A Somewhat Ethical Question

[dcfeeiv]

i have a 5 gal tank thats just sitting around and i want to put something exotic in it and im thinking maybe a baby bichir or something (im away at school and have a 75 gal tank back home that i can put him into when he gets too big for the tank

but what would the point be to switch him into a bigger tank?

this is all hypothetical b/c im not sure if my desk could handle having 15 gal of water on it w/o breaking

 

[GuppyDude]

I would advise against it. With a 5g your pretty much limited to something like a betta.

 

[starrynightxxi]

considering the smallest bichirs tend to reach 9-11 inches in captivity, the problem with keeping him in a five gallon tank would be that he would never be able to stretch to full length.

hmm... do you mean 5 or 15? a 15 you COULD use as a growout, but these fish grow fast. Mine's grown about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in the two months that i've had her.

 

[dcfeeiv]

sadly its only a 5 gal
i had one in an old tank but they got too aggressive for my taste and i was the only one in the family that liked them so i had to take them back

 

[Teelie]

Don't do it. I'd love to have a Red Tailed Catfish but lack the housing for an animal with a four foot potential growth size.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

the only thing you can use a 5 gallon tank for is probably a quarantine tank. 5 gallons is even small for a growout tank, so i wouldnt even suggest that

 

[PRW1988]

a 5 gallon tank is very small indeed, with proper filterration and water changes I'm sure you could have a single goldfish for a short period of time, but in all actuallity the best thing for it would be a betta fish, or possibly 2 if you found a divider that'd fit the tank.

 

[starrynightxxi]

yes, 5 is too small for a grow out, but she had 5 and 15 in the post, so i wasn't sure (if that was towards me, dorkhedeos)

in a five gallon, you're looking at a very small range of fish. A betta would fit a 5g, a dwarf puffer would fit as well but they need mature tanks (cycled for 6 months or longer) because they're very sensitive to poor water quality. Not sure what else, maybe a few male endlers (not females, too big, and you'll end up with babies). Shrimp are good for small tanks, ghost, amano, or cherry shrimp are all options, but they'll do best in a tank that is already cycled.

 

[dcfeeiv]

thanks guys
you pretty much said what i thought you guys would which is what im pretty sure i already knew...
cheers

 

[Dorkhedeos]

yes, 5 is too small for a grow out, but she had 5 and 15 in the post, so i wasn't sure (if that was towards me, dorkhedeos)

in a five gallon, you're looking at a very small range of fish. A betta would fit a 5g, a dwarf puffer would fit as well but they need mature tanks (cycled for 6 months or longer) because they're very sensitive to poor water quality. Not sure what else, maybe a few male endlers (not females, too big, and you'll end up with babies). Shrimp are good for small tanks, ghost, amano, or cherry shrimp are all options, but they'll do best in a tank that is already cycled.

Well, i wasnt trying to sound mean, just trying to correct you so he wouldnt get a stunted fish =)

 

[dwarfgourami]

In a nano tank, you will be looking at nano fish. There is actually quite a range of these, though some may be hard to get hold of.
apart from endlers, betta OR dwarf puffers as suggested by others,

there are several tiny rasbora species (usually soft water lovers)
there are the pseudomugil species (medium-hard water)
there are tiny livebearers such as heterandria formosa
there are sparkling gouramis
there are 3 species of tiny corydoras (pygmaeus, hastatus and habrosus)
there are desert gobies
or peacock gobies
there are tiny tetras such as ember tetras (usually soft water)
and finally, don't lets forget the shrimps
nor indeed the African dwarf frogs