What Can I Get In A 5 Gallon?

[waterdrop]

black neons grow larger than regular in my experience

but it says black neons only go up to 1.5 inches.

what about bloodfins?

i think my lfs might have some rasboras i can get, are they tropical fish?

Yup, black neon up to 1.5", regular neon 1 to 1.25"

bloodfins 2"

Yes, rasboras are tropical.

 

[Dwu280]

don't regular neons grow up to 2 inches? look here http/www.petco.com/product/101091/Neon-Tetra.aspx

guppies are also a good choice, and so are rasboras. this is a hard decision.

 

[waterdrop]

Neons? Dunno, would be interested to hear TFF experiences but I've hardly ever seen one approach an inch (Cardinal Tetras are a different story.) I got the 1.25 inch figure from some other database similar to your petco one.

I love Rasboras. Years ago it used to be hugely popular to raise male fantail guppies with bigger and bigger tails. I did my share of that (whole tanks full) and I kinda burned out on it. Guppies have a constant twisty, wiggly kind of motion I get tired of.. somehow very different from the motion of tetras, which can be a thing of beauty in a small tank.

 

[three-fingers]

It's actually a very easy decision, stick to the fish suitable mentioned, get a bigger tank or don't look after the fish properly.

'Rasbora' is a very general name, it applies to tonnes of common species, ranging from about 5" to under an inch.

You need to look up the exact species before purchasing.

Male guppies are a bad choice, they are active fish that can easily reach the size of neons. If you like guppies, a trio of male endlers may be an option, but much more would be cramped in there.

Yup, black neon up to 1.5", regular neon 1 to 1.25"

bloodfins 2"

Yes, rasboras are tropical.

Having kept both of those species I'd have to disagree . My black neons reached 2" - one female was probably bigger than that, she certainly had a fuller body.
I see regular neons at 2" nearly every time I go into work (from people re homing their fish, the cheap new ones are sold at an inch and under).

I think that you really need to face up to the fact that you cannot responsibly keep any aquarium fish in such a small tank - get suitable species, or buy a new tank.

 

[backtotropical]

a bunch of flowers is the best bet

You crack me up, Dark Entity!

 

[D.C._United_Caps_Fan]

You could also do Glowlight Tetra's. They stay about the same size as the small Neon Tetra's. Either one of those I would say you could get away with 4 or 5 of them, and maybe 1 or 2 pigmy corys, or a couple of otocinclus. I think that would work just fine, espeically if you have a small HOB filter running on it, and a small heater. If you add enough live plants to the mix that will even help w/ the filtration more, and might afford you one extra fish too. Let us know what equip you have and how it goes! Good luck with it!

 

[aquablue]

Maybe a guppy? 3 at the most...
If you go with guppys make sure you get all females. If you want a male make sure you only have one. I find that males like to fight over the females.
An african dwarf frog would be neat too!

 

[Dwu280]

thanks for the advice guys! glowlight tetras sound good, and they are pretty small, but do they need a lot of swimming room. and when you say i maybe can get away with 4 or 5 of them and maybe have 1 or 2 pigmy corys, does that mean 4 or 5 glowlight tetras OR 1 or 2 pigmy corys, or both? causing having all of them might be overstocking. i do have a small heater for a 5 gallon tank and i keep the temperature currently at 75-78 degrees. my tank is an eclipse hex 5, and i have a filter pump and a bio wheel that comes up with it. my filter cartdrige is "rite- type z." i don't think i can have live plants since it will be too hard for me to take care of, but i do have some fake plants and i got this thing that has some good hiding spots.

thanks for the advice guys! glowlight tetras sound good, and they are pretty small, but do they need a lot of swimming room. and when you say i maybe can get away with 4 or 5 of them and maybe have 1 or 2 pigmy corys, does that mean 4 or 5 glowlight tetras OR 1 or 2 pigmy corys, or both? causing having all of them might be overstocking. i do have a small heater for a 5 gallon tank and i keep the temperature currently at 75-78 degrees. my tank is an eclipse hex 5, and i have a filter pump and a bio wheel that comes up with it. my filter cartdrige is "rite- type z." i don't think i can have live plants since it will be too hard for me to take care of, but i do have some fake plants and i got this thing that has some good hiding spots.


is there anyway i can get only male guppies?

 

[aquablue]

Yeah you can do that too! The males are much more fancy in my opinion.

 

[three-fingers]

You could also do Glowlight Tetra's. They stay about the same size as the small Neon Tetra's. Either one of those I would say you could get away with 4 or 5 of them, and maybe 1 or 2 pigmy corys, or a couple of otocinclus. I think that would work just fine, espeically if you have a small HOB filter running on it, and a small heater. If you add enough live plants to the mix that will even help w/ the filtration more, and might afford you one extra fish too. Let us know what equip you have and how it goes! Good luck with it!

Afraid not, glowlight tetras get about the same size as both neons and black neons, and are just as active, I don't know why you would think otherwise - it's very common to see big glowlight tetras in shops .
1 or 2 pygmy corydoras would be very unhappy, they are shoaling fish that live in huge groups in nature.
Otocinclus are also shoaling fish that live in groups of hundreds in the wild, they are active, and pretty sensitive fish. I would certainly not recommend them.

Maybe a guppy? 3 at the most...
If you go with guppys make sure you get all females. If you want a male make sure you only have one. I find that males like to fight over the females.
An african dwarf frog would be neat too!

IMO that is pretty bad advice, female guppies get much bigger than make guppies (up to just under 3"), and almost always come pregnant when you buy them - you are certainly not ready for tonnes of baby fish in a tiny tank.

I also never realised you tank was a hex tank. That just makes it even worse for these fish as there is considerably less swimming length. It would be very unfair to put corydoras in that tank.

If you don't like my advice, you should re-ask this question in tropical discussion or one of the specific fish forums, see what the views of people with more experiance are, and get accurate info .

 

[simonas]

I have a 5 gallon tank and currently I only have one small rosy red minnow. I'm going to give it to my friend soon however once I get some new fish. Any suggestions? .

5 gallons of water!! lol

 

[Dwu280]

i already did go to a live chat they said i could do neon tetras, so thats where i got my advice from, but i dunno....so are you saying its better to have a tank with a much longer length and not as much height?

 

[three-fingers]

I'm curious as to who said you could have neon tetras in a 5gallon hex, as I don't think they have kept neons for very long before .

Yep, that pretty much what I'm saying, neons and those other tetras like to dart around the place and chase each other from time to time, it would just stress them doing this in such a small tank. Though IMO a 5 gallon long tank still wont have large enough dimensions for these tetras.

 

[Dwu280]

it was from the live chat, the guy Paul, who is the host of the chat room, and this other guy called space. plus i see a lot of people on youtube posting their 5 gallons with a betta and some neon tetras. the people commenting said that it was kinda pushing it but if the person kept up with the necessary water changes then it will be fine. of course, who knows how long the tetras lived.

maybe a rosy red minnow, a betta, and some shrimp?

or a rosy red minnow and some harlequin rasboras?

the only reason i am now considering a betta is because my LFC sells white bettas, and those look very cool.

it was from the live chat, the guy Paul, who is the host of the chat room, and this other guy called space. plus i see a lot of people on youtube posting their 5 gallons with a betta and some neon tetras. the people commenting said that it was kinda pushing it but if the person kept up with the necessary water changes then it will be fine. of course, who knows how long the tetras lived.

maybe a rosy red minnow, a betta, and some shrimp?

or a rosy red minnow and some harlequin rasboras?

the only reason i am now considering a betta is because my LFC sells white bettas, and those look very cool.

btw, what does IMO mean?

 

[Musho3210]

definately no minnow, no rasboras, no tetras. Betta, and/or shrimp, or coral reef tank (no fish) take a pick.