5.5 Litre Tank?

[mini_matt]

Hi, been having a discussion on the betta section >>please take a look<< and concluded its not really big enough so what can I do with the tank? I will be making a large filter using a 4L tub mainly to increase water volume if I use the tank on its own but what to stock it with? also considering this type of set up >>My link<<

any ideas welcome (shrimp?) cheers everyone

 

[mattlee]

shrimp would be ok but they need a well estblished filter otherwise you may lose them, not sure how many though as 5.5L is very small......

 

[mini_matt]

indeed it is very small, not sure on the exact dimentions of the particular tank but the one I saw in the range today looked similar and was 5.5l lol can you breed brine shrimp? that would be good cos could feed some to my fish every now and then lol i used to have sea monkeys as a kid and heard there the same?

 

[OldMan47]

It might well work for "sea monkeys" they are really quite good fish food. It might also work for culturing daphnia, arguably an even better fish food since they don't die as fast in fresh water. I think I might try some Heterandria formosa in there unless you really like the CRS idea. I have a very large breeding colony of them in a 10 gallon tank. They grow to less than an inch each at full growth.

My hets male and female

 

[mini_matt]

thanks, could you tell me more about culturing daphnia? and hets look quite cool but would only be able to have a couple

 

[OldMan47]

You could probably keep 5 or 6 hets in that container since the total water volume includes the part in the sump. Daphnia are sort of easy if you are able to grow some green water algae. That takes lots of intense light and traces of nitrogen. One way to get the nitrogen is to put used tank water from a water change into the daphnia tank. Daphnia eat green water algae as their best food so you feed them by squirting some green water into their tank. Every day or two you take some daphnia from the colony and feed them to the fish. That way the daphnia colony population doesn't get too big. Daphnia can reproduce from a few days old and produce large numbers of daphnia clones. The other end of things is that daphnia do not live very long, maybe a month. Unless you keep removing the older ones, you end up with dead daphnia decaying in the colony's water. Since daphnia are sensitive to water quality, that can cause a crash of the colony. I use a coarse net to remove daphnia for feeding. The new daphnia go right through it and the adults get caught and go visit the fishes. There is some good reading here and here on culturing daphnia. The second link discusses an alternate feeding regime that I have used with some success.

 

[mini_matt]

ok thanks very much I'm still not entirely decided on the final plan but have been looking at all the options seen some nice micro planted tanks that look cool and contemplating what to go in with the moss etc 5or 6 hets or some cherry shrimp might be the result (after learning cherry shrimp don't need a heater i'm swaying towards them....maybe) lol are cardinals too big as i like the look of neon tetras and cardinals but then hets look to have a nice bit of red in them?

 

[OldMan47]

My Heterandria run without a heater in their tank too Matt. Their natural range runs from the East side of FL in rivers up to GA and a bit beyond into SC so they are adapted to live in less than tropical waters. They can't take the cold the way a goldfish can but they don't need a heater in most homes. Sorry, I just noticed you are in the UK so ignore the geography. They are OK down to about 20C.

 

[mini_matt]

lol without the heater my tanks tend to drop to just above 20 but wev got colder weather now so I would be a bit worried about them at that temp might try the shrimp now that I have found a shop near me that has shrimp

 

[fishnovice]

ok thanks very much I'm still not entirely decided on the final plan but have been looking at all the options seen some nice micro planted tanks that look cool and contemplating what to go in with the moss etc 5or 6 hets or some cherry shrimp might be the result (after learning cherry shrimp don't need a heater i'm swaying towards them....maybe) lol are cardinals too big as i like the look of neon tetras and cardinals but then hets look to have a nice bit of red in them?

Would make a good fry tank. Otherwise how about 2 or 3 male endlers? Small colourful fish not too expensive or difficult to look after

 

[OldMan47]

Endlers will definitely need a heater. They do best at around 25C.

 

[mini_matt]

came to my parents today and the tank measures 8x8x8inches so thats around 8L, apparently it is a fish tank from when showing fish at display shows (there is a similar show pen for showing hamsters made from wood) so its a bit larger than I remembered but thats a good thing

 

[OldMan47]

Show tanks are just that. They are intended to be used to show a fish for a day or two before returning it to its proper tank. I have a nice little 2 1/2 gallon tank for that purpose, for fish shows. I leave it empty unless I am showing a fish. Then I put a fish or two in it and place it on the judging table. As soon as the judging is done, the fish go back home or are sold at the club auction. The tank may or may not have a sponge filter in it depending on whether there is an air supply for show tanks at the show. There is never a receptacle to plug in a heater though.