Making the best of a 5 gallon tank

[Ellie Potts]

Hey everyone! I haven't posted in a while, but I'm now in college and looking to keep a nice planted tank. I was gifted an almost complete 5-gallon setup that I'm currently cycling. So many options are running through my head... dwarf puffers, betta, dwarf crayfish, micro species, Thai micro crabs, shrimp, all plants, et cetera.
I want to optimize the tank, but consider the fact that twice a year, it will have to come home with me (a 7-hour drive that could be stressful for any picky fish) and survive week-long breaks where a friend will come in and do basic maintenance.

• I'm leaning away from pea puffers, despite them being my top choice, because I worry the movement will be too stressful for one of them, and they don't take well to dry foods (which a stranger caretaker would have an easier time with). Thoughts?
• I'm not really a betta person - kept a few and liked them, but never fell in love. But they seem like the obvious choice.
• I've never kept a dwarf crayfish, but catching one to move home for the summer sounds easy. I'm not sure 5 gallons is big enough. I would avoid the larger species, like the Mexican dwarf, but have read that a Least Dwarf crayfish would be ok. I've had a hard time finding information on them, though.
• What sounds most appealing right now is a micro-species tank. 5 Thai micro crabs and maybe some shrimp. This is where I feel the fish nerd in me dancing a dangerous line - I'd love to add some ember tetras or a small group of chili rasboras to this tank, but that sounds like too much in too little. Thoughts?

Any ideas? Advice or your own five-gallon stocking would be more than welcome!! Regardless of what goes in this tank, I know it will be heavily planted, well filtrated, and I have a few good heaters I could use. It's a standard rimmed 5.

(I do know some people believe that 5 gallons aren't fit for any fish at all. Which may be reason to stick to shrimp or tiny crabs. I go back and forth on it myself but do find that a heavily planted tank can happily sustain micro species or certain betta species without issue. Pea puffers are pushing it, but with monitoring the water quality and changing the scape consistently, I'm not convinced it's impossible. This is the only tank I'm able to have in college, going from 8 to 1 means this little guy will be getting LOTS of attention lolz)

 

[Trepano]

Honey gurami? they are small, curious and hardy.
Crayfish can be really fun, but they are voracious and may eat your plants
Cherry shrimp are as hard as they get, may even be kept without food for days with no problem
What about a Killifish? some of them eat dry foods and are very beautiful. Just don't live that long

 

[Ellie Potts]

Honey gurami? they are small, curious and hardy.
Crayfish can be really fun, but they are voracious and may eat your plants
Cherry shrimp are as hard as they get, may even be kept without food for days with no problem
What about a Killifish? some of them eat dry foods and are very beautiful. Just don't live that long

I haven't kept honeys before - think they'll be ok in a 5? Will they pick on shrimp?
That was my biggest concern with them
I like to add some cherrys into any tank I can. Hoping this one will be no different

I don't mind the short lifespan of killies. I haven't been able to find smaller ones that are all that pretty to look though - any species recs?

 

[JuiceBox52]

I haven't kept honeys before - think they'll be ok in a 5? Will they pick on shrimp?
That was my biggest concern with them
I like to add some cherrys into any tank I can. Hoping this one will be no different

I don't mind the short lifespan of killies. I haven't been able to find smaller ones that are all that pretty to look though - any species recs?

Definitely not honey gourami. They get much too big.

Have you looked into scarlet badis?

I might have missed it, but what is your water hardness?

 

[TNG]

I want to optimize the tank, but consider the fact that twice a year, it will have to come home with me (a 7-hour drive that could be stressful for any picky fish) and survive week-long breaks where a friend will come in and do basic maintenance.

I’m not sure if the fish will survive the twice yearly 7 hrs’ drive. I hope they do though.

The crabs and crayfish should be OK if you just give them a bit of water to keep them wet, but not enough to submerge them and knock them around during the drive.

Whatever you eventually decide to keep, I’d really like an update on how you prepare and they survive the trips. That will be useful info as in the next few years I expect to move interstate, around 900km drive.

 

[sharkweek178]

Honey gurami? they are small, curious and hardy.
Crayfish can be really fun, but they are voracious and may eat your plants
Cherry shrimp are as hard as they get, may even be kept without food for days with no problem
What about a Killifish? some of them eat dry foods and are very beautiful. Just don't live that long

A honey gourami needs at least a 10 gallon.

 

[JuiceBox52]

A honey gourami needs at least a 10 gallon.

I’d say 20 but yes., definitely not a 5

 

[Ellie Potts]

Definitely not honey gourami. They get much too big.

Have you looked into scarlet badis?

I might have missed it, but what is your water hardness?

Yeah, after reading people's responses and doing some more research, I agree that a 5-gallon could be cruel for honey gourami. Do you think 5 is too small for scarlet badis? My main concern with them is that they're predators, and I'd really like to have shrimp/crabs.

I don't have the hardness for my college yet, unfortunately. I know that water around the school is pretty hard, but the water department says that they somehow soften water in the community I'll be living in on their website. I do have the ability to test water hardness, so am planning to just prepare for boiling water during changes or adding crushed coral depending on what tests say I need.

 

[Ellie Potts]

I’m not sure if the fish will survive the twice yearly 7 hrs’ drive. I hope they do though.

The crabs and crayfish should be OK if you just give them a bit of water to keep them wet, but not enough to submerge them and knock them around during the drive.

Whatever you eventually decide to keep, I’d really like an update on how you prepare and they survive the trips. That will be useful info as in the next few years I expect to move interstate, around 900km drive.

I'll keep you posted! The only reason I feel comfortable doing it is because I know others that have been doing this for years with success and no obvious signs of too much stress (no reduced lifespans on hardy fish, and any discoloration or other stress signals clearing up within a few hours of arrival). But I wouldn't attempt this with any fish that isn't known to be pretty hardy.

 

[Rocky998]

Yeah, after reading people's responses and doing some more research, I agree that a 5-gallon could be cruel for honey gourami. Do you think 5 is too small for scarlet badis? My main concern with them is that they're predators, and I'd really like to have shrimp/crabs.

I don't have the hardness for my college yet, unfortunately. I know that water around the school is pretty hard, but the water department says that they somehow soften water in the community I'll be living in on their website. I do have the ability to test water hardness, so am planning to just prepare for boiling water during changes or adding crushed coral depending on what tests say I need.

Scarlet Badis are less than inch... And any of the Neocaridina species of shrimp are an inch or more usually... I doubt they will prey on them BUT they may go for the REALLY tiny shrimp babies.
But with enough hiding spaces they should be fine...

 

[Ellie Potts]

Scarlet Badis are less than inch... And any of the Neocaridina species of shrimp are an inch or more usually... I doubt they will prey on them BUT they may go for the REALLY tiny shrimp babies.
But with enough hiding spaces they should be fine...

That makes sense to me. I just see a lot on different websites warning not to bother putting them with any invertebrates

 

[Rocky998]

That makes sense to me. I just see a lot on different websites warning not to bother putting them with any invertebrates

I would see them being an issue for small ramshorn snails but not larger "grown-up" shrimp... The babies yes, but the adults the fish wouldn't be able to eat at all and the babies will most likely stay under the cover of guppy grass or java moss if provided...

 

[JuiceBox52]

Before we can accurately give stocking suggestions though we do need the water hardness levels

 

[Ellie Potts]

Before we can accurately give stocking suggestions though we do need the water hardness levels

Ideally, I would have water hardness. But I don't. I won't be buying until I'm there, so right now, I'm just trying to come up with some potential ideas. I don't want to get there and be clueless as to what I want and want to give my roommate an idea of what I'm thinking. I'm prepared to soften or harden the water when I get there if I have to, but obviously, any idea I get stuck on could get shot down.

 

[Rocky998]

Yah compatability was gone over a bit, but without the knowledge of your water conditions, it's a gamble to get a fish (or other aquatic animal).

Scarlet badis live in a soft to medium-soft water environment with a PH of 6-7.5

You spoke of adding crushed coral? But that adds hardness and PH. So if your water is already soft, with a good PH you shouldn't need to worry...

If your water IS hard, I will say it's a lot harder to lower hardness than to raise it.

I don't know what part of NC you're in (I'm from NC as well), but as far as I know all the water around here is soft with a higher PH... I don't know if you are closer to the mountains or not and what the conditions are like where you are but for me (in the eastern side) I have some strange water... It's probably what our water provider adds