Are My Fish Tank Choices Okay for Beginners?

[mitasali]

Hey everyone,

I am new to the fishkeeping hobby & just got my first tank setup . I have been doing a bunch of YouTube and Reddit research but figured it would be better to actually ask real hobbyists here instead of getting lost in conflicting info.

I have cycled the tank & now I am thinking about stocking it. I was considering 5-6 neon tetras, a couple of guppies & maybe a small snail or shrimp. Does that sound reasonable for a beginner tank? Or am I already heading into overstocking territory?

Also, how do you know when you are feeding them the right amount? Also i have check this https/www.fishforums.net/threads/stocking-for-20-litre-5devOps-course-online-gallon-tanks.481185/ still want to know more.

Thank you.

 

[GaryE]

You're going to see different answers on this one, because what we answer depends on what we want to accomplish with our set ups. I see a 5 gallon/20 ltr as barely functional, and a frustrating size to get into the hobby with. I would say your idea now is seriously overstocked, if you want the fish to live normal lifespans.

There's a balance of needs issue. Neons are social fish, something they have in common with a lot of small fish. They like to be in larger groups than a 5 gallon will allow. Right away, I would forget guppies in that tank size. They're too big.

You could get aquatic mosses and plant the tank, then look at a microfish like Celestial pearl danios, or even better, one of the tiny Bororas species. You don't say if you have soft or hard water though - a key consideration. I have softwater and that affects my suggestions. 4-5 Bororas (there are several species in the hobby), half a dozen emerald tetras if you have a heater, maybe a pair of Epiplatys annulatus clown killies, or maybe a few pygmy Corydoras. You are pushed to small numbers of fish that would prefer to be in larger numbers, as micro-fish.

Shrimp are possible as well.

Confusion will come! Different aquarists have different interests and will happily disagree with me. You just have to read all the suggestions and try to decide where you stand. I look to longterm tanks with long lived fish - a neon should get 5-7 years of life, have room to swim and an environment it likes. You should do 25-30% water changes every week, especially with such a small aquarium.

 

[Back in the fold]

Go with the guppies for now and substitute White Clouds ( Tanichthys albonubes ) for the Neon Tetras . That would be a great beginning for you . White Clouds were once known as the poor man’s Neon Tetra . They are great fish and are more compatible with guppies . I started out with a five gallon aquarium years ago and there is nothing wrong at all with a five gallon just get in the habit of your weekly partial water change and don’t go overboard on population and you will be fine .

 

[gwand]

I hate to confuse things, but white cloud mountain minnows should not be kept in a 5 gallon tank. First of all, they should be in a group of at least six. In addition, they need swimming space. I found that my six minnows were cramped in a 10 gallon tank.

 

[Back in the fold]

I hate to confuse things, but white cloud mountain minnows should not be kept in a 5 gallon tank. First of all, they should be in a group of at least six. In addition, they need swimming space. I found that my six minnows were cramped in a 10 gallon tank.

One would think but the White Cloud is a small fish and six or more will thrive with their guppy companions in this five gallon abode . What you perceive as cramped is the lively social interaction of a piscine population of friendly fish . Open your eyes to natures marvels .

 

[gwand]

You can call that tank Alcatraz!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have 6-7 white clouds since Jan. I bought them as the final lot at my club's annual auction. They were pond raised by the seller. They are in a 15 gal. heavily planted 15 gal. 24x12x12 inches. The top few inches is open water for the white clouds. I keep the tank a bit too warm for them at 76F. But is also holds breeding blue dream variety of Neocaridina Davidi shrimp, Amano shrimp and a single young albino bn pleco. It is filtered with a pair of Aquaclear 20s (100 gph). I would never consider putting this stocking into a smaller tank.

If you are curious about species, Seriouslyfish.com is a good resource used by many of us on this site. I do have a 5.5 gal. tank with lots of plants and the red cherry variety or the Neo. Davidi.

You might get away with keeping a few rice fish (Oryzias latipes Medaka) which need cooler water. They prefer a water temp. in the 61-72F range. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/oryzias-latipes/ but they really need a tank 18x12 inches/

There are not a lot of species one can keep in a 5.5 gal tank which is 16"L x 8"W x 10"H.

Microrasbora erythromicron mentioned in your link has been renamed Celestichthys erythromicron. It should not be kept in a 5.5 gal. tank. Seriously fish states: "Despite its small size minimum base dimensions of 24 ∗ 12" are recommended due to the sometimes combative behaviour of dominant males"

I would agree with the idea of just shrimp in your 5.5. If you want to keep fish, then please consider getting a bigger tank. At least a 10 gal and a 15 or 20 would be a better option.

I would agree with Seriouslyfish that the minimum tank size for guppies is 18″ x 12″ x 12″ so they too are no right for your tank.

Finally, you can get away with keeping a lone Betta but it should really have a tank at least 18x12 inches. Before O lnew any better I had a couple of bettas in a pair of 2.5 gal tanks set up end to end so the fish could see each other and flare but not fight. I was wrong to do this and it only lasted about 10 months before I gave away the fish and replaced the 2 tanks with the 5.5 I have now. I tried a few species in it which never thrived and I finally realized I should really not keep any species in a tank that small.

The smaller a tank one has, the harder it becomes to keep it healthy, no matter how it is stocked. If one is going to make a mistake it terms of tank size, it is better for it to be larger than needed than smaller. I would not use an internal filter in a 5.5 gal. Mine has an old Tetra Whisper mini, but I use my own Poret foam media, not the media Tetra included with that filter. It is also filled with live plants.

 

[Lcc86]

A 5 gallon is probably too small for most shoaling fish tbh as to get a proper size of shoal without overstocking you need a bigger tank, you'd be better off considering something that can live alone like a betta (depending on your water hardness) or similar. I keep nano tanks and they are harder to maintain good water quality if you overstock, things will go wrong more quickly than a larger tank, so it's something to be aware of.

 

[anewbie]

I would not mix guppies with neon as fundamentally one is a softwater fish (neon) and the other harder water (guppies); this ignores the size issue et all.

 

[MaloK]

Without water hardness and alkalinity.

We can speculate forever...

I had many Alcatraz style aquariums, filled with happy fishes.

When detained in a clean prison, good inmates and food is a lot more important than the space it offers.

A prison is a prison, what would you choose, the small one with friends or the big with bullies.

I had large numbers of mini shoaling fish in small tanks and they could not been happier. I choose 2 species compatible, bottom and top (that sounds weird, loll.) Try to recreate a sound environment and put large shoal of each.

Water quality is on your hand. But having 50 and more micro fish in 5 gallons, is easily doable.

In perfect happiness.

 

[Back in the fold]

Without water hardness and alkalinity.

We can speculate forever...

I had many Alcatraz style aquariums, filled with happy fishes.

When detained in a clean prison, good inmates and food is a lot more important than the space it offers.

A prison is a prison, what would you choose, the small one with friends or the big with bullies.

I had large numbers of mini shoaling fish in small tanks and they could not been happier. I choose 2 species compatible, bottom and top (that sounds weird, loll.) Try to recreate a sound environment and put large shoal of each.

Water quality is on your hand. But having 50 and more micro fish in 5 gallons, is easily doable.

In perfect happiness.

At last . The voice of reason .

 

[anewbie]

At last . The voice of reason .

Well i disagree with many of the things he said but each to our own.

For one thign i rather have a prison 10,000 square miles than 1 square foot; wouldn't you ? And of course while we don't know the hardness of the water we do know the two species are if not opposite rather oppose to each other in that regards; right? There is little chance the water would be suitable for both of them long term though short term i guess it doesn't matter much.

 

[MaloK]

Well i disagree with many of the things he said but each to our own.

For one thign i rather have a prison 10,000 square miles than 1 square foot; wouldn't you ? And of course while we don't know the hardness of the water we do know the two species are if not opposite rather oppose to each other in that regards; right? There is little chance the water would be suitable for both of them long term though short term i guess it doesn't matter much.

Mnnn !!! For your 10k² miles, prison you would need millions of friendly inmates for them to at least feel secure.

Your answer make me think you don't understand shoaling fish behaviours.

Only when their slime coat rubs on each other, exploding chemistry mix happens.

 

[MaloK]

@gwand

"You can't always get what you want"

Add an apex predator and survival rate will rise.

But there is a profound reason at why it is said 4-6-8 is a good shoal.

Because it will never be enough to inspire survival instinct and get you spending more.

Put 18-24 instead... And keep water clean.

Give good shelter and the strongest will will join the ranks. Don't try to save every fry and eggs.

Give hell to snails and string algae.

 

[gwand]

We are speculating on the psychology of shoaling fishes. Herding mammals are the mammalian analog to shoaling fish. Which group is happier. One hundred horses in a small corral or 100 horses on 100 acres of pasture. I intuit that 50 nano shoaling fish are happier in a 20 gallon tank than in a 5 gallon tank.