I'm New Here And Would Like Some Fish Ideas!

[BlueBelle4]

Hi Everyone,

I'm new here and need to ask a few questions.

To start from the beginning... I have a 3 Gallon tank, a heater, some Java Moss and a tiny bridge!
I used to have a Betta, but he died Apparently he was old... but I know he was my first fish and it was prob me that killed him!

Anyway, a few months have gone by and now I'd like to get another or some fish for the tank.
I'd really like to know what kind of Fish would be suited to the tank... I'd prefer tropical... and also who they would get along with.
If my tank is too tiny, then maybe a suggestion on one type of fish.

I wouldn't mind getting a Betta again... but every time I see them I get sad thinking about the poor little guy that I lost!

So, ANY suggestions would be greatly appreciated, esp if they are long and detailed!

Thanks
xx J

 

[Curiosity101]

That sized tank is only suitable for a single betta (or if you had room to buy a 5gal and could move all of your equipment, filter, heater, light etc across to that). If not then a 3gal is sufficient, but for only...8litres more you could give one a really nice home.

Other than that your only real option is shrimp and a couple of nerite snails.
However to keep shrimp you NEED to have a cycled filter as ANY ammonia at all will kill them.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum BlueBelle.
As Curiosity said, we will really need to know if you have a good filter for your tank or intend to rely on lots of large water changes to deal with the poisons build up in the tank. Either approach can work on a small tank like that if you don't mind the water change work. I personally like Heterandria formosa in a small tank but they can be a bit hard to find in pet shops. They only reach a size of less than an inch as adults but look like this if you can get close enough to see them well.

Another recent addition to my tanks is even a bit harder to find and are known as golden teddies, Xenophallus umbratilis. They are also small enough to keep in a very small tank. By the time I got a pair home in a bag from a club fish auction, I had 8 fry in the bag along with the pair that I bought. They are bigger than the Heterandria but are a nice small fish that don't seem to bother their fry. I am keeping 2 pairs and those 8 fry in a 10 gallon and they are finding it roomy. My adults look a lot like these. These are not mine, I just found the picture on the internet with a directed Google search.

 

[BlueBelle4]

Thank You for the Welcome!

We really don't have any room for a bigger fish tank... and I don't have a filter... yet... guess I better get one! I was told before that Bettas don't need filters because they breath the air from the top of the tank, and I had the Java Moss... so i thought he'd be ok... was this wrong?

The Heterandria formosa look really cute.
I guess I have to ask, what is the water ... I don't know... volume maybe, per fish?? And how do I know how many they should "school" in??

ok... I've been thinking... Basically... I need a bigger tank ... maybe I can get another Betta for my tank... I'll think about that.
Too confusing...

What about Platy? Are they too big to have in a 3gal tank? How big do those guys get?
And one more question... Should fish be mostly active? I mean... should they seem to be swimming for most of the day or do they rest/sleep?

Thanks for reading my confusing post! lol!

xx J

 

[OldMan47]

A platy or two will be a very full tank with not much movement in it. With the Heterandria, you could probably keep around 8 to 10 of them without overloading the tank. The teddies would have you at around 4 or 5 and would be full. A betta would also benefit from a filter. Being a labyrinth fish does not exempt the betta from having to swim in its own waste but does make for a slightly tougher fish when it comes to living in poisons. All fish do much better when the poisons in the water are not allowed to build up. In a small tank like yours, people do manage to keep their water in fairly good condition by doing 2 or 3 water changes a week that almost completely replace the water. That is a common strategy for betta breeders who cannot afford hundreds of individual filters so that they can put one on each grow out jar.