5 Gallon Hex Tank With A Molly

mwood2 · Oct 27, 2008

well my gf's tank seems kinda empty seeing as her fish is semi aggressive, so I dont have any ideas for her tank. Since its a hex tank its taller then wider but could there be anything that can fit inside with her?

I'm assuming right now that it may be a bad idea to add anything since the tank is wide and the Molly itself needs a good amount of room to swim but would bottom feeders work perhaps? I'm wondering if 2-3 Oto's would work since there suppose to armored against aggressive fish such as dwarf puffers. Its my Gf's tank but just seeing if I can give her any options. Im also thinking shrimp maybe.

nosoup4you · Oct 27, 2008

Otos wouldn't be a bad choice...

mwood2 · Oct 27, 2008

well I would worry since there is an ok swimming room for a single Molly but what im worried about is that dont Oto's need a group and also need more swimming room that is offered.

here is a pic so you can a fish to tank ratio

nosoup4you · Oct 27, 2008

I'd still say that you could probably put 3 dwarf Otos in there...as long as the tank is well cycled.

How do you feel about shrimp or snails? Or an African Dwarf Frog?

mwood2 · Oct 27, 2008

well I had 2 AFD in there at one point but moved them to my tank since she would pester them all the time if they came out of hiding. Shrimp was an idea but she inst to big a fan of them.

Also I saw alot of small plecs at the store and was curious about them. I hear that they grow to be a good since and they need to be kept in groups to be active. Also are there any big dif between Cory and Oto's? I heard Oto's are sligly armored so they go with aggressive fish but are cory's?

nosoup4you · Oct 27, 2008

Cories would require a larger tank as they get larger and tend to be more active than Otos... Otos have the added bonus of being algae-eaters

I wouldn't do even a small Plec in a tank that size...

mwood2 · Oct 27, 2008

and oto's require a group of 2-3 right?

nosoup4you · Oct 27, 2008

Three or more...I'd go with three. How long has the tank been established? Otos tend to be a little touchy and prefer a mature tank.

spazzinout · Oct 27, 2008

You could do 2-3 pygmy cories, there allot more active then otos, and clean up extra food the molly doesnt eat. They are bottom-dwellers but mine always venture up to the middle part of the aquarium. They only get to about an inch!

I think I have that exact tank in your picture. How about pushing the plant a little closer to the back to have more free swimming room for the molly?

I Know mollys need salt, but Ive hear otos cant handle any salt, I might be wrong though..

mwood2 · Oct 27, 2008

the tank is almost a month old and has been able to hold the Molly and 2 AFD with no ammonia/nitrite issues. I also have some filter foam on top of the filter in my tank that has been there for awhile now which I can move over to her to add more if needed. I check ammonia/nitrite in both tanks twice (min) each day. Also should I be worried that her tank has a gravel bottom? I have an extra bag of Aragonite sand left over from my other tank in case I need to change.

nosoup4you · Oct 27, 2008

I wouldn't worry about the gravel so much if you intend to do Otos. If you go with the Pygmy Cories you may want to switch to sand. I'd definitely add some more mature media to the filter if you intend to do either of these fish as they both prefer more mature tanks and you'll be more than doubling the bio-load in a pretty small tank.