First pet, I need help with deciding what kind of fish to buy for small tank?

Question

Hello, I am buying a fish tank for my 5 year-old son. I have narrowed down my choices for a small tank to the All Glass mini-bow 2.5 gallon or the All glass mini bow 5 gallon. I have been researching and see that with such small tanks, it limits my options for fish. I want his tank to be colorful and I want 5-6 fish in it. (that's why i looked at a bigger tank) I love Male Bettas and they don't need as much space as other fish, but I am aware that they are very aggressive fish. What kind of fish could i put with a Male betta? Or is there another fish with flowing, colorful fins like a Male betta, but that is less aggressive?

No Goldfish!!!! They are to dirty and to much work.

The tank comes with an undergravel filter. But was advised by friends to buy an additional filter. Comments on this please.

Answer 1

They say you can't put anything with a Betta. I am afraid to find out! You could try a Gourami - we have had several of those, they cooperate with each other and with other fish very well, and there are lots of different varieties/colors you can find, and they're all very colorful.

Answer 2

You have 2 very controdictory ideas. Small tank+lots of fish. Sadly to say, i know of 3 fish that can go into your 5(2.5 is WAY to small),
First there is the male betta. With this there are limited choices. AT BEST you may be able to keep 3 or so endlers in there. I am not sure how this would work out, so it is risky. The endlers are very colorful fish, grow to 1 inch and are veryy hardy. Just make sure you get endlers. No other fish is very colorful and stays at 1 inch. Well, not many. If you aim for things other than fish, a few small shrimps would be great, they can go with the betta

Secondly, there is a very interesting fish, the dwarf puffer. I would not reccomend it. It can be kept in a 5 gallon, but with excellent filtration, and are just as messy as goldfish, at 1 inch in lenght. They are also delicate, very aggresive, and require special care. Otherwise, it is a great fish with tons of personality, and will be a great pet
Any other fish, will grow far to large for the tank, a 2 or 3 inch fish is too large. The rule is 1 inch per gallon, using slim bodied fish of under 4 inches, and most small fish are schoolers, meaning they must be kept in groups

Finally, my reccomendation, get a bigger tank. Trust me on this. A measly 5 will not at all fit 5-6 colorful fish, without most likely killing them. The endlers even will feel cramped. Most fish will. Also, you have almost no leeway. Smaller tanks are harder to maintain. Skipping a water change or adding a few extra flakes may be nothing on a 50 gal tank, but on a 5 gal it could be fatal. Also, if there are any power outages, the 5 will lose heat and gain toxins much faster that the 50. I would say that a 75 gal tank is perfect for begginers, though any tank over 20 gals should do.

If you keep your tank for a betta, the undergravel tank is bad. These filters were once great, but the surface area of a chuck of foam or a newer bio wheel, will far exceed the surface area of the gravel. The filters main purpose is to do bio filtration (providing a home for beneficial bacteria which deal with invisable waste to live in), and the undergravel filter does its job poorly. Also, there is little mechanical filtration (there will be lots of visable waste). Finally, the gravel will be extremely dirty when u vaccum it.There will also be very little oxygen. Though some say adding an air pump mystically makes your water have oxygen, the distrubance from a real filter, whenever water moves at the surface of the tank, oxygen will enter. This is usually all that is needed, or adding a powerhead will be much more effecient than an air pump. THe air pump relies on the bubbles breaking the water surface to add 02, not the bubbles.

All in all, the eclipse system is better, having an easy to use cartridge system, and a new bio wheel that filters and aerates your water.

Before adding your betta, look up fishless cycling, or the method of growing bacteria to deal with fish waste, without harming your fish Also, www.fishforums.net is a great place for other info for begginers



I seriously say that if you must keep the 5, get the eclipse system. The tank you are looking at has bad filtration

Answer 3

First of all do you have a heater or is the water temperature going to stay at a constant temperature at all times otherwise you are going to end up with a disease called ick. Goldfish do better in cold water and do not require a heater but can also get ick if the temp changes to drastically. You actually don't have to clean a gold fish any more than a tropical fish.The cleaning regimn is the same regardless and there are some very pretty goldfish, fancy ones of coarse! You also have to keep in mind that the rule of thumb is an inch of fish per gallon therefore you can have one 5 inch fish in a 5 gallon tank or 5 one inch fish etc;I don't recommend putting a betta in with other fish although I have heard of some people doing so however chances are the place you buy the fish will not guarantee anything you put in with a betta. If I were you and you have a heater I would go for community tropical such as mollies, swords, tetras, gouramis, angels and guppy type fish BUT remember the rule 1 inch of fish per gallon! As far as cleaning goes you take 1/3 of the water out with a gravel washer (available at pet stores) and replace it with fresh water and be sure to use a water conditioner to remove chlorine and help with stress on the fish. Good Luck with your purchase!

Answer 4

i would go with a male betta, some cory cats, and some nice plants, real or fake, although real are much more work than fake obviously. The cories are active fish and are happy in a school of three or more. In a 5 gallon I would do 3 cories and the betta. (this is what i actually have one of my 6 tanks stocked with)

Also, if you do go down the route of cories, try to steer away from the varieties that get larger (these include the cheap, pretty, albino ones...they get to be a good size)

www.planetcatfish.com

Good for you for saying no to goldfish!! They really are messy fish and require miuch more room and filtration than can be provided by your current set up.

also, I would upgrade on the filter, as undergravel filters are just poop magnets. it sucks the deterus down through the gravel and under the filter plate, and it is left there to sit and rot an pollute your water. no amount of water changes will ever get it all out, except for a complete h20 change and you do not want to do that. the fish need some bacteria in the water.

Walmart has a couple decent filters, and also at reasonable prices.

also, bettas are attracted to other fish with birght finnage. so any brightly colored fish more than likely will not work. although, bettas do have individual personalities

Answer 5

Unfortunantly with a tank that does not have an air pump for extra oxygen the goldfish and betta are just about all you can really get without having to supply air. If you want to run a air tube into the tank from outside pump then you have a wider selection. But no extra air, no other fish sorry. I've had em all. All size of tanks! My cousin owns a pet store, you are pretty much out of luck. If you put a lot of fake plastic plants in the 5 gal. you can always try "Neons" pretty little guys and they "school" and could use the plants as protection from Mr. Bad Betta! Ha ha. But there are all kinds of goldfish, all colors, some regular called "feeder fish" and then those like small Koii with the Bubble eyes in all kinds of colors. Your five gallon no air tank will not serve many fish. The Gldfish as with Betta's are very oily that is why they are SO much work. They give off a film that covers the top of the water so the fish get no air. One of the reasons you have to change their water all the time. Who ever sold you the 5 gal. tank and didn't give you details, I feel bad for you. Now you are stuck. The one Betta with 5-6 neons should be "ok" but still have to change the water in order to supply enough oxygen. Bettas don't need a lot of air same as Goldfish. If Mr. Bad Betta eats the half dozen neons you won't be out much money. If you get a cheap small air pump and just run the tube under the rocks, Get rid of Mr. Bad Betta and consider getting yourself an Angel Fish. You could try the Angel Fish and Mr. Bad Betta but both are aggressive, it will be fun to watch them chase each other! The neons will just do their little "neon" thing and watch the big fish action from the fake plants. Other than that, I have no suggestions. That pet store guy "saw you comin" didn't he/she! You can alsways contact me through my site listed at the left of this answer by my picture, just click on the Fays Daze part!

Answer 6

I'd check out an aquarium shop with a good variety of fish and see if you could find some fancy male guppies. They'd have large colorful fins, but you could keep 6 to 10 in a five gallon tank with no problem. They're usually more active than bettas, and more interesting to watch -- the large veil tails are usually in motion. Quite hardy, and a good beginner's fish. Start with one or two in the tank, though, and gradually add more until the water is well cycled. Then don't forget partial water changes on a regular basis to control the nitrate levels. Do get a book on aquarium keeping -- it's not difficult or complicated, but if you don't do it right the aquarium will just slowly kill off your fish.

Answer 7

I wouldn't put anything in with a Betta in such a small space. Bettas can be put in with other fish, but all fish need room to get away from each other when necessary, and you never know if you're going to end up with an especially aggressive Betta.

In such a small tank, Minnows or fancy Guppies would be the only real option. Both are very hardy and relatively easy to care for. Minnows aren't very flashy, though, so I guess Guppies are the way to go. Some of them are really pretty. http://www.guppies.com/guppixpages/gp13.html

Answer 8

Goldfish are definitely out for a small tank. Proper tank size for goldfish are approximately 20 gallons for one goldfish. Goldfish are coldwater fish and actually need more space than tropical fish.

A male betta would be a perfect choice for the 2.5 gallon tank. However, I would not buy another fish to go in with him, except maybe a few cory catfish or a bristlenose catfish. The 5 gallon gives you more options. If you don't plan on heating your tank, you can have the betta and a small school of white clouds (maybe 4-5).

Answer 9

I'd advise against the mini-bow, and go with an Eclipse tank. They come with integrated bio-wheel filters in the hood. Which provides chemical, mechanical, and biological filtration. I have 2 5 gallon hex tanks for my male bettas. They are quiet, and I'm impressed by their efficiency at removing ammonia.

As far a colorful fish with flowy fins. Avoid putting fish like that with bettas!!! Your betta will think it's another betta. You could easily keep one betta, or 5 fancy guppies in a tank 5 gallon tank. (Note you'd want to get them one a week so the bacteria in the tank can manage the increasing amount of ammonia.) There are a number of guppy, and danio type with all manner of fins that would suit your tank type. Remember you should only put 1 inch of fish per gallon. (Large bodied polluters like goldfish are pretty much out of the question.)

Note if you want to mix bettas with other fish. Female betta are pretty aggressive towards other betta. I had one of my female bettas beat up one of my males. You can have multiple females in a tank, but it need to be larger. If you want to mix a betta with other fish. Avoid flowy fins, and fast fish like barbs, and tertas. Other than that any peaceful community fish should work out. The key to preventing betta vs other fish aggression is to put the betta into a tank with fish. Don't put other fish in HIS tank!!!

Answer 10

I would go with the 5 gallon, usually it won't be much bigger and will be less work. smaller tanks make sicker fish. For the 5 gallon tank you could add to the male betta just a few neon tetras. choose a fish that stays small. bettas generally get along with tetras and neons are bright colored. you could also look at a catfish (small one) like a cory betas dont bother them. but keep the number of fish low, the more fish the more crowded, the dirter water and more diseases.

Answer 11

male bettas go good with anything that doesn't have too-fancy-fins!

go for the five gallon--you and your fish won't regret it! betas actually like to swim around quite a bit, and that way you'll have more room for choice for other fish!

some colourful choices could be neon tetras or pladdys--both do well with bettas, and the bright colours will draw attention to the tank from anyone that walks by! both fish are small school fish and active swimmers, and you can get them at any petstore for cheap! they live longer than most small fish, and produce less waste, which i'm sure you may want to think about if it's for you five year old!

if you want to make the tank a nice decoration, think about buying natural coloured rocks--they won't distract from the fish, and won't look too tacky. you may also want to buy a couple small plants to sit at the bottom of the tank for the fish to sleep in--plus, they look great and help the fish breathe!

good luck with whatever you get!