Options?

[nuclearwinter]

What are some possible options for a 5 gal. tank?
Would 6 tetra's be over-crowded?
I was thinking 3 different types of platies. Will that work if the tetras are unsuitable for a 5 gal.?

 

[Pure]

The tetras will be fine, just keep to the smaller species like neons and cardinals.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I second that ^.

Three normal size platies would be pushing a 5g, but you could fit 3 dwarf platies (if you have a Petsmart around, they are the only one's I've seen with them). The dwarf ones only get up to an inch long... they look like babies all their lives .

 

[Seleya]

The dwarf platies are very cute, and colorful too -- orange fading to red on the tail. Tetras come in every size from 1 inch to 3 feet. Small tetra species should be ok in small numbers. A betta, snails, dwarf African frogs, even some of the more colorful shrimp would work.

 

[nuclearwinter]

Thanks!

Is it better to get all males or all females?
And, as for the smaller tetras, will they get sucked up in my filter? I'm worried about that.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

They shouldn't... I have black neons that don't get sucked up a filter larger than anything you could put on a 5g. If you have a 5-10g filter, they'll be fine.

For tetras, I don't think it particularly matters on the sex (I'm not even sure how you tell in stores because they generally aren't fully grown). If you get platies, you either want all males or females, or a 1 male:2 female ratio, so a single female doesn't constantly get pestered. If you have females, you'll probably end up with babies at some point.

 

[cybersymes]

watch out for babies if you get male/female platties...
as the new fry will grow and overload your 5g tank...
then you'll have to get a BIGGER TANK ...