2.5 Biotope?

[Noahsfish]

So just today I ordered a 2.5 aqueon betta bow. I plan on heavily planting it with a few pieces of driftwood. So I'd originally planned on trying to cheat the cycling process by using a water change from an established tank, and adding some of the gravel or sand from one of my other aquariums. I'd originally planned on doing just red cherry shrimp, or some other type of dwarf shrimp. But then I was thinking I might try having one male betta...I know the minimum is really five gallons, but this would be heated, filtered and cleaned on a regular basis. My question is would the betta just gobble up the shrimp? Or is there any other single very small fish I could fit in a 2.5? I know, that the smallest for any fish is a betta in a 5 gallon, but could I perhaps fit something like a single guppy or anything like that? I realize that I don't really consider something an aquarium if it doesn't have fish. I don't particularly like guppies, but really anything that can go with a few RCS and do ok in a planted 2.5.

 

[reptileman]

well first off, the tank is not capable of growing plants due to it being an incandescant bulb. As far as stocking a male betta and a ADF would be fine in there, I know many people reccomend against this but i personally have and know people who have kept the species alive in bowls for 7+ years! It all comes down to how much work you are willing to put into the tank... The smaller the tank even with 1 betta the more frequent the water changes. Personally in a 1 gallon tank filtered. i do a 25% water change weekly in your tank you could get away with a 10% water change weekly with- or - without plants. also if ADFs are fishy enough for you You could happily house 2-3 in there as long as you had plants of different strata the could utilize. As far as heaters go for the little guys, they aren't needed but are still reccomended as with betta fish. I found that in my Aqueon bow 1 that the incandesant bulb raised the temperature just the right amount to last through the night to lights on . you could look into endlers livebearers but they are quite similair to guppy although much smaller. As far as shrimp and betta goes it really depends on the betta fish. i have had bettas that terrorized and decamated shrimp colonies, and than I have had others who peacfully co-habitted with each other.

 

[This Old Spouse]

First off, putting used tank water in it won't cycle the filter. Take some mature filter media and put it in the filter. And then do at least a 20% water change weekly.
 
Bettas are all different. Some don't care about shrimp, other think they're a great snack. I'd thin if you put some java moss or other means for the shrimp to hide it would help greatly.

 

[Noahsfish]

well first off, the tank is not capable of growing plants due to it being an incandescant bulb. As far as stocking a male betta and a ADF would be fine in there, I know many people reccomend against this but i personally have and know people who have kept the species alive in bowls for 7+ years! It all comes down to how much work you are willing to put into the tank... The smaller the tank even with 1 betta the more frequent the water changes. Personally in a 1 gallon tank filtered. i do a 25% water change weekly in your tank you could get away with a 10% water change weekly with- or - without plants. also if ADFs are fishy enough for you You could happily house 2-3 in there as long as you had plants of different strata the could utilize. As far as heaters go for the little guys, they aren't needed but are still reccomended as with betta fish. I found that in my Aqueon bow 1 that the incandesant bulb raised the temperature just the right amount to last through the night to lights on . you could look into endlers livebearers but they are quite similair to guppy although much smaller. As far as shrimp and betta goes it really depends on the betta fish. i have had bettas that terrorized and decamated shrimp colonies, and than I have had others who peacfully co-habitted with each other.

No, trust me about those types of things. I already have a reef sun 10 watt fluorescent, so that would average to 4wpg. That's enough for most high light plants, plus I might try and rig up some sort of co2 system, or I might inject with some seachem flourish. But I don't really want to take the chance of having my shrimp eaten, so would a single male guppy work?

 

[attibones]

Guppies are very social fish. Keeping a single guppy would be a really sad thing. Maybe instead of a guppy, you could do a snail tank or just ADFs. Maybe you could also just do shrimp. I have never had a betta who resisted killing shrimp when the opportunity presented itself. If you absolutely have to have a fish, get a female betta, as they are less prone to fin rot (I think, may be wrong). Fin rot is really easy for betta fish to get when they are in smaller tanks, so the less fin, the better. Personally, the tank you are considering is not a very functional tank. I have one. It is hard to get the aquascape right because of the design of the tank. Mine gets covered in diatom, no matter how little light the thing gets. I don't know if that's the tank or the room. Anyway, it's an annoying tank and difficult when it comes to a large betta. Females, usually smaller, may have a more difficult time getting bored, or eating their own fins. I'd turn it into a Best Shrimp We Could Get tank.

 

[Noahsfish]

Eh money's not really an issue here, in fact, I plan on getting a 5 gallon fluval in the near future..however I really want something that will be able to fit on my work desk...

Oh yeah, I feel like an idiot, but what are ADFS?

 

[attibones]

If this is going to be a desk tank, then go with a shrimp tank or a betta. I advise against keeping betta and shrimp together, the latter frequently eats or just kills the former. I love shrimp though. They are really silly creatures. If you plan on getting a Fluval five gallon, are you looking at the chi? I have that one and love it. It has several design flaws, but I think it does extremely well as a betta tank. IF you buy the optional plastic lid.

 

[Noahsfish]

I was looking at the chi..and also, does anyone know anything about endlers or own some? I know they stay small, but do they need schools? Could I perhaps keep one in the 2.5? A 2.5 is really all I can fit on my desk..I can't even fit a 5 gallon tall. Like I said, I'd really like to have shrimp, but I'd like to have at least 1 fish, anybody know of a species that's peaceful and could survive in such a small tank? I don't have my hopes up, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Mamashack]

If you do want a male betta have a look at the plakats. They have less flambouyant finnage and seem to be more disease-resistant. (That's what I'll be getting once the 30L tank has cycled.)

 

[r.w.girard]

ADF is an African Dwarf Frog, in case you were still wondering.  I think it is listed in the common short hand list here on the forums, but I can't remember. 

 

[attibones]

Endlers are very close to guppies. They can interbreed. Anyway, they too prefer community tanks, and a few of their own species. The only fish I would think would be okay is a betta. They thrive in larger aquariums, of course, but they will live in smaller ones. You won't find another fish, apart from the ADF, which will work. Have you considered crabs?

 

[Noahsfish]

Hmm, would shrimp and crabs coexsist together? What about shrimp and ADF? Whatever I decide on will be with shrimp.

 

[attibones]

I'm pretty sure the frogs would work well with shrimp, but I'm not sure about the crabs.

 

[Noahsfish]

Ok, the tank should be here tomorrow or the next, I plan on going RCS and maybe a ADF. As a final thought, would 2 female guppies work? I actually hate guppies, and I don't know much about them except I instantly think of feeder fish..I was thinking about it because a friend of mine just recently started a 5 gallon with a few guppies..although mine is a 2.5....going a bit off topic, I had been thinking of purchasing an apple snail, but I figured it would just demolish my plants. But, I came across a YouTube video a while back where this person had a heavily planted tank with 3 apple snails, and his plants looked fine..

 

[This Old Spouse]

If you do get apple snails, you need to leave room at the top of the tank for it to breathe, otherwise it will crawl right out of the tank, and with your tiny tank you can't afford not to have it topped off. I think the same holds true for the frogs.