Best fish for 3 gal tank

[OliveFish05]

I sure can. You put an angel in a 20 gallon and it will almost certainly be stunted after a year. As for ember being active - i'm not sure you have ever owned the fish. I've had them in 5 gallon aquarium, 29 gallon aquarium and 120 gallon aquarium and they are pretty much stationary unless something large approaches them. I guess if that is your defn of active then i hate to see what you call a turtle sunny itself.

I did not say Ember tetras specifically. You were earlier saying green neon tetras in a 3 gallon are fine. I will admit that I have never kept green neons or ember tetras, and therefore have no first hand experience with them. Regardless of the activity level of green neon and ember tetras, they are schooling fish. Schooling fish need a minimum of 5 in their group, though 8 is better. A 3 gallon tank does not provide the necessary space needed to house a suitable group of these fish. Without a suitable group of these fish, they will be unhappy. Fit a suitable size group of these fish in this tank and they will be cramped and unhappy.

Just as you have right to believe ember tetras are fine in a 3 gallon, @Obsessed with fish's LFS has a right to believe angels are fine in 20 gallons*. We are not calling you pathetic for this belief. Ultimately, there is a truth in the situation whether our opinions line up with it or not.

*To clarify, I do not think angels should be in 20 gallons, though that fish store is saving a lot of fish being purchased for 5 and 10 gallon tanks by setting a limit.

 

[anewbie]

I did not say Ember tetras specifically. You were earlier saying green neon tetras in a 3 gallon are fine. I will admit that I have never kept green neons or ember tetras, and therefore have no first hand experience with them. Regardless of the activity level of green neon and ember tetras, they are schooling fish. Schooling fish need a minimum of 5 in their group, though 8 is better. A 3 gallon tank does not provide the necessary space needed to house a suitable group of these fish. Without a suitable group of these fish, they will be unhappy. Fit a suitable size group of these fish in this tank and they will be cramped and unhappy.

Just as you have right to believe ember tetras are fine in a 3 gallon, @Obsessed with fish's LFS has a right to believe angels are fine in 20 gallons*. We are not calling you pathetic for this belief. Ultimately, there is a truth in the situation whether our opinions line up with it or not.

*To clarify, I do not think angels should be in 20 gallons, though that fish store is saving a lot of fish being purchased for 5 and 10 gallon tanks by setting a limit.

My preference would not be a 3 gallon for ember but they would do ok. Also they are not schooling fishes they are shoaling fishes. rummys are schooling fish. To be honest I've not seen a huge difference in their behavior if they are in a group of 20 or 3 as long as they are comfortable in their environment.

The different between my comment on ember and my comment on angels is I know what will happen in both cases; you are just speculating. In all honesty I've not kept ember in a 3 gallon because i would not buy such a thing; but i have kept them in a 5 gallon and qt'ed them in a 5 gallon pail. So i suppose you could call me out on that one but ember are pretty docile and i feel confident it could live a long and 'happy' life in a 3 as a group of 3 IF the temp and water quality is stable and that is a big IF esp for a novice fish keeper.
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[Obsessed with fish]

I sure can. You put an angel in a 20 gallon and it will almost certainly be stunted after a year. As for ember being active - i'm not sure you have ever owned the fish. I've had them in 5 gallon aquarium, 29 gallon aquarium and 120 gallon aquarium and they are pretty much stationary unless something large approaches them. I guess if that is your defn of active then i hate to see what y

I sure can. You put an angel in a 20 gallon and it will almost certainly be stunted after a year. As for ember being active - i'm not sure you have ever owned the fish. I've had them in 5 gallon aquarium, 29 gallon aquarium and 120 gallon aquarium and they are pretty much stationary unless something large approaches them. I guess if that is your defn of active then i hate to see what you call a turtle sunny itself.

ou call a turtle sunny itself

No tetras can go in a 3 or 5 gallon, end of discussion.

 

[anewbie]

No tetras can go in a 3 or 5 gallon, end of discussion.

Well it is a bit heavy handed to state your opinion as fact; but it is not surprising.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Well it is a bit heavy handed to state your opinion as fact; but it is not surprising.

uh huh

 

[Essjay]

I have kept both ember tetras and green neon tetras in a 125 litre/33 gallon tank. They were very active fish, swimming all over the tank. Both are shoaling fish which need a group of at least 6, though small fish like these usually do better in bigger groups.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Well it is a bit heavy handed to state your opinion as fact; but it is not surprising.

Another thing, no one has agreed with you. About 5 people have proven you wrong. Read this: https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/paracheirodon-simulans/

 

[anewbie]

I have kept both ember tetras and green neon tetras in a 125 litre/33 gallon tank. They were very active fish, swimming all over the tank. Both are shoaling fish which need a group of at least 6, though small fish like these usually do better in bigger groups.

That is interesting because the ember I've kept barely move over time. In my larger aquarium the group of 20 only moves when an apisto swims through the group. I wonder what triggers this difference between being stationary and more active. Btw byron posted his opinion of them here noting he also found them to be mostly stationary:

Ember Tetras not active

I currently have a school of 12 ember tetras in a 10 gallon but they are not very active. All they do is stay in the plants till feeding time. Is this normal behavior or would they be better off in a larger tank with dither fish?

www.fishforums.net

perhaps it is an age thing though the ones I have are now several years old they were a bit younger when purchased.... so I'm not sure. maybe it is landscaping ? All of my aquariums have an abundance of plants. The green neon did tend to be a bit more active but the school of 30 cardinals i have also stay mostly stationary most of the day 'cept when the angelfishes swim near them.

 

[Essjay]

How many tetras did you have? I had 10 of each. Perhaps it's a numbers issue?
The tank had wood and plants as decor.

 

[itiwhetu]

This site amazes me sometimes a Thread titled " Best fish for 3gal tank" runs to 84 posts and there is a poll running for which are the best ones.

 

[Essjay]

Most of the posts are pointing out what can't be kept in 3 gallons rather than what can. I have not voted in the poll so I have no idea if any votes have been cast, but I feel it is better to explain why fish should not be kept in a tank this small rather than just click "none of the above"

 

[Ch4rlie]

Embers or any fish for that matter if kept in too small a tank becomes much less active.

I had 3 endlers in a 5 gallon tank and these were very inactive, not swimming a whole lot and basically not moving much.

Moved them eventually to a 3 foot fairly densely planted tank, the endlers then showed massive behaviour change and they then swam a lot ALL over the tank, very active and fun guys, also boosted their numbers to 8 and they shared that tank with CPD and Rasboras.

Really chalk and cheese behaviour difference simply due to tank size and possibly numbers, nothing to do with age imho.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

That is interesting because the ember I've kept barely move over time. In my larger aquarium the group of 20 only moves when an apisto swims through the group. I wonder what triggers this difference between being stationary and more active. Btw byron posted his opinion of them here noting he also found them to be mostly stationary:

Ember Tetras not active

I currently have a school of 12 ember tetras in a 10 gallon but they are not very active. All they do is stay in the plants till feeding time. Is this normal behavior or would they be better off in a larger tank with dither fish?

www.fishforums.net

perhaps it is an age thing though the ones I have are now several years old they were a bit younger when purchased.... so I'm not sure. maybe it is landscaping ? All of my aquariums have an abundance of plants. The green neon did tend to be a bit more active but the school of 30 cardinals i have also stay mostly stationary most of the day 'cept when the angelfishes swim near them.

Let me copy your logic: "I agree to whatever whatever byron says and not what 5 other people are saying". "Ill use my endlers livebearers laziness as an excuse". "having 1 extra plant or 1 less plant makes my endlers lazy". Now that is SOME logic right there.

 

[fishyfun&fans]

only thing in a 3 gallon are bettas, snails and shrimp.

i wouldnt consider 3 gallons really enough for a betta to thrive

survive maybe but not thrive and be happy

 

[Essjay]

Please read Byron's post about ember tetras. He said they cruise around a tank, sometimes hovering. He did not say they were 'mostly stationary'.