# What are the perfect fish for a 5 gallon tank?



## SaraD

Hi. I have a 5 gallon tank. I am wondering what can be put in there besides a betta.

--Sara


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## Fishfirst

white clouds, killifish, dwarf puffers, or male guppies to name a few... however, 2-3 fish is probably the max you could put in there total... and white clouds are schooling fish


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## elvis332

maybe some neon tetras they dont get that big


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## jamesandmanda

dwarf puffer would be a nice choice


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## Sea-Agg2009

Yah, you could do 1 DP, but definately not 2. Guppies are probably the most readily available fish at a LFS. If you are looking online for something, or have a cool LFS that will order them for you, look into a Celestial Pearl Danio. It's a really pretty fish that only gets about 1". You could have 2, 3 tops of them in a 5 gallon.


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## Plecostomus

You could get ghost shrimp! They are really interesting and they only cost 33 cents at Petsmart.


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## trashion

Don't forget honey, croaking, dwarf, or sunset gouramis! They all stay pretty small and are very cute fish. I especially like sunset gouramis.


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## Logicaly

If you are wanting something more colorful then ghost shrimp, you could also try red cherry shrimp, or blue tiger shrimp. Both are very interesting and pretty in colors.


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## fishboy23

Sea-Agg2009 said:


> Yah, you could do 1 DP, but definately not 2. Guppies are probably the most readily available fish at a LFS. If you are looking online for something, or have a cool LFS that will order them for you, look into a Celestial Pearl Danio. It's a really pretty fish that only gets about 1". You could have 2, 3 tops of them in a 5 gallon.


This (and the above post regarding white clouds) is among the most conflicting advice I've ever seen. "Go with a small schooling fish, they stay small, but it's a 5 so only get 2 or 3." Seriously??? Folks, you're taking the 1-inch-of-fish-per-gallon rule waaaaaaaaay too far.
Schooling fish (tetras, danios, rasboras, lampeyes, etc) need to be in groups. 2-3 does not count as a group (with perhaps an exception being for a breeding setup where egg-eating is an issue). It's a 5 gallon tank, plenty of room for 6+ of most small schooling fish (ie; neon tetras, white clouds, most small rasboras like hets, etc) and room for 10-12 of some tiny schooling fish (green neons, tiny rasboras like B. merah, B. briggitae, etc).
So please, PLEASE dont recommend two or three of a schooling fish. It's a setup for failure. Trust me, 6 tetras in a 5 gallon will be a LOT happier than 3. Keep up with water changes, throw in a few plants, get a good filter, and you can have a couple schools like that in a 5. 2-3 schooling fish is just foolish.


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## coheedrules

No fish should be put in a 5 gallon.


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## fishboy23

Tell that to about any killie breeder in the world. I bet they'll disagree.
Tell that to the folks over in Singapore who breed neon tetras by the millions. I bet they'll disagree.
Tell that to the betta breeders. I bet they'll disagree.
Tell that to most any cory breeder. I bet they'll disagree.
How about qualifying your statement?


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## Shaggy

fishboy23 said:


> Tell that to about any killie breeder in the world. I bet they'll disagree.
> Tell that to the folks over in Singapore who breed neon tetras by the millions. I bet they'll disagree.
> Tell that to the betta breeders. I bet they'll disagree.
> Tell that to most any cory breeder. I bet they'll disagree.
> How about qualifying your statement?


Thats all good advice to give an advanced fish keeper, but not a beginner. Stick with the common advice when giving it to a beginner. Let them work thier way up to that advice you gave them. No need to have the beginner try to start right up at advanced fish keeper's speed.


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## fishboy23

Shaggy said:


> Thats all good advice to give an advanced fish keeper, but not a beginner. Stick with the common advice when giving it to a beginner. Let them work thier way up to that advice you gave them. No need to have the beginner try to start right up at advanced fish keeper's speed.


"Common advice" like 2-3 schooling fish in a 5 gallon tank? Sorry, but that's worse advice than hoping they can keep up with a more advanced level option. I put the clause "Keep up with water changes, throw in a few plants, get a good filter" in for a more advanced regimen. But seriously, do you doubt a beginner can have 6 neon tetras in a 5? I don't. I realize that a beginner will have a rock and a couple plastic neon-pink plants in their 5 gallon tank, but even that setup can house half a dozen tetras. 
If I was to do or advise for an advanced regimen, I'd have a 8-10 cardinals, 2 pr of smaller epiplatys killies (like bifasciatus), and 4-6 smaller cories (like axelrodi) in that 5 with a heater cranked up to 80, and a bunch of plants. But that's not the case. A simple shoal of 6 tetras is definitely do-able in a 5. Even for a beginner.


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## elvis332

So what fish are you going to get???


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## TBS_Dave

Shaggy said:


> Thats all good advice to give an advanced fish keeper, but not a beginner. Stick with the common advice when giving it to a beginner. Let them work thier way up to that advice you gave them. No need to have the beginner try to start right up at advanced fish keeper's speed.


You want advice for a beginner? Here it is, get rid of the 5 gallon, get yourself a 20-30 gallon tank. The larger tank will allow for more beginner errors (i.e. lack of water changes, over feeding) with out the tank crashing suddenly. This will also give the beginner more time to come here to be told to test their water then be told to do a water change no matter what the results of the test. 

Pretty much what I'm getting at is rather than advise a beginner to ridiculously understock a 5 gallon tank to be successful, you need to be advising them to get a bigger tank to help them get to an "advanced fish keeper's speed." The beginner will have better luck, less frustration, and therefore will have more likelyhood of staying in the hobby.


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## marlihen

The five sitting on my desk that I'm looking at right now has:

plants
shrimp
snails
a dozen pygmy rasboras
six rummynose rasboras
and 
thirteen CPDs

I think beginners don't need to be coddled. I think they need to be told the right thing. That means if a fish is a schooling fish, you get a school. You don't get two and say, oh, that's ok. If you can't keep a SCHOOL of fish in a tank, for whatever reason, don't get a SCHOOLING fish. Easy. 

Folks need to remember to give good advice. And 2 or 3 of a fish that is supposed to be in a large group is not good advice. And it won't be a happy couple of fish either, for their very short lives. 

My opinion.

Smiles, marli


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## Fishfirst

"This (and the above post regarding white clouds)"

I'm assuming you are flaming me for my post on getting white clouds... if you actually take the time to read what I wrote... I was actually going against white clouds because they are a schooling fish. Although IF they have some dedication and are prepared for a loss or two, they could go with white clouds in an actual school. 

I'm going to have to disagree with marli as well... beginners need to start by getting their feet wet, and not diving in. I'm not saying its okay to not get a school of a schooling fish, rather, to avoid fish that school for that size tank.


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## Fishfirst

Sea-Agg2009 said:


> Yah, you could do 1 DP, but definately not 2. Guppies are probably the most readily available fish at a LFS. If you are looking online for something, or have a cool LFS that will order them for you, look into a Celestial Pearl Danio. It's a really pretty fish that only gets about 1". You could have 2, 3 tops of them in a 5 gallon.


I would suggest 1 Male DP and 2 females with a lot of cover. Also CPD's are real pretty but not really for beginners. However if they did decide getting them, they should ask for captive bred CPD's and get a school of them 5-7 after they've cycled their tank.


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## fishboy23

Fishfirst said:


> "This (and the above post regarding white clouds)"
> 
> I'm assuming you are flaming me for my post on getting white clouds... if you actually take the time to read what I wrote... I was actually going against white clouds because they are a schooling fish. Although IF they have some dedication and are prepared for a loss or two, they could go with white clouds in an actual school.


First, not flaming. I'm not trying to push buttons, I'm just trying to do my best to provide accurate advice. I read what you wrote and considered it, and I ask you to reread it yourself and watch carefully how you word things.
For your convenience: "white clouds, killifish, dwarf puffers, or male guppies to name a few... however, 2-3 fish is probably the max you could put in there total... and white clouds are schooling fish" is what you wrote. Note closely, you recommend white clouds (and killifish, which I was thrilled to see!) but then you mention only 2-3 fish. Then "AND white clouds are schooling fish". AND. Yep, I added the caps. AND. AND does not imply it's a bad decision. BUT would do a better job. I can say "I like oscars...and they get big." That doesn't say I should or shouldn't get oscars. Knowing that I have smaller tanks, advice would probably read "I like oscars...BUT they get big." See the difference? And the difference in what's implied? To me, that's what your post failed to do, so I felt it was probably useful to correct it.


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## Kurtfr0

Why are you people arguing message eachother instead of ruining this persons thread. :|


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## marlihen

Fishfirst said:


> I'm going to have to disagree with marli as well... beginners need to start by getting their feet wet, and not diving in. I'm not saying its okay to not get a school of a schooling fish, rather, to avoid fish that school for that size tank.


Did you read my post? It appears you didn't, considering your first line says you will have to disagree with me, then you continue by saying exactly what I already said. How is that 'disagreeing'? Read it again, please.

Smiles, marli


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## Fishfirst

sorry I meant "agree" not disagree... and apparently but instead of and.


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## marlihen

Fishfirst said:


> sorry I meant "agree" not disagree... and apparently but instead of and.


Well, that makes much more sense! Thanks for clarifying. You had me a bit confused. 

Smiles, marli


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## Buggy

Keeping only 2 or 3 of a schooling fish in any size tank isn't good. Neither is advising a beginner to overstock a very small tank with a full 6+ school of 2" fish. Getting a larger tank is always good advice, but not always possible. So why not suggest ONLY fish that are small enough to be kept in the 5 gallon tank that CAN be kept in smaller numbers. So far the dp, guppies, killies, shrimp and neons are all good ideas.
Lets focus on helping Sara and try not to hijack her thread with the "I'm right and your wrong" debate.

What Fishfirst meant by "common advice" is "by the book". Someone who has kept a few tanks and learned how to go "outside the box" and not crash it can get by with pushing the limits. But if it's their first tank and first fish, then it gets very discouraging when you push things too far and it all goes sour. You lose fish, you lose money and you lose interest. We want their first experience to be as rewarding as possible so the love of the hobby can grow and expand. If she tries a full school of rasboras in the 5 gallon and has an ammonia spike (not knowing what it is or that it could happen) and loses all of the fish, what impression is that going to give her? Start her out small, teach her the basics, let her enjoy the success, then work her into the experimental stuff. 

Sara, have you read up on the cycling process? Some of the fish suggested are good as far as size and bio load but don't do well with the cycling process. DP are best introduced into a fully established tank and the neons don't take well to cycling either. We have a very good sticky in the Beginner Freshwater section on cycling or you could search online for more info.

:lol: LOL, Don't let these knotheads confuse or scare you off. They just can't resist a good old fashion "fish debate" :argue: :chair:now and then. You just ask anything you want to know and someone will be more then happy to help you. ;-)


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## Lupin

Buggy said:


> Keeping only 2 or 3 of a schooling fish in any size tank isn't good. Neither is advising a beginner to overstock a very small tank with a full 6+ school of 2" fish. Getting a larger tank is always good advice, but not always possible. So why not suggest ONLY fish that are small enough to be kept in the 5 gallon tank that CAN be kept in smaller numbers. So far the dp, guppies, killies, shrimp and neons are all good ideas.
> Lets focus on helping Sara and try not to hijack her thread with the "I'm right and your wrong" debate.


Well said, Rita. For the most part, there are hundreds of species available and most are very easy to keep. For a 5g, the following can be considered:

Sparkling gouramis-Suitable for beginners.
Licorice gouramis
Bettas-Suitable for beginners.
Dwarf Puffers
Samurai gouramis
Paradise gouramis-Only one can be kept.
Ember tetras-group max of 7-8 for a 5g
Neons-group max of 6
White clouds-group max of 6
Espei/hengeli rasboras-group max of 6
Otocinclus-Group max of 4

Other options to consider are invertebrates. With apple snails, I'd consider one per 2.5g unless you can cope with the water changes in which case attempting 3 would be permissible. Now be warned that there are apple snails that do eat plants. One in particular which is commonly found around the trade is _Pomacea canaliculata_. What you certainly want are the _Pomacea bridgesii/diffusa_. If you live in USA, only brigs are legally shipped but the seller has to secure a permit from the USDA/Aphis before he is able to do so. The other species of _Pomacea_ are currently banned from transport.

*Other alternatives*
Assassin snails (_Anentome helena_)
Nerites
Ramshorn (_Planorbis_)
Pond/Bladder snail (_Physas_)
Malaysian trumpet snails
Sulawesis

*Species banned from transport aside from several species of Pomacea*
_Asolene spixi_
Giant ramshorns_Marisa cornuarietes_

Most shrimps will also work. Check the species of _Neocaridina_and _Caridina_.




> What Fishfirst meant by "common advice" is "by the book". Someone who has kept a few tanks and learned how to go "outside the box" and not crash it can get by with pushing the limits. But if it's their first tank and first fish, then it gets very discouraging when you push things too far and it all goes sour. You lose fish, you lose money and you lose interest. We want their first experience to be as rewarding as possible so the love of the hobby can grow and expand. If she tries a full school of rasboras in the 5 gallon and has an ammonia spike (not knowing what it is or that it could happen) and loses all of the fish, what impression is that going to give her? Start her out small, teach her the basics, let her enjoy the success, then work her into the experimental stuff.
> 
> Sara, have you read up on the cycling process? Some of the fish suggested are good as far as size and bio load but don't do well with the cycling process. DP are best introduced into a fully established tank and the neons don't take well to cycling either. We have a very good sticky in the Beginner Freshwater section on cycling or you could search online for more info.
> 
> :lol: LOL, Don't let these knotheads confuse or scare you off. They just can't resist a good old fashion "fish debate" :argue: :chair:now and then. You just ask anything you want to know and someone will be more then happy to help you. ;-)


Good advice.


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## SaraD

At the moment, I have 2 zebra danios and 3 small tiger barbs. They all seem to be getting along pretty well. 

--Sara


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## Lupin

I'd replace all your fish with what we have suggested. Both fish of yours need plenty of space and tiger barbs tend to harass anyone to death if kept in fewer numbers and in cramped quarters.


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## Fishfirst

It may work for now, but it may not work for long. If that happens and things go sour, are you able to take the fish back for credit?


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## trashion

SaraD-I agree with Lupin. Neither of those fish are suited to living in such small quarters.


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## COM

I do not believe in keeping any fish in a tank under ten gallons. I have had terrible experiences battling ammonia in small tanks, even with the lightest of stocking. When you're working with 5 gallons, everything that is scaleable becomes super tight. Changing one gallon of water is 20%, two gallons 40%, and so on. You have little gravel and when you change out our clean your filter, you run losing too much of your bacterial colony. If you slightly overdose any chemical or water conditioner, even by a drop or two, you can have issues. Too small.

For stuff like small shrimp (Amanos, etc.), I think these tanks can be really fun, and the water adjustments are not nearly as critical.


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