Five gallon aquarium cycling and stocking

Sounds like a very cool 20g.
I do envy the ones at the store that have a Betta in with other fish.
Last Betta I had was a little koi. I felt like he really zipped around the 5g. It was the Aqueon like you have. Good little tank. I had crypt, anacharis, hornwort, and anubius. All grew fine.

Penelope .R said:

I don't know if this counts as a nano Aquarium but I just started cycling my new 5 gallon. It is the smallest tank I've ever owned. I've been wanting another betta for my room for a while but didn't want something huge.

When can I start adding plants during the cycling process? I am doing a planted aquarium, I have seachem fluorite dark as substrate right now.

What plants might be nice in this tank? It has a typical aquarium light, nothing fancy, but it's fairly bright and not far from the bottom. I am wanting some shorter grass, and probably an Amazon sword as I've been able to grow them in the past.

As for fish I already know I want a betta and some Celestial pearl danios. I've kept bettas with other fish before but never in such a small aquarium so I am being cautious. Any suggestions? I'm planning on some kind of shrimp and a mystery snail or two but I'd like one or two other species of fish.
Any advice or thoughts are appreciated

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This is a very small 5g... I think it would be ok for A betta and maybe A snail... No schooling fish... Too small.

Even if it was a longer 5g you couldn't do another fish... 10G is getting better... 20G is good.

Hello again everybody!
I learned something today, you never realize how small a tank is until you decorate it...
It's a work in progress-
I stocked the tank with some plants today. In the end I just got what I know, an Amazon sword, Creeping Charlie, and green cabomba. I've kept them all in tanks like this and they've grown pretty well. Because it's just a low-tec tank for my room I didn't want anything complicated that I would need to put a lot of time into. I know some of these can get pretty big, so I'll be trimming and moving new growth into my other tanks over time, I know my silver dollars will enjoy snacking on the Amazon sword.
I also got some Java fern (edit: Java moss) I attached to a rock, and some baby dwarf tears. I know the dwarf tears are more advanced and do better with co2, but I just wanted to try them *shrug*
I stuck in a grid of root tabs before planting and dosed the tank with flourish liquid fertilizer. The tank has now been cycling for three-ish weeks I believe, it'll probably be another week or two before I add any fish.
I still haven't made a decision on the fish, lol, I've been looking into endlers livebearers, ember tetras, and chili rasboras. But I saw a stunning betta at my local fish store today and still can't decide.

This is the tank right now, I don't like how I placed the plants lol, any suggestions for when I move them around? The Amazon sword just looks squished and everything else looks crowded lol. I love the rock, I know I'll need to keep a close eye if I get a betta to make sure he doesn't tear his fins, but I'm planning to figure that out as I go.
Here is the tank right now-

Also, I don't think I ever responded regarding my water parameters @NannaLou
GH is 60 ppm and KH is 40 ppm, ph stays around neutral.

Another thing, this is the filter that came with the tank. I always planned to switch it out with a sponge filter eventually, but wanted to see how it works first (I have cycled sponge filters running in all other tanks as well as extras). It is "adjustable" as far as a $60 aquarium kit can be, but on the lowest setting I believe it to be too strong a current for a betta. I could fashion a baffle as I have done in the past, but as we've established there is not a lot of room in this tank. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about putting the sponge filter out of view in the hidden filtration area and sending the output back into the main area of the tank? I might try it with one of my cycled spounges in a few days, just to test it out. I worry about flooding the main area too fast and draining the hidden area.

Penelope .R said:

Also, I don't think I ever responded regarding my water parameters @NannaLou
GH is 60 ppm and KH is 40 ppm, ph stays around neutral.

Another thing, this is the filter that came with the tank. I always planned to switch it out with a sponge filter eventually, but wanted to see how it works first (I have cycled sponge filters running in all other tanks as well as extras). It is "adjustable" as far as a $60 aquarium kit can be, but on the lowest setting I believe it to be too strong a current for a betta. I could fashion a baffle as I have done in the past, but as we've established there is not a lot of room in this tank. So I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about putting the sponge filter out of view in the hidden filtration area and sending the output back into the main area of the tank? I might try it with one of my cycled spounges in a few days, just to test it out. I worry about flooding the main area too fast and draining the hidden area.
View attachment 147029View attachment 147030View attachment 147031

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That's actually NOT the tank I have...
Regardless, I have used these both as a baffle for outflow in Betta tanks and filter for intake on fry and shrimp tanks.
Pretty cheap... Under $3.00

vanalisa said:

That's actually NOT the tank I have...
Regardless, I have used these both as a baffle for outflow in Betta tanks and filter for intake on fry and shrimp tanks.
Pretty cheap... Under $3.00
View attachment 147035

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I have some of those on hand, but they probably won't fit the output, it's shaped like a fan and built into the tank *eyeroll* but I will check tomorrow and see if I can make some strategic cuts.

Penelope .R said:

I have some of those on hand, but they probably won't fit the output, it's shaped like a fan and built into the tank *eyeroll* but I will check tomorrow and see if I can make some strategic cuts.

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One of my spounges fits on the output, I just had to cut it a bit. It's a finer sponge though, very soft. It reduces the current to almost nothing, which will be great for a betta. I also put an air pump in the back compartment, I'm not sure how it will do at aerating the water back there but at least it will keep the water back there moving.

Also, the floating plants I have are starting to spread now that the water is calm, which is pretty neat.
The Creeping Charlie is melting. I'm giving it a chance still, but I think I'll need to remove it in a week or two. The dwarf baby tears have gotten darker in places, but they've also grown?
The green cabomba and amazon sword look good as do the java moss.
I also have a few snail hitchhikers creeping around. They're very small, I'm thinking a group of eggs were stuck to a plant and ended up in my tank. I don't mind them, I'm taking it as a sign my water can support life lol. I'll let them be until they become a nuisance.

The ammonia has been high ever since I added the plants, I think I killed the bacteria in my filter media during a water change unfortunately. I'm being more careful now, and waiting until the tank is stable again to get my betta. How this will affect the plants I don't know, but for the most part everything is looking decent.

The ammonia levels have finally stabilized. I added I piece of spounge I cut from one of my other aquariums to hurry things along.

But, for the last few days I have been noticing tiny white worms crawling over the glass and floating around the tank. They are super small, so small I didn't notice until I really examined the tank.
I think they are either rhabdocela worms or detritus worms, but I am not sure.

Do I need to worry about these or no? I've read both are harmless, but I'm wondering if it's safe to introduce a betta to this tank with them present.
On the other hand, would a betta eat these worms and get rid of them for me? I'm thinking about picking one out sometime next week, now that the ammonia isn't spiking anymore.

Also, there are little baby shrimp in my tank, so tiny you only see them when they zip across the tank.

Here is a picture of the biggest hitchhiking snail...

I got my betta Two days ago and he's doing great. I named him Agony.
I took a nirite from my other tank, and today I threw in three blue velvet shrimp. Everyone is doing good, but if I notice the betta going after any of the shrimp I'll put them back home in the 65 gallon.

Ooooh, he's pretty

What a stunning Betta!
I can't wait to see some more pix and maybe a video

Super excited tonight.
A few days after I added the shrimp I found one dead. It didn't look maimed so I checked my water parameters and ended up realizing that the fertilizer I've been using for the plants isn't shrimp safe... super disappointing, I felt like a moron
I stopped using it and did a water change but the next day the other two shrimp were gone. I couldn't find them, and assumed the remains had been eaten by the betta or the nirite and I decided not to add any more shrimp for a good while.
Tonight I noticed something dart across the tank and when I went to investigate I found a lovely blue velvet shrimp alive and well!
I have no idea where he's been hiding, but he just reappeared. He swam right in front of Agony and the betta couldn't care less. It makes me wonder if the second shrimp is hiding somewhere too since I never found remains.

Penelope .R said:

Super excited tonight.
A few days after I added the shrimp I found one dead. It didn't look maimed so I checked my water parameters and ended up realizing that the fertilizer I've been using for the plants isn't shrimp safe... super disappointing, I felt like a moron
I stopped using it and did a water change but the next day the other two shrimp were gone. I couldn't find them, and assumed the remains had been eaten by the betta or the nirite and I decided not to add any more shrimp for a good while.
Tonight I noticed something dart across the tank and when I went to investigate I found a lovely blue velvet shrimp alive and well!
I have no idea where he's been hiding, but he just reappeared. He swam right in front of Agony and the betta couldn't care less. It makes me wonder if the second shrimp is hiding somewhere too since I never found remains.
View attachment 149746

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Thats a beauty!

I found the rest of my shrimp...
They managed to get into the back filter compartment and have been hunkering down back there.
Other than the one I lost, both are alive plus a tiny one I didn't mean to add. I don't know what they've been eating back there, there's also some pest snails chilling in the filter compartment with them.
While I'm happy to know I didn't kill them with the fertilizer, I have no idea how to get them out or how to keep them from getting back in lol