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First 2.5-5 gal tank!

10K views 153 replies 12 participants last post by  B3TT45 
#1 ·
Ok so I am striving to buy a good 5 gal tank but if money makes things difficult, I may go for a 2.5 gal. I want some movement and life in my tanks as I am not a huge fan of shrimp and snails.
I was thinking maybe a group of 4-5 rasbora brigittaes for my potential 5 gal. Is that ok? What are some special requirements for them (food, plants, etc.?)
If I get a 2.5 gal, I was thinking maybe an ADF and/or a lace catfish/upside down catfish with my little guy.
Any colorful and fun ideas will be greatly appreciated! I like to go big and have color in my tank, color and movement :) please don't suggest shrimp or snails, I'm just not a fan of them. I just want fish lol :p
Thanks for reading this all help is appreciated!
 
#88 ·
Now I feel like my tank is a miserable failure. lol Soon as I get paid, more plants are going in! At least the driftwood keeps my cories hidden when they want to be. Occasionally someone will go hide under there. They'll also go rest in or chill under the anacharis or swords. My swords are still really tiny at the moment, but they'll grow, assuming I can keep them alive.
 

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#95 ·
Another thing you can do is offer extra trimmings as an RAOK. Just don't trim until you're ready to ship.

Something that was brought home to me is knowing parameters for different fish. I can't have Neons because my water is too hard; Endlers, however, love it. I was going to order Neons from www.msjinkzd.com but, knowing my parameters, she cautioned me against it. Unlike a pet shop that would have sold me a dozen. :)

IMO, many fish and invert failures happen because we buy them without knowing if our water can sustain them. I know I sure did!

Both your tanks are wonderful; they just need to fill in. And as you get more confident, you'll get more plants...and more plants...and a bigger tank...and more plants.... :cool:

I do use Seachem Flourish twice a week to fertilize floating plants.
 
#98 ·
Update: added the anarchis and Marimo (it's so cute! I named him fluffy XD) there's nothing special that I need for them right? One thing though is that due to the current caused by the heater, the plant is slanted towards the left and idk how to fix this. I got one of the stems and stuck it on the opposite side. Meanwhile, I just dropped the ball in lol

I also bought seachem for the cycling. Good idea? Bad idea? How well does this help with cycling and does it speed it up?
 
#99 · (Edited)
O yeah and with this product do I have to still add ammonia? (The product is just a liquid full of bacteria, supposedly anyway)

(Random question) can I add some platies to my tank? Follow up question.... If so, can I add a few platies and lower the amount of neons I will have (maybe 6?)
 
#100 ·
Seachem supposedly speeds up the cycle. There are mixed opinions on whether or not it works, but it can't hurt.

Platies and neons have very different water requirements. Platies like hard alkaline water, and neons prefer soft, acidic water. Also, platies have a higher bioload than neons, so you'd have to reduce your neon school below its optimum size to accomodate the platies. Go with either one or the other, depending on your water parameters.

Anacharis and marimo will be fine without fertilisers; they just need light. If you do want to fertilise them, I'd use Flourish, also by Seachem.

Anacharis will be happy growing any which way. It can even float, if you prefer.
 
#101 ·
Alright I really need to buy a test kit haha. Btw I found out my ph is 7.4 would that accomadate the neons or platies better?
Also, I noticed that my lid on the tank gets way too hot when the light is on. Is that a problem or is it normal?
 
#102 ·
It's not awesome that it's super-heating the lid, that's for sure. I'd keep an eye on that, just in case. It's more of a problem if it is drastically altering water temperature, though. If it is, I'd suggest looking into a different light, if the tank fixture will accomodate one.

7.4 is not far off neutral, and will do for either fish, though it is at the very upper range of what neons will happily tolerate. It would be more suited for platies. I reckon three or four sunburst, or even blue platies, would look amazing with a betta. If you have a particularly peaceful betta, guppies would also be an option, though that's a gamble. Endlers would also be great.
 
#103 · (Edited)
I have checked EVERYWHERE for endlers and no store near me sells them!!!

Ok so platys seems like a good choice... Can I have different types of platys (sunburst, Dalmatian, blue, Mickey, etc.) together or they have to be the same for a school?

Also, the water stays the same temperature, it's just the lid getting really hot
 
#152 ·
Lol it's been a while! I'm back and with 2 new platies... Next week I will get my last Platy so they would form a hierarchy and prevent fighting. After the last Platy I am debating whether or not I could stick something else (fish, frog, snail?) before adding my betta. What do you think?

Btw I have had the same filter cartridge all along since they beginning and it's looking ugly and brown now should I change it?
 
#112 ·
Also, today I checked my water parameters again....
Yesterday my ammonia was at 0.35 with no nitrites and nitrates so I put in like 1/3 of my fish food bag into that tank (a little exaggerated but you get the point...) and I added sea chem stability. I checked it today... It was 0.15 or something and no nitrites and nitrates!!! How is this possible?? The guy said it may have speed cycled over night and the addition of plants and sea chem may have kept it stable and I should stop adding ammonia and in a week I could possibly add fish.
Should I trust what this guy said and can you explain wtf happened o.0
 
#124 ·
Wow really???? How so? (Is it the film?)

Also, today I noticed my anarchis suddenly had a growth spurt and grew so much that its touching the water surface and it bent since it's now taller and the anarchis branch that I put behind my red plant magically grew and now is standing there out of the plant's reach.
Moreover, I noticed the fish food that's rotting there has HAIRS growing all around it. They're very fine and they look like a little halo around it, is that bad?
 
#125 ·
Well, you can't add the fish whilst you've still got decomposing fish food in there - that's there to cause an ammonia spike, which is harmful to your fish. :) If you do choose to go fish-in, you have to be careful to get it all out so that there isn't any left to harm them.

The film could be a number of things - hard to say without a picture.

Anacharis grows like a lunatic. If you want to trim it, just snip it off where ever you like and plant the new stem in the substrate. :) Alternatively, just let it grow all over the place. I once pulled a 7ft strand out of my tank after failing to trim it for a few months.

The hairs sound quite normal - after all, the fish food is decomposing. That's what causes the ammonia. :)
 
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