ideas/opinions needed!!!!

[shadow88]

Ok I have 2 5-gallon tanks. One is rectangular with fish in it and the other is a hexagon I just got, not filling it till the summer.

I need suggestions, ideas, opinions of what to do with the two tanks. I'm a college student, so these fish will go with me to college to keep me company, so I really want to make the best out of these 2 tanks.

The rectangle one has 2 small corycats, 1 dwarf platy, 3 male fancy guppies, and 2 bably guppies with pretty spots I saved from the feeder tank.

The rule of thumb I have always been told is: clean the water/gravel 1/week, and as long as it doesnt look crowded, its fine. I've had the rectangle tank for 3 months now and not even a speck of algae, no dead fish, and they are all happy and healthy.

So the possible tank set up I had in mind were:
Hexagon tank:
- 3 guppies
- 1 dwarf platy
- shrimps
- 3 oto cats (?)

Rectangle Tank:
- 3 female bettas
- shrimps
- 3 (4?) khuli loaches OR 3 (4?) oto cats

And of couse plants - at least 3 - and decor for each tank.

I've thought about how the loaches need room to move, and the rectangle tank has a lot of ground area....132 square inches to be exact...

I appreciate any thoughts on the matter. Thanks

 

[ishar]

Well I think your hex plans sound good enough, but your rect. plans are off kilter. Those khuli loaches are going to need a lot more room I believe. Stick with the otos for that tank and I think it is all pretty good.

 

[shadow88]

well thank you ishar that is the first positive reply I've had to my plans in all the forums I've asked on (2 others besides here) lmao

I'm afraid 3 oto cats might get crowded in the small ground space of the hexagon tank....are there any other types of cleaning fish that are quite small?

As for the loaches, I was planning on the little 3" ones....a friend of mine had a good bunch of them in a 20-gallon and since they tended to huddle in small areas all together, I figured they would be ok since the rectangle tank has more suface area, and I was planning on getting some driftwood for them to sit in for more space to go....

Thanks for the input anyone else feel free to put in your two cents too! the more I hear, the better off I'll be when I have to decide what to get!

 

[iapetus]

You want something smaller than an oto? Those guys are tiny and slender.

When you say you want a cleaning fish what exactly do you intend it to clean? Algae or leftover food? If it's the former, I don't see how you can go wrong with the otos. If it's leftover food, I'd think that your shrimp will handle that.

 

[d3sc3n7]

I'll agree with ishar here for the most part. I'd go with the oto's before the loaches. However, I would question the 3 female bettas. I'm no betta expert, so dont take my word as law...however I think the female betta can be territorial, and in that small of a tank...it would be hard for all 3 of them to stake a claim. So, you would probably end up seeing alot of agression from the bettas.

Now that thats out of the way. Welcome to the TANK!!! Always glad to see new faces around here! Hope you enjoy the time you spend here.

 

[ishar]

hey no problem This is a friendly forum and I do my best to keep it that way .

Well the thing about otos is that they aren't bottom feeders- they are general cleaning crew. They eat off the glass and plants in my tank and I have never seen him on the gravel . If you want bottom feeders then two or three cories would do well. However in a hex their might not be much room.. But now that I think about it your shrimp should do just fine in cleaning up such a small area. Any extra food and whatnot will be eaten by a few shrimp.

I would still say no on the loaches... they grow to get (if I am not mistaken) 5-6" long, and three in a 10G would be way to much. I don't think even one should be put in for fear of stunting its growth.

To the others' posts, I am with iapetus on everything he said (lol I said it all before I read his post anyways ). As for D3's post I have heard that female bettas can be kept together without incident and can be peaceful. I have never done it myself but I haven't heard of anyone having a problem with it, and have heard of a lot of tanks with a bunch of female bettas together (called sorority tanks).

 

[shadow88]

I think we may be thinking of 2 different loaches....I researched on loaches.com, so I'm assuming they would be right if they say a certain type only gets to be 3".
Either way, I will probably wait *cries* unless I get someone who considers themself an expert to tell me they will have enough room, wont get to big etc.

I didn't want something smaller than an oto, just something around that small, so they won't outgrow their space. I'm kinda worried about the otos, since I've had the rectangle tank for 3 months now, and havent seen any trace of algae.... Would the otos be ok with veggies and waffers? I plan on having more plants, so maybe that will help.

By cleaner fish, I just meant something that will eat algae, food, etc to help keep the gravel clean and whatnot.

About how many shrimp would you suggest for the hexagon tank? I'm afraid they might try to bite my guppies, though....a friend had me put some ghost shrimp in my tank and they killed 3 baby guppies...I found one latched onto the guppies tale and the poor thing was swimming as fast as it could around the tank....evil shrimps....maybe red shrimp will be nicer....lol

Thanks again for everyone's advice I'm glad I have ideas to think off of

 

[shadow88]

here's a thought: what about the type of snail that wont reproduce on its own? they eat just about anything, right? this would be as an addition to both tanks...just one for each

 

[iapetus]

Either way, I will probably wait *cries* unless I get someone who considers themself an expert to tell me they will have enough room, wont get to big etc.

I wouldn't take ishar's word all that lightly.

I didn't want something smaller than an oto, just something around that small, so they won't outgrow their space.

They'll certainly stay smaller than those loaches.

About how many shrimp would you suggest for the hexagon tank? I'm afraid they might try to bite my guppies, though....a friend had me put some ghost shrimp in my tank and they killed 3 baby guppies...I found one latched onto the guppies tale and the poor thing was swimming as fast as it could around the tank....evil shrimps....maybe red shrimp will be nicer....lol

I'm almost positive that people talk about different kinds of shrimp when they use the catch-all phrase 'ghost shrimp'. I think it depends upon what the LFS store is calling ghost shrimp. All I know is that my ghost shrimp are very docile. The only live things I've seen them attack are the blackworms I feed my fish.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Well, oto's like plecos..will find something to eat, no matter what. I have a pleco in my 55 and 29. I've not bought wafers for the pleco in the 55 for months and he's doing great. The one in the 29 has never seen a wafer. Those otos will eat, even if you never see a speck of algae in the life span of the tank.

 

[shadow88]

I meant until I get a tank that the loaches will be for sure be happy in...I just think they're cool and it sucks that I don't have the money for bigger tanks...lol

 

[punkrockfish]

a 5g is not a lot of room, so i would stock it lightly at first. Once the tank becomes more established then add some more fish, but not too many more. female bettas can be territorial just like male bettas, but each fish will have their own personality so hard to tell. Ottos do need a food source, and if they don't have algae to eat then you must provide something (wafers or veggies). i also wouldn't put the loaches in anything smaller than a 10g tank. Not sure about your financial status, but an empty 10g tank really isn't all that much.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Hmm guess I have invisible algae then!! SWEET!!!

 

[shadow88]

I don't have a 10-gallon, just 2 5-gallon, but I had a 10-gallon when I was little. I was planning on making sort of 3 areas, so the bettas have something to claim. A friend of mine had 3 female bettas in a 1.5 gallon as a last resort (when something went wrong with their regular tank it hink), and they did just fine, each one claimed a corner... I also read that if you put them in at the smae time, they just grab a spot rather than attacking the new guy...

Thanks for the responses everyone I appreciate it

 

[MissFishy]

Welcome! I think both tanks sound a bit overstocked. 5 gallons is a small amount of water and awkward to stock. Your current rectangle has far too many fish in it already. Think about one inch of fish per gallon of water in the tank, less if there is a small surface area. Your 3 guppies are already above the limit not including the other fish in your tank. If you want an interesting hex, consider planting it, adding ONE betta male or female, a mystery snail, and a bunch of shrimp.

 

[shadow88]

I'll probable go with a male betta....are the mystery snails the ones that wont reproduce on their own?

I'm going to be stubborn about the rectangle tank....ljust ooking at it, theres no waste on the gravel, the water is clear, and the fish look happy....so I don't see anything wrong with it.

Thanks for your input

 

[jediinthedark]

D3sc3nt7 is right on about Ottos, but you want to make sure that the tank is established before introducing them. You'll have more success if you let the tank season for a month or so before you add the Otto.
I've got 5 in my tank, and I've never seen them eat regular fish food.

 

[MissFishy]

Ammonia is invisible and a good filter will remove any waste from the water. Really look at the tank and see if they have room to actually SWIM, not just crowd about. With your stocking level, I'm going to say they don't. Remember, a wild fish would have a whole stream or lake to swim in, a captive fish should have at least room to move around without running into another fish.

 

[shadow88]

right now, my fish are almost never close together unless I feed them. I'm not putting anything else in the rectangle tank, I'm just trying to figure out how to arrange the fish so that I can stock both tanks in the best way.

Thanks for your input everyone!