How many fish should I get?

Question

I was wondering how many fish, and what type of fish would thrive in a 5 gallon tank? I have a 10 gallon but I'm thinking about also getting a second one, probably around 5 gallons, but I don't know about too many fish that would do okay in such a small tank. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Tons of great choices are out there for a small tank! Apistogrammas,dwarf cory catfish, sparkling gourami, dwarf gourami, Killifishes, many small tetras and livebearers are the right size, that's about 1500 species to choose from right there, not to mention the other bettas. The fighting fish are only one kind of betta.

Do a little surfing and search some of those groups and they will knock your eyes out! Some of the prettiest aquarium fish out there are a good size for a 5 gallon.

Good luck with it and enjoy! - MM

Answer 2

You need to be very, very careful with this size tank. Water parameters get out of control fast in small tanks, especially if they are overstocked. The only fish I would suggest for a tank of that size would be a single male betta with 2 or 3 african dwarf frogs, OR 3-4 male fancy guppies. Schooling fish such as tetras, barbs, and danios need a group of at least 6 of their own kind and are therefore unsuitable for your tank. Cory catfish and otos both also do much better in a group of at least 3, 6 is better...I wouldn't risk this in a 5 gallon tank. Please don't pay attention to the so-called "rule" that the number of fish in your tank should equal the number of gallons. Fish have extremely varied needs and it is best to research the particular fish you like before you buy...that way you don't end up with a "tankbuster" species such as a pleco in a 5 gallon tank...

Answer 3

i have a 5 gallon on my desk at work, and let me tell you, it's really hard to find fish that will do very well in a 5 gallon tank. the ten gallon, you can do probably 6 or 7 small fish (tropical and NO GOLDFISH)... keep the tank healthy by doing frequent water changes, and by monitoring the water perameters, get a master test kit, you'll need it. the smaller tanks vary so much with the conditions, because it is such a small environment. the larger the tank, the easier to care for it.

for a 5 gallon, you could get:
3 female bettas (no less, they'll beat eachother up) or
1 dwarf puffer (freshwater, NOT brackish) or
2 african dwarf frogs or
1 male betta
of course, these are individually, not all together.

good luck!!!!!

Answer 4

Really depends. Don't go by the "inches" rule, it really depends on the size, temperament and species of fish.

Also the type of tank (planted or not), your filter, oxygen levels etc.

What do I mean?

Size (length doesn't matter):
An Oscar would not be suitable for your tank. An Oscar (though not a "long" fish, it is aggressive and messy, also they are big - fat, so they need more food than, say a group of neons the same length - more food = more waste = more problems).

Temperament:
You could house 10 neons together no problem, they like to live together (wait till after the cycling process before introducing neons btw). However put two (male) Bettas together and you have trouble. One male is actually shy I found.

Species:
Different species have different requirements. Bettas and related Gouramis don't need that much space because they can take oxygen directly from the air (more surface area in a tank = more oxygen). However some Gouramis are aggressive (3 spot gouramis though hardy, are aggressive. I had to remove one from my tank to save the other fish). Lace or Pearl Gouramis are peaceful.

So I'd say get a betta and 2 Lace/Pearl Gouramis - male and female or just 1 male to be safe...they look better ;) ( http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile30.html ). They should live together fine.

Get some easy plants too (hygros for example: http://www.tropica.dk/productcard_1.asp?id=050 )

Plants will eat fish waste and produce oxygen for your fish. Gouramis won't eat them too.

Maybe get one or two SMALL corys to clean up food on the bottom.

Get the plants and DO NOT overstock. Any more than what I said above and you'll have dead fish. In fact, if gouramis couldn't take O2 from the air, what I said above would be major overstocking. :)

NOTE: If you get plants, turn on a bubbler (air stone) at night at least...I actually have mine on all the time (plants put out oxygen during the day and take it in at night. If you don't have a bubbler on at night the fish will suffer when the plants suck the O2 out of the water.

Answer 5

The pet store says 1 fish per gallon, but 7-8 fish could fit in a five gallon tank.

Answer 6

I had a 10 gallon tank and the pet store told me not to put more than 10 fish..Use the number of gallons for that many fish. Five gallons, 5 fish and so on.

Answer 7

3-5 small fish is ok. Platies, guppies, tetras, barbs, or rasboras do ok in a filtered 5 gallon tank. The only sucker fish small enough is an oto, but they are quite fragile. Make sure you cycle the tank first and get a test kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

Answer 8

in a five gallon tank, a betta would do really well with a heater...

in a 10 gallon tank you could do 10 small fish.. like neon tetra or something like that.. I would research before you buy anything though

Answer 9

if u have a filter in the 5 gallon that is rated higher than wut the tank can hold u can accualy hold more then 5 - 1 inch fish. u can probely get like 10 - 1inch fish in the tank with a filter rated 15+ gallons

Answer 10

The general rule of thumb is one inch of fish PER gallon of water. You also need to take into account the rocks, plants and ornaments that will be taking up space.