Oddballs For A Planted 5gal

[Genesis]

Anyone have any ideas for a small oddball for a 5gal (heavily planted)?
Much appreciated.

- Josh

 

[Genesis]

I was thinking perhaps a lone tetraodon biocellatus

 

[connorsbala]

Nah, not a Figure 8 buts a Dwarf Puffer (Carinotetraodon imitator)
They only get like an inch maximum... Figure 8's will get too big for a 5 gallon
Ive had Dwarves, Fig 8s and Green Spotteds and all three are great to keep.
Im currently setting up a new tank for a dwarf now My first trio were in bad shape at the store...and didnt do too well as they had Internal Parasite
Check out dwarfpuffer.com for more info

 

[nmonks]

I wouldn't even bother with the puffers. More fun to go with a breedable shrimp like the cherry shrimp. It's so much fun to see the babies all over the place! There are also some very interesting snails out there, such as the predatory freshwater whelk Clea helena and of course the various nerite snails. If you must add fish, a few small gobies could work or maybe even Heterandria formosa.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Genesis]

Thanks Neal

Trouble is, it's an open topped aquarium.
And as cute as shrimp are, I'd hate to find one who'd tried his hand(?) at carpet surfing and ended up crusty



Heterandria formosa look interesting, but I'm at a loss about where to obtain them, I do not beleive my LFS stocks them

 

[nmonks]

Admittedly a problem. But mail order is increasingly viable to aquarists in the UK. Places like Wholesale Tropicals and Trimar get them in stock and do mail order. The British Livebearer Association is another good place to get in touch with people who might be able to share. Their auctions always seem to be in "the North" so I never get to go to them, but I gather they're pretty good and the fish nice and cheap!

Cheers, Neale

 

[Genesis]

I keep cherry shrimp in an open tank filled almost to the brim, and haven't yet lost any! Get a fair number to start with, and their reproductive efforts should offset any losses!

Thanks for the info Neal
I think I may well go with the Cherry Shrimp.
By chance, do you know whether they will actively set about eating Endler's Livebearer fry? Or even grab one swimming past?
As I have quite a few growing up in this tank already!

If you're sure they don't carpet surf they seem a feasible option!
Thanks once again for your superb answer


Regards
- Josh

 

[nmonks]

My cherry shrimps cohabit with both Limia and halfbeak fry, and don't seem to cause any problems on that front.

If you're worried about having an open topped tank, go to a glass store and have them cut a piece of glass slightly too narrow for the tank. This will fit across the tank nicely, while leaving sufficient gap for any wires and pipes. Only costs a couple of quid.

Floating plants are something I use in my open topped tanks. For whatever reason, they seem to stop fish from jumping. Indian fern (Ceratopteris) is recommended.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Genesis]

Thanks Neal, there is a glass place quite near me

I was considering adding Vallisneria americana to the aquarium, so that when it grows tall, it will grow like a canopy over the aquarium, like this:

 

[Genesis]

I've added both Vallis and Cherry Shrimp, they seem to be doing great!

 

[nmonks]

Sounds cool. I have a small (8 gallon) open topped tank on a window sill. The plants thrive in the sunlight, and grow out of the tank quite happily. Shrimps and Corydoras fry seem to be happy in the aquarium, eating away at the algae and taking the changes in heat and light in their stride. It's a fun tank to watch because the snails and shrimps combine to make the tank look more like a "real" habitat.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Genesis]

Sounds cool. I have a small (8 gallon) open topped tank on a window sill. The plants thrive in the sunlight, and grow out of the tank quite happily. Shrimps and Corydoras fry seem to be happy in the aquarium, eating away at the algae and taking the changes in heat and light in their stride. It's a fun tank to watch because the snails and shrimps combine to make the tank look more like a "real" habitat.

Cheers, Neale

What snails do you have?

 

[nmonks]

Various small pond snails, some Malayan livebearing snails to keep the sand clean, and a couple of the predatory (snail-eating!) whelk Clea helena. These latter are wonderful: they plough through the sand half-buried, and every once in a while grab a snail and pull it out of its shell. Biological control of a sort, I guess.

Cheers, Neale

[quote name=''genesis' post='1954441' date='Mar 24 2008, 11:51 PM']What snails do you have? [/quote]

 

[Shrimper]

[quote name='nmonks' post='1954682' date='Mar 25 2008, 08:47 AM']Various small pond snails, some Malayan livebearing snails to keep the sand clean, and a couple of the predatory (snail-eating!) whelk Clea helena. These latter are wonderful: they plough through the sand half-buried, and every once in a while grab a snail and pull it out of its shell. Biological control of a sort, I guess.

Cheers, Neale

[quote name=''genesis' post='1954441' date='Mar 24 2008, 11:51 PM']What snails do you have? [/quote]
[/quote]

I don't want to hyjack the thread... but where did you get the Clea helena from?

I would love to get some of these guys but have only seen them on German website.

 

[nmonks]

Aquatic Design Centre in London, on Great Portland Street. They're about £2-3 each, as I recall. Appear to be hardy and adaptable, though they quite obviously need a tank with a sand not gravel substrate (mine spend most of the time underground except for the siphon and the top of the shell). No real impact on snail numbers, but it's fun to see them hunting anyway.

Cheers, Neale

I don't want to hyjack the thread... but where did you get the Clea helena from? I would love to get some of these guys but have only seen them on German website.