New To Aquariums Bought A 3 Gallon Tank

[Kirsty Chesko]

Hi Tropical fish forums,

I am new to the aquarium world and was looking for some advice to get started. I have owned a couple of Beta fish before always in a vase like bowl with a peace lilly ontop.

I have bought a 3 gallon aquarium (which I know is small) and I wanted some advice on how to stock it. I wanted to get another beta fish but I also wanted to put some other fish in there too. I have tried looking online and I know many of the small fish which I thought would be perfect for this small tank need to be in shoals - ergo not good for this tank

any advice on what I can put in it because I wanted more than 1 fish?

Also I have seen a couple of things about cycling - not really sure what that is

Thanks for the advice

 

[techen]

Neons Tetras ! xD Also http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/113861-fishless-cycling/ for fishless cycling.

 

[fluttermoth]

Neons won't be happy in numbers less than six, and a 3 gallon tank isn't big enough.

It's a betta, or shrimp really, in a tank of that size.

Don't forget, it would be best to do a fishless cycle on the tank, before you add any fish.

 

[techen]

Neons won't be happy in numbers less than six, and a 3 gallon tank isn't big enough.

It's a betta, or shrimp really, in a tank of that size.

Don't forget, it would be best to do a fishless cycle on the tank, before you add any fish.

Dang, Thought they might have been fine. Nevermind then, SHRIMP Lots of shrimp

 

[nikkifro8994]

ONE betta or some shrimp. Make sure you get a filter and a heater. Tetra makes a small filter called the whisper 3i. I use this in my 1.5 gallon shrimp tank. You should have a hood as well. It will help with evaporation. Also, bettas and shrimp like to jump. My sister had a sorority of female bettas in a 10 gallon tank. 1 jumped out onto the floor. It's a good thing my sister was in the room. She put the betta back in the tank and bought a hood that afternoon.

Fishless cycling is a pain in the neck process and you have to be patient with it. I had one tank that was fully cycled in 2 weeks. Another one took almost a month and a half. There are many very informative articles in the beginners section here ---> http/www.fishforum...esource-center/

 

[the_lock_man]

Agreed with above. These are your options.

1 )A single betta and no other fish.
2) A single betta and some shrimp
3) Lots of shrimp

 

[Kirsty Chesko]

Thanks for the advice, if I were to go with the beta and some shrimp how many shrimp can I have? How about a frog or a snail, can I have those?

The tank does have a hood, a bubbler and a filter but I don't think a heater. It's the KollerCraft AQUARIUS AquaView 360 Aquarium Kit with LED Light.

 

[nikkifro8994]

The tank is too small for a frog. Snails are okay. I like ghost shrimp with my betta. I got them thinking he would eat them but he doesn't pay attention to them. And, if he does eat them, they are extremely cheap. The stores around me sell 10 for $2.00. in a 2.5 I'd say you could do 1 betta and 1 snail, or 1 betta and 5-6 shrimp. You could try cherry shrimp, but they could make for a pricey betta dinner.

That tank doesn't have a heater. You can find a small heater that you can place under the gravel. I found a few ---> http/www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_st?bbn=2975446011&keywords=mini+heater+2.5+gallon&qid=1354821170&rh=n%3A2619533011%2Ck%3Amini+heater+2.5+gallon%2Cn%3A!2619534011%2Cn%3A2975446011%2Cn%3A2975456011&sort=price

 

[Kirsty Chesko]

Thanks for the help I bought the heater than you can hide under the gravel. The step by step beginners guide you recommended talks about a filter substrate. How do I tell if my filter has it? Will it explicitly say so?

 

[nikkifro8994]

Filter substrate or media is the stuff that makes your filter work. Things like carbon or a sponge. You have an under gravel filter which is basically a tray that catches all of the poop and uneaten food. It's not really a filter at all. Check out a small internal filter such as the tetra 3i.

 

[Blitz]

I would also suggest shrimp. You could also get a couple of mystery snails. But really, snails are just as messy as other fish are.