Best fish for 3 gal tank

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I believe a dario dario will do ok in a 3 gallon aquarium with proper treatment despite the claim above that they require a 10 gallon aquarium.

'Will do okay' is, I believe, one of the reasons why so many fish are suffering at the hands of so many inexperienced fishkeepers.
It may well be inconvenient, or an unpleasant reality, but these fish do have real requirements in which to thrive and 3 gallons isn't it.

The thing is they also require live food (though with a lot of patience some can be talked into taking frozen food) and I suspect the poster is not in a position to care or feed for such a fish so it is likely mute.

Fish cannot be 'talked' into anything and, you are correct in this point, although the word you were after is moot.

Anyway I think it is off topic to get into thrive vs live comfortably esp when it is not really clear what that means from the fish perspective. The real problem is keeping a 3 gallon aquarium stable for any small fish is more difficult since many of them are not robust to poor water quality.

Now we're getting somewhere, although it would take only a little more research to learn what 'thrive' actually does mean for fish. This topic has been covered many times in this forum.
The point about the instability of smaller aquariums is well made.

 

[Essjay]

The Scarlet Gem is another name for Scarlet Badis, (Dario dario).

Thank you

@Honey Fish what are the dimensions of the 3 gallon?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

NOTE 'aufwuchs' = Mulm, biofilm.

Thanks, was about to look that up

 

[Honey Fish]

Thank you

@Honey Fish what are the dimensions of the 3 gallon?

It is the round acrylic one at pet o I’m not sure

 

[Honey Fish]

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-freshwater-globe-kit-31-gal-2771917?cm_mmc=PSH-_-GGL-_-CAL-_-PME-_-PET-_-AQU-_-0-_-PM_GGL_FY21_SBU05_PrivateLabel-Imagitarium_LIA-SMRT-_-0-_-0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5oSTjeu28wIVXRitBh25MwBREAQYAiABEgLkAfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Obsessed with fish]

I believe a dario dario will do ok in a 3 gallon aquarium with proper treatment despite the claim above that they require a 10 gallon aquarium. The thing is they also require live food (though with a lot of patience some can be talked into taking frozen food) and I suspect the poster is not in a position to care or feed for such a fish so it is likely mute. Anyway I think it is off topic to get into thrive vs live comfortably esp when it is not really clear what that means from the fish perspective. The real problem is keeping a 3 gallon aquarium stable for any small fish is more difficult since many of them are not robust to poor water quality.
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I would actually suggest that ember tetra and green neon are probably ok in small quanity in a 3 gallon as both are small and neither are active swimmer but they do require decent water quality and will not tolerate a lot of abuse which is hard to achieve in such a small aquarium.

You can not put green tetras and neon tetras in a 3 gallon.

 

[Myraan]

Scary thing is that bowl isn't even the smallest in shop.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-freshwater-globe-kit-31-gal-2771917?cm_mmc=PSH-_-GGL-_-CAL-_-PME-_-PET-_-AQU-_-0-_-PM_GGL_FY21_SBU05_PrivateLabel-Imagitarium_LIA-SMRT-_-0-_-0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5oSTjeu28wIVXRitBh25MwBREAQYAiABEgLkAfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

That actually makes me want to visit...with a hammer.

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Scary thing is that bowl isn't even the smallest in shop.

I dont think any fish should go in any thing smaller than a 3 gallon. (Unless its an emergency).

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Scary thing is that bowl isn't even the smallest in shop.

That actually makes me want to visit...with a hammer.

Its sad that people mis treat bettas like that. I rerember one time i saw a 1/4 of a gallon tank, thats half the size of my hospital tank selling as a betta tank, and this is the worst part. They sold 15 of them!

 

[Honey Fish]

Why is everyone so mad about my tank???
and can anyone give me instruction of how to keep shrimp in a used tank like mine?


and could I put a vanilla lobster in there there soo cute!

 

[Obsessed with fish]

Why is everyone so mad about my tank???
and can anyone give me instruction of how to keep shrimp in a used tank like mine?


and could I put a vanilla lobster in there there soo cute!

No, vanilla lobsters need 25 gallons minimum, im sorry we keep putting your ideas down, its just there not many options in a tank of that size. The only fish, and i mean ONLY fish you can put in that tank are shrimp snails, a betta and maybe a guppy or 2.

Shrimp, your best 2 options would be ghost shrimp or cherry shrimp, they eat pretty much anything. If theres any algae in the tank they will eat it. Algae wafers can work, but the best thing would be specialized shrimp food. In a 3 gallon you could probably get away with 20 cherry shrimp, or 10 ghost shrimp. Just remember shrimp breed like crazy, and you may have some over population problems. I would research ways to stop them from breeding to much.

Im sorry, but there are no other options for a 3 gallon. You could look into upgrading to a bigger tank if you really want other fish that badly. Another thing about the vanilla lobsters they get to over a foot in length when full grown so if you get it you will have to bring it back to the pet shop because it will grow bigger than the tank itself.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Sorry to appear harsh, but that 3 gallon is truly inhumane....any living being kept in one of those is effectively swimming in its own toilet

I cannot understand how any store, let alone a big chain store like Petco, can get away with selling something like that

I thought you meant the aquarium was a BiOrb....some of those are far from ideal, size wise...but at least they are more humane.

I would not put any animal in there...that would be a lovely terarium ecosphere....its perfect as a terarium ecosphere

Like these....

Ecospheres and Bottle Gardens - Closed Self Watering Ecosphere | The Urban Botanist

Simple, sophisticated and effortlessly elegant; our closed Ecospheres and bottle gardens combine an attractive light fitting with natural beauty. Shop the range today!

theurbanbotanist.co.uk

But somewhere for an animal to live.....no...not suitable at all.

 

[itiwhetu]

I dont think any fish should go in any thing smaller than a 3 gallon. (Unless its an emergency).

I don't think any fish should go in a 3 gallon full stop.

 

[anewbie]

You can not put green tetras and neon tetras in a 3 gallon.

I beg to differ you can put green neon tetra in a 3 gallon. All you have to do is fill the 3 gallon aquarium with treated water and release the green neon tetra in said aquarium. Viola you have green neon tetra in a 3 gallon aquarium.
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btw it is not green tetra and neon tetra - it is 'green neon tetra' which is paracheirodon simulans not to be confused with neon tetra which is paracheirodon innesi