Howdy all

I have two spare tanks (one is 5 gallons, the other is 10)

>>and i've been playing around w/ the idea of creating a tropical setup (small) for my bedroom.

the questions:

1. can i have a 'tropical' setup in a tank as small as 5 gallons?
2. are tropical fish particularly difficult to care for (I'm thinking of getting guppies, or platies, or swordtails....or maybe even some loaches)
3. i know the 'one inch of fish per gallon' rule- but does that applie to all tropical fish?----->i get the feeling it dosn't.
4. would it be smarter to go bigger> setup the 10 gallon instead?


any fish suggestions would be greatly apreciated.
the more i think about this the more confusing it seems.



...maybe i should stick to goldfish.......

you could use the 5 gallon for 3 female bettas (must be placed in at the same time)

and for the 10 gallon have a school of guppies and maybie a snail...or a oto

i think those tanks r too small for swordtail but a betta would b ok in the 5 gallon and u could get a few small tropicals for the 10 gallon, platies would b fine, they're easy to take care of but if u dont want tons of babies then get all males or all females, i have only males in my tank but they will fight..

thanks fishcrazy
i've always wanted female bettas but my lfs never seems to have any


>>anyone know the deal w/ otos? should they be kept in groups? how many gallons? (i kinda find them adorable )



babies?

...maybe i should stay away from livebearers....
eeeep.





>>thanks for the help guys!!!!

i have a single oto in my 5 gallon with 2 male platies (was 3 before our vacation ) overstocked i no but i do alot of waterchanges and big ones too. Otos r cute, 1 or 2 should do ok in the 10 gallon with maybe some neon tetras

(yet another question)

>>could i possibly keep 5 neon tetras in the five gallon? (i remember keeping them when i was little...)



((i'm really sorry if these questions sound ignorant ))

i think the 5 gallon would b too small

okay

i'm glad i consulted you guys first before i went out and bought anything.


how bout 4 neon tetras?
(i'm kinda obsessed.)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

perhaps i should start my search for a handsome betta then...
(unless anyone else has any suggestions)



how i do love fish shopping

neon tetras like to school, so 6 or more is better

but those thanks are kinda small

i'd put a pretty betta in the 5gallon

haha i saw your subject of "Two Spare Tanks...." and thought HEY! i've got two spare tanks too!

haha cept my are two 55's... i got them when the petstore had the $1/ gal sale... and parents don't want me to set them up.

i am plotting to start setting them up though.

O.o Le gasp. I wish I had two 55s I could claim were "spares"

Cuz then I could qt more fish for my upcoming 400 gallon pond

1. Yes, you can!
2. No, not necessarily. Different fish require different care. Some are real easy some are extremely difficult.
3. No. Some fish, such as tetras, are schooling fish. Schooling fish are generally very active and require more width to swim around. Some fish, like angels, require more hight than width. All fish are unique but don't let that scare you away.
4. As they say "Bigger is always better!"


*Be sure to do research on each species! Some of the fish I listed can only live in a 10 gallon(Not a 5 gallon) or they have special requirements(Must be only fish).*

Suggestions for a 2.5 - 10 gallon:
A male or female betta.(wild or domesticate species)
Shrimp(Cherries, Ghost, Crystal, Caridina, +others).
Snails.
Carinotetraodon travancoricus and Carinotetraodon imitator(Dwarf Puffer)
Brachygobius aggregatus(Bumblebee Goby)
Hara jerdoni(Asian Stone Catfish)
Heterandria formosa (Least Killie)
Microglanis iheringi (Bumblebee catfish) //Do not confuse with Pseudomystus siamensis which reach 6 inches//
Corydoras pygmaeus(Pygmy Cory)
Poecilia wingei (Endler's Livebearer)
Microrasbora sp .(Galaxy Rasboras)
Carnegiella myersi(Pygmy Hatchetfish)
Danio erythromicron(Zebra Rasbora)
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi(Ram Cichlid)
Dario dario(Scarlet)
Nannostomus mortenthaleri(Red Pencil Fish)
Nannostomus marginatus(Dwarf Pencil Fish)
Pseudomugil tenellus
Apistogramma cacatuoides(Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid)


I'm tired, but I could probably think of some other fish tomorrow.



3 bettas in a 5 gallon is too many. 1 would be the best choice but 2 females are "ok".

thanks

i'll be sure to do more research.
i just wanted a rough guestimate




turns out that i'll probibly be using the ten gallon for my tropical setup---->maybe the five gallon for a single betta.

bigger is better --->and i'm not about to take any chances
okay.
so with ten gallons
i have a broader range of possibilities....right?
i really like plecos....maybe i'll look into them.
but then again, most varieties get really big....


i think i'm losing it

with small tanks otos are better than plecos

a common pleco can get 2 feet long, and they tend to get carnivorious as they get older

maybe one of the very small varieties would work tho

thanks

being here on kokos i've learned more than my fair share about common plecos

BUT
i kinda find them adorable and would like to keep one.....someday....
eventually.
(when i have a spare 50 gallon tank)
or something.




yea.

hrmmmm....
rubbernosed plecos don't get all that large...( i had one once, actually, i grew quite fond of him )
dwarf puffers are a possibility as well...


omg.
there's so many things i could do.....

i like plecos too

i think plecos are my fav. next to goldies.




...i have a feeling that it has something to do with the goober factor....



anyways.
i think i might look in to keeping some neon tetras with a rubbernosed plec. (yes. oh so adventurous)
lol
>>in the 10 gallon of coarse.

i hope the rubbernose is nice to his cellmates

rubbernose plecs are pretty docile....and tend to avoid the tankmates (in my expirience)


I just had an idea...and the smarter half of my brain is telling me that it's probibly not a good one.


as stated above >>i really want to get a common pleco.

could i get a baby and keep it in the ten gallon and upgrade as it grows?
(it would eventually get 50 gallons plus)

can i? can i? can i?

or is this a miserable idea?

you'd think i'd know better than to ask something like this....but it's been done before....right?

i would just wait till you have the 50+

thanks 13vie




that's probibly the better idea.

I wouldn't get the neons. They need a wide tank to be completely happy and secure. However, you could house 1 bulldog plec in the 10. If you really want a large pleco, then skip the small tanks and save some money for a larger one. Its never good to purchase fish just because you can. Be sure you want them and you have enough space for them.

"Common" plecs really are great pets. My Bayou is one of the best fish I've ever bought.

i love plecos too! I think they got in a new shipment at one of my fav petstores, there was like 30 in the tank all sssoooo cute!! But i was more interested in the other fish in the tank and that would b the african butterfly or something like that, i love those guys!! Maybe someday i'll get one. They had TONS of different varieties of plecos too, i didnt even know that some of them existed but im thinking that a rubbernose might still get too big for a 10 gallon. U could most certainly get a school of neon tetras though, i saw golden neon tetras today, ssssooooo pretty lol

I have neon tetras in a 10 gallon tank and they seem just fine.....

I personally love guppies (I would recommend getting all males to 1. avoid babies and 2. to get pretty colors). I also enjoy zebra danios (very active and hardy fish). I like neon tetras, too.

Also consider cory catfish. They might fit better in your 10-gallon than a pleco, and they're kind of along the same lines as a pleco.

All those fish I listed prefer to be kept in groups, so keep that in mind..... I also wouldn't recommend having guppies and danios together because the danios may nip at the guppies' tails.

As for the 5 gallon, I would say keep a betta, or maybe some guppies. Or you could set up a shrimp tank, with plants and some ghost or cherry shrimp. That could be neat!

A tip for acclimating your new tropicals: Float the bag in the aquarium, and add in a little but of tank water every 5 minutes for about 45 minutes. I didn't lose any of my danios or neons when I used that method.