallon. Its filtered and I have a heater for it. It will also be pretty heavily planted.


Im looking for something to put into it and came across Dario Dario, which are just fantastic looking and I have an LFS that stocks them.

I'd also like to have some pygmy cories in there as well.

So my questions are:

1. Can a dario dario be kept alone or does it need 1 male to 3 female?

2. Will this stocking plan work?






If it wont work, are there other fish that would be ok in a 5 gallon?
I already have 4 bettas and 2 different shrimp colonies so Id like to try something new. Pea Puffers are my second choice if this doesnt work out though it would only be the pea puffer in the tank.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
I think the pygmy corys are a bit much for a 5. 5 gallons is really small. I would leave it as a species tank. I think you can keep the group, from what I've read they could benefit from some food competition. But again, a 5 is really small so someone who's done more than read about them may say no to the group.
 
#4 ·
Thank you for the input!
I'll note it, the only reason I ask about the pygmy corys in a tank this small is because in the fish profiles it says theyll be ok in them.

I dont think I would mind having them as a species tank to be honest though, I've never had corys before and they look really neat!


Personally I wouldn't put anything more than a Betta with a snail or some shrimp in a 5 gallon. It's just too small. While the volume could support some small fish, there isn't much swimming room at all.

You could probably get away with a variety of dwarf puffer though.
I already have 4 bettas and several snails in different 5 gallon tanks so Im hoping for something a bit different c:

The dwarf puffer seems acceptable by most everyone in a 5 gallon from what I can find on the internet so that'll be my fallback plan if the corys and/or dario dario wont work out ^^
 
#5 ·
I meant make it a scarlet badis species tank. Pygmy corys need to be kept in groups to large for a 5 gallon to accommodate. As far as I know, scarlet badis are not very active fish, which is why I think they might work in a 5.

Is this a rectangular tank, a corner or a hex? That makes a HUGE difference, as a 5 hex can barely accommodate a betta. There is not enough floor space for anything else.
 
#6 ·
Ill have to think about that then since I'm pretty sure you cant have 2 males to a tank and the place that sells them doesnt sell females. If I can only have one fish in the tank, I think I'd go with the puffer.

And its a standard 5.5 gallon, 16 x 8 x 10
Im not partial to hexes unless the are massive X3
 
#7 ·
You could have a group of pygmy cory in a 5g, well planted. I would aim for 7. And with them for colour, have a look at the "dwarf" species of rasbora in Boraras, we have 2 species in our profiles so far. A group of 10-12. Other possibles are Dario dario, a group of 5-6, mix male and female though. But this species can be difficult to feed, preferring live foods at first. There are a couple of other dwarf species of rasbora in our profiles (under cyprinids), and a couple of gourami (anabantids) like the eyespot or sparkling. All these depend upon water parameters as most will be wild caught.

Byron.
 
#8 ·
I have looked at sparkling gouramis but I'm not partial to them since they remind me of stressed out betta females X)

Dario Dario I'll most likely have to pass on since I wont be able to find females, unless one male can be kept alone? Or perhaps 2 males? Im not terribly sure how aggressive this species is to each other.

All I know is my water is hard, can you recommend a specific fish that does well in hard water? I live next to several large cities so availability shouldnt be a problem, other than the female dario dario of course ^^;


If I did a cory only tank, would 7 still be the amount to aim for?



Thank you!
 
#11 ·
Just a quick question
What kind of filetr do you have for such a small tank
I have 2 10 gallon tanks as med/backup tanks and I have a tetra Whisper and a Penguin 100 Bio Wheel Filter
Interested to know what you have
 
#12 ·
I wasn't able to find all the numbers, only that my on is 7.8. I'm not sure if that will be enough information?








I don't know the specific filter on it, only that its rated for 20 gallons if I remember right. I have it heavily baffled so the flow is very minimal.
I'll be able to know for sure when I'm home tomorrow evening though and should be able to let you know then c:
 
#13 ·
On the water, it is important knowing the GH and KH, as this impacts fish even more than pH, plus the KH will tell us if the pH may lower which would be good for some fish. Can you get the GH and KH (Alkalinity) from the water supply folks? They probably have a website.

On the filter, something very simple, and a sponge is just that. With live plants you do not want water moving around much, so a small sponge connected to an air pump (I use this on my 10g, 20g and 29g tanks) or something like the Fluval U1 which is an internal motor unit with just a sponge; I have this on my 33g.

Byron.
 
#14 ·
#18 ·
I'll definitely look into it then and see what fish I like best and if I can give them the correct parameters


thank you for all your help!
 
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