# 5.5g stock ideas



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Been looking at what options I have for a 5.5g tank. I heard a dwarf puffer would be fine in one. Anyone have experience with these?


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

thats wat i had but make sure there are hiding places and have snails on hand and bloodworm.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

I have freeze dried bloodworms already. It currently houses a betta but he seems to be picky to big for onebite and just swims away. Do you have and pictures of the tank? I don't have any other tanks to house snails for food.


----------



## parrot5 (Jan 6, 2007)

dwarf puffers may not take freeze dried. Just a heads-up


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

100% guarantee they wont  

Must buy frozen. Get hikari UVX or biopure they're still quite good.
Get them from frank I'm not a fan of BA's frozen handling.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Not a big deal my angels and bloodfins love the freeze dried so they won't go to waste.


----------



## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I would have a school of 12 of these Boraras

add some cherry shrimp and moss and you have a sweet tank

I have some Boraras urophthalmoides in a 10 gallon with Corydoras pygmaeus, Corydoras hastatus, cherry shrimp and some tiger nerites and plenty of moss,floating plants and duckweed


----------



## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

If you haven't already gotten into the shrimp scene, get into it!


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

WiyRay said:


> If you haven't already gotten into the shrimp scene, get into it!


I have some amano shrimp in my 30g and currently in with my betta.


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

I'm in the process of getting pictures of all my tanks.

As for puffer.. yes its rare for them to like freeze dried bloodworm.. but some has worked since one of my friends has gotten it to eat it.. just takes time to get them into it.

As I've asked people before.. you can just use a tupperware and put the snails in and get the little ones for the puffer to eat.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

badis badis
or
dario dario
or
amphyosemion australe
or
large colony of cherry shrimp


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

*rummy nose tetras*

Place moss on the foreground, something simple and low-maintainable like vallisneria on the back and put 15 *rummy nose tetra* into there.

Look at them, they are gorgeous!


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

igor.kanshyn said:


> Place moss on the foreground, something simple and low-maintainable like vallisneria on the back and put 15 *rummy nose tetra* into there.
> 
> Look at them, they are gorgeous!


  

3 rummynose per gallon in a 5 1/2?

That's insane and guaranteed to fail.

Tetras don't do five gallons.


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

AquariAM said:


> 3 rummynose per gallon in a 5 1/2?
> 
> That's insane and guaranteed to fail.
> 
> Tetras don't do five gallons.


Yep, I didn't think about this. I'm sorry.


----------



## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

trailblazer295 said:


> Been looking at what options I have for a 5.5g tank. I heard a dwarf puffer would be fine in one. Anyone have experience with these?


A list compiled on anohter forum of 5-29gal and other sizing tanks.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97203

Not bad.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Good link, not really sure about the dwarf gourami though due to the high rate of illness amoung them.


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

AquaNeko said:


> A list compiled on anohter forum of 5-29gal and other sizing tanks.
> 
> http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97203
> 
> Not bad.


It's a good listing there. Thanks.

I see that guy really loves ghost shrimps


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

lol I noticed that, I guess there aren't any other shrimp. He didn't even mention RCS for the 5g.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> Good link, not really sure about the dwarf gourami though due to the high rate of illness amoung them.


This Pablo guy I know was saying recently that given that the average full grown size, by volume, of a dwarf gourami (Colisa lalia) is ideantical-ish to that of a full grown paradise (macropodus opercularis), why not just go for that?



If you don't like dwarfs, go with honeys. They're hilarious. 









I had one of these in a five gallon for some time before I got out of fish a few years ago. Hilarious personality. Relatively peaceful. Coexisted happily with small schooling fish (white cloud minnows) at about 78F, which, granted, is not ideal for white clouds, but they can manage it, and six gold white clouds and a honey gourami are an impressive bunch in a five gal.

Keep in mind, both the gourami and the white clouds eat absolutely miniscule amounts for their size. Despite the apparent presence of "10" of fish" you're really only looking at a 1:10 ratio of food consumption compared to, say, 10" of Zebra danio.

As per choosing either a dwarf gourami or a paradise fish, if the tank is well laid out, I honestly do not consider this cruel. A paradise fish can reach about 4" body with a 1.5" tail-- however, if you provide a very comfortable environment with low current and an excellent place to build a bubble nest, and the fish is comfortable, it will only use half or a third of a ten gallon tank. I've seen this with several paradise. Considering this, a properly laid out 5 gal would be a decent home for a single paradise.

The species was propogated in frickin jars for a very long time. It has the distinction of being the first tropical fish kept in captivity and being introduced to the hobby by Linnaeus, a brilliant biologist and botanist who was friends with and shared many ideas with Charles Darwin.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

What's considered a large colony of cherry shrimp and what type of layout decor wise do they like?


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> What's considered a large colony of cherry shrimp and what type of layout decor wise do they like?


A large colony I personally would say 100+. People say you can have 10 RCS per gallon.

So I would suggest maybe 15-20+ so you can see them breed and etc?

A lot of people say shrimps like moss.

I like igor.kanshyn's layout, maybe you can get some tips from him.


----------



## ksimdjembe (Nov 11, 2006)

@ AquariuAM - "this Pablo guy you know..."? Come on, who are you kidding? most of us know it's you.

@ Trailblazer re: the original reason for posting the thread...
Did you end up picking out something to do with the tank? Let us know!


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

I've been tossing back and forth currently the tank is empty I'll soon have to put the filter on another tank to keep the bacteria alive. It's ready for an inhabitant but can't decide what.


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

*Rcs*

I would select shrimps  
You can get Red Cherry shrimp from mcken  and watch them during hours


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

50 is good for a 5.5g right?


----------



## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

igor.kanshyn said:


> I would select shrimps
> You can get Red Cherry shrimp from mcken  and watch them during hours


If your going to get shrimp why not really expensive ones like orange eye blue ones and with all the shrimplets you have you can make a fortune


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

I don't have much experience with shrimp so I'll start with a cheaper one. I'm also working on another tank so cheaper isn't a bad thing.


----------



## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

Having a $20+ shrimp die on you just isn't fun. 
Heck, I'm sad when I see a $2.50 Crystal shrimp die.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

What type of tank setup do they like? Anyone have wider angle pics of shrimp tank?


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

WiyRay said:


> Having a $20+ shrimp die on you just isn't fun.
> Heck, I'm sad when I see a $2.50 Crystal shrimp die.


me too 

and 50 shrimp is ok for a 5 gallon if you keep up with the water change. Even tho RCS don't have high bioload they are still somewhat sensitive to water conditions.

so give it a go!!  you can goto mcken and get 50 for $15 which is what I did


----------



## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> What type of tank setup do they like? Anyone have wider angle pics of shrimp tank?


Shrimps, actually, do not carry about your tank design 
Design is for you. Live plants, clear water, safe filter intake and not a lot of light are for them. These are most important things. The rest is up to your taste.

There is an interesting thing about colorful freshwater shrimps, they show their color best in an environment with intensive colors. They are kinda chameleons, but they can't change their color, they can change intensity (contract) of it  Black gravel/substrate will allow them show best colors.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Good to hear, I already have black gravel in the tank.


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

ksimdjembe said:


> @ AquariuAM - "this Pablo guy you know..."? Come on, who are you kidding? most of us know it's you.


Everyone knows its me. It's called a joke. 
Seriously...


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Talking to yourself isn't a sign of mental stability lol


----------



## bae (May 11, 2007)

AquariAM said:


> The species was propogated in frickin jars for a very long time. It has the distinction of being the first tropical fish kept in captivity and being introduced to the hobby by Linnaeus, a brilliant biologist and botanist who was friends with and shared many ideas with Charles Darwin.


It was the first tropical fish kept in captivity in _Europe,_ introduced by Carbonnier to Paris in 1868, but of course people in tropical countries have kept tropical fish in captivity from time immemorial for food and entertainment.

That's some friendship, since Linnaeus had been dead for more than 30 years when Darwin was born. Linnaeus was still dead 60 years after that, when the first paradise fish reached Europe.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Picked up my shrimp today, will take pics later as they get settled in.


----------



## thename123 (Dec 13, 2009)

Sweet, Im excited for pictures


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

bae said:


> That's some friendship, since Linnaeus had been dead for more than 30 years when Darwin was born. Linnaeus was still dead 60 years after that, when the first paradise fish reached Europe.


They were great friends. It was actually the inspiration for Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze's interaction in the acclaimed film "Ghost". Patrick Swayze's character is Linnaeus.

The classic scene where they make the vase together, that vase was actually _for_ a paradise fish.


----------



## Sagittarius-Aquarius (Oct 30, 2009)

AquariAM said:


> They were great friends. It was actually the inspiration for Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze's interaction in the acclaimed film "Ghost". Patrick Swayze's character is Linnaeus.
> 
> The classic scene where they make the vase together, that vase was actually _for_ a paradise fish.


I'm pretty sure Linnaeus lived through the 1700s, whereas Darwin lived in the 1800s...

I could be getting mixed up.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Went with the shrimp but decided I didn't like them enough. Will be giving them to another member shortly so am looking into new choices. I like the honey gourami and white cloud idea. Are there any other options other then the white clouds that are better suited for the warmer temperatures?


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> Went with the shrimp but decided I didn't like them enough. Will be giving them to another member shortly so am looking into new choices. I like the honey gourami and white cloud idea. Are there any other options other then the white clouds that are better suited for the warmer temperatures?


Lyretail Killifish?

There's something to be said for a 1" fish that will attack an angelfish that weighs about 25x what it does over a pellet of food.
They fear nothing.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Very interesting looking fish, how many for a 5.5g? and where would I get them?


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> Very interesting looking fish, how many for a 5.5g? and where would I get them?


Frank.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

lol nice but how many?


----------



## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

trailblazer295 said:


> lol nice but how many?


No idea. Here's a guy in Oakville with gardneri

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?p=113704#post113704

Go talk to Frank. He breeds Killis. If he doesn't have what you want at the store he can likely get it there fast for you. He will be able to give you all the care and stocking info you need.


----------



## trailblazer295 (Mar 7, 2010)

Great I'll be going by as soon as my shrimp are gone.


----------

