Betta, dwarf frog, albino cory, & neons

[vinimack720]

yea, 5 gal is not very much at all and you cant do a whole lot with that small of a tank. the acrylic would not melt because of the heater, idk what the pet store person was talking about. oh and after you get 10 posts u go from junior member to fishy member, like me

[meyerhaus]

We need a sticky with info about small aquariums. There are a lot of members who are joining for advice on these "start-up" aquariums. There has got to be some way to let people know that there are very few fish who can live in a five gallon tank with other fish.

AMY: you could put in a tank divider (use plastic canvas from the art department at Wal-mart if you want to make it) and have 2 bettas! That is probably your best bet. And yes, you can have a heater with acrylic...there will not be melting.

[JustOneMore20]

First of all....not only do cories prefer groups of about 5 or more...they get too big for a 5g tank. Especially albino cories. Those guys get about 3 inches...too big for a 5g tank.

The chick at the pet store is crazy. Don't take any more advice from her. Not only was she going to let you keep too many fish in a 5g that won't be happy, she said it was ok not to have a heater, and that it was a fire hazard to have one.
Well they make submersible heaters that stay in the water. I would invest in a 25w submersible heater. They are relatively cheap. I had one in an acrylic tank and it never melted.

Neons not only need a group of about 6 or more, they do better in bigger groups. I had a small group of neons in a 10g tank. They hid all the time. I added a couple more (to make 8) and they came out more. Then I upgraded them to a 29g and added some glowlights and they swim out in the tank all the time. They need a bigger tank and a big group. (I think a 10g would be fine for just 8 neons...nothing else)...but not a 5g.

I think the minimum tank for a group of albino cories would be a 30g. I want to add albinos to my new 38g...but was told I should stick with a smaller type. They are some of the bigger cories, like I mentioned above. If you upgraded to say a 20g...you could have a group of the smaller cories (pygmy, habrosus, panda). I don't like to suggest cories for anything under a 20g. I think those guys need the room.

Sorry I'm not telling you what you want to hear. I tell it like it is. I am thinking in the interest of the fish. Like Caitlin said, yes you could put all those fish in the 5g and they may live for a little while atleast, but they wouldn't be happy. If you are going to keep the fish as pets, at least give them the best home you can. Choose fish that fit in your tank size...not just the ones you want. Give them an appropriate home. You wouldn't want to live in a closet all your life would you? You could survive in there, but you wouldn't be happy.

my 5gal has a flying fox, a black shark, and a pea**** eel.... and thats it, and they're doing fine.... no more fish will go into that tank though, it would become overcrowded

I'm sure you think they are doing fine, but all those fish are too big for that tank. You are beyond overstocked. Sorry! Pea**** eels need a minimum tank size of 55g IMO. I am not sure which shark you mean by "black shark", but there are no sharks that need to live in a 5g tank. Please think about the fish and not yourself.

We need a sticky with info about small aquariums. There are a lot of members who are joining for advice on these "start-up" aquariums

I definitely agree...I've told too many people what they don't want to hear. But, I'm just being honest. We all have to learn somewhere that you can't have a bala shark, platies, tetras, and cories in a 5g tank (together).