restarting a tank, size upgrade?

[ftbetta]

So we recently had a betta fish in a 5 gallon tank that got very sick due to my misunderstanding the amount of water that you're supposed to change, or I think that was the cause of the problem (this was before I found this site)

Per advice on several other threads, I have removed everything from the tank, wiped everything down and rinsed everything in hot tap water, there was a lot of particulate stuff floating around that I wanted to get rid of as well. I was really hesitant to use bleach on stuff, so am planning on doing a round of api pimifix, just to make sure there is no residual bacteria or fungus left in any of the stuff before getting it started again.

now the question:
Originally I had a 5G tank because I have never done fish tanks before and wanted something "small and easy", only to learn that in fishtanks, sometimes small means harder, not easier. I have been thinking of switching up to a 10G tank (we don't have room for much more than that, and even 10G is kinda stretching it) providing that both my filter and heater are rated up to that big of a tank (I think they were, but dont have the boxes and will have to do some official research for a hard answer)

I am going to re-cycle the tank before we add anything anyway, and I'm not sure that I want another betta, but what are the general opinions of a 5 vs 10G aquarium? I am more interested in having some sort of a community of fish, I really like the little catfish as well, and was just wondering based on tank size, is 10G enough bigger that it would give me better options? or are they really fairly comparable as far as how many and what types of fish you can put in them? and both really considered a "tiny" tank still?

maybe what are some examples of not too fragile fish numbers and combinations that I could house in either size tank would help me decide if its worth the upgrade right now or not?

Thanks in advance everyone for opinions and advice

 

[Byron]

A 10g is still small, but certainly offers more options than a 5g. But when we get into what the hobby terms "nano" fish, meaning fish species that remain small and are thus more suited to smaller tanks, water parameters can be a more critical aspect as many of these fish will be wild caught. Knowing your source water GH (general hardness) and pH will help us to suggest options.

I wouldn't worry about the heater and filter as they will no doubt be fine in the 10g as in the 5g.

Byron.

 

[TekFish]

As far as options go, you will have many more in a 10G than in a 5G. IMO 5G tanks are best left for Bettas, Shrimp, and breeding tanks for Nano Fish. I don't even really like putting Betta in them all that much. 10G is still small, as Byron said, and it is still a nano tank. You will still be limited, but much less so than a 5G.

 

[ftbetta]

as far as GH and pH, do those need to be out of cycled tank water? or can I just get a glass straight from the tap and stick the test strip in?

 

[Byron]

as far as GH and pH, do those need to be out of cycled tank water? or can I just get a glass straight from the tap and stick the test strip in?

You want to test the tap water. The GH and KH will not deviate much from the source water levels (it could, but I won't get into all the chemistry) so this will tell you what you have to work with. The pH may change in the aquarium, but that depends upon the GH/KH and other factors we can ignore for the moment.

Test strips will give you an idea, but you might want to confirm the results with the water data. Your municipal water authority probably has a website with data posted, or they can tell you. (Unless you're on a private well).

When testing pH of tap water, you need to ensure the CO2 is out-gassed or the reading may be inaccurate. You can let a glass of tap water sit 24 hours, or you can put some in a jar with a lid and agitate it very briskly for a few moments. The latter method is quicker, and close enough.

Byron.

 

[ftbetta]

Ok, so testing some shaken tap water with test strips, the pH is around 7, KH around 60, and the GH about 150. I am curious to learn what this means.

 

[Byron]

Ok, so testing some shaken tap water with test strips, the pH is around 7, KH around 60, and the GH about 150. I am curious to learn what this means.

I assume the GH and KH numbers are in ppm (parts per million), as such high numbers in degrees would make no sense.

The GH at 150 ppm [= 8 dGH] means you have soft to moderately hard water. This will allow you more fish options than would much harder water. Avoid all livebearers, this is too soft. Nano (small) fish species from South America and SE Asia are many.

The KH at 60 ppm [= 3 dKH] is fine. It is low enough that the pH will likely become slightly acidic (below 7) and that is ideal for most all soft water fish.

Byron.

 

[Soccerfreak]

Even 5G tanks are to small for bettas. If you want your betta to live a happy and heathy life I would suggested a 10G.

 

[ftbetta]

I assume the GH and KH numbers are in ppm (parts per million), as such high numbers in degrees would make no sense.

The GH at 150 ppm [= 8 dGH] means you have soft to moderately hard water. This will allow you more fish options than would much harder water. Avoid all livebearers, this is too soft. Nano (small) fish species from South America and SE Asia are many.

The KH at 60 ppm [= 3 dKH] is fine. It is low enough that the pH will likely become slightly acidic (below 7) and that is ideal for most all soft water fish.

Byron.

Sorry, yes, the measurements were ppm. I'm going to upgrade to the ten gallon from the five. Do you have any recommendations either of fish, or somewhere I could look to get more information? I'm not looking for anything fancy or expensive. Something I can get at a standard pet store would be great. Mostly I want something that isn't going to mind that I'm still learning about tanks and is pretty hardy.

I would like to have at least 6 of something if that's possible in a 10G. If I could get two groups of different fish (again if that is possible) I think that would be really cool. I do like cory cats, but those have to be in groups of at least 6? right?. How do I know how many fish to put in?

I don't have any strong opinions of what I want, I would rather it be better suited for the tank and water. I do have a 4y/o who is also very interested in the fish, So he prefers the more colored/patterned type stuff, but thats really about all I have that I'm going off of.

If anyone could make some suggestions for a few options as far as types and numbers of fish, that would really help me out. For example, 5 of A fish, 3 of B fish, kind of stuff.

 

[Byron]

The main issue here is the tank size. Now we have determined you have soft water, there are a lot of options (compared to hard water species) but a lot of these attain sizes that will be beyond the suitableness of a 10g. The "nano"{ type fish, those that remain quite small when mature, are well suited to a 10g tank. Many will be wild caught, whereas the "bread and butter" fish one sees in most all stores tend to be commercially raised and many will get larger.

Thinking of small fish that are colourful, there are Ember Tetras. The dwarf rasbora species in the genus Boraras are all bright red; these are sometimes seen under common names like Mosquito Rasbora, Dwarf Rasbora, Brigitte rasbora. You could have a dozen of any one of these, easily. And the smaller the species, generally the more you should have. Small fish tend to be more delicate.

There are some of the more commonly seen species that could work here. Neon tetra and glowlight tetra, either in a group of 6-7. I'm suggesting these because they would probably be of more interest to your child.

Cories will work, a group of 5-6 minimum. One of the "dwarf" species would be ideal in a 10g, but they again are wild caught and more delicate. But regular weekly partial water changes of about half the tank volume, not overfeeding, and not overcrowding, things should be OK.

Byron.

 

[marnold00]

Slightly radical suggestion incoming, probably best not to think much of it until OKd by someone a little more experienced than I, but in my mind i can picture a really nice planted tank with 5 or 6 of the dwarf corydoras, but i think you could then also have a single honey gourami?

It would be an interesting little tank - could maybe add some shrimp after the tank has matured in 3-6months.

Ive seen little tanks stuffed full of fish, and not only is it dangerous, it also looks rubbish.

In my opinion, a nano tank is a real prime opportunity to go to town with design as it wont take too many plants, or huge pieces of driftwood to fill it.

You could get a lovely small piece of spiderwood (usually expensive but you wouldnt need a big bit), and then some easy to grow plants... Amazon swords at the back, and anubias nanas or a cryptocoryne of sorts at the front, and then ofcourse some floating plants (amazon frogbit is my personal favourite - its long roots really add to the visuals)

If you have a lovely planted tank you wont feel any need to add loads of fish as the tank wont look bare. Also keeping plants is another side to fishkeeping that can be equally challenging and rewarding as keeping the fish - although the plants i mentioned are stereotypically low maintenance, which is nice. You can get a shoal of little ornamental fish to add to the whole feature. Less definitely is more in this case.


Edit: another thought, you could maybe try a gardneri strain of killifish? One male and 2 females. Theyre quite hardy fish and will do well in your water conditions. They dont need a tank with a big footprint, and the males are just absolutely stunning. Theres also a chance they can spawn and if theyre the only tank occupants in a well planted tank, there is a slight chance that fry could be raised and not eaten without any intervention by you.

Again, just thinking of ideas. Id wait to see if anybody objects to them before following up on them. I havent been in the aquaria game very long...

 

[TekFish]

Slightly radical suggestion incoming, probably best not to think much of it until OKd by someone a little more experienced than I, but in my mind i can picture a really nice planted tank with 5 or 6 of the dwarf corydoras, but i think you could then also have a single honey gourami?

In a 10G, yes. A 5G? Not so much.

 

[marnold00]

In a 10G, yes. A 5G? Not so much.

Apologies i meant to specify in a 10G