Advice on stocking a 5.5g freshwater

[fishbone]

Anything BUT a betta. I've had 2 that died on me in the last 2 months, I want other fish for now.

Freshwater.
I have a 5.5 gallon tank[16 long, 8 wide, 10 tall], with cover, gravel substrate and will be getting plenty of plants soon and I'll add a rock or two with holes and such to create some natural hiding places. It is heated at a constant 78*F and it's filtered with a hang-on the back Tetra 10 filter w/activated carbon. The nice thing about the pump is I can adjust the waterflow, so I can alter it from a strong flowing current to barely moving water.

My plan was to get some neon tetras and some sort of bottom dweller such as shrimp. Will 4 tetras thrive in a 5.5 gallon? I know they're schooling fish so ideally I'm supposed to get 6 or so but I think that's too high of a number in my tank. How many shrimp can I get? Any other stocking ideas are more than welcome, I really want a combo of fish + shrimp or some other sort of bottom dweller. Has to be freshwater and I'd like it to be lively. If no algae, the shrimp should be fine with pellet food, right? Will my tetras enjoy really small betta pellet food? I also have sinking wafers for bottom dwellers which I think will be great for the shrimpies.

I want to completely have the tank set-up with the rocks and plants before I add any fish. If I have a decent amount of plants, cycling it shouldn't be an issue, right? I've heard of silent cycling with plants, which will prevent spikes in ammonia or nitrItes. I will set the tank up and let it run for a week then I'll get some water readings and if everything checks out, I'll do a PWC and add my fishies.

Sound good?

[Puffer Pita]

A 5.5g tank isn't sufficient for most fish. You could make an all shrimp tank that would be awesome, they're loads of fun to watch helicoptering around. You could get several African dwarf frogs which are tons of fun to watch. I wouldn't put tetras in that small of a tank tbh, as they are pretty active swimmers. I'd get something more along the lines of 4 cherry barbs or a half dozen White Cloud Mountain Minnows, both of which would be fine with shrimp. Harlequin rasboras are another option, as are the new galaxy rasboras but those are harder to find and pretty pricey.

If you are cycling with plants, you don't need a decent amount of plants, you need a LOT of plants of the fast growing variety, and that would pretty much cut out the WCMMs or tetras. Cherry barbs would still work as they love to play around plants.

[fishbone]

Sounds like an old fashioned cycling, doesn't it? Can I have the plants in the tank during this process?
3 or 4 shrimp won't be too many, right? Maybe 2 females and 1 male.
I like the cherry barbs and mountain minnows the most. I think what I'll do is add the shrimp first once the tank is cycled and then decide if I want to add the fish or not.
Do any of the fish you listed eat small betta pellets? I'd hate to throw out the container, it's been barely used.

[Christine]

A 5 gallon is perfect for many killifish & they do great in a planted tank. Killies are often overlooked and really many of them are quite beautiful.

[Puffer Pita]

Killies are nice. I never think of them because I can never find them.

Yes, you can have plants in the tank during the cycling process. 3-4 shrimp definitely won't be too many. You could actually do 3-4 dozen shrimp, depending on the type.

As far as the betta pellets, I can relate. I bought A POUND of them on Ebay before my stupid bettas decided they like frozen bloodworms and live blackworms and now won't touch a betta. I feed the betta pellets to the crabs. I alternate between the betta pellets, leftover frog and tadpole bites, and algae pellets.

[fishbone]

A POUND? Ouch! Yeah, my last betta was a picky eater too.
This tiny tank sounds exciting now. I can't wait to start the cycle and add the fish. I picked up a rock from the dry 75g tank and I will introduce to the small one, it has all sort of holes on one side. One concern I have is the fact that for substrate I have small gravel instead of sand or something close to sand and I was told that gravel isn't an optimal choice for bottom feeders as food can trickle down, remain uneaten and rot. Bah, I'm sure gravel will be great.

I'll start with the cycle and the plants and will monitor the water.
I will add 4 shrimp and see how they behave. If they don't seem crowded, I will add more.
For all the fish above, is 4 still the magic number to not overcrowd the tank?

[Puffer Pita]

I use small gravel and love it. Just use a siphon to clean the gravel during water changes. Should be doing that regardless of the kind of fish or substrate you have to clean up all the poop.

If you are faithful with the weekly water changes and vacuuming, you could most likely manage 6 cherry barbs or WCMMs. With the killies, it would depend on which kind you get.

[manda]

the smaller tank does sound nice fishbone.
i cant wait to see some pictures when its all set up with the fish! Killies can be VERY pretty, but i have never seen one in person before

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by Puffer Pita

I wouldn't put tetras in that small of a tank tbh, as they are pretty active swimmers. I'd get something more along the lines of 4 cherry barbs or a half dozen White Cloud Mountain Minnows, both of which would be fine with shrimp. Harlequin rasboras are another option, as are the new galaxy rasboras but those are harder to find and pretty pricey.

Hmmm. My white cloud mountain minnows seem much more active than my neon tertas. Most of the time the tetras hide in the plants, but the minnows are out and active all the time. But they are in different tanks, so maybe there's some reason for that, other than the innate nature of the fish...

And the galaxy rasboras would be stellar for that tank. I have 5 of them in a 2.5 gallon tank. Well, they are supposed to be my daughter's fish, but she's only 4 years old so I look after them. They are nice fish anyway; they enjoy chasing each other through the plants.

[Kyoberr]

I think that sounds okay, even though they would of course all appreciate a bigger tank.

[fishbone]

I will definitely religiously do the weekly 25% water changes but I think vacuuming the gravel will prove to be a challenge, especially with the shrimpies running around. Any pointers? I do have a gravel vac that has a nice wide siphon thing which prevents sucking up rocks but it's a tad too big and doesn't seem to suck up much. I was thinking of trying to stir the gravel up gently and just suck up the floating debris?

[Ringo]

Naturaly some fish will eat feaces from the substrate, I'm not sure if shrimp do or not. But I would think so.
Stirring up the debris and trying to suck it out does not work good at all.
You could use the gravel vac with every other water change, to make it a little bit easier. I think I have seen gravel vacs meant for small aquaria before. I'd try to look around for one. And the shrimp will get out of the way.

Originally Posted by Puffer Pita

Originally Posted by Puffer Pita
I wouldn't put tetras in that small of a tank tbh, as they are pretty active swimmers. I'd get something more along the lines of 4 cherry barbs or a half dozen White Cloud Mountain Minnows, both of which would be fine with shrimp. Harlequin rasboras are another option, as are the new galaxy rasboras but those are harder to find and pretty pricey.

Absolutely no cherry barbs in a 5G tank, and I would not do any tetras either, nor the mtn. minnows.
Killies I guess could go in a 5G, but stick with the smaller ones. Such as Two-Striped Aphyosemion (A. bitaeniatum), Red-Striped Killies (A. striatum), Eggers Notho (N. eggersi) or Douano Killies (A. primigenium).
Two-striped killies are prob my fave ones, they are really nice looking.
They should get along good with the shrimp.

[Puffer Pita]

Which fish eat feces? I don't know of any that do. Shrimp don't, at least none of mine do. Gravel vacs don't work very well IME, especially not in smaller tanks. You can get small inexpensive siphons that work very well. The shrimp will usually run away when they see it coming. Just check the water before you dump it out and if you find any that have gone for a ride, pop them back into the tank.

Cherry barbs are fine in small planted tanks IME. I wouldn't recommend them or really any of the others mentioned here in a 5g hex or other tall tank, but in a rectangular tank, they do quite well.

[fishbone]

I might have to look for another gravel vac then, because the one I have is kinda big and the mouth opening is too big to really create a current. I see stuff floating inside it but doesn't get sucked out unless i remove the nozzle but then I run the risk of sucking up rocks.
This is what I have.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...309039-6295909
Any other product recommendations are more than welcome. I'll hit amazon for a smaller one maybe.

[Puffer Pita]

This is what I use on my small tanks and it works perfectly. And its very inexpensive.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS...avelwashermini

[stargate_geek]

A Dwarf Puffer would do well in a planted tank.

[Ringo]

fishbone I bet that I have the same size gravel vac that you have.
I have sand as substrate for my tank and I do not use the wide opening when I clean the substrate. I just put one of my fingers over the end of the tube to control the amount of suction that the vac has.
The link that Puffer Pita gave you is what I was talking about. That will work good for your small tank.

[TheOldSalt]

Well, there actually are some fish that eat feces, but you'll not likely see them in the petshop. They like to hang around behind hippopotamuses, and when the magic moment arrives, they dive in, in a frenzy.

*ahem* Moving on...

I have an old 5 gallon Metaframe tank, some 35-40 years old, and it's a cutie. I think I'm going to set it up with some Microrasboras, maybe. Or Sticklebacks. Or maybe even Pygmy Killies or Pygmy Sunfish. Something tiny, in any event, and the tank will be well planted. I'm leaning toward the Microrasboras, since there are a bunch of new ones finally available that I haven't yet tried.

Anyway, small is the thing for a small tank.
Smaller killies will also do fine, and even breed.

[fishbone]

I have been recommended that I use pool filter sand as substrate. It's not as fine as playsand, less chances of forming anaerobic pockets, settles fast and I'm told it will work great for shrimp, easier to clean.
I'm going for it. 10 bucks for 50lb, not a bad price.

[Ringo]

10 bucks for 50pds I know about pool filter sand, guess I should've looked around harder for it... My sand averaged a buck a pound

Sand does make a nice substrate, but it does have to be overturned with a spoon (I just use the gravel vac) every few weeks to release any nitrites that build up in the sand.